KimchiDVD - SteelBook Retailer Chat Thread

Feel free to discuss shipping, customer service, availability, etc about this retailer here.

List of Kimchidvd.com Exclusives HERE


Frequently Asked Questions:

Q) What is the link to Kimchidvd?
A)Welcome to KIMCHI DVD
Q) I haven't mastered Korean yet - how can I read the site?!
A) Install Google translate on your browser:

Google Chrome HERE
Firefox HERE

Q) How do I register?
A) Turn on Google translate >> Login >> click on "If members to join ..." >> fill in EVERY box >>
click on this box to ensure your member ID is available:

>> Sign up!

You don't need to use Google Translate to register, provided you use the English registration link.

Spoiler

You need to enter both a Celluar phone (mobile) and Telephone number when registering/placing an order, however they can both be the same number (I don't have a home phone number, so always use my mobile number).
Numbers should be entered without a proceeding 0 and you do not need to enter your country code (KimchiDVD add it automatically to your parcel label).

So a UK phone (01452 123123) is specified like this:
Local Area Code : 1452 Phone Number : 123123

A UK mobile (07847 123123) is specified like this:
Local Area Code : 7847 Phone Number : 123123

If you have already registered, afterlogging in you can update your address/phone numbers here.

Q) Do they ship outside of Korea?
A) Yes, worldwide delivery, various shipping options available, for example to UK: (1 x steelbook)

K-Packet is tracked and one Steelbook to UK (with a weight of 450g - which is the typical weight for a lenticular) costs $10.81.

Spoiler

On average it takes around 7 days after dispatch to arrive in the UK - I always use K-Packet when placing orders and my orders have always arrived safely.

I'm not sure if it's insured or not (there's no mention) but assuming you pay via PayPal, their guarantee will cover you if you don't receive your order for some reason.

You can track your K-Packet order using this website, however tracking information isn't always accurate after leaving Korea (e.g. sometimes it doesn't update again before it's delivered, or even after if your postman doesn't bother getting a signature).

EMS $21.80 (Tracked, replacement will be issued where possible if lost)
TNT Premium $37.80 (Tracked, replacement will be issued where possible if lost)

Q) What form of packing do they use?
A) Cardboard Box, with enough bubblewrap to keep things safe, see below: (Thanks to SBC28 for pics)

Spoiler

A pretty sturdy box, which seemingly took some damage during shipping.
(These are pretty much always the same boxes.)

Enough space for the item to "breathe", but snug enough to stop it from moving.
(That white thing is the invoice, which i choose to include, since i am in the USA.)

6 layers of bubble wrap.

Another shot of the bubble wrap, one sheet (4 layers) removed.

One minty mint SB, all the way from Korea.

Q) Is the retailer custom's friendly? (i.e will they mark as gift, or low value).
A) Very friendly, you have various options to choose from:

Spoiler

Q) Will the retailer charges upon order or upon shipment
A) You will be charged upon order

Q) What payment do they accept?
A) Card or Paypal

Q) Customer Services any good?
A) Yes - overall a very good, reliable site to order from.

Cancellations: Send an email to [email protected], including the number of the order you wish to cancel. He'll get back to you as soon as he can.

Replacements: are issued if in stock, if not a refund will be offered.
Refunds: They are normally processed within a few days.

 

[snooloui]

So basically you're in a huff cause you missed out? Somebody's always going to miss out. Doesn't matter how good the website is. The demand exceeds the supply therefore somebody will always be disappointed. Suck it up.

If it was limited to one copy per customer, then the demand would be a lot less

 

[psychoscot]

If it was limited to one copy per customer, then the demand would be a lot less

100% agree, it might take them a little longer to sell out but would certainly put less pressure on their servers.

I use several specialist sites for music related collectables, and on items of less than 5000 runs they are always limited to one per order. The sellers want collectors to get them not resellers. It's down to respect for the collectors market first over a quick sale.

 

[Jondog21]

I don't think this should devolve into a kimchi v zavvi thread, but it seems it has. I'm not strongly on one side or the other, but I don't think they are comparable retailers beyond the fact they are both retailers who sell movies in steelbook packaging.

Zavvi gets us volume in possible titles, which is great because it increases the chance of getting a favorite movie in steelbook form. For this we sacrifice some, but as long as the artwork isn't total crap, I can look past matte vs glossy or weird decisions in embossing. I buy Zavvi exclusives for movies I really like, if I like the artwork on the steelbook.

Kimchi gets us pure quality steelbooks with a lot of nice extras thrown in. But they have fewer releases, meaning less of a chance of getting your favorites in a steelbook. I buy Kimchi exclusives of movies I like as well, but find I'm actually more willing to buy movies I'm less fond of because I just know they are going to be beautiful packages.

I mean we have 20 Disney titles coming from Zavvi in a relatively short time frame. If we had to wait for Kimchi to do all of these, they would all be masterpieces for sure, but it would be years and years before we saw them all delivered. So I like both companies since they both fill needs for my collection.

