FlutterScape seems a little complicated at first, but really it’s quite simple. There are people in Japan going around to various stores taking pictures of things they want to sell. They don’t buy these things from the store until you buy them. Once you buy the item, they go to the store, get the item, and send it to FluttersScape HQ in Japan. Once FlutterScape gets it they forward the money along (or will send it back to you if the person never gets the item for you) and will send the item to you. Seems complicated, but all you really need to know is that you can safely buy something without much worry about getting screwed over very very easily.

What Can I Buy?

Between the time that FlutterScape just started (I was poking around back then too) and now, FlutterScape has really stepped things up in terms of items available. You’re still not going to be able to go to the site and find anything and everything you want (that’s what the request feature is for, keep reading), but you’ll definitely find a lot of interesting and wonky items to keep you interested for a while. Personally, I’m really into the weird crazy stuff (even though I’ve tried to go a bit more minimalist), and always feel tempted every time I visit the site, which is more and more recently. I’m not much of a shopper but it’s hard to help myself.

There are a bunch of categories you can search through, as well as an actual search function, so if they have what you want then you should be able to find it… but what if they don’t??

Requesting An Item From Japan

Over the last few months, whenever somebody asked me where they could be “Item A” or “Item B,” I’d forward them along to the FlutterScape CEO who would help find the item. I’m guessing he got tired of this and decided to create a request feature (genius!) so that no matter what it is you want from Japan, you can find it.

The part that stands out to me isn’t the text areas, it’s everything else. Let’s go through the request features – I get a little giddy just looking at them.

Is This An Auction? This is if you wanted to buy something off, say, Yahoo Auctions Japan. Ho-Lee-Crapola. You can put your max bid, the URL to the auction, etc, and someone will bid for you based off your criteria. Then, if they win it they’ll send it to you like a regular FlutterScape item. Wow.

Pictures: Perhaps you don’t know what the item is called, and only have a picture. Fear not, you can upload a bunch of photos and someone will try to find it for you. It’s more likely that someone in Japan knows what the Japanese product is, so pictures are the perfect way to go.

YouTube Video URL: There’s a good chance that a lot of cool Japanese items are discovered via YouTube, so if that’s how you did it, then you can share a video of it as well.

Wow, every base I can think of is covered, here. It’s nice and simple, but they did a really good job with the request feature.

Does FlutterScape Work?

A couple of months ago I was introduced to FlutterScape, and decided that I needed to get some Rummy (chocolate with rum raisin inside). I got 20 packs of the stuff, ordered it, and approximately a week later I had a box of Rummy in my mailbox. Mmm, and they were (and are) tasty too. I can’t say what experience other people have had, but things worked out well for me and I imagine it’ll work out well for you too. Try things out on something small, and see how you like it. I think I’ll be using FlutterScape to buy many fun Christmas Presents this year (no Rummy for the younger cousins, though).

Win One Of Three Cupmen!

I have three Cupmen to give away. If you’re the cup noodle eating type, you’ll know that you have to put something on top of your Cup Noodle to keep the lid down while you wait for the hot water to cook and soften the noodles. I usually use my wallet. Now, though, you can use these little “Cupmen” who hang over the top.

Here’s the product description:

“After pouring hot water over your instant noodles, get a helping hand from the hardworking Cupmen. Watch as it turns different colors while desperately trying to prevent the lid from flicking back up. Enjoy a few minutes of fun with Cupmen until your noodles are ready to eat.”

Aww, if that doesn’t win your heart over, I don’t know what will. Here’s more information on Cupmen.

Winning one of these three Cupmen is very simple. You don’t even have to leave the page! In the comments, tell me why you need this product oh-so-bad. Feel free to go into a (fictional or non-fictional) account on how painful it is to make ramen using your shoes, or something like that. I’m going to pick my 6 favorites, and then three will randomly be picked from there. So, although there is some luck involved, quality comments are going to be key to get into that top 6! You have (approximately) a week to get your comment in!

Oh, and if you tweet about the contest, you won’t have higher chance of winning, but you will get some brownie points, you brown-noser you.

Great, so there you go! Win yourself a Cupmen so you can have the full Cup Noodle experience. Speaking of which, I bet FlutterScape has some noodles to go along with it in their Japanese Snacks section.

Oh, and if you have a lot of extra time, you should check out the short film “Mr. Cupmen” by fake French Video artist Jacques Koichi.

P.S. If you eat ramen, you should subscribe to the Tofugu Newsletter.

P.P.S. If you like Japanese “things” you should follow Tofugu and FlutterScape on Twitter.

