Buyer Beware

[Nishi]

Please place your comments regarding budo retailers in this thread, this includes complaints, and more importantly, warnings to others.

I feel it is very important to be fore-warned before spending hard earned money, and this thread is an oppurtunity to vent our collective experiences, as well as fore-warning those less informed.

I have contacted Hamish (moderator) before starting this thread because of its nature. As long as the posts dont get abusive towards companies, and the experience was yours (not hear-say) or you witnessed it.....

Fire away.......!!!!

[Nishi]

I'll start us off......I obviously had a motivation for starting this thread :D.

Two weeks ago i purchased 2 zen dobari shinai from TOZANDO. these shinai retail at about £42 each (includes shipping- about $90 canadian). The shinai actually got here in one week which is very fast for TOZANDO, normally i experience months of delays. Keep in mind the shinai i ordered are supposed to be TOZANDO's flag ship shinai, when i recieved, one of them was completey unmarked, so i couldnt tell if the correct brand had been sent to me, and the other shinai had cracks on the inside of the dobari section.

I am tolerant of shipping errors, and can even stomach delay's (within reason), but when i wrote an e-mail to complain, well lets just say im still waiting.

In my own opinion, the service from TOZANDO has never really been that great anyway, but the products where good. I have been dealing with them now for over 2 years and i have seen a massive decline in there products, that is only matched by their declining interest in their customers. What am i supposed to do with a £42 pound cracked shinai TOZANDO?

I warn you to shop elsewhere for your shinai!!!!

[JSchmidt]

More Tozando stories:

First couple of times I used them (about 3 years ago), service was very quick..this ranged from shinais to hakama/dogi.
About 1 year ago, I also ordered a couple of their expensive shinais, as my arsenal was growing thin and tournaments coming up. (Still about 2 months away).
1 month passed and nothing showed up, so I sent them an email..a week later, no reply, so I phoned them up and was told that there had been a mistake and they were shipped a couple of days ago.
2 weeks later, nothing. Another couple of polite emails asking what was going on got no reply, so once again, I phoned them up.
Again, very polite astonishment that I had not been informed that there was a shortage of that type of bamboo and it would probably be at least 3-4 weeks before they could ship them.
I finally did recieve the shinais 4-5 weeks later and they were very nice, but the complete lack of communication, with a couple of lies on top ensured me that I would never use them again.
I now mainly use Koei. As they don't have a rep here in NZ, I order directly from them and although there's a slight inconvenience having to do bank-transfers, the service is superb. They informed me immediatly that one of the items I ordered were out of stock, they told me when they recieved the money (within a couple of hours of that happening) and when it shipped (Which was a bit later same day).

Jakob

[ben]

I have found Tozando's shinai to be not very good overall. I bought a couple each of the Zen and the Tokuseitozan and all developed major cracks in a very short time.

I prefere to use a local rep who has the stock for me to inspect first.

b

[Hai_hai]

I ordered a hakama and keiko-gi from tozando. I ordered special enbroidery which took a lot of time. I called them a couple of times and was given the run-around about delays. The keiko-gi was not the right color but it was the right size so I didn't bother complaining. The embroidery was excellent.

It is possible they had a lot of enthusiasm getting into e-business but became overwhelmed with online orders and didn't have the capacity to handle it in addition to local store business. I think that they would rather deal first with store customers because it's easier to blow off someone who is thousands of miles away.

Tozando isn't a fake business that is going to take your money and leave you hanging. If you are ever in Kyoto, you can walk into their store. E-business sucks though.

[Nishi]

I agree that there are risks in e-buisness but i also see Tozando updating websites and introducing new products all the time, so im sure this is a sign that they wish to expand their internet sales, which i think is great on alot of different levels but it must be matched with customer satisfaction and quality.

One of my instructors ordered 3mm bogu from them and it took 8 months to arrive(£1300) and the quality was below average.

I have started using a local company, Nine circles, and im just finding my way through their stock for things i like, but they have been very helpful, and fast with delivery (being local of course). I bought a koban 39 chokuto style several months ago, and theres no sign of wear yet....looks good quality so far (and cheap, £22ish).

[hobbit]

I've used 9 circles, they usually have a stall at competitions & specials, and so far have been satisfied with all i've bought from them.

[Nishi]

Im not 100% sure but dont 9 circles represent, kendo shop in the uk market? Or is kendo shop just one of there suppliers?

