Mandarake Japan

* What did you order?

Volks SDC Mika fullset

* When did you order?
8 October 2013

* How was the communication?
Confirmations and tracking numbers arrived promptly.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped the day after payment, arrived 14 October.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, everything was as described (the pillow/clothes/wig were a bit musty, but for a secondhand item from secondhand shops, that's not so unusual)

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Certainly!

 

I order from them all the time, but I live in Japan. Still...


* What did you order?
In the past year... Volks Heath full set, Volks F26 One-off, Crobidoll Zion

* When did you order?
I can't remember.

* How was the communication?
Fast and in English despite ordering from the Japanse website.

* How easy was it to pay?
Easy enough using a Japanese creditcard or paypal

* How long did it take to ship?
About 4 days from order. They need to check if the item is in stock. After payment about a day.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, always perfect.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them? NA

* Would you order from this company again?
Always!

 

* What did you order? A lot of wigs.
* When did you order? July 2014.
* How was the communication? They replied me fast (next day), but sometimes they don't understand my english and my request.. which is really worrying sometimes.
* How easy was it to pay? Very easy, using paypal.
* How long did it take to ship? Shipped 2 days later after they receive my payment.
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order? Nope.
* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them? Nothing.
* Would you order from this company again? I would.

 

I've ordered from them several times, will bunch together the feedback

* What did you order?
So far four full dolls, three heads, clothing, wigs, eyes and a doll carrier.

* When did you order?
Spread out over time.

* How was the communication?
Havn't had to ask any questions yet.
The longest I've had to wait for them to check the stock has been three days (their maximum).

* How easy was it to pay?
Super easy with PayPal.

* How long did it take to ship?
A few days from placing the order, after payment it's the same day or the day after.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Nope, they wrap everything securely in bubble wrap.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
None yet. If you check "cancel order if item is out of stock" the order is automatically canceled.

* Would you order from this company again?
Absolutely, no doubt!

Side note: Mandarake has severely underdeclared some of my dolls, without me requesting to. A doll I got for 60 000 yen was marked at 2000 yen. They've all made it home without trouble, but you may want to inform Mandarake if you don't want them to do it.

 

* What did you order?
doll head

* When did you order?
20 november 2014

* How was the communication?
fatal.


* How easy was it to pay?
Super easy with PayPal.

* How long did it take to ship?
3 days.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
yes, they have send me wrong head

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
i'm still waiting for re-do my order and fix my order.

* Would you order from this company again?
hmmm maybe no :/

Side note: they underdeclared dolls, without me requesting to. A head I got for 8 000 yen was marked at 2000 yen.

 

* What did you order?
Volks SD Gou Claude the Beast fullset

* When did you order?
17 December 2014

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy

* How long did it take to ship?
22 December


* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Certainly!

 

* What did you order?
Volks SD Party 23 Ran in Harajuku

* When did you order? I sent an inquiry about the item on November 29 & received my order confirmation on December 1. She shipped DHL on November 30


* How was the communication?
Fast & friendly, I had no communication with Mandarake due to not having any questions.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy, Payment process was very easy. The only confusing part was that they did not have the payment page set up to automatically add the shipping cost & insurance. Their is a page to see what the shipping charges are. Then you wait until the next day to receive an email telling you the entire cost including shipping. Being on the opposite side of the world I placed the order late on Sunday night my time zone and received the total cost Monday morning my time zone.

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped a few hours after I paid

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, everything was well packed with lots of foam & bubble wrap

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Of course I would order from them again! In fact I placed another order with Mandarake last night December 6 and I have the order confirmation today December 7. I will give an up date on that package in a few days.

The only thing that is a little slow in the fact that I have not yet found much for narrowing the search engines.
Other than that I am very satisfied with the service Mandarake has offered. I will order from them again.

 

* What did you order?
Volks "Black Label" collection outfit. It was a complete set including blouse, (pink, white and black) checked skirt, arm covers(1 zebra pattern and 1 black), bracelet, belt with chains and over-knee socks.

* When did you order? I sent an inquiry about the item on December 7 & received my order confirmation on December 9. the outfit shipped DHL on December 8


* How was the communication?
Fast & friendly, I had no communication with Mandarake due to not having any questions.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy, Payment process was very easy. The only confusing part was that they did not have the payment page set up to automatically add the shipping cost & insurance. Their is a page to see what the shipping charges are. Then you wait until the next day to receive an email telling you the entire cost including shipping. Being on the opposite side of the world I placed the order late on Sunday night my time zone and received the total cost Monday morning my time zone.

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped a few hours after I paid

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, everything was well packed with lots of foam & bubble wrap

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Of course I would order from them again!

The only thing that is a little slow in the fact that I have not yet found much for narrowing the search engines.
Other than that I am very satisfied with the service Mandarake has offered. I will order from them again.