]]> http://www.tofugu.com/2010/05/13/how-to-buy-anything-from-japan-with-flutterscape/feed/ 176 http://www.tofugu.com/2010/04/27/tofukubukuro-get-your-tofugu-grab-bag-while-its-hot/ http://www.tofugu.com/2010/04/27/tofukubukuro-get-your-tofugu-grab-bag-while-its-hot/#comments Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:15:14 +0000 http://www.tofugu.com/?p=3227

Click the image above to get a closer view

Mmmm, fukubukuro. One of my favorite things about New Years in Japan. The idea behind fukubukuro is simple yet enticing. Stores put stuff in bags, put a price on it, and don’t tell you what’s in there. All you know is that you’re getting an awesome deal even though you may not get quite what you want. Sometimes you get more than you bargained for, sometimes you don’t. That’s why fukubukuro is fun.

I know it isn’t New Years right now, but as you know I’m moving in order to make Tofugu my full time job. I’ve also decided to simplify my life. I don’t want all this stuff anymore. I was going to sell it on Craigslist, but thought of something a little more exciting (in my mind, anyways). That’s why I’ll be selling Tofukubukuro, while supplies last, which are small (or large) boxes of my stuff. You don’t know what you’re going to get (click through to get more information on what you’ll probably get), everything’s the same price, and it’s a fun little gamble. Plus, the money is going someplace pretty good, I think, and you could get some neat things out of it.

I have 4 large boxes and 15 small boxes. Let me break it down for you:

Small Box ($25): These boxes are pretty small. In general, they’ll have a DVD or Japanese manga, often times both. Almost every box also includes a Japanese keychain, and a thank you card for your purchase. There are also a good number with other random “extras” included, but I’ll let that part be a surprise. There are only 15 of these available, so be quick! [BUY A SMALL BOX]

Large Box ($100): There are a lot of things that are too big for a small box. Those things go in a big box. Big boxes have manga, DVDs, t-shirts, books, Japanese art books, neat Japanese nick-nacks, multiple Japanese key chains, possibly a (good) PS3 or PS2 game, and who knows what else. I like these ones because they’re bigger and can fit bigger things! If you want awesome, big box is the way to go. Definitely more than 4x the value of the small box. There are only four of these available! [SOLD OUT]

I may have more put together over the next week, but it won’t be that many more, so if you want one, you’ll have to get one quickly.

Q&A

Q. Will you ship internationally?

Yep, but it costs more.

Q. What will I get in my Tofukubukuro?

Who knows!? You can get a general idea by looking at the “large box / small box” section, above.

Q. How long will it take to get to me?

That depends on where you live. I am also moving at the moment, so there will be times where I’m spending the day driving. I will send your package out as soon as possible, though, usually within a few days.

Q. What will you use the money for?

Moving costs, for one. It’s expensive. Anything extra will probably be spent on a new video camera. It’s about time Tofugu made more videos and made them a bit better. It’s about time to make the HD upgrade, I think. Basically, it will all go back towards Tofugu / TextFugu in one way or another.

Q. What’s the value of the items in each box?

The small boxes obviously have less stuff (and are cheaper), and the big boxes have more. Bigger boxes tend to have more valuable items, too, but don’t shortchange the small ones! I definitely made an effort to put a good amount of value in each box, though because the contents are a surprise, it’s hard to know what you’ll get!

Q. What If I don’t like the stuff I get?

Sorry, can’t help you, but I hope you do like it!

Q. Are there any items not safe for kids?

Maybe. There are some rated R movies, though I think that’s the extent of it. If you’re a parent looking to get this for your kid, just be warned that I have no idea what box I’m going to send you, because everything’s already packaged up and ready to go. Sorry! Nothing you can get from here gets worse than a rated R movie, though. I won’t be sending anyone my ear, or anything.

Q. How much is shipping and handling?

For domestic U.S. buyers, it is $5 for a small one and $20 for a big one. International is $15 for a small one and $55 for a big one. Sorry, international!

Q. Is the stuff new? Used?

A little bit of both, actually. Every box has at least one new thing, that’s never been used. The point, however, is to sell my old stuff that I don’t want anymore, so there’s going to be some used stuff. I do try to take really good care of everything, though, and all the not-so-great used stuff is already at Goodwill. The Tofukubukuro only contains the cream of the (used) crop.

Q. How long will you be selling these for?

I don’t have that many, so it’s first come first serve. Once these are all gone, that’s (probably) it, for now. I have to move soon, so I want to get this done as quickly as possible too (I’m selling this stuff so I don’t have to take it with me, after all!).

Q. What size is the clothes?

Mostly all medium, though the funny purple sweater on the right is a girls small, I think.

Q. Why in the world would I want to buy a Tofukubukuro??!

Probably for the thrill of getting something random and fun, I imagine. That’s why I’d do it, anyways. You never know what you’ll end up getting!

Buy A Tofukubukuro Now!

Small Box ($25) – - – - – Large Box (SOLD OUT)

Thank you all for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this more than I enjoy packing and sending things! I’m looking forward to getting this whole moving thing done and setting up a sexy Tofugu/TextFugu office for myself! Perhaps a fish tank with Fugu is in order (I’m guessing there’s something illegal about that, though?).

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