I have tried a few 9 circles products with no complaints, and the guys where very down to earth.

[JSchmidt]

NineCircles bogu comes (mostly) from Kendoshop, the but the rest varies.
For buying bogu (If you want Korean stuff), it's very good prices (works out a tiny bit more expensive but less hassle).
I've found their shinais to be overpriced though. If you know what you want, I recommend using eurobogu; Good quality and good prices..shipping is usually less than a week. (They get their stuff from Koei).

Jakob

[Flashman]

Just got my bogu set from e-bogu. The service was great and the product is wonderful. Like my golf clubs, the equipment is much better than I am. Hope to improve in both however. Highly recommended.

[AlexM]

Delt with Sehyun, E-bogu and Tozando.

Sehyun
Ordered bogu and shinai (two seperate times). I've said it before and I'll say it again: excellent service. Despite the fact that I don't speak Korean I easlity managed to handle it all and they were very helpful. I made a bit of a complicated order (switched the men for one set) and there were no screw ups. The men fits me perfectly despite being machine stich. Good quality product and not too pricy.
Only problem is that you have to pay by wire transfer which can take ages.

Tozando
Ordered two carbon shinai. Rather boring. Nothing happened, except that it took them a week to process a credit card order which I find a bit long. Nothing else to say.

E-bogu
They screwed up an initial order (which I did not handle) for 50 #39 shinai and 10 # 38 shinai. They sent us 60 # 38 shinai... bit of a problem considering we were about to start the new semester and needed those 50 # 39s... A few emails later everything was settled and they rushed our correct order to us. No questions asked. Good service. Good cheap, bulk shinai.

[Hai_hai]

I got hakama and keiko-gi from e-bogu. No problems.
I bought a keiko-gi from bogubag.com and there were no problems. Although bogubag is in Oregon, the package was shipped to me directly from Koei.

As a lowly, non-bogu wearing beginner, I do not have bogu. No bogu bag, no shinai bag, no extra shinai, no tenegui, no bokken.

[Lukas]

I got hakama and keikogi from Tozando - very good quality and attractive price - if you buy on Sales :)
I was so satisfied with quality of their products that I decided to buy their 4mm machine bogu (bamboo do, titanium men, no artificial leather). I received it without problems, embroidery of my chose and it is stitched AT MOST 4mm, some areas have more dense stitching if required.

I use this set for one year and it still looks very good, Men fits perfectly.
There were no problems with paying in three stages.

The only (small) complaint about Tozando service is that sometimes you have to wait long for their answer, but this must be due to reasons stated by Hai Hai.

Anyway I am happy customer and still consider Tozando as my main supplier.

Koei - I have their shinai, good quality although bottom stave cracked too fast for my taste, comparing to my first cheap Taiwaneese shinai.

Regards
Lukas

[Hongsermeier]

I've bought all my gear from either Eguchi or E-Bogu. I have never had any problems with either company. :cross_eye

[junkyman]

I bought my bogu from tozando around 5 or 6 years ago and jeez, it took all summer. I buy my shinai from e bogu. They are local so if I am not feeling too laZY I can drive out to their showroom and be very picky about my shinai- I am very happy with e-bogu. I bought my bogu bag from them and the one I ordered was out of stock so they upgraded my at no extra charge. As far as uniforms go I usually go to Ken's trading in K-Town (korea town) because I have a wholesale account there and I can get stuff there very cheap. The uniforms are good enough (I am not too picky) but as far as shinais go I can get those extremely cheap but they don't have the ones I like (dobari). I got my shinai bag from bujin. It is a way friggin cool bag even if it was a bit expensive. I want to buy my next bogu bag from them too.

[Kiki]

Mainly I have purchased from Eguchi-USA because of their quality and professional service. Their service also becomes personalized. For example the sales Rep., Lisa san, remembers your name as well as what types of merchandise you favor. Kind of like a neighborhood store. Plus they make dojo calls in the SoCal area which eliminates shipping costs if you’re not in a big hurry.

For non-US based kendoka Eguchi ships world-wide but only uses US currency. Does that become a non-issue if you use a charge card?

Several friends of mine also think very highly of e-bogu.

[Nishi]

UPDATE:

I still havnt heard anything from TOZANDO regarding the pathetic shiani they sent me (please see previous post).

