I was online during the server crash and it was so disappointing seeing everything selling out. I gave up after 2 hrs of trying and went to bed. The following day for some reason I decided to check the website at 7am and everything… EVERYTHING was back in stock and I placed my order. ❤ reading Hobonichis post regarding the server back up it makes sense why items would show as sold out. I hope others were able to get their items 😊
@@Kriver12 Oh I feel you pain of seeing things sell out and it was a false impression of what was happening anyway… but glad you were able to order afterwards!
Agree with all you said. I do think frustration is valid, it’s just that the target of the community’s frustration was completely misplaced. The way Hobonichi handled it obviously points to them trying to stop/slow the scalpers so that their actual customers and fans could actually buy what they wanted at reasonable prices from the official store. Everyone making the comparisons to Ticketmaster specifically points to that problem being impossible to fully prepare for. Hobonichi obviously really values community (I think non-Japanese speakers don’t engage with the rest of their content and web presence year-round but it’s definitely there) and I assume no company likes to see vultures basically take advantage of their fans and reap huge profit off the marketing dollars hobonichi spends. I actually think the wider distribution to more retailers is another tactic to combat even larger markups by randos. Logically, if a company only cared about selling as much as possible they would just let the bots and unauthorized resellers have everything and call it a day. If the founder only cared about money he’d probably have kept making video games, but like progressively more mainstream ones with less story and personality. Thats my take, anyway. In the end, I hope the kinder voices like yours prevail!
I was thinking about mark-ups recently when I found some older Hobonichi items for crazy prizes. So if the company is trying to slow that down as you say, then that is fabulous! Like you, I agree frustration is valid,. Frustration is just a feeling, it's what people do with that that matters and it sounds like some people chose poorly. It's this FOMO culture we're in that is just so unhealthy.
@@Autumnichi There are definitely people who capitalize off the fact that you can only get some things in Japan and I don’t know what is right or not, but many of the prices are outrageous! I can understand things become collectible … sigh!
Thank you for your comments regarding Hobonichi. Like you, I’m very disappointed in the journaling community as well. As seasoned Hobonichi users, they should know that items will be restocked. Not to mention, it’s only September. There’s lots of time to get your 2025 planner. I was able to get what I wanted the very next morning. I love your positivity.
@@jenniferfunk1162 yay for ordering the next morning! Thanks for sharing your thoughts too, I’m glad I’m not the only one - I felt the reactions were so over the top!
You’re absolutely right I don’t understand why people would get so upset over nothing. People acted as if they weren’t ever going to be able to make an order. Hobonichi, is a very big company and I know that they wouldn’t let their customers down. Thank you so much for sharing your kind words about them. This shouldn’t stop people from not ordering. things happen. Beautiful unboxing by the way.
@@caelointheclouds Thanks so much for commenting and I hope things will be better next time and people are able to put it all in perspective! Were you able to get your hobonichi wishlist?
I agree. All the negative creators comparing won’t be getting my watch hours. Thanks for calling it out and being the change you want to see in the world.
I agree with your assessment. I work in technology and, it's fantastic when everything functions smoothly. But when it fails, it can be catastrophic. I admit, I was frustrated and gave up after filling my cart twice. On the 1st, I got up early in the US and decided to try again to see what was left. I managed to get everything on my list. Patience paid off in the end. I’m sure every Hobonichi employee was very concerned, as it’s ingrained in their culture. Their concern for their impact on others is a top priority.
@@tortagialla I purchased to much. Doesn't that seem to be the story? 🙂I got the A5/A6 covers in both the Yumi Kitagishi and the Masamune Kusano series. The A5/A6 Avec's and my first 5-year with the Indigo Jeans cover. Just made the free shipping limit. Can't wait to see them in person.
Thank you for the sympathetic words to the hobonichi team! They had so many site and process changes this year (to lower shipping costs partly if I remember correctly) and during the release, there was a typhoon which I’m sure had some kind of affect on the company (even if just stressing out the staff, but I would think possibly other issues). They seemed to be doing their best with the site maintenance and they have limited options to prevent the resellers. I was one who waited through for a while and was able to place my order! I almost gave up (until later) after two hours but I noticed some error messages changed and decided to hang in there for the maintenance. I probably would have ordered elsewhere to spare them the traffic but I wanted a Japanese edition weeks which none of my local sellers seem to offer. Somehow my order got to the states so fast! But now I’m waiting on FedEx domestically to get it to me … 😒 I ordered the Yuge Fabric Farm weeks ❤ and some accessories of course but the weeks is exciting to me! The fabric looks so pretty and the story of it is so sweet.
@@jaderoush6017 I’m glad you got your weeks and that huge fabric is stunning! I love the bright yellow! Wow! I know some people held out and made their order got through, just takes a whole lot of time and patience 😅 Enjoy your goodies and thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts.
People did the same thing when it came to Sterling Ink release and all over the color of the cover! I understand being upset they don't have your color, size and layout perfectly together but that's NO reason to treat someone badly or be rude... People are starting to take this hobby too seriously and it's taking the fun out of it for me... I remember when I first found this community after doing it all my life and I can remember everyone being so kind and supportive and I hardly ever saw anyone say anything negative about anything! And it's only been a few years for me... Just makes me sad as I thought this community was safe from those types of things.
@@Chaos_and_Creativity Ahh, I suppose no community is immune to negativity but we need to remind ourselves of the good things and not give up because this is a wonderful space to be in for all of paper lovers - such a great community!
Thank you for your positivity! 😊 It is so hard to resist Hobonichi 😅 I was planning to just get the A6 techo and caved with the Paddington collection accessories. I was disappointed with the crash as everyone else was, but decided to wait it out and thankfully was finally able to make the purchase. Thanks for sharing!