 

* What did you order?
Volks SD Suwarriko body

* When did you order?
20 May 2016

* How was the communication?
very accomodating

* How easy was it to pay?
Quick and easy

* How long did it take to ship?
Took 6 days, came 26 May

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
None

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Over and over again (:

 

* What did you order? Lots! Everything from a Volks Reisner fullset to clothes, shoes, wigs, stands, and accessories
* When did you order? I've been ordering regularly from Mandarake since probably 2004 (though only for doll stuff since 2008)
* How was the communication? Top notch! The one time I had to cancel an order, they were very understanding and made it simple for me
* How easy was it to pay? Super easy! Unless you are ordering 18+ items, Mandarake gives you a choice of Paypal or credit card
* How long did it take to ship? my items were often shipped the same day I paid
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order? Nope! They know how to pack well.
* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them? The only problem I ever had was when I ordered using SAL shipping. The two outfits I bought that time never arrived, so I always spring for EMS. Mandarake was great, though; they refunded me and made the insurance claim to get their loss covered.
* Would you order from this company again? Of course! Checking Mandarake is a daily ritual for me!

 

* What did you order?

Volks YoSD Tinatsu

* When did you order?
9 Feb 2019

* How was the communication?
Confirmations and tracking numbers arrived promptly.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy (paypal).

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped 11 Feb, arrived the 18th.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, everything was as described (pillows a bit musty, but that was noted in the listing and not unexpected for a second-hand item).

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Certainly!

 

* What did you order?
Hundreds of doll related items from rare NIB Dolls to used Re-Ment accessories and doll shoes.

* When did you order?
I’ve been buying from Mandrake for over 4 years now. It’s a fabulous source for discontinued and/or second-hand Asian doll items.

* How was the communication?
Communication has always been prompt and helpful across all of the Mandrake stores.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy using Paypal.

* How long did it take to ship?
Time to ship seems to vary by actual shop but has always happened within 3 days and most often with 24 hours. Some of the shops are just a little slower than others.

Shipping time depends on shipping method used. EMS is about 7-10 days to Texas while SAL registered is consistently about 3 weeks.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
In all my deliveries there has never been anything missing or broken, and everything has arrived just as described. I’ve found Mandrake to be amazingly reliable over the years.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
No problems to report.

* Would you order from this company again?
Mandrake is one of my standard go-to sites for hard to find items. I go to Mandrake more than I go to eBay.

 

* What did you order?
I ordered from Mandarake multiple times and I ordered dolls, a Volks head and some clothes.

* When did you order?
I’ve ordered from Mandarake from 2016-2018 different things.

* How was the communication?
The communication was good and helpful.

* How easy was it to pay?
Easy with PayPal and CC.

* How long did it take to ship?
The items were sent out very fast. It only took a bit longer around the end of year holidays but this is understandable.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Nothing got broken but that was more luck on my side than the cause of the great packaging of Mandarake especially regarding the dolls.
I even asked them to wrap the dolls extra in bumble wrap in English and Japanese when placing the order in the comment box but the dolls were only delivered wrapped in the doll cushions inside the box (the box outside was wrapped in bubble wrap which wouldn't have saved the at all doll inside).
The clothes were sent out safely packed.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
Fortunately nothing did happen and the items looked like the photos.

* Would you order from this company again?
I'm not sure if I would risk to order from them a delicate doll (my YoSD and SD10 dolls which I ordered from Mandarake are more on the sturdy side that's maybe why nothing got broken) but I wouldn't risk it with a expensive limited doll.
Clothes and other stuff are okay for me.

 

* What did you order? A second-hand LUTS zuzu.
* When did you order? I ordered the 6th of June, I had my confirmation one day later.
* How was the communication? Easy.
* How easy was it to pay? Easy with CC.
* How long did it take to ship? One day.
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order? Nope. Everything was as listed, very well protected.
* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them? N/A
* Would you order from this company again? Not soon cause they only send with DHL express now to my country and that means a lot of money to pay in customs, but yes.

 

* What did you order?
Iplehouse EID Evan Tamer

* When did you order?
April 4th, 2020. It took 5 days to get a confirmation and I had to email to ask for an update, but it was during the Corona mess so they were probably understaffed at the Nakano Plastic branch so I'm not holding it against them at all.

* How was the communication?
Automated and once I poked them I got my confirmation quickly and the rest of the process went smoothly.

* How easy was it to pay?
They give you a link in the confirmation to a payment page where you can pay with paypal so it was very easy.

* How long did it take to ship?
Once I got my confirmation and paid he shipped the next day. Took nearly two and a half months to get here, but that's not their fault at all because EMS was incredibly backed up, though it does lead to the next question.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Not a single one. He didn't have his box which I knew going in but he was wrapped and packed so well that even sitting in a warehouse for over two months buried under who knows how many other packages, the outer box was barely dented and he was completely intact. Excellent packaging.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Yes

 

* What did you order? CrobiDoll Lance, used
* When did you order? Ordered March 5th, DHL shipped it to me by March 10th!
* How was the communication? Fast !!
* How easy was it to pay? Very easily
* How long did it take to ship? Arrived in 5 days, record for JP to US
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order? No, everything was well packed with lots of bubble wrap
* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them? No problems!
* Would you order from this company again? Gladly!

