To all current and potential clients:
For the past several days, I've been contemplating about closing my hunting service and had reached my final decision today. After one year and 50 days of providing my hunting service to a total of 146 clients, the Tokyo Hunter service is now officially closed from today onwards. I will no longer be accepting any new requests from anybody except for close friends.
It had always been on my mind that I had to close my hunting service someday, but I never imagined that it would be so soon after the first anniversary of my service. The first 6 months was fairly relaxed as my service was relatively unknown at the time and there weren't a lot of emails and orders to handle. However, as my service and blog site began to grow in popularity, email enquiries and order requests started pouring in to the point where it sometimes took me until 1-2am almost every night to reply to all emails and completing order requests. Keep in mind that I was providing this service as a side business and I always return home from my full-time job at 7-9pm every weeknight. As a result, I no longer had the time to enjoy the things I love like watching anime (still got a long list of shows I've yet to watch), playing video games (my PS3, Wii, and PSP are collecting dust but I do play my DS during trips), building model kits (a current kit project remains untouched for the past 8 months), and the latest toy purchases for my collection are stacked up in a corner and yet to be opened. I am a guy that values my personal time over the opportunity to make more money. And besides, selling stuff on eBay is a whole lot more lucrative (view eBay feedback profile and past auctions) and easier to handle compared to the little commission fees I charged for my service. Keep watch on my auctions page for future listings of exclusive items with cost price starting bids!
I frequently travel to Akihabara and Nakano nearly every weekend when I first started the service, but as time went on, I found that to be too costly and time consuming since I live in Tatebayashi city which is roughly an hour and 30 minutes away by train to Akihabara and add another 30 minutes or so to Nakano. It is difficult to find clients' wanted items as I had to go through each hobby store in Akihabara and Nakano to hunt them down and had to leave empty-handed sometimes, which is why I'm heading down to Tokyo only once a month now or whenever there are events to attend. Add to the fact that HLJ will be relocating to its new office this November in Sano city and I had to move as well to live close to the new office, it will add another hour or more to my commuting time to Tokyo due to the 1 train an hour schedule from Sano to Tatebayashi to change stations for the trip down to Tokyo.
One of the main reaons why I had to close my hunting service is due to the increasing amount of work I had to do at my full-time job, working at home in the evenings and weekends sometimes to get them done, which results in less time to handle clients' emails and order requests and even lesser time for myself. My full-time job will have to come in first priority over everything else.
To clients who still have outstanding orders with me, I will handle your current orders but I won't be taking any more additional requests.
As for the future of this blog site, it will remain open with haul posts, event coverages, new auction listings, and some random postings if I have time to write them. There will be no changes to the Tokyo Hunter name even though I no longer run the hunting service. It's an established name now and I like it, too!
Thus ends the Tokyo Hunter service. It's been a great experience to help out clients from around the world and made lots of good friends along the way.
Thank you very much for your support!
Joseph Tsai
For the past several days, I've been contemplating about closing my hunting service and had reached my final decision today. After one year and 50 days of providing my hunting service to a total of 146 clients, the Tokyo Hunter service is now officially closed from today onwards. I will no longer be accepting any new requests from anybody except for close friends.
It had always been on my mind that I had to close my hunting service someday, but I never imagined that it would be so soon after the first anniversary of my service. The first 6 months was fairly relaxed as my service was relatively unknown at the time and there weren't a lot of emails and orders to handle. However, as my service and blog site began to grow in popularity, email enquiries and order requests started pouring in to the point where it sometimes took me until 1-2am almost every night to reply to all emails and completing order requests. Keep in mind that I was providing this service as a side business and I always return home from my full-time job at 7-9pm every weeknight. As a result, I no longer had the time to enjoy the things I love like watching anime (still got a long list of shows I've yet to watch), playing video games (my PS3, Wii, and PSP are collecting dust but I do play my DS during trips), building model kits (a current kit project remains untouched for the past 8 months), and the latest toy purchases for my collection are stacked up in a corner and yet to be opened. I am a guy that values my personal time over the opportunity to make more money. And besides, selling stuff on eBay is a whole lot more lucrative (view eBay feedback profile and past auctions) and easier to handle compared to the little commission fees I charged for my service. Keep watch on my auctions page for future listings of exclusive items with cost price starting bids!
I frequently travel to Akihabara and Nakano nearly every weekend when I first started the service, but as time went on, I found that to be too costly and time consuming since I live in Tatebayashi city which is roughly an hour and 30 minutes away by train to Akihabara and add another 30 minutes or so to Nakano. It is difficult to find clients' wanted items as I had to go through each hobby store in Akihabara and Nakano to hunt them down and had to leave empty-handed sometimes, which is why I'm heading down to Tokyo only once a month now or whenever there are events to attend. Add to the fact that HLJ will be relocating to its new office this November in Sano city and I had to move as well to live close to the new office, it will add another hour or more to my commuting time to Tokyo due to the 1 train an hour schedule from Sano to Tatebayashi to change stations for the trip down to Tokyo.