@@TheRALifestyle Happy to share here and definitely want to keep it positive and enjoy this stationery life. I’m glad you were able to get your wishlist! Yay! 😀
So thoughtful, Linda! I knew pretty much everything my friends and I wanted would get restocked later, even the Paddington items. So I wasn't mad, more so perplexed haha. But I was fueled by stubbornness and a full cup of late-night chocolate milk, so I obsessively spammed the checkout buttons for an hour until I managed to place our first order😆 Maybe after a bit of time and reflections, who who immediately vented their anger might find their frustrations a bit overblown. I know that I got a nice journal entry out of it, at least. And I'm glad I managed to place orders before the price adjustment that occurred on Sept. 6!
@@ngocngocnotes okay now with the price adjustments, those who got orders in early got a deal! lol - I think it’s fine if you want to tough it out despite tech issues - it was the negativity that was unnecessary and just puts a party pooping mood on the whole launch! Hope next launch is more smooth of course! Thanks for commenting!
I ordered the majority of my items from Amazon Japan (I’m in Australia so it’s not that uncommon or inconvenient for me to do so), but I was checking in on the Hobonichi Reddit and Instagram periodically and WOW so many entitled people allowing their stress to manifest in anger. I really feel for the team at Hobonichi, particularly the social media and customer service people who copped so much abuse for something that isn’t even their department. Super disappointed in the journalling community also. It’s clear some people have never had to wait or miss out on something they want.
@@yzziru oh you put it perfectly in saying people let their stress manifest into anger! It’s just too bad! All this is supposed to be fun!!! Yeah, I feel for the hobonichi team. The customer service folks are so nice and helpful - I mean they literally reply to emails personally, I mean, so nice! I do think people can be so entitled at times - if something sells out - it sucks, but it’s life! Glad you were able to get your items from Amazon Japan! What did you order!??! Thanks for commenting ❤️
@@tortagialla I got the plain A5 Cousin, Weeks Mega in Lemon Water and the Mother/Earthbound Weeks (+ some clear covers) from Amazon for myself. I ended up overpaying a little to purchase the A5 Black Gingham HON locally for a gift for someone who would likely prefer the English version but whatever I overpaid I made up with free shipping anyways! The only thing I really missed out on from my wishlist was the Paddington pencil board for the Weeks but I'm not too upset about that because a) it's basically just a sheet of cardboard and b) I've never actually read or watched Paddington haha. But the local place I ordered the HON from had stock of the Tomitaro Makino boards from last year which match my current setup, as well as the Midori clear covers that fit the Cousin so that worked out. I think a lot of the anger comes from embarrassment too. Like they've allowed themselves to get so publicly excited for launch day, and then when there's a chance they may miss out on whatever they've been picturing themselves owning they lash out and point fingers. It boils down to a lot of people really just lacking problem solving skills.
@@yzziru nice haul! The lemon water color way is pretty 😍 I think Paddington is cute too but not going to cry over it! I think sometimes the internet allows people to go a bit too far! This hobby is fun so let’s not let ourselves get consumed by negative energy!
Yes! Don't judge yourself. Stationery is my hobby, passion, calming place....... no explanation to anyone! 🥰 Oh wow, I heard later that some people had trouble ordering, but I missed that anyone got vicious though. How bizarre! Even as someone with ADHD and deep stationery passion, I still aim for inner calm as much as I can - this frenzy-level FOMO is very off-putting to me. It's stationery, not food during a famine! The Kusano Masamune cover is gorgeous! And love the writing board. I almost all my planners/journals inside covers so I never bother looking at the covers and at least that's 1 less thing I'm coveting lol Good luck with it working for 2025! ☺
@@Autumnichi thanks so much and thanks for commenting. Yeah, it’s the reactions that surprised me because I tend to think stationery people are generally happy in this sphere of life… but some people are still really angry! It’s just sad! 😔
Love your choices!! 💜 This was my first time ordering so I went very basic (only got an A6 Avec, a few memo pads and pencil boards), but if I got a weeks or A6 covers, I'd probably get the exact same ones as you 😊
Patience … next day Hobonichi items were available. Always the fun rush … we should all be used to it. Hopefully all will be fixed and we will continue to be happy planners for 2025…then we go back and forth with different planners or ideas The madness 🤣🤣🤣🤣
No. not everybody that was on at 10pm and then came back later after the maintenance message got everything that they wanted. I was on at 10pm (Hobonichi launch time for me), quit at 11:30pm because their maintenance message appeared on screen. At 3 am I tried again and most things were back in stock but two of the things i wanted were already out of stock and no, they are not back. Sold out and never came back. And no these items are not being sold by third parties. Can't even buy it directly form company that makes it because they don't ship out of Japan. Really sucks. I expected Hobonichi to invest in their I.T. department if they are going to spend so much time on heavy advertising all over the world. It's weird to me that everybody keeps talking about that its no big deal since they will restock...They don't always restock accessories and also if i place a large order now i do not want to pay shipping for a couple of missed items in a separate order. Especially since they took away the option to put things on hold. When this was an option then everything was stress free. If you missed out on something you could just wait and add it later without paying extra shipping. Wish they brought that back.
I totally understand the frustration and disappoinment in missing things out. But even without technical issues you might not get what you want. Same as when concert tickets sell out in the first 4 minutes. It happens! It sucks... but it happens... hopefully there are still other things that can bring you joy, even if you didn't get your first choices! There are definitely a lot of exclusive and Japan only items and special editions in other countries that we can't even buy!
I wouldn’t be surprised if they do bring the shipping hold back, since a staggered release certainly could help them keep up with the demand technologically! Although I got the impression when they announced it not being available that something about their new shipping contracts or payment methods don’t allow it.