 

What did you order?
Volks SDM F20 Sunlight with Coordinate Model box & CoA (not the outfit or eyes)

* When did you order?
11 December 2021

* How was the communication?
Confirmation and tracking numbers arrived promptly.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy

* How long did it take to ship?
Shipped the day after payment, arrived 14 December via DHL.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No, everything was as described

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Certainly!

 

What did you order?
Yo-SD Jun Tachibana

When did you order?
14/09/23

How was the communication?
Automated, but sufficient

How easy was it to pay?
Very easy – paid via Paypal

How long did it take to ship?
It shipped the next day

Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
No

If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

Would you order from this company again?
Yes. At first I was a bit concerned about Mandarake's policy of no refunds for damaged items unless you film your box opening but thankfully nothing in my order was damaged. The only inconvenience of Mandarake for me over other Japanese second-hand stores is that you can't combine orders from multiple locations.

 

* What did you order?
A second hand Be With You Carrot
* When did you order?
January 22nd 2024
* How was the communication?
Fast, confirmation, invoice and shipping notification all arrived very fast. Didn't need any other communication.
* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy.
* How long did it take to ship?
It was shipped the day after I made and paid my order, and arrived exactly a week after shipping.
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
None
* Would you order from this company again?
Absolutely!

 

I made two orders with Mandarake, one on their webshop, and one in-person at their store in Japan.

(1)
* What did you order?
From webshop (Nakano store) -- A pair of Volks option hands, a pair of eyes.

* When did you order?
April 2024

* How was the communication?
Didn't communicate - just put the items into my shopping cart and checked out.

* How easy was it to pay?
Pretty easy - I paid with credit card, no problems.

* How long did it take to ship?
It's been a while, but I recall it was pretty fast, they shipped out within a day or two.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Nope, everything arrived securely packed and in order.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N.A

* Would you order from this company again?
Yep, if they had what I wanted.


--------
(2)
* What did you order?
At Mandarake Umeda store in Osaka -- I bought a Volks SD17 body in person.

* When did you order?
September 2025

* How was the communication?
The staff at the store were helpful and spoke a bit of English. I showed them the doll I wanted, they took it out of the display, packaged it up for me safely (wrapped in bubble wrap and stashed in a big paper bag), and collected payment.

* How easy was it to pay?
Paid with my international credit card. I was able to buy it tax-free after they collected my passport details (normal for Japanese shops that offer tax-free purchasing).

* How long did it take to ship?
No shipping! I walked out the shop with the doll.

* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
Nope, they packaged everything nicely for transport.

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N.A

* Would you order from this company again?
Yep, if they had what I wanted. The physical stores seem quite familiar with foreigners coming through ^^

 

Round-up of visiting several Mandarake stores in Japan in person:

Umeda
Wide range of doll items. Often has a few more older Volks or obscure dolls – had some SartoriaJ and Peakswoods when I visited. Helpful and friendly staff.

Kyoto
Less doll items than Umeda – most are around a corner in cabinets. Helpful and friendly staff.

Nagoya
Most helpful staff award! A staff member spent about 10 minutes tracking down an item I'd seen was in-stock at the store on their website but wasn't on the shelves.
Wide range of doll items.

Nakano
Most of the BJD items are in locked cabinets. Helpful, friendly and patient staff member who let me take my time looking through the eyes and shoes.
You may have to seek out a staff member as there may not be one in the immediate area.
Large range of dolls and accessories.

Complex
Worst customer service. Was berated by a staff member for carrying a bag from another shop (come on, it's Akiba, everyone has shopping bags). The same staff member was very surly and rushed me through looking at items in a cabinet. I felt pressured to buy or leave. From looking at Google reviews, it seems other non-Japanese customers have had similar issues, perhaps with the same staff member. Language barrier was not an issue as I speak some Japanese.
Would not go there again unless there was something I really wanted that wasn't available elsewhere.

 

* What did you order?
Wigs, BJD clothes (Especially Volks outfits), Dolls (A Dollfie Dream Miko, two Blythes, two Pullips...)

* When did you order?
From 2017 to 2024

* How was the communication?
Very accommodating and friendly.

* How easy was it to pay?
Very easy through Paypal

* How long did it take to ship?
My items were shipped out very quickly each time. With Air SP, shipping was about 10-20 days, from Japan to France.
* Were there any missing or broken items in your order?
None

* If there were any problems with your order, how did the company handle them?
N/A

* Would you order from this company again?
Yes, definitely!