Customer Support

PayPal Problems | Registration | Order Status | Orders & Shipping | Payment Methods | International | Military |
Returns & Refunds | Coupons | Collector's Kendamas | Out of Stock | Wholesale | Contacting Us

PayPal Problems

If You Don't Receive Your Order

All packages shipped to United States addresses include USPS Delivery Confirmation. You will have been notified by e-mail of your USPS tracking number, and you can track that from the USPS Web site, or from your member's page at Kendama.net if you registered, or by entering the tracking number at the USPS Web site or in the Google search engine.

It is important that you keep an eye on your tracking every few days. If the USPS attempts delivery once, they will not make a second attempt unless you contact them within five days. At that point they are supposed to return the package to us.

Sometimes the tracking will say that delivery has been completed, but customers do not receive the package. At this point you need to contact your local post office and complain. It's very important that you keep an eye on the tracking site so that you can contact the USPS immediately. If you wait a few days the USPS will interview the carrier, but he or she may not even remember the delivery by that point. If the package were misdelivered (to, say, the same number on an adjacent street), the longer you wait the more likely it is that the recipient will have decided to keep the package and lie to the USPS. If the package was stolen, the longer you wait the less likely it is that you will be able to prove that, since the carrier will not be able to definitely remember the delivery.

We are aware that there are companies like Amazon.com who will redeliver items that disappear, even if the USPS scans say that they were delivered, so as to maintain a good customer service reputation. Unfortunately, our small scale does not permit this sort of financial extravagance.

If the USPS returns your package after making a delivery attempt, as noted in the tracking records, and we get the package, we will reship it to you, but you need to pay the additional shipping. After all, you had five days in which to ask for redelivery. If the package is listed as delivered, but you never got it, then we have done our part and it's an issue between you, the USPS, and your local police department.

So the important points to remember are: (1) Don't order if you expect to be away or on vacation when the product will be delivered, (2) Don't use a delivery address where the mail delivery area is not secure, (3) Keep a daily eye on the USPS tracking page, and (4) contact the USPS immediately if the tracking page indicates an attempted or successful delivery, but you didn't receive the package.

To Our Texas Friends

We ship our products from the Fort Worth area, and thus we are required to collect sales and use tax if we deliver products to customers in Texas. If your shipping address is in Texas your order will include an amount for sales and use tax for our Fort Worth tax jurisdiction, applied to both the amount of your purchase and the shipping charges. We are required to use the Fort Worth tax rate (at the time of this writing, 8.25 percent) rather than the tax rate of the shipping address because we are an internet business delivering to a third party carrier (the US Postal Service) for shipment. Questions about how this works can be addressed to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Registering as a Customer

We offer two options for placing orders. You may order as a guest, without registering. In this case you will enter your billing and shipping addresses during the checkout process.

Alternatively, you can register your name and membership information and check out as a member. In this case your address and shipping information will be automatically populated into the form during checkout. To register, click on either Log In or My Account in the upper right-hand corner of any page and follow the instructions for "New Customers."

Registration has the advantage of making future orders faster, as well as allowing you to log in and check the progress of your order online. Buying as a guest is a little faster if you do not plan future orders. In addition your member page offers a shortcut to your tracking page, and you don't have to go searching through your e-mail archives looking for your tracking number.

Checking Your Order Status & Updating Your Account Information

If you have ordered as a member, you can check your order status by logging into your account and clicking on My Orders in the My Account column on the left side of the page. If you ordered as a guest, you can contact us by e-mail, including your order number or the name you used in ordering in the e-mail.

In addition, members may update their addresses, change their password, and change other settings in the My Account panel after logging in.

Newsletter

Members and non-members alike can subscribe to our occasional newsletter via the signup form in the right-hand column of any page. Newsletter subscriptions can be canceled by following instructions at the bottom of each newsletter, or for members by logging in and going to the Newsletter Subscriptions section of the My Account page. Note: We only rarely mail to this list; we don't have a regular newsletter.

Order Processing and Shipping

When you have successfully submitted an order through payment, you should receive an e-mail notifying you that your order is being processed. We ship all orders by the following weekday if placed by 5:00 p.m. Central Time the day before.

You will be notified by e-mail when we ship the order, and if a trackable shipping method was chosen you will be sent a tracking number (for USPS Priority Mail the “tracking” only shows acceptance and delivery, not intermediate steps).