@@inkythinky Yup, it’s a lot more work and probably the taxes and such make it very complicated and probably more customer service issues because for example the tax is after shipping for me and so without knowing shipping cost you don’t really know final cost of an item - can get hairy!!! Maybe they can do a queue system but people go crazy with that too 🤣
Stunning haul, thank you so much for sharing!! 🤩Gosh I'm wondering if I should've picked up those gorgeous Himitsu Stranger notebook covers now, I am loving junaida's illustrations (ordered the Purple Night weeks as well!) 😍
@@joyofstationery yay so pretty! It looks like stranger covers are still in stock so no rush! I just really like the unusual characters - it’s sort of cute but closer look it’s funky and I like them! Thanks for watching and commenting! I appreciate the support!
Ohhh i am so so excited and happy that there are all ready unboxing Videos ❤😊 I can't wait for mine to arrive 🎉😅 have to wait until late October because of the piece cover 😊
@@keri_plans Ahh you are in the second wave of people waiting for Oct 1st one piece releases! Hang in there 💪 And I love watching all the unboxings - so fun!!!
@tortagialla no I placed my order already but ordered the Mina Piece Cover and that's why I have to wait 😅🥰 I ordered the full spy x Family collection and I am so so 😊
@@keri_plansooh congrats on snagging a piece cover! It was so exciting that it wasn’t just lottery this year and there were fewer Japan-only items. I already have my holy grail dream piece cover (I think it’s from 2018) that I was able to get secondhand, so I didn’t go for it this time. There were some lottery ones in the past I coveted but also couldn’t bother to wrap my brain around how the lottery system worked lol
I was ready to purchase as the hobonichi shop launch started and only wanted the purple nights weeks and a black stappo and a cat stamp... I was frustrated when my cart emptied twice and then the weeks i wanted said it was out of stock. I went right to atlas stationers and ordered it for about $25 more than it was from hobonichi. I ended up logging on the next morning with my husband to show him it was out of stock already (he thought i was crazy staying up late for a planner so far out) and everything seemed to be perfectly fine. So i paid a bit more but its all good. I filled my own birthday gift wish with it. I feel bad about all the cancelled orders with the smaller shops though
@@MandaPandaPlans I can certainly understand the frustration and emptying cart madness! Yikes! Glad you got the weeks in the end… you supported a local shop ❤️
@@tortagialla yes in the end I'm fine knowing I supported a small shop and reading all the cancelled orders with Jetpens and similar shops once people could order from hobonichi directly upset me thinking of the impact on their stores for being available when people were panicking and then still not getting the sale in the end.
@@MandaPandaPlans It’s definitely a weird situation… I’m not sure what solution there is but we are all free to support retailers as we see fit and I have my fave shops!
@@MandaPandaPlansyes! this is exactly what i’ve been saying! I overpaid at a small shop then placed a big hobonichi order when the website came back up (and all my items were still in stock). I refused to cancel my small shop order just because *I* panicked and had fomo and acted impulsively. it was a good lesson for me, tbh.
@@luxeletterlove it's just feels wrong to me to take the sale from the smaller shop when they pulled through for me when I went into panic mode. I'm glad I'm not alone
Great video. It’s disappointing to hear that some people got so upset over nothing. I also got a small amount of items and paid for shipping. I will be posting my video as soon as my order arrives. 😊
I wanted two things from the Hobonichi 2025 line up, so I ordered them from my local store on sunday 1st and received them on tuesday 3rd. But I'm totally agree with your opinion about the problem with the official store.
So cute! The A6 cover will make an excellent sketch journal- lots of inspiration. And the cat in the weeks blends into the design😂. I still haven’t placed my order. I tried to check out at 10:05 and items started being sold out. All of the Unsodo accessories I reallllly wanted are still not in stock- I will wait. It didn’t cross my mind to go elsewhere because I know hobonichi will restock and what I really wanted was all right there. I was so surprised to hear how people responded afterwards. I think people should remember that there are still several months until 2025- over 100 days. I hope there is some self reflection at some point. It’s a choice to wake up super early to order and it’s a choice to want get your orders 3.5 months before the end of the year. It was sad to hear how people reacted and how they put together events in their mind. I also hope that all the cancelled local orders didn’t throw the smaller businesses off.
@@alicem1111 thanks for commenting and sharing your experience! Yes it is still so early and I’m sure restocks will happen. I think the frenzy gets to the better of people unfortunately. For some items people even wait until the spring release 😅 Well the One Piece items launch October 1st, so I feel like there will be another flurry of ordering as well. I did check the official shops afterwards and the drawer pouches I lust over are sold out, but they restock so I go through this like every year - wondering if I should order 🤣
It's interesting to hear how crazy and mean people got. I feel like the first year I participated in the Sept 1 launch, there were a lot of website hiccups and crashes, but everyone was excited and not mean about it. Does the green plastic cover have a smell to it? Thanks for sharing!
Yup, I hope it all just goes back to being happy stationery community rather than drama... everyone is just trying to do their best, I think! So the cover does smell like plastic but not overwhelming in general to me. Only if I literally stick it to my nose and sniff, then it's plastic smell for sure!
@@stationery.shenanigans Yes, seems very similar! Although I'm interested in the document case by hobonichi as well because it pops up and can hold a lot more than documents!
Hi Linda….. can I ask if you have been to the Stilo Stile store in Rome? I will be visiting Rome next year and was wondering how far from the city centre it is and whether I would be able to walk there? It’s good to support local sellers, I did the same in the UK as I wasn’t wanting too many items.😀
@@jeanrobinson6584 Hello Jean and so exciting you are visiting Rome! I live in Italy but 4 hours away so I haven’t visited the store in person yet! Waiting for an event of some kind I suppose. From my understanding it is away from the historical city center and tourist spots. I think it would take like 30-40 minutes walking from the Rome train station 😅 I suppose it depends how determined you are! You can definitely contact them even on Instagram - they are very helpful if you have questions or wondering how to arrange a visit! Have fun in Rome!
