KimchiDVD - SteelBook Retailer Chat Thread

logo.gif

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:
rsz_button.jpg
>> Sign up!

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

A pretty sturdy box, which seemingly took some damage during shipping.
(These are pretty much always the same boxes.)
kimchipackaging01.jpg


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.)
kimchipackaging02.jpg


6 layers of bubble wrap.
kimchipackaging03.jpg


Another shot of the bubble wrap, one sheet (4 layers) removed.
kimchipackaging04.jpg


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:
rsz_customs-kimchi.jpg

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.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Unfortunately it does state on kimchis site that no refunds are given for lost kpackets

Read that too,that`s the reason i cancelled all other orders in case something get`s lost again -ems is too expensive and German Coustoms hit them too often which makes it even more expensive for me.:(

---------- Post added at 01:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 AM ----------

Read that too,that`s the reason i cancelled all other orders in case something get`s lost again -ems is too expensive and German Coustoms hit them too often which makes it even more expensive for me.:(

Case closed-PayPal refunded me-thanks to them:oohyeah::thumbs:
 
I would say you basically always get your money back from paypal as a buyer, even if the package is send with a tracking number and vanishes. If the tracking says it has been delivered to you, thats another thing.
 
Case closed-PayPal refunded me-thanks to them:oohyeah::thumbs:


Yes, Kimchi's 'terms' are irrelevant. You are protected by PayPal (and subsequently by credit card) for non-delivery of online order goods. Unless they can prove delivery, the buyer is 100% entitled to a full refund. No question. I must admit, I do find it surprising the amount of members here that are not aware of their basic consumer rights as the buyer of online goods...
 
Ordered a Amelie Steel on May 14th,happy as always getting a high Quality Steel from Kimchi.:D
Happy? Not this Time,Guys:(
I`m still waiting .:angry:

Kimchi was contacted,Opened a case on Paypal . The only thing Kimchi provides is the Tracking Id to solve this Problem.
Very funny,indeed.I own it since the Day it was shipped and it says: Arrival at inward office of exchange on May 21. Since then no update.
I also own a Letter from Geman Post International Inquiries Center in Frankfurt that clearly Proofs that even the German Post is not able to track or even find this Package.This Information was also provided to Kimchi from German Post.
So it must be considered as lost in Transit.
Only reaction from Kimchi,providing the Track Id again,still no Refund.:angry:

Well everything is fine with Kimchi as long as your Package is not lost.
So,i won`t be ordering anymore from them in the Future,all my Orders cancelled.:thumbs:

P.S.Provided a scan of the Letter to PayPal a few Minutes ago-let`s see how this works out:ohno:

I got the same problem with Kimchi right now. My Amelie steel is still missing. And Kimchi doesn't respond to my emails.
 
Amelie was my only buy to date and I was unable to track it. When it did finally turn up Customs hit me with a £25 fine and then when I opened it it was badly damaged.
So I doubt I'll bother with them again.
 
whenever I purchase from Korea, China, Hong kong I always use EMS shipping maybe expensive 40 to 50 but it's so much faster than regular mail can take sooooo long. One is even better than EMS(from Singapore) from my experience with EMS, BEST SHIPPING Country is Hong Kong OMG so fast took like 3 days EMS, Taiwan have wonderful post express system, Korea also really nice and fast. When I order it's for my nice steel, Asia, so I don't play around to get my steel asap it's EMS or up so it can get to me fast.

when ordering from Singapore,

1) ''Speedpost EMS'' (Fasted Method)

1) EMS

2) ''Speedpost Air Parcel'' (bit cheaper than EMS)

---------- Post added at 07:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:04 PM ----------

or if it's available for other country I would chose from number 1 to 3 in that specific order for speed
 
Last edited:
whenever I purchase from Korea, China, Hong kong I always use EMS shipping maybe expensive 40 to 50 but it's so much faster than regular mail can take sooooo long...

Me too, man. I only use EMS because I don't want my package floating around out there, getting all banged-up for an extra week or two. I want my stuff fast so I will gladly pay the EMS For a few dollars more.

:scat:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Actarus
Me too, man. I only use EMS because I don't want my package floating around out there, getting all banged-up for an extra week or two. I want my stuff fast so I will gladly pay the EMS For a few dollars more.

:scat:

we think so alike, feel the same way. even within my country I will pay for 1 day shipping so it comes to me fast and doesn't get bumped up much...but I got bit inn the behind a very expensive steelbook got a disk loose when I chose 1 day shipping within my country. the one I wanted the most I got a loose disk and you know how it feels like. so I had to open an extremely rare copy but being insane as I am, I managed to find 2 other copies(dunno how - they are in the rarest Taiwan steels ever produced) and managed to get them OCD... so I have 1 open copy and 2 sealed but it cost me a lot. But i'm kinda happy made me open a taiwan one that I would not otherwise have and it so nice to see a grail copy when you are not used to opening them... BUT THE FREAKING SHIPPING THEY ARE SO ROUGH THEY WOULND NEED TO BE BIATCH SLAPPED...I mean it's not not a book they are fragile item but for the them really don't care so I agree, the fastest the lesser chance... but there is the odd time you end up being bitten in the behind.

but at the end of the day theses things will happen, it's wiser to always chose the fastest shipping method...really don't care to pay 50$ for steels they are worth it especially since most of the time we are so far away from them they endure a long journey so to pay for EMS is worth it !
 