Unverified PayPal Addresses

In some cases we may e-mail you to ask for verification of your shipping address. This only happens occasionally when your PayPal shipping address is unverified and there is some additional factor that requires us to verify your address. In such a case, any shipping time would be extended by the time it takes to hear back from your about your address, so when placing an order be sure to always use an e-mail address that you frequently check.

Delivery Times

Estimated shipping times are shown on our separate shipping page, and apply from the actual shipping date as described above, which is not necessarily the date that the order was submitted. We have found USPS shipping to be generally reliable, but on occasion a shipment will take longer than indicated on our shippiong page, up to 10 days in our experience. The USPS will not let us initiate a search and investigation until 14 days have passed. International first class shipping is the most unpredictable, and delivery times may vary considerably.

Shipping Costs

Shipping rates quoted on Kendama.net during checkout include the shipper’s actual charges based on the actual weight of the package and the destination ZIP Code or country and postal code, plus an additional charge to cover the packaging materials and labor to pack and ship the order as well as any additional shipping charges we incur such as tracking and insurance fees.

If for any reason we downgrade your shipping method from what was paid for, we will refund part or all of the shipping costs paid.

In some cases an order can be shipped by a fast and secure but less expensive method not offered during checkout. In particular, flat or small items can sometimes be shipped in an envelope rather than a box. In such cases we may notify you by e-mail about this and refund a portion of your shipping payment.

Checking Your Order Online (Tracking)

Registered (non-guest) customers may log into their accounts at Kendama.net and check the content and processing stage of their order. USPS shipping may be checked at their tracking page. In rare cases we may ship products directly from Japan via Japan Post EMS, which can be tracked at the Japan Post tracking page. Bonus hint: You can enter a USPS tracking number into Google and the first result will be a link to your USPS tracking page (this does not work with EMS at the moment).

Payment Methods

We rely on PayPal for payment and credit card processing orders. We are not able to accept checks because of the long time for checks to move through the mails and clear after deposit. We are unable to take credit card numbers over the telephone for orders. For larger orders we may refund your payment and request that you pay by interbank wire transfer to reduce the risk of chargebacks.

PayPal Rejected Orders

Some of our customers experience a rejected PayPal payment. If this happens, you may need to contact PayPal to determine what the problelm is. But one pattern that seems to recur is the use of a shipping address different from the billing address. In this case PayPal attempts to verify that the shipping address is a valid address recognized by the United States Postal Service. You should try to write the shipping address in the most conventional way possible. For instance, there is a city called "New York, NY," but formally speaking there is no "New York City, NY."

To check to see what form the Postal Service prefers for you shipping address, try entering it in their ZIP Code lookup form until you end up with a variation that they accept, and then use that. In addition, you may want to shy away from using the first address line for company names and other non-address components. Try to stuff all this information on the first, "name" line of the address.

International Orders

We are currently shipping to all countries, but may be be limiting where we can sell or which shipping methods we support as we experience problems. Please do not spoil things for your fellow nationals!

For larger international orders we may require the use of EMS tracking so that there will be full tracking and delivery confirmation available. In addition, for larger orders we may refund PayPal payments and ask for payment by wire transfer to prevent payment reversals or chargebacks.

Customs Duties

We are not aware of any country that charges import duties for small orders of wooden toys. However, if such fees are charged they are the responsibility of the customer to pay (and please let us know so we can add that information here). Update: A customer in Switzerland informs us that there are customs duties on imported kendamas.

Military Addresses

Customers requesting that orders be shipped to military APO/FPO addresses should choose USPS Priority Mail as their shipping method. If another method is chosen we will contact you and make arrangements to change it to USPS Priority Mail. For military addresses, Priority Mail may take longer than usual, in extreme cases as long as a month. We may only enable Priority Mail during the holiday season (because it's really no faster or more reliable than First Class Mail), so if you need us to turn it on for you for your military order, please contact us by e-mail.

Returns & Refunds

General Returns Policy

If you are not happy with an item you purchased for any reason, you may return it as long as it is unopened and in its original new condition with the original packing list within 30 days of delivery for a full refund or equivalent exchange or credit.

Please follow the instructions on the return form included in your package, or else contact us by e-mail to request return authorization and instructions.

A credit will be issued to your original method of payment within 7 days of receiving your returned item.

If we have made a mistake or if the item is defective and you live in the United States or Canada, we will reimburse you for the cost of return shipping. If you have simply changed your mind or you live outside the United States or Canada, you will have to cover the cost of return shipping.

Note: Collector’s kendamas are not covered by this Returns Policy. See below.