[chidokan]

ordered bogu from tozando and gi from meirin on a recent visit to Kyoto...Bogu was cheap, well fitted and reasonable for the price I paid. It arrived after three weeks ( U.K.) labeled a lot less than I paid so I paid £20 tax. Meirin took my size (6) wrote down my name and dojo and got the mon I wanted. After reminding them, six weeks later it turned up...size 5, no name, mon or dojo name, in fact straight off the shelf. You pay extra for the embroidery. I paid £50 tax as well to rub salt into the wound...no reply to the complaint either. and you wouldnt believe how much they wanted to charge for bogu!

Tim Hamilton

[Winter_Wolf]

Hello,
Has anyone placed an order with bogubag before? If so, did you have any problems?
Thanks,
W.W.

[Nishi]

I have been ordering from Bogubag, for 14 months on and off. Robert Stroud is the owner operater (i believe?), and is very helpful, very informed and very efficient. Robert is 6th dan renshi kendo, and 5th dan Iaido, and well connected internationally, he knows his stuff. I have nothing but good experiences with bogu bag, and the price is right. I consider bogubag high quality low risk, i recommend it!!!!

[Goomba]

I only buy from Eguchi and E-bogu. I feel that both are great shops.

Eguchi:
Lisa is amazing. She is a great rep. for Eguchi. She is very helpful, friendly and has an incredible amount of bogu information. I bought my hakama and keikogi from Eguchi and she helped with the sizing and gave me suggestions on alterations for better fitting. Not to mention the dojo visits, you can't beat that.

E-Bogu:
This is a great store. I orgered my bogu from them and a new hand stiched men as well. They are friendly and have a great selection. It took a little bit for my men to come from overseas, but it's a great men. I have never had any problems from either store.

[IRJ]

I got my bogu from Bogubag, very happy with quality and service there.

I got my hakama and keiko-gi from Tozando, arrived very quickly and happy with the quality. However, I would not use it again because returning things would be a pain since it is so far away, and I've heard many horror stories in this thread.

I've gotten a couple of dobari shinais from e-guchi, fast delivery and happy with the quality. I've only used one of the shinais so far, but four months on it is still in great shape after heavy use with not even any splinters yet.

[Hai_hai]

e-guchi as in electronic guchi? :)

[Nishi]

Originally posted by Nishi
UPDATE:

I still havnt heard anything from TOZANDO regarding the pathetic shiani they sent me (please see previous post).

Still nothing, even after repeated attempts. My next step is to contact visa, and let them know about this e-buisness scam!!

Anybody have any suggestions???

[JSchmidt]

Phone them first.

Jakob

[Hai_hai]

Nishi,
I don't think that Visa can help you out in this situation. It is up to you and Tozando to work out the business matters. If Tozando didn't ship anything at all, then you could go to Visa, fill out an application, and then get the charge returned to you. That's based on my experience regarding various mail order companies and credit cards.

Tozando was slow on e-mails I sent. If you call them during business hours, then you can talk to their English speaker directly. That is an expensive call though and you are footing the bill.

[Nishi]

I think Tozando are ignoring me ...... :(

[GMason]

Dave,

I think Keith Rose is on pretty good terms with the guys from Tozando, as he orders a lot of stuff from them, he might be able to help you if you are having a lot of problems.

Just and Idea !!

[13th warrior]

E-bogu:
Used them to buy an Akatsuki and an oval grip shinai. Took'em 2 weeks, bulldozer-proof package, perfect products.

Tozando:
One "classic style" shinai ordered, got it together with two practice shinais which I didn't. I wrote them to check out the shipment. No answer yet.Strangely, none of these items has appeared on my Visa account.

eurobogu.net: not as good designed web-store as e-bogu & co. but the service is good & u don't need to have a credit crd to order things.

[Nishi]

Just bought a new zekken for myself and fiancee (as her name will now change). Got everything from Mr Stroud at Bogu Bag, and the quality was great (but i chose funny kanji....lol!), service was even better. i would recommend this company too everybody :D

I never did find closure with tozando regarding the cracked shinai, they have lost me forever :disapp:

[kendomushi]

I just took a trip out to Mori Budo in Tokyo last week along with Shelgeyr. He ordered a set of bogu on the day and I am going back after they get an exact estimate based on my "special size." They treated us like princes, very kind, polite, welcoming and accomodating. Their web site reccomends anyone who can to come into their shop to be fitted for their bogu but you can order direct from the web as well. The items on their web page are on special, nearly a full 50% off! They do have a catalog with much much more to choose from as well. We were both very impressed with the company and the workmanship of all we saw there.

http://www.moribudo.co.jp/

[tanueirin]

Have any Aussies here bought shinais from sehyun or koei? May I ask how long they took to arrive? And did you get slaughtered on the postage?