If you're collecting more for value, then Kimchi gets you what you need and buying Zavvi steels will be frustrating because there just aren't that many Roger Rabbits out there, but if you're like me and just want steelbooks for as many of your favorite movies as possible, it's just great to have all options available.

As for Kimchi's servers, I've gotten in on Frozen, the pianist and Rush, with varying degrees of difficulty. Oddly enough, Frozen was the smoothest for me without really any lag or timing out. The pianist I saw some pretty bad lag, but got it and the restock of Amelie B, without timing out. With Rush I timed out and got the bad gateway message when trying to complete payment, but still was done within 8 minutes of them going on sale. Definitely room for improvement in the purchasing process.

 

[kenny222]

If it was limited to 1 per person then half the users would moan that they couldn't use the 'I buy 2 just incase one isn't mint' cover for trading (read: scalping as that is essentially what it is). Everyone is never gonna be kept happy. People will miss out all the time. It's inevitable.

 

[psychoscot]

If it was limited to 1 per person then half the users would moan that they couldn't use the 'I buy 2 just incase one isn't mint' cover for trading (read: scalping as that is essentially what it is). Everyone is never gonna be kept happy. People will miss out all the time. It's inevitable.

Better to be unlucky not getting a OCD mint one than buying more and leaving another forum member empty handed.

Or if both are mint, why not sell the spare to a forum member at COST

There are several Kimchis in the sales section that are A LOT more than cost, which is a slap in the face to those members that were left empty handed. Maybe I'm alone but helping a forum member out if I can comes before profit.

 

[snooloui]

If it was limited to 1 per person then half the users would moan that they couldn't use the 'I buy 2 just incase one isn't mint' cover for trading (read: scalping as that is essentially what it is). Everyone is never gonna be kept happy. People will miss out all the time. It's inevitable.

A better solution then is to allow one copy per customer for a limited time. Once that time has elapsed, customers can order as many copies of the remaining stock as they like. It wouldn't solve the server problems as everyone would still try to access the site at the same time, but it would make the pre-orders stick around longer.

 

[StifflersDad]

It seems this ideology is hard for some to understand. Some will always be disappointed but there is always a way to limit that that as much as possible.

Yeah. A lot of so called collectors subscribe to the ideology of keeping the print run confined to as few as possible so as to create a frenzy of demand which then increases the value of their multiple copies thus creating an instant "grail". This community is no longer the old boys club it once was and members should move with the times.

 

[TobyBunny]

I used to run a website that had 200,000 members plus and we moved our server to Hong Kong and then other points in Asia. It was the biggest mistake I made in my entire life - the server was top spec an dedicated only to my website & hugely expensive but the network latency and connection problems were an absolute nightmare from day 1.
It's a common problem between Europe, The US and Asia and they seem either incapable or unwilling to fix it - terrible connection speeds to Asian websites in general with some notable exceptions.
My poor server tech engineer analysed the problem for months , trying all kinds of tweaks and came to the conclusion that despite the Asian servers insistence that the problem could be anywhere along the cable sea-bed route between Europe & Asia, it invariably happened in the final hops inside Asia itself and their poor infrastructure and network.

 

[StifflersDad]

It's simple, those that buy more than personal want it to sell out in silly time because they can then sell it for more cornering the market. If it's still available on the site they wont get the ridiculous amounts they try push them for.

It's a case of those that look at their steels in value against those that just want a personal cool product to own.

My thoughts exactly. But our posts will soon be deleted as has happened in the Rush thread for hurting the feelings of those that like to profiteer.

 

[zoneism]

My thoughts exactly. But our posts will soon be deleted as has happened in the Rush thread for hurting the feelings of those that like to profiteer.

They weren't deleted, they were moved to the kimchi retailer discussion thread where they belong (mine too)

Time to change the record perhaps?

 

[Marina Blue]

Zavvi charge 99p for shipping worldwide, so it would be asking a lot for their international customers to expect a bigger box and bubble wrap. If they charged $11, upto $25, like Kimchi then maybe.

Zaavi's not competitive with .99GBP international shipping and 9.99GBP to FREE steelbooks. I would love to see Zaavi charge $11 to $25 for shipping!

---------- Post added at 04:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 AM ----------

It's great that the Asian eTailer haters pop up in Asian release threads, miserably failing to get intelligent people... desiring quality, to share their tastes for inferior releases, poor business practices, poor customer service, and poor reputation.

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouths closed and not expose your jealousy, hate, and ignorance rather than open them and remove all doubt.

---------- Post added at 04:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 AM ----------

A better solution then is to allow one copy per customer for a limited time. Once that time has elapsed, customers can order as many copies of the remaining stock as they like. It wouldn't solve the server problems as everyone would still try to access the site at the same time, but it would make the pre-orders stick around longer.

Or Tony could make his releases look like Zaavi releases.

Then everyone could casually access the KimchiDVD website, pre-orders and stock would stick around longer, maybe for months?

