[Hedkffiz]

If you are thinking about purchasing a japaneese handcrafted katana through aoi budogu (New World Enterprises), Kay Kayenoshi (President) or Ryoma Ohashi (his general manager) DON'T DO IT!!!! I entered into such an agreement with Mr. Kayenoshi over 2 years ago. I even paid him a 60% deposit to the tune of $7,200.00 in trust and good faith. The man, (President Kaneyoshi) gave me his word that the sword would be completed within 18 months and that he would personally deliver it. I inquired with the President over a year ago as to the progress of the sword. He then told me that he was going back to Japan and would check in on the sword's progress. He never contacted me back. I have tried to contact him several times (I have the telephone bill to prove it) only to be told he is in Japan, on his way there or on his way back, that he isn't there at this time but would return my calls... He has yet to call me back!!!! I finally reached his general manager, Ryoma Ohashi, who admitted to me that a swords smith was never found... and that Mr. Kaneyoshi would contact me with his explanation. He has not done so... They even gave me his cell number, which I have called several times, no answer. When I inquired about getting my deposit back for the sword that was never made, the general manager agreed that the refund was more then appropriate considering the circumstances. He even said that he had the request in their accounting dept. for immediate payment. Only one glitch... Kay Kayenoshi, President of the company, has to approve the refund. For some unknown reason he can't find the time to do so. Any suggestions, anyone???? These guys are way to comfortable with avoiding their obligations, manipulating the truth and lying outright, I can't be the only one this has happened to... If your out there speak up!!! They are link to many clubs and are suppliers on their sites, be warned, don't do business with them.

[Nicihntm]

I feel your pains but can't do much. However I have a question. why do you have to post this everywhere?

[amehoubFomo]

I quite agree. Unnecessary copies have been deleted.

[Unlopssesuj]

Fulfilling orders in anything resembling timeliness (or even answering emails) seems to be a serious problem with Aoi, judging from recent user posts. For the OP, I think it's past time you involved a lawyer. If they file for bankruptcy, you probably won't ever see your money again.

[Forex Trading Software]

I know Aoi has caught a lot of flack recently, but I just purchased two new shinais from them. They shipped next day and have worked wonderfully for me. I fully intend to purchase from them again.

[brurdefdoro]

It seems that most, if not all, of Aoi's customer problems involve iaito or shinken (or by katana did the OP mean iaito?). The kendo side of things seems good at least with the orders I have done and those that I know personally around here.

[vasyasvc]

Sorry about too many posts, wasn't sure where to put this at first. I wish I had been forwarned about AOI, wanted to make sure others didn't fall into the same problem. I also needed to know if this was a common problem with this company. When I first dealt with him, he seemed very professional. I have spoken to a lawyer, and after many more unanswered calls, or pick-up and hung up calls, I will be involving him this morning. Hate to go that route though... All I required was a phone call and an explanation from Mr. Kaneyoshi. Very unfortunate.

[Leaters]

It seems that most, if not all, of Aoi's customer problems involve iaito or shinken (or by katana did the OP mean iaito?). The kendo side of things seems good at least with the orders I have done and those that I know personally around here.

I thought it was bogu, as well, iirc. I tried to use them a while ago to send something to a friend of mine back in the motherland, so I sent them an email with a couple of questions about items I saw on their website. I think that was 7 months ago. I've long since given up, but I do use that email account, and they never answered. Maybe my email got lost, but considering all the other complaints I've read about them on here, I wouldn't bother to contact them again.

[EbrsaRynleot]

Hmm, well maybe there have been problems with bogu as well. All the stuff we have ordered from our club (including a men, do, hakama, dogi, bokuto, shinai and some other stuff) have gone well but of course thats just my experience.

[Ikhqgvas]

It's not just shinken/iaito, it's bogu too.

There are other threads describing this, and I personally experienced unreasonable and unjustified delays such that I had to cancel my order eventually through my credit card company since they just kept stringing me along. I don't feel like going into it all again, but suffice to say I will never order from Aoi again and whenever someone asks me, I suggest they buy their equipment elsewhere.

To the OP: Sorry you are having this experience. That's enough money that you should consider suing them and quickly, before the statute of limitations runs. Go talk to a lawyer immediately.

[Hamucevasiop]

With the proliferation of internet information sources, there is no excuse for not knowing alot about any company you do business with. I never hand over large sums of money without first learning all I can about a company. Even then I've been burned, but further contemplation usually reveals to me areas that I could have researched better, but chose not to. I'm sorry you are in the situation you are in, and I hope your lawyer can can make them pay through the nose for their poor business practices. However, I sincerely hope you've learned how to go about ordering a custom sword in the future, since it sounds like you weren't entirely sure how to in the past.