@@tortagialla thank you Linda. We are not going until next September so have time to sort something out. We have been to Rome before and loved it so much so are looking forward to another trip .
While yes the books will be available whenever, some of the things I wanted are not on the restock list. There's also the price difference when ordering from Hobonichi vs their dealers. I have been involved in big launches like this and a failure of this scale is not in any way acceptable. Targeting employees, however, is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE and anyone who did that should be called out. Personally, my cart was emptied 6 times and I said eff it. While I understand the vast language gap, the company simply not addressing the issue immediately and taking everything offline is part of the problem. You can't build up frenzy for a month and then not manage that. Fortunately next year I won't need any covers so I can not bother until later in the year for just books.
@@blktauna wow, your cart was emptied six times - that is frustrating indeed! It definitely sucks to have spent so much time and not get your order through. I obviously don’t know the technical details and it would be nice if there was better communication or instruction from hobonichi so people didn’t just keep trying to no avail 😭 but even if the site didn’t have problems some people will miss out because inevitably things will go out of stock. I’ve experienced other website sales where items go out of stock while I have them in my cart… not sure what the best process is in these situations…
@@tortagialla I also collect resin BJDs through Japan and this sort of limited thing is very common there. Those businesses are much smaller than hobonichi though. They do prepare their buyers for these eventualities though. Thats the difference. Hobonichi should have prepated for this eventuality. Every year they have smaller scale issues like this, so I can't get why they made no plan for the inevitable big problem. But it is as it is and not for you or I to solve.
Nice haul!! I wasn't planning on getting any Hobonichi item, then FOMOnichi acted up and I impulsively ordered a Weeks (which.. I've abandonded a Weeks twice before and I don't even like TRP. So I will be returing it as soon as it arrives.) I'm now just getting me "hobonichi fix" through watching unboxings :)
I hope “FOMOnichi” spreads through the hobby as fast as the term “Techo Kaigi” did lol. It would make for an even more honest and relatable category of posts and videos, that’s for sure 😂
@@Aneedanothaone It’s definitely different depending on the shop. They already had all the hobonichi items at hand so it was quick to process - especially since I’m local - regularly shipping to me is like a day 😜 You’ll get your items soon! Hope you were able to get your wishlist!
I literally just finished watching a video from Whatttupv where she talked about her August planner and Hobonichi experience and she mentioned the same thing about folks canceling orders from small retailers and going to Hobonichi. That’s really sad to hear! 😮
@@m.m.s.11 I suppose with such a large price difference and appeal of freebies, people changed their mind. I realized that maybe my European retailer was inundated because the hobonichi website was so problematic 😅
Thanks for you words!! I was so disappointed in the reactions from some people, too. I couldn't understand why they thought that hobonichi doesn't want Americans to order when literally no one could order... Plus I don't understand why not a lot of peoplentake in account that it was a weekend. So many Europeans could order, plus even japanese people who would normally be at work. That with the bots and everything made it super hard for hobonichi. And go be honest later when I looked at the website nearly everything was still in stock except some tiny things and the arts and science covers in A6.
moral grandstanding on behalf of a company that teases their products for a whole month not being able to anticipate demand and prepare more capacity for their website is a choice for sure
@@AllTheArtsy I don’t think it’s moral grandstanding, I just don’t like all the negativity in a space that is supposed to be about fun and a cozy feeling hobby around journals and stationery. Sure a company can learn to do better - but I don’t think people feeling entitled to HAVE to be able to be able to buy something sounds any better either… just saying…
😂 🇨🇳 communist propaganda-like art is exactly what the pamphlet reminded me of🫢, I’m glad I’m not the only one who was perplexed by it. 🤔 I can’t wait to see it in person and look more at the meaning/qr codes. I went to bed because I wasn’t able to check out (my cart was also cleared multiple times) and I wasn’t too worried because my choices weren’t that popular. And I was surprised to find things back in stock in the morning and placed my order with all the items I wanted. I got the “thanks for your hard work” weeks, the red leather 5 year cover, a5 grid, lined, and blank plain notebooks, clear weeks cover, tin box, some stamps, weeks memo set, and the everlasting envelope.
@@Mel-je3em nice haul! It seems a lot of people could order the next day without issues. I heard Paddington was restocked yesterday but sold out again LOL it’s like you just have to stalk the website. And glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like the pamphlet- maybe it’s the red color and illustration style that makes me think communist propaganda although I’m no expert - it creeps me out!!!
What’s in your hobonichi haul?!
I was online during the server crash and it was so disappointing seeing everything selling out. I gave up after 2 hrs of trying and went to bed. The following day for some reason I decided to check the website at 7am and everything… EVERYTHING was back in stock and I placed my order. ❤ reading Hobonichis post regarding the server back up it makes sense why items would show as sold out. I hope others were able to get their items 😊
@@Kriver12 Oh I feel you pain of seeing things sell out and it was a false impression of what was happening anyway… but glad you were able to order afterwards!
Agree with all you said. I do think frustration is valid, it’s just that the target of the community’s frustration was completely misplaced. The way Hobonichi handled it obviously points to them trying to stop/slow the scalpers so that their actual customers and fans could actually buy what they wanted at reasonable prices from the official store. Everyone making the comparisons to Ticketmaster specifically points to that problem being impossible to fully prepare for. Hobonichi obviously really values community (I think non-Japanese speakers don’t engage with the rest of their content and web presence year-round but it’s definitely there) and I assume no company likes to see vultures basically take advantage of their fans and reap huge profit off the marketing dollars hobonichi spends. I actually think the wider distribution to more retailers is another tactic to combat even larger markups by randos. Logically, if a company only cared about selling as much as possible they would just let the bots and unauthorized resellers have everything and call it a day. If the founder only cared about money he’d probably have kept making video games, but like progressively more mainstream ones with less story and personality. Thats my take, anyway. In the end, I hope the kinder voices like yours prevail!