  • Like
Reactions: NoDingsNoScratches
Me too, man. I only use EMS because I don't want my package floating around out there, getting all banged-up for an extra week or two. I want my stuff fast so I will gladly pay the EMS For a few dollars more.

:scat:

For a lot of us, it's not simply a case of paying 'a few dollars more' for EMS shipping. In the US you appear able to import from overseas without attracting the attention of your Customs authorities. That is not the case in the EU where draconian Customs regimes hold sway.

In the UK, goods imported from outside of the EU, over the value of £15, are liable to the imposition of 20% Import VAT. The VAT is also levied on the shipping charges. So, if I purchased an Asian steelbook valued at £30 with EMS shipping charges of £10, I would also end up having to pay a further £8 in Import VAT.

It doesn't end there, however, because the carrier also levies a Handling Charge for the privilege of taking your money off you. This varies: Royal Mail £8, DHL £8, UPS £11 & Parcelforce £13.50. Unfortunately, the UK EMS agent is none other than Parcelforce, the most expensive of the ones listed. So, given the above example of the £30 purchase, not only would I have to pay an additional £8 in Import VAT but also a Handling Charge of £13.50. That Asian steelbook purchased for £30 has ended up costing me a whopping £61.50!

It is for this reason that I choose to have my Kimchi steelbooks sent Korea Post (trackable air mail), as merchandise with a declared value of $22. Provided the declared value is not ridiculously low, it won't normally attract the attention of UK Customs. They do, however, pay more attention to packages marked as a gift so it pays not to do so.

EMS packages from the Far East with a low declared value, however, do seem to attract the attention of UK Customs and if they feel it has been undervalued, they will surcharge it. Reading the posts on this forum shows this to have happened to a number of members. So, it's really not worth the risk.

As much as I would like the additional security and faster delivery that EMS offers, the 'few dollars more' they charge for it will probably end up costing me mega bucks.
 
A quick question to all you Kimchidvd veterans>>

I'm considering purchasing 2 steelbooks from Kimchidvd (I'm based in the UK) which total to about $74 + kpacket shipping, which totals about $90 roughly. Would you recommend buying them together, which is saving a bit on shipping and mark them as merchandise $19.99, or pay/post them separately??? I'm worried customs could find the package suspicious for $19.99 then I'll lose the lot :ohno:

P.s the only reason I've mentioned $19.99 is because that's what I was advised before, under $20.
 
Last edited:
For a lot of us, it's not simply a case of paying 'a few dollars more' for EMS shipping. In the US you appear able to import from overseas without attracting the attention of your Customs authorities. That is not the case in the EU where draconian Customs regimes hold sway.

In the UK, goods imported from outside of the EU, over the value of £15, are liable to the imposition of 20% Import VAT. The VAT is also levied on the shipping charges. So, if I purchased an Asian steelbook valued at £30 with EMS shipping charges of £10, I would also end up having to pay a further £8 in Import VAT.

It doesn't end there, however, because the carrier also levies a Handling Charge for the privilege of taking your money off you. This varies: Royal Mail £8, DHL £8, UPS £11 & Parcelforce £13.50. Unfortunately, the UK EMS agent is none other than Parcelforce, the most expensive of the ones listed. So, given the above example of the £30 purchase, not only would I have to pay an additional £8 in Import VAT but also a Handling Charge of £13.50. That Asian steelbook purchased for £30 has ended up costing me a whopping £61.50!

It is for this reason that I choose to have my Kimchi steelbooks sent Korea Post (trackable air mail), as merchandise with a declared value of $22. Provided the declared value is not ridiculously low, it won't normally attract the attention of UK Customs. They do, however, pay more attention to packages marked as a gift so it pays not to do so.

EMS packages from the Far East with a low declared value, however, do seem to attract the attention of UK Customs and if they feel it has been undervalued, they will surcharge it. Reading the posts on this forum shows this to have happened to a number of members. So, it's really not worth the risk.

As much as I would like the additional security and faster delivery that EMS offers, the 'few dollars more' they charge for it will probably end up costing me mega bucks.


Exactly....;)

In the US it's up to a $1000 before they get charged ANY import charges....(lucky buggers) :hilarious:

Us suckers in the UK £15 is the MAX.......:hilarious:

Absolute farce.....IMO :violent:

K-Packet is the best option for us and is still tracked. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: harry
A quick question to all you Kimchidvd veterans>>

I'm considering purchasing 2 steelbooks from Kimchidvd (I'm based in the UK) which total to about $74 + kpacket shipping, which totals about $90 roughly. Would you recommend buying them together, which is saving a bit on shipping and mark them as merchandise $19.99, or pay/post them separately??? I'm worried customs could find the package suspicious for $19.99 then I'll lose the lot :ohno:

i always used to pay/post them separately-because German Customs loved to pick my Kimchi Steels:angry: - if only one gets caught by them it`s cheaper then a package with two Steels - at least here in Germany:thumbs:
 
Any Canadians on here with prior experience with Kimchidvd?

Have you gotten hit with customs?

I seem to be pretty lucky with not getting hit with customs on incoming international items, but I have never had anything sent from Kimchi and I see on this thread some in other countries get hit with customs from Kimchi orders.