 

[keyjey]

Zaavi's not competitive with .99GBP international shipping and 9.99GBP to FREE steelbooks. I would love to see Zaavi charge $11 to $25 for shipping!

---------- Post added at 04:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 AM ----------

It's great that the Asian eTailer haters pop up in Asian release threads, miserably failing to get intelligent people... desiring quality, to share their tastes for inferior releases, poor business practices, poor customer service, and poor reputation.

Sometimes it's better to keep your mouths closed and not expose your jealousy, hate, and ignorance rather than open them and remove all doubt.

---------- Post added at 04:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 AM ----------



Or Tony could make his releases look like Zaavi releases.

Then everyone could casually access the KimchiDVD website, pre-orders and stock would stick around longer, maybe for months?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and no one would keep their mouth shut just because you don't like there comments.

And no one is suggesting Kimchi becomes Zavvi. All everyone is saying Kimchi has good system but they can make it great and better. That's all.

Also I agree you can't please everyone but implementing some of the ideas mentioned in this thread will make sure maximum collectors benefit from and less scalpers.

We will see if and when the change happens. Let's move on

Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk 2

 

[funkydamo]

I really hope they will go in the exclusive route as usual Lenticular 700 + Exclusive 1/4 slip 300 to make this a special release as this movie deserves a special release and Kimchi can do that.

It would be sad if they would do a very High print run release as they are doing with Rush, it would be sad.

I want my 1/4 slip exclusive to 300 with all the bonus booklet and picture cards and the so nice exclusive numbering card stuck onto the back of the slip cover... True Kimchi Style !

This movie is too special to have a treatment done like Rush. It was rushed I feel, close to 4K hello ???

not really understanding how a steelbook that sells out in under half an hour has too high a print run!
for me, I would like another 1000 copies of the 1/4 slip knocked out so I can pick one up at retail price.
I was online waiting for it to go live, then sat pulling my hair out after getting it added to my cart, for the checkout page to fail to load time and again - then to be told when it finally loaded that it was out of stock.
totally not fair, it was in my cart at a minute past 12, but 20 minutes of faffing gazumped me.
all 3 verisons were showing sold out by my luch time - 12.30.
anything that sells out that fast is too limited imo.
I don't care how many copies are made, I just want to own one.
If this is super limited then what chance do we have of getting one? unless kimchis servers are truly lightning fast by then, and we can actually go through the checkout process in under 5 minutes.

I think FS iron man was a run of 7k/8k, yet still pretty much the most sought after steelbook out there.
supply vs demand - 500 copies of rubbish doesn't' make it desirable rubbish, any more than 8000 copies of quality makes it undesired quality.

I can live without rush, as the uk steel is nice enough.
but the uk drive has no inside artwork - so not one I am keeping in my collection - this kimchi release for me is the one to have - will be gutted if I miss this too.

 

[Ranavalone]

If this is super limited then what chance do we have of getting one? unless kimchis servers are truly lightning fast by then, and we can actually go through the checkout process in under 5 minutes.

Lightning fast servers won't increase anybody's chances for acquiring a copy. We'd just know much quicker that the item is sold out.

Of course the purchase process would be less stressful if the servers and the web store software could cope with the load. But if the demand far exceeds the supply, there will be many collectors who won't get what they want. Fast servers won't change that at all.

 

[AnubisNefer]

Lightning fast servers won't increase anybody's chances for acquiring a copy. We'd just know much quicker that the item is sold out.

Of course the purchase process would be less stressful if the servers and the web store software could cope with the load. But if the demand far exceeds the supply, there will be many collectors who won't get what they want. Fast servers won't change that at all.

But an upgrade of the webshop cms and the server will at least solve the "suddenly" empty cart problems and keep my item in the cart so I can pay it.

I had it 3x with Rush full slip alone, not even mentioning Thor and Frozen.

 

[VRob98]

Lightning fast servers won't increase anybody's chances for acquiring a copy. We'd just know much quicker that the item is sold out.

I'd settle for a server that didn't chuck stuff out of my shopping cart just as soon as I'd put it in there!

 

[BradG1984]

I'd settle for a server that didn't chuck stuff out of my shopping cart just as soon as I'd put it in there!

I hate it when that happens in Tesco...

 

[NoDingsNoScratches]

Preparing myself Mentally for the Chaos that will ensue when this goes LIVE. I got lucky on Rush, but I know this will be even crazier. I hope the force will be with me.

Also planning to stay off this Thread after pre orders are sold out because Of the murder and Mayham that will take place when unlucky or under prepared members miss out. I just hope I ain't one of them.

I will get my copies either way, wether it be from Kimchizzle directly, or from some un-Godly scalper.

Good luck my Ninjas, and Ninjettè's....may he who be worthy, posses the power of pre order......

 

[Travis Bickle]

The irony is that if Kimchi's site worked properly Thor would have sold out in 5 minutes & not 11minutes & Rush in 15 instead of 30. But I understand the frustration.

 

[shyuan]

I saw scalpers selling this in my country, crazy price.....