Did You Receive the Correct Items?

Kendamas are sold in OPP polypropylene clear “crystal” packaging with adhesive strip flaps on the bottom, or a stapled or zip-lock seal at the top, depending on the brand. Before opening the packaging please examine the kendama through through the clear polypropylene. If the color or model is incorrect, or if you notice damage, do not open the package. Contact us about an exchange. Once an adhesive flap is opened it cannot be resealed in its original new condition.

A few kendamas, such as some 5-cup models, may be sold bare, without packaging.

Verifying the Brand

TK16 Master kendamas have the name “TK16 Master” printed on the header flap of the polypropylene packaging. Oozora kendamas have two Japanese kanji in blue above a drawing of mountains in black, all on a white background on the header flap of the polypropylene packaging. Shin Fuji kendamas have an olive green and yellow paper tab on top, with the profile of Mount Fuji in the upper left. KC Winner kendamas come in a zip-lock pack with a silvery back panel and "KC Winner" printed on the packaging. Other items can be identified by comparison with the product photographs on our Web site.

Defective Merchandise

Defective merchandise is subject to our General Returns Policy. However, please keep the following in mind:

• Natural woodgrain patterns and variations. Kendamas are made from natural woods like birch, cherry and elm, and the patterns, grain swirls, colors and knots vary. Different people like different things, but wood variations are not defects. If you are very particular about this, please contact us before your order to discuss your preferences
• Paint smoothness. Kendamas from different manufacturers have different levels of paint glossiness and smoothness. The old Mugens were amazingly smooth and glossy (so much so that the reject rate was so high the company couldn’t make a profit and discontinued production). The Oozoras on average have a slightly nicer paint surface than the TK16 Masters. The Shin Fujis can be a little uneven and rough at times. These are generalizations, and there can be variations in lots. Although extreme cases may occur, we do not consider cosmetic paint smoothness to be a defect factor, and after a short period of use, the initial condition of the paint becomes irrelevant. And many people prefer rougher surfaced balls when doing balance tricks like the lighthouse.
• Minor blemishes and scuffs on the ball paint or wood. If a kendama looks like it has been crushed or damaged we will of course replace it. But minor cosmetic flaws will no longer be noticable within minutes of first use, because the kendama will quickly be plenty scuffed and dented.

Items Damaged in the Mail

If an item appears to have been damaged during shipment please contact us for instructions. We may ask your cooperation in assisting us in making an insurance claim to the shipper.

Product Defects

If after a period of use a kendama breaks in a way that suggests a product defect, such as a piece of wood splitting off without signs of abuse, please contact us. At our discretion we may replace part or all of the kendama. However, note the following:

• Kendama points blunt with use. This is less true of the Premium Hardwoods line, but all kendamas to a certain extent loose the sharp point of the spike after repeated collisions with the ball because the ken is made of natural wood. This is not a product defect. New kendama users in particular will often go through a few kendamas fairly quickly, blunting the points, as they learn to do spiking tricks like the furiken, which during the learning phase results in frequent collisions between the point and the ball when the hole is missed.
• Kendama paint dents and dulls and to a certain extent, especially around the hole, will chip off. This is natural. If your kendama's ball paint chips drastically very soon after use, let us know about it as soon as possible, within a couple of weeks, and we will consider a replacement.
• Competition kendamas use no glue or fasteners, and the crosspiece (sarado) may come loose from the handle (ken) during normal play. This is not a defect, but rather expected behavior. The crosspiece can be twisted back down firmly, and if it happens frequently a thin smear of wood glue, such Elmer's, can be put on the handle's point to hold down the crosspiece. Don't apply too much, or the crosspiece will not be able to be removed for restringing. Restringing instructions are here. Alternately, a small wood screw can be screwed into the string hole opposite the string hole in use.
• We do need to verify that the kendama was purchased from us. We can do that if we have the order number or the name of the purchaser or recipient and the approximate date of purchase or the PayPal transaction number. There are other sources for the products that we sell, and we do get attempts to return merchandise that ends up having been purchased from another source, so we do have to verify that your product was purchased from us..
• We may ask you to return the defective merchandise so that we can return it to the manufacturer for investigation, and for some reported defects we will want to examine the kendama, so do not discard the kendama before contacting us. We can e-mail a prepaid postage label for use in returns.
• For product defect returns, we need to deal with the purchaser, in other words, the person listed in our records as the "bill to" customer, the owner of the credit card or PayPal account used for the purchase.