@@inkythinky great points - I totally agree! I just was saddened by the negativity!
this is the best take i’ve read on this situation. I hadn’t thought about it like that. it makes a lot more sense now.
I was thinking about mark-ups recently when I found some older Hobonichi items for crazy prizes. So if the company is trying to slow that down as you say, then that is fabulous! Like you, I agree frustration is valid,. Frustration is just a feeling, it's what people do with that that matters and it sounds like some people chose poorly. It's this FOMO culture we're in that is just so unhealthy.
@@Autumnichi There are definitely people who capitalize off the fact that you can only get some things in Japan and I don’t know what is right or not, but many of the prices are outrageous! I can understand things become collectible … sigh!
Unboxing starts at 10:20
Thank you for your comments regarding Hobonichi. Like you, I’m very disappointed in the journaling community as well. As seasoned Hobonichi users, they should know that items will be restocked. Not to mention, it’s only September. There’s lots of time to get your 2025 planner. I was able to get what I wanted the very next morning. I love your positivity.
@@jenniferfunk1162 yay for ordering the next morning! Thanks for sharing your thoughts too, I’m glad I’m not the only one - I felt the reactions were so over the top!
You’re absolutely right I don’t understand why people would get so upset over nothing. People acted as if they weren’t ever going to be able to make an order. Hobonichi, is a very big company and I know that they wouldn’t let their customers down. Thank you so much for sharing your kind words about them. This shouldn’t stop people from not ordering. things happen. Beautiful unboxing by the way.
@@caelointheclouds Thanks so much for commenting and I hope things will be better next time and people are able to put it all in perspective! Were you able to get your hobonichi wishlist?
I agree. All the negative creators comparing won’t be getting my watch hours. Thanks for calling it out and being the change you want to see in the world.
@@JunieOutdoors awee thanks - means a lot! I definitely wanted to share my thoughts because it was rampant negativity! Booo!
@@tortagialla I did! I will make a video once they arrive! Thank you 😊📖
I agree with your assessment. I work in technology and, it's fantastic when everything functions smoothly. But when it fails, it can be catastrophic. I admit, I was frustrated and gave up after filling my cart twice. On the 1st, I got up early in the US and decided to try again to see what was left. I managed to get everything on my list. Patience paid off in the end. I’m sure every Hobonichi employee was very concerned, as it’s ingrained in their culture. Their concern for their impact on others is a top priority.
@@CraftyEnelrad thanks for your input! I appreciate it and nice to know patience pays off!!! Happy you got your wishlist! What did you order?
@@tortagialla I purchased to much. Doesn't that seem to be the story? 🙂I got the A5/A6 covers in both the Yumi Kitagishi and the Masamune Kusano series. The A5/A6 Avec's and my first 5-year with the Indigo Jeans cover. Just made the free shipping limit. Can't wait to see them in person.
@@CraftyEnelrad I understand the struggle but at least you got free shipping!!! Sounds like a wonderful haul 😍😍😍
Thank you for the sympathetic words to the hobonichi team! They had so many site and process changes this year (to lower shipping costs partly if I remember correctly) and during the release, there was a typhoon which I’m sure had some kind of affect on the company (even if just stressing out the staff, but I would think possibly other issues). They seemed to be doing their best with the site maintenance and they have limited options to prevent the resellers. I was one who waited through for a while and was able to place my order! I almost gave up (until later) after two hours but I noticed some error messages changed and decided to hang in there for the maintenance. I probably would have ordered elsewhere to spare them the traffic but I wanted a Japanese edition weeks which none of my local sellers seem to offer.
Somehow my order got to the states so fast! But now I’m waiting on FedEx domestically to get it to me … 😒
I ordered the Yuge Fabric Farm weeks ❤ and some accessories of course but the weeks is exciting to me! The fabric looks so pretty and the story of it is so sweet.
@@jaderoush6017 I’m glad you got your weeks and that huge fabric is stunning! I love the bright yellow! Wow! I know some people held out and made their order got through, just takes a whole lot of time and patience 😅 Enjoy your goodies and thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts.
People did the same thing when it came to Sterling Ink release and all over the color of the cover! I understand being upset they don't have your color, size and layout perfectly together but that's NO reason to treat someone badly or be rude... People are starting to take this hobby too seriously and it's taking the fun out of it for me... I remember when I first found this community after doing it all my life and I can remember everyone being so kind and supportive and I hardly ever saw anyone say anything negative about anything! And it's only been a few years for me... Just makes me sad as I thought this community was safe from those types of things.
@@Chaos_and_Creativity Ahh, I suppose no community is immune to negativity but we need to remind ourselves of the good things and not give up because this is a wonderful space to be in for all of paper lovers - such a great community!
Thank you for your positivity! 😊 It is so hard to resist Hobonichi 😅 I was planning to just get the A6 techo and caved with the Paddington collection accessories. I was disappointed with the crash as everyone else was, but decided to wait it out and thankfully was finally able to make the purchase. Thanks for sharing!
@@TheRALifestyle Happy to share here and definitely want to keep it positive and enjoy this stationery life. I’m glad you were able to get your wishlist! Yay! 😀
So thoughtful, Linda!
I knew pretty much everything my friends and I wanted would get restocked later, even the Paddington items. So I wasn't mad, more so perplexed haha.
But I was fueled by stubbornness and a full cup of late-night chocolate milk, so I obsessively spammed the checkout buttons for an hour until I managed to place our first order😆
Maybe after a bit of time and reflections, who who immediately vented their anger might find their frustrations a bit overblown. I know that I got a nice journal entry out of it, at least.
And I'm glad I managed to place orders before the price adjustment that occurred on Sept. 6!
