FAQ/Cancelations/Returns
Frequently Asked Questions
Shipping Estimates:
In Stock items: Everything on the site that is not in the clearance section, are items that are in stock at our distributors warehouses. In an order to keep business costs to the minimum, when you order any of these items, I order them from my distributors, then once they arrive at our warehouse, we send them to the customer. This process usually takes 5-10 business days.
Backorders: if you order anything with the tag of 'backorder' you should expect that it will take at least 2-4 months to reprint if its a newer title. If the demand for the title is lower, it could take 6+ months, especially if it's from Yen Press, Seven Seas or Dark Horse. It is most recommended that you order all backorder items as a separate order. This will ensure all of the available items will ship in a timely manner. Otherwise, if you order In Stock, Ready to Ship, Backorder and Pre-order items all together, everything will be held until all are of the items are in stock.
Preorders: It is highly recommended that you place preorders as a separate order. Your order will not ship until all items are in stock, so we recommend purchasing them by release month.
Cancelations/Returns/Partial Shipping:
"I want to cancel my order, what can I do?"
- The customer can cancel their order at any time as long as it has not arrived at our warehouse for shipping. If any items say "In Stock" for the item status, you will be unable to cancel unless you pay the 10% restocking fee for all items. If they say, warehouse, backorder, or preorder, you can cancel without paying a restocking fee, since we haven't received the items yet.
"I received my order, but I would like to return one or more items"
- If you have already received your order but would like to return the items, please contact our customer service team via Takara Cafe Contact Form. For any returns we process that are non-damage related, we charge a 10% restocking fee that will be deducted from your order total. As well, you will be responsible for shipping to return the item. You will have 14 days from the delivery date of your order to process a return.
“My book wasn’t damaged in transit, but I would like an exchange”
- If your order was not damaged in transit but you would like an exchange for any reason, just reach out via the 'Contact Us' form. You will be responsible for the shipping cost for the return and for the new books as well. However, we will waive the restocking fee, so long as the item isn't damaged. You will have 14 days from the delivery date of your order to process an exchange.
"My order was damaged in transit, what are my options?"
A. If you have selected insurance at checkout, please contact our customer service team via this request form. We will then ask you to provide pictures of the damages, the box, the packing materials and arrival conditions of the package in order to process your insurance claim. DO NOT recycle or throw away your box/packing materials until your claim has been completed. Our insurance company is very strict and requires that our customers retain these things until the process is complete.
B. If you did not select insurance at checkout, you will not be entitled to any insurance or replacement benefits.
"Does Takara Cafe do partial shipping? Can I request for some of my items to be shipped ahead of time?"
- YES. We do actually send out partials at customer request. To qualify for partial shipping, you need to have at least 10 items in stock/ready to ship in a single order. However, If you request a partial shipping request, and the items remaining on your order are LESS THAN 10, YOU WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXTRA SHIPPING COSTS. (Shipping for domestic starts at $3.80 and goes up $1 per item.)
Example #1: If you have an order with 25 items but only 20 are in stock and you request to have those 20 partial shipped, the customer will be responsible for the shipping of the last 5 items.
Example #2: If you have an order with 25 items and request to have 12 shipped ahead of time and wait for the other 13. This order will qualify for two free partial shipments.
Pre-Order and Backorder Questions:
"Will my items be shipped out as they come in, or will my order be held until all items are in stock?"
- The short answer is yes, all items will be held if until your full order is ready to process. HOWEVER, on larger orders, we do unilaterally decide to ship partials out, since we are limited on storage space.
"I pre-ordered manga by the month, when will it ship out?"
- Pre-orders will always ship out at the end of that month. If an item has a delayed release date, all items will be held until they are in stock. UNLESS, you have other orders pending, then we will reach out to you and check if you would like to wait or have the delayed item(s) ship out with your other orders.
"I backordered manga, when will it be back in stock?"
- Short answer, we don't actually know. However, if an item is going to be reprinted, depending on the demand of that item, it would be reprinted quarterly, or semi-annually. Items from publishers like Viz media or Kodansha are more likely to reprint sooner than items from Yen Press, Seven Seas or Dark Horse. Box Sets from Viz Media will MORE THAN LIKELY be reprinted, however, they may only print once or twice per year depending on demand.
"Why do you take payment up front instead of when the items are shipped like other companies?"
- We take money up front purely because it is easier to keep track of and manage versus chasing customers for payments later. Plus we do not want the customers to have any issues with over-drafting or canceling due to non-availability of funds. HOWEVER, because we take payment up front, we allow cancelations of pre-orders and backorders with no questions asked as long as the order has not shipped. We ask you please contact our customer service team via email takaracafenj@gmail.com with your order number and what you would like to cancel.
"Now that we no longer have access to the spreadsheet, how will we know what's happening with our orders?"
- You can contact us via the 'Contact Us' form at anytime and request information about your order. Lynn usually sends a screenshot of your order on the spreadsheet, with a basic explanation of the situation.
Order Status Sheet Explained:
Warehouse order - Item has been ordered from our distributors and will arrive to our warehouse in 5-10 days.
Preorder - Items have been preordered and the date attached is the current estimated release date for when we will receive the items for shipment.
Backorder - Items have been backordered and we do not know exactly when they will be coming back unless they have an estimated reprint date which you can see here.
In Stock - Your order has been received by our warehouse and is ready to ship once your entire order has arrived.
Damaged - This item has been damaged upon arrival to our warehouse or upon second inspection before shipment, our warehouse noticed damage. We will be ordering a replacement.