What about Aoi-Budogu?

[Rasmus]

A little background:

More than six months ago I ordered a iaito from Aoi-Budogu¹. It was from their "Selected series" which according to their site will ship in 4-8 weeks as opposed to their "Custom iaito" which takes 7-14 weeks.

The store refuses to cancel my order and give me a full refund since it's a "custom order" as they put it. Their Japanese supplier is suppossedly still in business but have stopped returning both e-mails and calls. The reason is said to be that some of the manufacturers have gone out of business leaving the ones still hanging in there with more orders than they can handle.


A few quick questions:

Anyone else that have had problems with Aoi-Budogu lately?

Anyone in Japan that knows anything about the "sword industry". Is there any truth behind their claims?

If I would go to Japan, more precisely to the Tokyo/Kawasaki area, where should I look for a good sword store with reasonable prices? The one I ordered was roughly $600 so what I'm looking for would be in the same range.

¹) http://www.budo-aoi.com

[Max Chouinard]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19362&highlight=aoi+budogu

One of my students has the same problem right now, it's been almost a year since he ordered his iaito. Now I can understand the situation they are in, but like many people mentionned they should at least change the waiting time on their webpage for it is misleading the buyers.

Anyway if anyone wants to start making quality iaito, I think now is the time ;).

[ninjaqutie]

Like several of you, I have been looking at getting an iaito from Aoi and then I came across this forum. Makes me think twice about it. Which saddens me because I found the sword that I want to get once I have the money. :cry: Anywho, I wrote them and asked them about the sword I wanted and this is our e-mail convo

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Hello. Right now I am in the beginning stages of purchasing a couple of iaito. Right now I am just looking around trying to find a sword that I like. As it so happens, I really find your Yamazakura Koshirae Iaito rather lovely. I have been given the impression by several people that your turn around time isn't what is advertized on your site do to slow turn around times in Japan. A couple people I have spoken with have been waiting about a year.

I was just wondering if you could give an estimate as to how long it would take for an iaito like this to be delivered from the time of purchase? I know times vary and situations can change, but I was hoping to use this time frame to estimate when I should order me and my husbands iaito. We aren't quite ready for one yet, so a wait wouldn't be an inconvenience. Any help you could give me would be much appreciated.

Thank you,
Ashley



Hi Ashley,

Thank you for your email and interest in Aoi Budogu Products.
We have been experiencing delays from all 3 of our contracted crafting companies for a little while, but these delays are slowly receding and we are receiving more constant and more frequent shipments.
For the Yamazakura, we are looking at a timeframe of about 6-8 months if not a little sooner.
I know that it seems quite long, but we have done all of the footwork when setting up the company over 10 years ago and remain with these top 3 crafting companies in Seki, Japan. Keeping it genuine and tradional.

Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Kind Regards,

Ryoma
Aoi Budogu
Sent: August 28, 2009 12:01 PM
Subject: [AOI BUDOGU] Contact from Customer

[Rasmus]

Like several of you, I have been looking at getting an iaito from Aoi and then I came across this forum. Makes me think twice about it.
They contacted me last week and offered me to pick another sword from their latest batch of "in-store iaito" instead of the "selected series" I had ordered. I was happy to do so and they shipped it immediately. It arrived safely at it's destination yesterday.

There still seems to be a few swords left in the batch I got to chose from:
http://www.budo-aoi.com/iaito/in_stock.asp

I will most definitely consider buying from them again in the future. I do not feel they've ever tried to trick me or provided stupid excuses. Always quick to respond to my e-mails and always up-front and honest about their situation. My only complaint is that they don't update the estimated delivery dates on their homepage or mention the delivery problem directly.

If you're prepared to wait then go for it, if not then it might wiser to look elsewhere.

[ninjaqutie]

Thanks for giving me your feedback. :) When it is time for me to order, I won't have a problem with waiting. I may be eager, but to have a quality sword is worth the wait in my opinion. Which of those did you choose? There seems to be a nice selection at the moment. I have thought about making a trip up to their store in B.C. but I don't want to go all the way up there to have a choice of only one sword. HAHA.

[demakase]

It’s a mogito, not a shinken. The wait is absurd and use of words like “traditional” and “craftsmen” is just smoke and mirrors. These are manufactured parts that are put together in a number of different combinations to give each sword an individual look, but they are a dime a dozen. If you do not mind the wait that is fine, but you are not getting anything from them that you could not get from another company.

Let me put this in perspective for you. Earlier this year I ordered a mogito that did require customization because of the length of the blade and size of the tsuka. It took less then two months from the day I ordered it for it to be in my hands. You could throw on two additional months to account for international shipping and it still wouldn’t take as long as Aoi.

[Rasmus]

You could throw on two additional months to account for international shipping and it still wouldn’t take as long as Aoi. You don't understand what is written here do you?

[demakase]

You don't understand what is written here do you?
Please enlighten me.