NB. Current exchange rates make buying from Sehyun VERY attractive.

Thanks,
Angie

[Nanbanjin]

Have any Aussies here bought shinais from sehyun or koei? May I ask how long they took to arrive? And did you get slaughtered on the postage?

NB. Current exchange rates make buying from Sehyun VERY attractive.

Thanks,
Angie
A guy from my dojo in Brisbane bought a good set of bogu from Koei. He was real happy. I think the deal was something like 50% off the catalogue (Yowai:that's 型録 to you) price landed. I think the deal for shinai was 30% off. Not sure about the freight.
The head honcho from Koei is supposed to be comming out for the Australian Championships next Easter. I would wait to see what he has to offer.
If you need a 38 inch training shinai I have a couple I would like to get rid of. They are Japanese standard training shinai. Nothing fancy. Proper weight and length. Unused still in the original packaging.
Still, if you can wait you would probably get a better deal at the nationals.
Let me know if you are interested.
I also have some 36 and 37 inch shinai.

[JSchmidt]

I'm in New Zealand and usually buy from Koei. Shipping time (EMS) is usually less than 1 week,,and with the discounts, it's well worth it.

Jakob

[Will]

E-bogu sucks. Their merchandise isn't that good of quality and their shinais lacked the little plastic thing at the tipped when i bought it so it broke sooner...

[tanueirin]

Thanks for your responses guys. I've been training with a visiting 4dan from Japan and she recommended that I try out a women's regulation (440g+) 38 shinai. Unfortunately the local stores don't stock these so I've been using a men's 39 since I've started kendo . I think the grip is a little long for my puny arms and hey, if I can use a lighter one within regulations - WOOHOO.

People I've talked to about Koei keep mentioning these discounts, is that from buying through a local supplier like qpuppy, or over the internet?

Jakob, is it OK if I ask how much EMS freight to New Zealand from Japan was? (Feel free to PM.) I got a shipping estimate from e-bogu and it was USD$40 the same price as the shinai! What the...?

Any takers for Sehyun?

[JSchmidt]

I can't honestly remember, but I ordered 6 shinais, 2 bokuto's (kodachi & shoto) + various bits and bobs, so the price wouldnt be relevant anyway.
In any case, I would suspect that EMS for 1 shinai would be around the same ($40). You're much better of getting a bigger order. (Talk to people in your dojo, see if they want anything).
Sehyun: I ordered my first bogu from there and along with it (as I ended up sending too much money) got one of their cheapest shinais...and while the bogu was good, the shinai was a pile of junk. I know that their pricier shinais are ok, but stay away from the cheap ones :)

Jakob

[Nanbanjin]

Thanks for your responses guys. I've been training with a visiting 4dan from Japan and she recommended that I try out a women's regulation (440g+) 38 shinai. Unfortunately the local stores don't stock these so I've been using a men's 39 since I've started kendo . I think the grip is a little long for my puny arms and hey, if I can use a lighter one within regulations - WOOHOO.

People I've talked to about Koei keep mentioning these discounts, is that from buying through a local supplier like qpuppy, or over the internet?

Jakob, is it OK if I ask how much EMS freight to New Zealand from Japan was? (Feel free to PM.) I got a shipping estimate from e-bogu and it was USD$40 the same price as the shinai! What the...?

Any takers for Sehyun?
Why not just buy one (or two) of mine? AU$40 plus shipping from Brisbane for a good regualation 38 inch women's shinai. Comes from Japan just like the ones you would buy through Koei.

[tanueirin]

Thanks for the offer, Nanbanjin. I'll send you a PM.

[AlexM]

Just wanted to give my impressions on a keikogi I bought from the local retailer... So this isn't really about the retailer so much as about the manufacturer.

It's a Moosoolsa brand cotton gi made in Korea. Now... I can't really say I'm satisfied with it. It doesn't "leak" indigo dye, which I suppose is a good thing (although I honestly don't care about that).

