Mandarake's New Site Layout

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by hellointerloper, Mar 24, 2015.

  1. poysntixels

    poysntixels Post Pimp

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    2,552
    Location:
    The old Rose Lawn Hill
    Name:
    OtherSteve
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Just rec'd a single item pkg. from the big M day before yesterday, did not notice any problem in ordering or updating and used Paypal.
     
  2. Mr. Humphreys

    Mr. Humphreys Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2008
    Messages:
    4,318
    Location:
    Land of Plush
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Thank you Stevie! Must be our servers :(
     
  3. poysntixels

    poysntixels Post Pimp

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2007
    Messages:
    2,552
    Location:
    The old Rose Lawn Hill
    Name:
    OtherSteve
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Do not know. Liberal arts destroyed my tiny brain. ha
     
  4. MisterYuck

    MisterYuck Comment King

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2016
    Messages:
    1,287
    Location:
    NH
    Name:
    Andy
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Was able to easily order two new Five Star Kinnikuman pieces. Out for delivery right now as we speak. :O
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  5. Mr. Humphreys

    Mr. Humphreys Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2008
    Messages:
    4,318
    Location:
    Land of Plush
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    The stars must be out of alignment for me. My computer can't connect to Mandarake, my tablet does but when I fill out the order form, it doesn't go through, but my android works (very tedious to look at toys on a mobile!) :x
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  6. MisterYuck

    MisterYuck Comment King

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2016
    Messages:
    1,287
    Location:
    NH
    Name:
    Andy
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Might sound dumb but have you cleared your cookies in awhile? That's interfered with my browsing before. Either that or maybe even update your browser.
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  7. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Messages:
    11,771
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I can only say that I once tried using the site on someone else's mobile, and while everything was navigable, it would not allow checkout functionality at all for whatever reason.

    Haven't experienced any serious issues recently on any PC platforms; occasional site maintenance and refreshes needed, but all of the usual checkout procedures seem fine to me.
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  8. Mr. Humphreys

    Mr. Humphreys Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2008
    Messages:
    4,318
    Location:
    Land of Plush
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Hmmm.... Okee Dokee,it does make "looking" harder, when you can't surf on the computer (i.e. missed Tiger! :x). Thank you Stevie!
     
    poysntixels likes this.
  9. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Messages:
    11,771
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Has anyone happened to figure out how to return the page views which show previous (i.e. sold out) listings for the same item? This has been annoying me for months now, and is really hampering my OCD (not to mention toy comparisons), because you can no longer find past versions. This is just one change I have noted on the way item pages are displayed after Mandarake changed something in the code, but is the one I find most frustrating.
     
    zindabad likes this.
  10. akum6n

    akum6n Vintage

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2006
    Messages:
    7,273
    Location:
    Shima
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    @ultrakaiju I think the previous listings were just removed by Mandarake from the page layout. Now it only shows other listings of the same item currently in stock at other locations. If I were to guess, they probably realized that the history of prior listings revealed price trends over time, e.g., when M is increasing the price of its items due to secondary market pricing.
     
    zindabad and The Moog like this.
  11. deafmetal

    deafmetal Comment King

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2016
    Messages:
    1,199
    Name:
    Mark
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    It has been very obvious for some older/vintage listings that they simply double the price of the previously sold item.
     
    The Moog likes this.
  12. The Moog

    The Moog Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2010
    Messages:
    13,378
    Location:
    Gert Brizzle UK
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I had a good 'relationship' with Mandarake, but after many many years, it turned sour. The ruthless price hiking got to me in the end. Some of their prices have made me guffaw with incredulity.
     
  13. Roger

    Roger Vintage

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    Messages:
    7,930
    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    Name:
    Roger
    Instagram:
    rogzilla71
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I must be in the minority here, perhaps because I hunt for different things there. Since I started buying from them, I've gotten all sorts of fun vintage stuff like Micro Gundams and B-Club sofubi reissues, all for well under the original retail prices.
     
  14. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Messages:
    11,771
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Thanks Daniel, that is exactly how I was viewing it too, I was just wondering if maybe someone had found a workaround for actually finding the old listings. e.g. I have found links to old ones via Google, but it has not been easy at all. This sort of attitude on their behalf - if that's what it is/was - is really disappointing. I mean, the listings are the listings, you should stand by what you sold, even if you think 'now' it reflects a different time. I don't like this burying of information, regardless to what it pertains.

    As Moog pointed out, I find that the past few years they are really operating under a different general mindset/sales style. Which is fair enough, they are a business and free to operate however they so feel. But at the same time, while I have not completely soured on them - they remain a key, if not the most important, source of Japanese vinyl toys to people outside the country - it does make me less willing to openly support them, and certainly I have more pause/less joy than I had say 5 years ago. There are bargains on the site (but that tends to me more on the 'beat up' vintage stuff) but it is counterbalanced by a great deal of gouging too, which historically used to be largely related to HxS toys et al.

