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.