However, I bought a size 3 dogi (just like my Japanese made dogi which I got two years ago). And to my utter disgust the size is not what I had expected: It's large enough but the sleeves are just a tad too short. Worse than that though is the fact that it does not come down low enough... I can't do "freedom kendo" in this thing! (search the borads for Freedom kendo if you want to know what that refers to). In addition to that, the "little belt" that hold the gi closed is WAY too long... the butterfly knot it creates makes me look like I'm gift wrapped!

I probably should have gotten a number 4 gi: but then it would be too large... It was a cheap dogi but not so cheap that they could not put in more material to make it standard size. It just doesn't feel as good as my Japanese one either. Probably more to do with the size than anything else.

So there you have it: Caveat emptor. Not all sizes are standard.

[litige]

Est-ce que c'est Jukado?

[litige]

Well I just ordered a new men pad from e-bogu. It was pretty damn quick, for where i live, quebec, and they also included a very nice calendar-poster. A must see.

[HEIJO SHIN]

It's funny how things work out, I was just a click away form buying a full training unifrom for Iaido form Tozando when I read this thread. I have been looking for a long time, and thought there clothing looked good quality.

Only last night my wife measured me up, and just before ordering, I came to this link.
Now I have never purchased anything from Tozando, so do not have any problems with them, but just the mention of poor service, miss-matched items was enough. I purchased through Eurobogu instead just on recommedation from this site.
This should be enough to prove to a big company like Tozando that customer satisfaction really matters. I'm just one person, but its cost them 350 euro's in my lost sale, and I doubt I will buy form them in the future because if I'm happy with Eurbogu I can be a long term loyal customer. Well done on this one.

HEIJO SHIN

[chidokan]

problem is its not just Tozando, Meirin are probably worse! To be fair to Tozando, the two people I met in Kyoto did me a good deal on a set of bogu, spoke good English, and were quite helpful. It may be down to how they process an order, or what stock they have at the time. It's all down to staff and systems, if you have good people and a good system you make money. If not...

[dhamma]

I use two suppliers: koei and korean based E-kendo.

Koei: superb service and high quality stuff

E-kendo: very good prices, good materials, quiet good service (only minor mistakes and little delays in deliveries)

[moetl]

hi,
i already thought of posting a new thread on this topic (see reply title) but didn't dare ... ;)

<b>did any european kendoka ever buy from e-bogu.com??</b> the reason i ask this is because i fear that VAT and import taxes will increase the price dramatically. has any european (or other non-american) got experience with this?

not that i haven't been to european sites, but....:
eurobogu:
i've been to the eurobogu.net site and prices are higher than e-bogu (with vat included). not to mention that their assortment is way smaller than e-bogu's. (i would probably buy from them if only they had what i would like to have..!!!)

ninecircles:
i've also been at the 9 circles homepage. i don't dare to buy these really cheap hakama + gi... but the better quality products are too expensive for me. Brownie point (<-- LOL english native speakers please don't be upset, this is the word dict.leo.org disgorged): they replied very fast to my email.

[S. Takamori]

Hi Guys!

As far as I know, the prices at Eurobogu are not so high as most of you could think. Their policy is to include the shipping costs in the prices for all countries inside of the EKF area (from Scandinavia to South Africa...) when other retailers add these costs at the end of your shopping.

Their service is not too bad and of course the stuff is coming exclusively from Koei (Himeji - Japan). If you didn't find what you're looking for, just send a mail and they help you as fast as they can.

Of course Korean stuff is cheaper; but... :confused2

[Neil Gendzwill]

eurobogu:
i've been to the eurobogu.net site and prices are higher than e-bogu (with vat included). not to mention that their assortment is way smaller than e-bogu's. (i would probably buy from them if only they had what i would like to have..!!!)

Koei's catalog is quite extensive but they probably don't have it all on their site. Try www.bogubag.com to see more of the Koei catalog. Eurobogu can probably get anything bogubag can.

What exactly are you looking for?

[moetl]

Koei's catalog is quite extensive but they probably don't have it all on their site. Try www.bogubag.com to see more of the Koei catalog. Eurobogu can probably get anything bogubag can.
ok, thanks for the advice! i'll take a look at their site!

Their policy is to include the shipping costs in the prices for all countries inside of the EKF area
yes, you're right... i didn't notice that :)
again, thanks!