If you have a problem with our products by all means contact us, and don't interpret this long list of warnings wrongly. We do completely stand by our products, but because our customer base contains a large number of teenagers, whose sense of ethics has not in all instances had time to completely mature, we deal with a lot of pranks, so we have to do a certain amount of due diligence on such requests.

Prices & Coupons

We purchase our stock from manufacturers and distributors in Japan and China and import it into the United States. Our prices have recently risen and may change from time to time to reflect:

• Exchange rate fluctuations between foreign currencies such as the Japanese yen, the Chinese yuan and the Hong Kong dollar on the one hand, and the United States dollar on the other.
• U.S. customs fees and U.S. custom brokerage fees
• Fluctuating international shipping and freight costs
• Increasingly strict and expensive product safety testing costs
• Customized packaging and labeling done for us by manufacturers to comply with United States customs laws and regulations, consumer product safety laws and regulations, and United States retailer requirements
• Warehousing and storage costs and shipping staff costs

In particular, the dollar has taken a beating against the yen, which has resulted in higher costs for us. We aim to bring the fun of the kendama to United States consumers, and to do so in a responsible and businesslike way, complying with all applicable laws and regulations -- and in the process to make a fair, industry-standard profit.

Coupons

We occasionally may issue coupons for use at Kendama.net to be entered during checkout. Type the coupon code, paying attention to case, in the text box provided during checkout, and click Apply.

The coupon terms will be described in the e-mail or other form in which the coupon is distributed. These terms include the coupon’s valid period, who is eligible to use the coupon, the product to which it applies, whether shipping is affected, and other factors. Although we try to test our coupon codes, in the event that the programming of the coupon differs from the way the coupon is applied by our e-commerce software, the verbal description of the coupon terms take priority over the software, and we may reverse the effect of coupons whose effect differs from the verbal description. In addition, we are not responsible for misleading coupon descriptions made by third party Web sites.

Collector’s Kendamas & Clearance Items

Out of production deadstock and NOS ("new old stock") kendamas and clearance items are sold as is, and all sales are final. This applies to any Mugen kendamas and Shin Sakura kendamas as well as any Yamagata-era Shin Fujis that we may put on sale, as well as used vintage kendamas that we may from time to time sell, such as early JKA kendamas with non-round seals and early non-JKA kendamas.

Collectors kendamas have higher shipping costs because they ship from Japan via trackable Japan Post EMS and are insured. We examine each collector’s kendama through the packaging before shipping and disclose any problems that we may notice.

For higher priced collector’s kendamas we may refund your PayPal or credit card payment and ask for a non-reversable advance payment by check, bank transfer or wire transfer. If any transfer fees are charged by your or our bank, you will be responsible for them.

Out of Stock Items

In theory our store will not allow the order of items that are not in stock in our Texas facility. However from time to time the store may allow the order of an item that we cannot ship. For instance, our inventory figures may be inaccurate, or an item in stock, when examined prior to packing, may be found to be damaged or defective.

In such cases we will usually refund the portion of your order and shipping fees attributable to the item and notify you by e-mail. In cases where we expect an imminent delivery of the item to our facility, we may contact you and ask if you wish to delay shipment until the item arrives. However, we cannot predict to the day when new shipments will arrive because customs examination during import can vary from a day to ten days.

Wholesale Inquiries

We offer Hotaka competition kendamas at wholesale prices to retailers worldwide. The three Japan Kendama Association licensed kendamas cannot be offered to retailers at this time because their manufacturers are unable to supply United States appropriate packaging, labeling and product safety documentation, and the outlook is not optimistic due to the slow decision-making process of the JKA. We have a brief form that we ask you to complete before wholesale quotes can be issued. We usually require payment in advance. Orders to the United States and Canada in quantities from 2 dozen to 12 dozen are shipped from our Texas facility. Orders to the rest of the world and larger orders are shipped from Japan. We have additional information on wholesale kendamas.

Contacting Us

By e-mail: The best way to contact us is by e-mail at

info@kendama.net

By telephone: Our United States toll-free telephone number is

1-888-282-1635

If we are not available when you call and you leave a message, be sure to leave enough information that we can identify your order if you are inquiring about an order, and please leave your e-mail address in case we need to to contact outside of U.S. waking hours from the Japanese time zone.

By postal mail: Please send postal mail to our Nevada offices at:

375 N. Stephanie Street, Suite 1411
Henderson, NV 89014-8909
U.S.A.

Do not return products to this address. Please see the section above about returns.