[nithhysfusy]

I think that you guys should join and make a massive sue to aoi budogu

because it's not so much about the money but the time wasted and the expectations ...also the false justifications they give.


: )

[jaydicassdhy]

Umm pardon me but why do you buy from Aoi? I'm local and I've only shopped there before I discovered better stores. Their stuff is just way too over priced. A girl who use to be in my club had also experienced the tardiness of Aoi when she had to order a do from Japan because Aoi didn't have her size in stock. She waited over a month when they kept telling her that it'll be there in two weeks. In the end she had to settle for a different do because I guess that she felt that she will have to wait much longer otherwise. I bought my bogu from them though because they had my sizes in stock which I could try everything on before I bought it.

[smazibummigue]

Umm pardon me but why do you buy from Aoi? That was my point. If you search for Aoi on Google, you come up with quite a number of complaints on various fora going back years. I wouldn't trust them with any of my money based on those complaints.

[metropropuskruww]

My experiences are similar to MikeW's. I've ordered a number of things from Aoi in the past few years and never had any problems. They have always contacted me promptly (i.e., next-day) if things were out of stock or custom-order and offered to replace or cancel the affected items. I just recently put in an order for custom hand-stitched kote, was notified that there would be a delay of about one month, and it shipped in one month and a few days. More importantly, out of the five pairs of kote I currently own (machine- and hand-stitched from four different manufacturers), Aoi's has the best fit by far.

I have, in fact, had poorer experiences with widely-liked shops like Tozando with regard to delays. Whenever I order from Tozando, I do so with the assumption that there will probably be a long and unpredictable wait. I continue to order from them because I like their products, and because I know and accept that custom-order equipment is always going to be delayed to some degree.

[MexicoCity]

My experiences are similar to A.Lin's.

I actually just ordered a shinai bag, hakama, and obi from Aoi...they were prompt, shipped next day, and got it two days later a.l.a. UPS. I was satisfied with their level of service and communication.

I also had some issues with Tozando, but still ordered from them because they have some things that I want and can accept custom orders.

[Overlord]

My experiences are similar to MikeW's. I've ordered a number of things from Aoi in the past few years and never had any problems. They have always contacted me promptly (i.e., next-day) if things were out of stock or custom-order and offered to replace or cancel the affected items. I just recently put in an order for custom hand-stitched kote, was notified that there would be a delay of about one month, and it shipped in one month and a few days. More importantly, out of the five pairs of kote I currently own (machine- and hand-stitched from four different manufacturers), Aoi's has the best fit by far.

I have, in fact, had poorer experiences with widely-liked shops like Tozando with regard to delays. Whenever I order from Tozando, I do so with the assumption that there will probably be a long and unpredictable wait. I continue to order from them because I like their products, and because I know and accept that custom-order equipment is always going to be delayed to some degree.

What did you get from Tozando? I've had the opposite experience -- great stuff and practically immediate shipping from Tozando, and, as I've said, such atrocious experience from Aoi that I'll never buy from them again. I'm curious if there are particular things one store is good for versus another.

[casinobonusnolimit]

The short of it is, with Aoi make sure whatever you want is in stock. Confirm it by phone or e-mail, don't trust their web site accounting. Then, no problems.

[sleepergun]

What did you get from Tozando? I've had the opposite experience -- great stuff and practically immediate shipping from Tozando, and, as I've said, such atrocious experience from Aoi that I'll never buy from them again. I'm curious if there are particular things one store is good for versus another.

I've ordered a number of things from them, including custom iaito, Sankei madake shinai, etc. The common thread in my orders, if you're looking for one, is that all of these items were listed as requiring a crafting time; i.e., no "in stock" or immediate-availability items. Unfortunately, the actual crafting times never matched the times listed on their website. I have no complaint with the quality of their items (well, the tsuka-ito is getting loose on my iaito ...), and they offer things you can't seem to get elsewhere online.

The short of it is, with Aoi make sure whatever you want is in stock. Confirm it by phone or e-mail, don't trust their web site accounting. Then, no problems.

Well, as I said, I've actually ordered custom and out-of-stock items from them, and they've always contacted me promptly to confirm shipping times, offer replacements, etc., and even on custom orders their shipping was timely. I'm not trying to defend them in the face of the poor experiences people have had here, but my personal experiences have not yet suggested to me anything but good service and reliability.

It's unlikely that I'll ever order an iaito from them, however

[IntinyBut]

The short of it is, with Aoi make sure whatever you want is in stock. Confirm it by phone or e-mail, don't trust their web site accounting. Then, no problems.

Well, it's still a little silly when you order something as basic as a zekken and it has to take more than 6 months, due to 'forgetting the order' despite several reminders. Eventually, I went to my old supplier and had it within 10 days.

The quality of their products is nice and they often have good deals, but from now on, I'll only buy what I can see.