[HEIJO SHIN]

I to have had nothing but problems with Tozando, and dispite some people being happy with the service would warn anyone about their lack of customer care, and false delivery claims.
I am still awaiting an order they promised had been dispatched some time ago. I will give them one more week then cancel and use another company.

HEIJO SHIN

[moetl]

What exactly are you looking for?
hmm.. what i completely miss at eurobogu.net are complete bamboo shinais! they only offer 3 different plain bamboo shinais, nothing else!

[Deco]

I found last year my favorite kendo suplier, and is bogubag. As I´m in South America Mr. Stroud is responsible for the deals and he is very pacient and honest, i could even risk to call him my friend, becose i got from him a S-22, and a hole bunch of things. But for these to happen i send him more than 50 e-mails, and all of them where very kindly answerd. So if any of the ex-Tozando clients whant to change i recomend bogubag.

Cheers

Deco

[Sakabatou]

KnightsEdge.com
They lie. They told me my reverse blade sword was functional (I highly doubted it a bit at first too but then kinda belived them for a bit)
I took a look at the sword after a bit and poked around near the little emblems (forgot the name) in the hilt and noticed
theres NO PINS that hold the blade into the hilt
with a bit of help too (in one of my posts somebody saw a drawing of it and said there were no pins to hold it in) and then I thought maybe it was just glued in?.. or pounded in.. So careful what you buy
If you find a fantasy or wallhanger and think its functional, even if it says functional, think again
(I think this was a waste of space lol or a warning to all the dummys out there who think like how I used to)
If you get a katana make sure its made right. if you dont know what to look for in a "good" katana then you shouldnt even be getting one at all.

[Fervent]

I saw it the other day when I was looking at various sites that have swords, I saw the reverse blade sword and thought "isn't that an invention of watsuki? I thought they werent real." Now I see you actually bought it? What do you mean there was no pin? O_o Whats a pin? You mean if the blade is not removeable, then its a fake katana? Made like a toy? :. What you do with the reverseblade sword?

[chidokan]

one of my students is a big Manga fan.... apparently there is a character who had his blade mounted upside down so he doesnt have to kill people, just smacks them with the back of the blade instead. Of course if he's under pressure he turns it round and chops them into little bits.... :rolleyes: Now I've heard it all. :smiley: So buying this would be a bit like buying Batmans utility belt or the pram from shogun assassin.. fun to own but a load of b*****ks as a functioning weapon. :wink:

[Sakabatou]

actually the blade is NOT mounted in backwards. The blade was forged with the sharp side being dull and the dull side being sharp. the it was mounted backwards then the curve would be on the opposite side.. hm.. ibackwards mounted blade.. actually, that sounds interesting. lol

[R A Sosnowski]

actually the blade is NOT mounted in backwards. The blade was forged with the sharp side being dull and the dull side being sharp. the it was mounted backwards then the curve would be on the opposite side.. hm.. ibackwards mounted blade.. actually, that sounds interesting. lol

The Physics of forging a Katana blade is a natural phenomenon that causes the positive curvature in the blade. The so-called Sakaba-to with the Ha (edge) and Mune reversed from that of a Katana is impossible to make using traditional Japanese blade-forging techniques - the laws of Physics and the material properties of steel won't allow it. However, like the sickle and sythe, a Sakaba-to can be manufactured by other non-traditional means.

[Fervent]

Watsuki is the author of that manga, the reverse blade sword he made up because he wanted the main character to have an sword that wouldnt kill people but that wasnt a bokken or shinai.

The author also use to practice kendo when he was in middle school but by highschool he had no time because he was drawing manga and its his career now to do manga. :. Hes still doing manga even today.

[chidokan]

is Manga the Japanese word for " drawing a load of b******cks about swords"? :smiley:

[R A Sosnowski]

Watsuki is the author of that manga, the reverse blade sword he made up because he wanted the main character to have an sword that wouldnt kill people but that wasnt a bokken or shinai.

The author also use to practice kendo when he was in middle school but by highschool he had no time because he was drawing manga and its his career now to do manga. :. Hes still doing manga even today.

