Please note, if you order from them that they accept only Paypal. Do not pay with a balance, pay with a credit card through Paypal. That way even if Paypal denies your claim (if you have to make one) you can always turn to your credit card company and do a chargeback. Paypal hates that but you are protected.
I thought it was very, very strange that no one except the person who confirmed the information to collectors knew this. It's rather unusual for a husband and wife to have very similar but separate businesses in the same area. Perhaps Kazue was trying to prove to Tom that she could do it better.
Some who regularly order from T&G Trading are understandably concerned that he might go under as well. All I can say is that if you have a major credit card, use it through Paypal. Get all your funds out of your account before ordering and use as your back up funding source a credit card - not a bank account.
Tom has the prettiest duo for sale. They are "Good Morning Amelie" and "Good Night Misaki" from the Secret Code Collection. His price is 32,600 yen for the set. That's $403.31 USD; 244.59 British Pounds; or 270.50 Euros. They are also available separately but they look so pretty together.
Those two Misaki were for sale on BIC!!! I REALLY don't know what to think now. I feel guilty for having doubts, and sad if Kazue is a missing person..
ReplyDeleteThis is the story which will not end!! I keep thinking how there was not one word of any problems with BIC until after the earthquakes. Opportunity or personal tragedy?
Dolls are not meant to be used as weapons in theft.. I hear Integrity Toys is not helping those who ordered from Kazue and pre-paid their entire 2011 orders..
SOMEONE who is an investigator needs to go over there and find out what is really going on!! IS KAZUE MISSING OR IN HIDING?? I think now that the reports we have gotten may have been incorrect in order to protect " Tom's" business interests.. The information you have posted and which others found out was NOT supposed to be known. We all know that now..
One last thing- Denise Travers brought the story of Kazue being missing to us. Who exactly is Denise Travers and how does she figure into the business of BIC, dolls in Japan in general and the US market? Thank you, Terri!
Denise Travers is a lovely woman and a collector who travels to Japan often. I have met her several times and she has nothing to do with this problem. She is just providing information. I don't know the nature of her business connection to Kazue or to Azone but she does sell lots of Azone products and brings them back from Japan.
ReplyDeleteWow, so much dolly drama these days! I thought the excitement over Michel Couture Flavia scam was exciting enough.
ReplyDeleteI am curious, what is IT Internationals take? BIC is no longer authorized, is this other company?
Also, I think Terri's advise about PayPal is spot on, regardless of who the seller is. PayPal is just barely above board in their fiduciary dealings.
I actually wouldn't buy from Tom right now either, because if his wife is now dead through some tragedy, such as murder or suicide, then he is not going to be in any emotional condition to be able to handle his own business as well. I would wait for a while before ordering from Toys & Goods Trading.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that Kazue is safe somewhere.
wow.. interesting turns from day to day.
ReplyDeleteNow this explains a lot: when there was some trouble shipping from Japan to the US via EMS because of new US postal or customs regulations, Tom-san wrote that he'd use BIC's DHL service.
ReplyDeleteAfter Kazue-san had gone missing, all the pre-order CCS Momokos were all of a sudden sold out on Tom's site.
In the past I had very often the impression that those two were not real competitors, I always felt there was some item/price shifting going on.
Naively, I thought this had to do with both shops being located in Chiba town.
You live to learn.
But there's this awful aftertaste.
Petra
Sorry to butt in, but this:
ReplyDelete"I keep thinking how there was not one word of any problems with BIC until after the earthquakes."
is not true at all. There have been problems with BIC since last November. At least for those who placed orders for Wonder Frog items. Kazue didn't respond to messages, didn't tell anyone why she wasn't shipping out preorders. Some people got to know her son was sick, but the majority just got no response at all. VERY MUCH later she claimed it was all Studio Uoos fault, that their items were flawed and she didn't want to send them out.
I'm one of the people who preordered last November. It wasn't that much money, but still, it bothered me that she wouldn't reply to mails or at least send out a mass email to inform those who had outstanding orders.
And then came the earthquake and everything went down for every other customer as well.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/wonderfrog/discuss/72157626430270517/
I am confused then as I remember when Tom & his wife were together. Does this mean Tom & his wife were separated at some point and so split the business. Also BIC's prices seemed to be lower than Tom's. So is Tom's business still active? I will have to check what I have ordered from him. Any items I ordered from BIC-Kazue are now lost from when my computer crashed I couldn't find all my receipts. I usually pay with a credit card through paypal so I should be able to go through paypal or the credit card's record I guess to find out what was ordered from Tom & what was ordered through Kazue. I still feel very sad about Kazue and wish I knew what has happened to her. They both were very personable whenever I ordered from one or the other. I am assuming then that Tom is very worried about Kazue even if they were no longer together. I have been very careful with what I write as until we know more I do not want to bring up any negative images. I feel very good about Petworks as a company coming forward and saying they will honour deposits & receipts regarding their dolls.
ReplyDelete