@@ngocngocnotes okay now with the price adjustments, those who got orders in early got a deal! lol - I think it’s fine if you want to tough it out despite tech issues - it was the negativity that was unnecessary and just puts a party pooping mood on the whole launch! Hope next launch is more smooth of course! Thanks for commenting!
I ordered the majority of my items from Amazon Japan (I’m in Australia so it’s not that uncommon or inconvenient for me to do so), but I was checking in on the Hobonichi Reddit and Instagram periodically and WOW so many entitled people allowing their stress to manifest in anger. I really feel for the team at Hobonichi, particularly the social media and customer service people who copped so much abuse for something that isn’t even their department. Super disappointed in the journalling community also. It’s clear some people have never had to wait or miss out on something they want.
@@yzziru oh you put it perfectly in saying people let their stress manifest into anger! It’s just too bad! All this is supposed to be fun!!!
Yeah, I feel for the hobonichi team. The customer service folks are so nice and helpful - I mean they literally reply to emails personally, I mean, so nice!
I do think people can be so entitled at times - if something sells out - it sucks, but it’s life!
Glad you were able to get your items from Amazon Japan! What did you order!??! Thanks for commenting ❤️
@@tortagialla I got the plain A5 Cousin, Weeks Mega in Lemon Water and the Mother/Earthbound Weeks (+ some clear covers) from Amazon for myself. I ended up overpaying a little to purchase the A5 Black Gingham HON locally for a gift for someone who would likely prefer the English version but whatever I overpaid I made up with free shipping anyways!
The only thing I really missed out on from my wishlist was the Paddington pencil board for the Weeks but I'm not too upset about that because a) it's basically just a sheet of cardboard and b) I've never actually read or watched Paddington haha. But the local place I ordered the HON from had stock of the Tomitaro Makino boards from last year which match my current setup, as well as the Midori clear covers that fit the Cousin so that worked out.
I think a lot of the anger comes from embarrassment too. Like they've allowed themselves to get so publicly excited for launch day, and then when there's a chance they may miss out on whatever they've been picturing themselves owning they lash out and point fingers. It boils down to a lot of people really just lacking problem solving skills.
@@yzziru nice haul! The lemon water color way is pretty 😍 I think Paddington is cute too but not going to cry over it!
I think sometimes the internet allows people to go a bit too far! This hobby is fun so let’s not let ourselves get consumed by negative energy!
I so agree…wonderful message for patience, kindness and Joy! Mahalo for your sharing!❤
@@leialohah Thank you for commenting - I appreciate your positivity! ❤️❤️❤️
Yes! Don't judge yourself. Stationery is my hobby, passion, calming place....... no explanation to anyone! 🥰
Oh wow, I heard later that some people had trouble ordering, but I missed that anyone got vicious though. How bizarre!
Even as someone with ADHD and deep stationery passion, I still aim for inner calm as much as I can - this frenzy-level FOMO is very off-putting to me. It's stationery, not food during a famine!
The Kusano Masamune cover is gorgeous! And love the writing board. I almost all my planners/journals inside covers so I never bother looking at the covers and at least that's 1 less thing I'm coveting lol
Good luck with it working for 2025! ☺
@@Autumnichi thanks so much and thanks for commenting. Yeah, it’s the reactions that surprised me because I tend to think stationery people are generally happy in this sphere of life… but some people are still really angry! It’s just sad! 😔
Love your choices!! 💜 This was my first time ordering so I went very basic (only got an A6 Avec, a few memo pads and pencil boards), but if I got a weeks or A6 covers, I'd probably get the exact same ones as you 😊
@@claraptj There’s always the Spring release! I use the a6 size the most, so went a bit wild with the covers 😜 thanks for watching and commenting!
Patience … next day Hobonichi items were available. Always the fun rush … we should all be used to it. Hopefully all will be fixed and we will continue to be happy planners for 2025…then we go back and forth with different planners or ideas The madness 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@awildaseda4005 Yes! Love your mindset! And yes to the madness 🤣 keep it interesting for 2025!
No. not everybody that was on at 10pm and then came back later after the maintenance message got everything that they wanted. I was on at 10pm (Hobonichi launch time for me), quit at 11:30pm because their maintenance message appeared on screen. At 3 am I tried again and most things were back in stock but two of the things i wanted were already out of stock and no, they are not back. Sold out and never came back. And no these items are not being sold by third parties. Can't even buy it directly form company that makes it because they don't ship out of Japan. Really sucks. I expected Hobonichi to invest in their I.T. department if they are going to spend so much time on heavy advertising all over the world.
It's weird to me that everybody keeps talking about that its no big deal since they will restock...They don't always restock accessories and also if i place a large order now i do not want to pay shipping for a couple of missed items in a separate order. Especially since they took away the option to put things on hold. When this was an option then everything was stress free. If you missed out on something you could just wait and add it later without paying extra shipping. Wish they brought that back.
I totally understand the frustration and disappoinment in missing things out. But even without technical issues you might not get what you want. Same as when concert tickets sell out in the first 4 minutes. It happens! It sucks... but it happens... hopefully there are still other things that can bring you joy, even if you didn't get your first choices! There are definitely a lot of exclusive and Japan only items and special editions in other countries that we can't even buy!
I wouldn’t be surprised if they do bring the shipping hold back, since a staggered release certainly could help them keep up with the demand technologically! Although I got the impression when they announced it not being available that something about their new shipping contracts or payment methods don’t allow it.
@@inkythinky Yup, it’s a lot more work and probably the taxes and such make it very complicated and probably more customer service issues because for example the tax is after shipping for me and so without knowing shipping cost you don’t really know final cost of an item - can get hairy!!! Maybe they can do a queue system but people go crazy with that too 🤣
I love the aletonne covers 😍 they remind me of patent leather shoes. I also like the floppy feel.
@@heidi1651 They give me vintage vibes! Love love ❤️
TFS & Happy Hobonichi season 📚
@@michellealdrich Hapy hobonichi season and thanks for commenting!