We are beginning to get some interest in Iaido, Kendo and Batto-do from younger people inspired by Manga & Anime. We need to gently but firmly convince then that their favorite "weapons" and "techniques" are the creations of people who are not practitioners. But it's not much different than people inspired by "Kill Bill" (when I first heard the title, I thought is was a Microsoft revenge flick :D) or "Last Samurai" or even "Star Wars." ;)

[893 fingerless]

:old_man: chidokan

I did hear that this book you are writing is a load of Manga
hohoho LOL :grin:

[chidokan]

looks like you aint going to be mentioned then..... :smiley: unless of course you are volunteering for the kaishaku pics as the 'man on the spot' :devious:

[moetl]

well, back to topic then...

i ordered today at eurobogu.net hakama + keikogi - allthough they did not respond to any of my 3 emails i wrote to them a week ago.... :(

i chose eurobogu because i read many good things about koei on this forum and i think spending more money on clothing is a good deal - since clothes dont break like shinais..

i didn't order a shinai cuz they don't offer complete shinais - and ~50 EURO for a shinai (which will possibly be broken in 1 year) is too expensive for me - i'd rather order them at kendoshop.com

thanks to neil again who made me change my mind :)

[moetl]

now finally i got one reply from eurobogu - LOOL it seems that they ignore their customers until they order ;)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Regarding complete shinai - Koei offers #31-129 (size 39) for quite reasonable money, this is the one we supply our beginners. The same model is available in all sizes. I expect eurobogu can get this one, although I'm not sure how shipping costs will factor in - generally shipping shinai by onesies and twosies is very expensive.

[moetl]

Regarding complete shinai - Koei offers #31-129 (size 39) ...hmm, no i think i will stick to the kendoshop shinais - as i posted before the eurobogu-people don't seem to be happy about emails and don't answer them - it's just too much effort in my opinion to get a shinai

[moetl]

ok, just a little update for readers to come: i ordered hakama + gi from eurobogu, paid 110EURO for both, received them one week after order (including weekend) - and am very pleased with the quality! really nice stuff! i hadn't to pay taxes because they declared a way lower price on the parcel than the actual price was - so it was custom-free :). :D and the goods were shipped in such a nice parcel - with a little kendoka on it - cute.
well, the only thing they didn't do was sending me an email when the goods were sent.

[i apologize for all tense-errors]

[Crash]

I have had a great experience with both e-bogu and eguchi.
Eguchi
Lisa is great from eguchi. I mistakenly bought a blue gi as my first uniform, not knowing that blue was for shodan and higher. She took it back and sold it for me even though i soaked it. Really personalized service.
E-Bogu
Went down to their shop in Torrance to get a bogu set. Really friendly. Great deals. I ordered the 2mm ms. A lot of bang for your buck. Had to special order the do from japan. (Custom mune and real bamboo) Haven't received yet. Should be here in 3-4 weeks. (Can't wait!!!) Will post when receive.

[EzzzE]

hmm

somehow i'm still middle in the mud...

i've been to about 20 online stores from jap, kor, us and eu/ger and still can't make up my mind, beacuse there usually is no info in the manufacturer of the clothes... i have noticed however that the variety isn't that big...lots of the webpages show exactly the same pic for certain clothes....

i wonder, i haven't read or seen this site ANYWHERE though when browsing it the stuff and prices seem quite good

http://www.kumdoshop.co.kr/

ok, they haven't got a eng site, and the webmaster couldnt answer on my english mail when the eng button would work( the kor text that shows btw says that and english site will be availible soon...) but the stuff still looks way to good, to let this just pass by....

what do you say??

btw the clothes are the smallest sign on the left side, the 4th from top, in the first menue part....

[cBEx]

Well I tried several places! I tried to order trinkets from all the suppliers I am interested in to see how things go before I buy more expensive items.
E-Bogu, I got great service and fast delivery! Merchandise got here in good condition , correct size! I Bought a combination hakama and keiko gi! They have good deals if you buy both together as a combination.

E-Guchi, great service, no mess up in the order! Delivery was delayed because my shipping and biling address where different. I called Lisa and she gave me proper explanation and she was very polite! She took the time to give me proper service even for my big us $20 order! I will most probably order my next bogu set from her!

Lastly I tried a local supplier, Jukado for my bokken. First my order was delayed because they where out of stock of the item I ordered. I asked them if they had in stock another item, I was even ready to pay more for an upgrade, out of bokken they only had 55 cm in stock no more 1 m! 2 1/2 week later, I received my bokken and it was already cracked! I do no think I<ll do business with them any longer. They are quite expenseive as well!

So I will keep on doing business with both e-bogu and e-guchi!