    Anyhow, short of it is, I want to be able to search old listings. I don't think this is unreasonable or difficult (i.e. they are hidden, not removed). If anyone figures anything out, please drop me a message.
     
  15. bryce_r

    bryce_r Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2007
    Messages:
    9,201
    Location:
    San Jose
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Anyone experience issues with trying to change their information? I have a new phone number and everytime I try to edit it..it will not let me. I've clicked on the contact info but all it does is divert you to the different stores.
     
  16. JoeMan

    JoeMan Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2007
    Messages:
    4,863
    Location:
    NY
    flickr:
    splurrt
    Instagram:
    splurrt
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Anyone else notice they are increasing some listing prices after the item sells. I’ve noticed them doing this many times and they did it to an item I bought. After I bought it for 10000 yen they changed the sold out listing price to 12000.
     
  17. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2006
    Messages:
    10,173
    Location:
    The Grim North
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I made the same point a few pages back . . . and someone pointed out that if the item has been listed and previously sold, apparently it defaults to the sale of that item, not the most recent (no idea why!).
     
    JoeMan likes this.
  18. akum6n

    akum6n Vintage

    Joined:
    Nov 3, 2006
    Messages:
    7,273
    Location:
    Shima
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    My guess is that it is all intended to keep people from using the site as a price tracker.

    One workaround that I have discovered is that you can save an item in your favorites list, and it will remain visible, even if the listing no longer turns up in search results.
     
    Grindingmachete likes this.
  19. ultrakaiju

    ultrakaiju Die-Cast Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 14, 2011
    Messages:
    11,771
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Yep, as I think I explained previously, the reason for this is that the listings are actually for different items, i.e. multiple versions of the same thing. When there is none of that same item available in any store, i.e. all stock sold out, is the only time you will see a thumbnail listing for the sold out item. By default (for some reason) they select to show you the one with the highest list price. [There is some other preference criteria as well, which I have not yet figured out, to display one over another when the prices are the same.] It's annoying, but as Daniel said, as long as you keep the link for the specific item you are interested in, either by favouriting, saving in your cart, or just bookmarking the webpage, you will always be able to return to the listing for that specific item.

    My main beef is that you cannot see/find the past listing for sold out items if you have not done any of the above. This is exceptionally frustrating and totally illogical/customer unfriendly in my view. As a result I end up saving whole piles of stuff I have looked at or used for reference in the past. It's also nearly impossible to get anywhere with website issues (or feedback like any of this), as you can only contact a specific store, and then they [naturally] won't have any answers as that is a specific customer service line.
     
    Alebrije likes this.
  20. Anti Social Andy

    Anti Social Andy Die-Cast

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2006
    Messages:
    10,173
    Location:
    The Grim North
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I think the Mandarake website must be broken . . . all todays pricing seems to have an extra '0' at the end!
     
  21. skaldavsatanssol

    skaldavsatanssol Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Messages:
    495
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Edit: I came here and posted issues already raised without having a proper read of the thread. My apologies.

    I have noticed the higher priced sold out listings winning out with RealxHead and Skulltoys (both jumped another 5000 yen after the sale). Actually, a more extreme case would be some RxH sumos listed for 5000 yen last night and today showing as sold out at 20000 yen each. So the website does automatically prioritise showing older listings which sold for more as mentioned earlier but it’s still sneaky as fuck to make the higher prices always seem relevant IMO.
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2019
    The Moog and zindabad like this.
  22. skaldavsatanssol

    skaldavsatanssol Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Messages:
    495
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    Does anyone else like to have a chuckle at the strange translations on Manda?

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    doomboy, organic_addict and The Moog like this.
  23. blakewest

    blakewest Post Pimp

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2009
    Messages:
    2,600
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    I want to change my user name to Sassy Girl Lion.
     
  24. Beantime

    Beantime Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2014
    Messages:
    392
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Name:
    Bo
    Instagram:
    beantime28
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
  25. skaldavsatanssol

    skaldavsatanssol Toy Prince

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2016
    Messages:
    495
    Mandarake's New Site Layout
    :cry:
    It’s not even adult size. Perfect for me then :cry:

    Is it possible this is actually correct? オナ Ona being short for masturbation (onani) and マシ Mashi being short for マシン machine (mashin)? Pure conjecture on my end. When asked, the wife said she has never heard this term in her life.
     
    Last edited: Jul 18, 2019
    Beantime likes this.

Share This Page