Stunning haul, thank you so much for sharing!! 🤩Gosh I'm wondering if I should've picked up those gorgeous Himitsu Stranger notebook covers now, I am loving junaida's illustrations (ordered the Purple Night weeks as well!) 😍
@@joyofstationery yay so pretty! It looks like stranger covers are still in stock so no rush! I just really like the unusual characters - it’s sort of cute but closer look it’s funky and I like them! Thanks for watching and commenting! I appreciate the support!
Ohhh i am so so excited and happy that there are all ready unboxing Videos ❤😊 I can't wait for mine to arrive 🎉😅 have to wait until late October because of the piece cover 😊
@@keri_plans Ahh you are in the second wave of people waiting for Oct 1st one piece releases! Hang in there 💪 And I love watching all the unboxings - so fun!!!
@tortagialla no I placed my order already but ordered the Mina Piece Cover and that's why I have to wait 😅🥰 I ordered the full spy x Family collection and I am so so 😊
@@keri_plans Oh nice! What amazing choices and the whole spy family collection is so good 😍
@@keri_plansooh congrats on snagging a piece cover! It was so exciting that it wasn’t just lottery this year and there were fewer Japan-only items. I already have my holy grail dream piece cover (I think it’s from 2018) that I was able to get secondhand, so I didn’t go for it this time. There were some lottery ones in the past I coveted but also couldn’t bother to wrap my brain around how the lottery system worked lol
Stilo & Stile isn’t just a big retailer in Europe but we use them a lot in the us for fountain pens and ink and the occasional notebook
@@Pym1975 thanks for commenting! I suppose it’s worldwide because they offer so many products and great shipping options
@@tortagialla they also have great customer service
@@Pym1975 Agreed!
I was ready to purchase as the hobonichi shop launch started and only wanted the purple nights weeks and a black stappo and a cat stamp... I was frustrated when my cart emptied twice and then the weeks i wanted said it was out of stock. I went right to atlas stationers and ordered it for about $25 more than it was from hobonichi. I ended up logging on the next morning with my husband to show him it was out of stock already (he thought i was crazy staying up late for a planner so far out) and everything seemed to be perfectly fine. So i paid a bit more but its all good. I filled my own birthday gift wish with it. I feel bad about all the cancelled orders with the smaller shops though
@@MandaPandaPlans I can certainly understand the frustration and emptying cart madness! Yikes! Glad you got the weeks in the end… you supported a local shop ❤️
@@tortagialla yes in the end I'm fine knowing I supported a small shop and reading all the cancelled orders with Jetpens and similar shops once people could order from hobonichi directly upset me thinking of the impact on their stores for being available when people were panicking and then still not getting the sale in the end.
@@MandaPandaPlans It’s definitely a weird situation… I’m not sure what solution there is but we are all free to support retailers as we see fit and I have my fave shops!
@@MandaPandaPlansyes! this is exactly what i’ve been saying! I overpaid at a small shop then placed a big hobonichi order when the website came back up (and all my items were still in stock). I refused to cancel my small shop order just because *I* panicked and had fomo and acted impulsively. it was a good lesson for me, tbh.
@@luxeletterlove it's just feels wrong to me to take the sale from the smaller shop when they pulled through for me when I went into panic mode. I'm glad I'm not alone
Great video. It’s disappointing to hear that some people got so upset over nothing. I also got a small amount of items and paid for shipping. I will be posting my video as soon as my order arrives. 😊
@@Loretta_C oh yay! Looking forward to seeing your unboxing!
I wanted two things from the Hobonichi 2025 line up, so I ordered them from my local store on sunday 1st and received them on tuesday 3rd. But I'm totally agree with your opinion about the problem with the official store.
@@darkensys Yay! Glad you got your items and so quickly! Makes sense to go local with just a few items - what did you order?
So cute! The A6 cover will make an excellent sketch journal- lots of inspiration. And the cat in the weeks blends into the design😂.
I still haven’t placed my order. I tried to check out at 10:05 and items started being sold out. All of the Unsodo accessories I reallllly wanted are still not in stock- I will wait. It didn’t cross my mind to go elsewhere because I know hobonichi will restock and what I really wanted was all right there. I was so surprised to hear how people responded afterwards. I think people should remember that there are still several months until 2025- over 100 days. I hope there is some self reflection at some point. It’s a choice to wake up super early to order and it’s a choice to want get your orders 3.5 months before the end of the year. It was sad to hear how people reacted and how they put together events in their mind. I also hope that all the cancelled local orders didn’t throw the smaller businesses off.
@@alicem1111 thanks for commenting and sharing your experience!
Yes it is still so early and I’m sure restocks will happen. I think the frenzy gets to the better of people unfortunately. For some items people even wait until the spring release 😅
Well the One Piece items launch October 1st, so I feel like there will be another flurry of ordering as well.
I did check the official shops afterwards and the drawer pouches I lust over are sold out, but they restock so I go through this like every year - wondering if I should order 🤣
It's interesting to hear how crazy and mean people got. I feel like the first year I participated in the Sept 1 launch, there were a lot of website hiccups and crashes, but everyone was excited and not mean about it. Does the green plastic cover have a smell to it? Thanks for sharing!
Yup, I hope it all just goes back to being happy stationery community rather than drama... everyone is just trying to do their best, I think! So the cover does smell like plastic but not overwhelming in general to me. Only if I literally stick it to my nose and sniff, then it's plastic smell for sure!
@@tortagialla It so reminds me of the Nahe cases which is why I am tempted haha
@@stationery.shenanigans Yes, seems very similar! Although I'm interested in the document case by hobonichi as well because it pops up and can hold a lot more than documents!