One of the main reaons why I had to close my hunting service is due to the increasing amount of work I had to do at my full-time job, working at home in the evenings and weekends sometimes to get them done, which results in less time to handle clients' emails and order requests and even lesser time for myself. My full-time job will have to come in first priority over everything else.
To clients who still have outstanding orders with me, I will handle your current orders but I won't be taking any more additional requests.
As for the future of this blog site, it will remain open with haul posts, event coverages, new auction listings, and some random postings if I have time to write them. There will be no changes to the Tokyo Hunter name even though I no longer run the hunting service. It's an established name now and I like it, too!
Thus ends the Tokyo Hunter service. It's been a great experience to help out clients from around the world and made lots of good friends along the way.
Thank you very much for your support!
Joseph Tsai
19 comments:
Even though I did not have the pleasure of using your service, I always visited your blog just to see your hauls and event news. I'm saddened that you are no longer on the "hunt", but also realize how time consuming it must have been. I'd like to thank you for helping out collectors everywhere and giving your time so we could indulge in our hobby. Thanks.
Well, it's been great having your service and I did kinda sense in the past few months that things were accelerating a bit too quickly for you to be able to keep on with it as a side venture. It's sad to see a good service go, but I think you made the right decision. Life doesn't have any meaning if we're making a lot of money but cannot enjoy ourselves. Good luck on your future ventures.
Dear Joseph,
I did not have to chance to use your services; and from my e-mail dealings with you, I feel that I have definitely missed out.
Truly, it is a shame.
All the best,
Johnson Huang
cydkick,
Thanks for your support! Haul post and event coverages will still continue as usual, just no more sightings posts unless I spot interesting items going for dirt cheap or at absurd prices, then I'll post pics of them for all to see.
icie,
There's way too many things going on for a one-man operation like this to handle. Working hard to make lots of money is fine and all but what's the use when we don't have time to enjoy even the simplest things in life? It's been great doing business with you. Thanks!
Johnson,
It would have been a pleasure to deal with you. Unfortunately, I just can't keep up with providing the service anymore.
Like cydkick I have used your blog only to see the event news from Japan.
Infact in Italy many of us that are big fans of anime and manga merchadising, are grateful to you for your photos of event and items release...
So thank you very much for all!!
Joseph, I may just be one of the last customers but I agree and understand your decision. If there's no more fun, then what's the point?
Enjoy your collection now, enjoy the free time you'll be having ^-^
Thank you very much for your time and help!
Laurent
Damn oh well at least i got to order one thing from you. And you were always cool about finding things. An exceptional service from an exceptional person.
It's sad to see this service go as you've helped me out quite a few times. But it's so understandable that you can't keep up with so many request! I'll continue to watch your hauls and coverage!
Good Luck in the Future!
Sorry to hear about your decision though it's 100% understandable! Thank you so much for all the wonderful service you provided. Best wishes Joseph ^_^\o/
Its sad to hear u hv quit ur fantastic service. Ur emails and replies have been always fast & professional. Although U still haven't found the items I've requested, I think u hv already done ur best. I wanna say 'thnx!'
Keep updating ur blog. Its a great one!
Thanks Joseph for your time and patience! HAVE FUN!!!!!
-g.n.
its been a pleasure to have your help,will always remember "Tokyo Hunter" short but good memories ;)
Joseph, wish you the best in your future undertakings :) Would you still consider posting event and exclusive figures news / announcements in future? Information is just as precious and these are hard to come by in English (and outside of Japan).
Again, many thanks with all your help and do keep in touch. Hope that we can still meet up someday when you're back home for Chinese New Year. Best regards.
It has been a great honor to witness the rise of Tokyo Hunter service, and now to see it set down and take it place with the remaints of time is all too painful. However I am sure over the period you have enjoyed providing this service as much as us enjoyed browsing through your blog and of course your service as well.
All the best to you wherever you are, whatever you do.
I have enjoyed your blog Joseph, and regret never getting around to using your services. Sounds like a decision well made: personal time is precious.
I will continue to check your site from time to time, and dream of a day when I will be hunting in Tokyo again. New Zealand is too far away!
All the best to you.
I truly am touched by all your support! Thanks everybody!
lucas,
Yes, I'll continue to post information on event and exclusive figures if I have the time, particularly if they are items that I'm planning to get.
Noooohoooooo why is it always me that's out of luck with things like this!! I was looking for your site for a few days, and now that I found it, you've got an end of service?? Now I will forever be without that what I'm looking for!
ooh great -_- I just discovered you..nooooo!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. I'm probably one of your last customers, and I am glad I finally got enough courage to ask you for what I wanted... (I watched the blog for a long time, lost track of it, found it again.... )
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