Hi Linda….. can I ask if you have been to the Stilo Stile store in Rome? I will be visiting Rome next year and was wondering how far from the city centre it is and whether I would be able to walk there? It’s good to support local sellers, I did the same in the UK as I wasn’t wanting too many items.😀
@@jeanrobinson6584 Hello Jean and so exciting you are visiting Rome! I live in Italy but 4 hours away so I haven’t visited the store in person yet! Waiting for an event of some kind I suppose. From my understanding it is away from the historical city center and tourist spots. I think it would take like 30-40 minutes walking from the Rome train station 😅 I suppose it depends how determined you are! You can definitely contact them even on Instagram - they are very helpful if you have questions or wondering how to arrange a visit! Have fun in Rome!
@@tortagialla thank you Linda. We are not going until next September so have time to sort something out. We have been to Rome before and loved it so much so are looking forward to another trip .
@@jeanrobinson6584 How lovely!!! 🥰
While yes the books will be available whenever, some of the things I wanted are not on the restock list. There's also the price difference when ordering from Hobonichi vs their dealers. I have been involved in big launches like this and a failure of this scale is not in any way acceptable. Targeting employees, however, is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE and anyone who did that should be called out. Personally, my cart was emptied 6 times and I said eff it. While I understand the vast language gap, the company simply not addressing the issue immediately and taking everything offline is part of the problem. You can't build up frenzy for a month and then not manage that. Fortunately next year I won't need any covers so I can not bother until later in the year for just books.
@@blktauna wow, your cart was emptied six times - that is frustrating indeed! It definitely sucks to have spent so much time and not get your order through. I obviously don’t know the technical details and it would be nice if there was better communication or instruction from hobonichi so people didn’t just keep trying to no avail 😭 but even if the site didn’t have problems some people will miss out because inevitably things will go out of stock. I’ve experienced other website sales where items go out of stock while I have them in my cart… not sure what the best process is in these situations…
@@tortagialla I also collect resin BJDs through Japan and this sort of limited thing is very common there. Those businesses are much smaller than hobonichi though. They do prepare their buyers for these eventualities though. Thats the difference. Hobonichi should have prepated for this eventuality. Every year they have smaller scale issues like this, so I can't get why they made no plan for the inevitable big problem. But it is as it is and not for you or I to solve.
@@blktauna Maybe they need a new tech team?! 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you🥰
Nice haul!!
I wasn't planning on getting any Hobonichi item, then FOMOnichi acted up and I impulsively ordered a Weeks (which.. I've abandonded a Weeks twice before and I don't even like TRP. So I will be returing it as soon as it arrives.) I'm now just getting me "hobonichi fix" through watching unboxings :)
@@OktoberJournal OMG love FOMOnichi term - so me too 🤣🤣🤣
@@tortagialla found the term somewhere online, but it resonates with me a lot!!
I hope “FOMOnichi” spreads through the hobby as fast as the term “Techo Kaigi” did lol. It would make for an even more honest and relatable category of posts and videos, that’s for sure 😂
@@inkythinky I'll be sure to use in in my video title when I talk about my lineup ahha :D
@@inkythinky Agree… everyone tries hobonichi at some point!
Such quick shipping. I’m down under and my order won’t be shipped for another 5 business days
@@Aneedanothaone It’s definitely different depending on the shop. They already had all the hobonichi items at hand so it was quick to process - especially since I’m local - regularly shipping to me is like a day 😜 You’ll get your items soon! Hope you were able to get your wishlist!
I literally just finished watching a video from Whatttupv where she talked about her August planner and Hobonichi experience and she mentioned the same thing about folks canceling orders from small retailers and going to Hobonichi. That’s really sad to hear! 😮
@@m.m.s.11 I suppose with such a large price difference and appeal of freebies, people changed their mind. I realized that maybe my European retailer was inundated because the hobonichi website was so problematic 😅
Thanks for you words!!
I was so disappointed in the reactions from some people, too. I couldn't understand why they thought that hobonichi doesn't want Americans to order when literally no one could order...
Plus I don't understand why not a lot of peoplentake in account that it was a weekend. So many Europeans could order, plus even japanese people who would normally be at work. That with the bots and everything made it super hard for hobonichi.
And go be honest later when I looked at the website nearly everything was still in stock except some tiny things and the arts and science covers in A6.
@@Die6teSense Yes, it was really unfortunate all the grief it caused… I hope everyone is calm now and moving onward! Life goes on! 😅
Love your choices
@@debbiea9262 Thanks so much! Did you grab any hobonichi items!?
moral grandstanding on behalf of a company that teases their products for a whole month not being able to anticipate demand and prepare more capacity for their website is a choice for sure
@@AllTheArtsy I don’t think it’s moral grandstanding, I just don’t like all the negativity in a space that is supposed to be about fun and a cozy feeling hobby around journals and stationery. Sure a company can learn to do better - but I don’t think people feeling entitled to HAVE to be able to be able to buy something sounds any better either… just saying…
😂 🇨🇳 communist propaganda-like art is exactly what the pamphlet reminded me of🫢, I’m glad I’m not the only one who was perplexed by it. 🤔 I can’t wait to see it in person and look more at the meaning/qr codes.
I went to bed because I wasn’t able to check out (my cart was also cleared multiple times) and I wasn’t too worried because my choices weren’t that popular. And I was surprised to find things back in stock in the morning and placed my order with all the items I wanted.
I got the “thanks for your hard work” weeks, the red leather 5 year cover, a5 grid, lined, and blank plain notebooks, clear weeks cover, tin box, some stamps, weeks memo set, and the everlasting envelope.
@@Mel-je3em nice haul! It seems a lot of people could order the next day without issues. I heard Paddington was restocked yesterday but sold out again LOL it’s like you just have to stalk the website.
And glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t like the pamphlet- maybe it’s the red color and illustration style that makes me think communist propaganda although I’m no expert - it creeps me out!!!