Volks JP at Magical Mirai 2013 Hatsune Miku Event

I saw $282 on the price and got excited for a second... then saw the words "down payment".

Could I ask, based on the prior experience of everyone else, how's the fluctuation on the yen exchange rate? I don't have the cash on hand to pay for the deposit on Volks USA, so I think the fluctuation on the exchange rate might be something I'm willing to risk, as payment of sorts for the time to save.

 

USD JPY is the only cross I watch, so this isn't going to be applicable to everyone, but in my experience it's pretty unpredictable. You'd be taking a bit of a gamble. (It's your money, but you really ought to be aware.)

 

I've been keeping an eye on USD JPY for the past three years or so (haven't actually bought any crosses outside of getting items priced in yen on Mandarake), and it's pretty interesting. I get the impression that it's prone to kind of strange behavior, as it's a cross between two competing "safe haven" currencies; it makes them both even more driven by sentiment than other investments, as opposed to logic. From 2007 to late 2011, the USD dropped against the yen, from a high of 130 yen to the dollar or so, finally down to 75. And then in the past year, it's done a complete 180 and gotten up to around 97-100 yen to the dollar for the past couple of months.

 

The real danger, though, is that it is *very* difficult to sort the major moves from the daily noise. For several months after the dollar hit bottom on the yen at 75, and subsequently snuck up to 84 or so, experts kept saying it was going to slide down again, possibly to 70. The bizarre part of the original pattern, and the forecasts based on it, is that despite the yen's ForEx strength against the dollar, the Japanese economy was doing as bad as the US, possibly even worse given that their recession started in the late 90's and they never quite recovered. Ironically, it took the Japanese government admitting there was something wrong with their economy to flip the rate around. And lately, with both the Japanese and US governments using similar quantitative easing programs, things have been kind of stuck, with even experts basically saying they can't tell which direction the next major break will be.

 

So basically it's a great big guessing game; you could end up saving money, or end up paying quite a bit extra, and you won't know until she ships. If you really need the time to save that badly, though, I'd say set your saving goal a hundred or two above what you'd be paying now, as insurance against being caught short. Alternately, you could play the ForEx market directly, and buy bits of yen on good days and hoard it for if the dollar dips.

 

Just be aware that if you're going with International, you're probably in for a bit of a ride during the wait.

If you really need the time to save that badly, though, I'd say set your saving goal a hundred or two above what you'd be paying now, as insurance against being caught short.

 

This is exactly what Raven and I have been doing with our Kos-Mos/Momo savings and keeping an eye on the current exchange rate. That way if we need to save more then it won't catch us off guard once the payment is due. For us it has worked really well and plan to do the same thing for Raven's Miku.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Well, the problem with predictions now is that both countries are heavily in debt, have no interest rates and are openly printing money. This is an unstable equilibrium of two competing bubbles.

 

FWIW, Japan has an interest in keeping the yen devalued because they export so much. USA has an interest in keeping the dollar strong because we import so much. Since they are in general agreement, the rate should remain steady (within 5-10% change) in the short term, but any kind of "shock" to the system will bring it out of whack.

USD:JPY trend over the past 5 years. The graph goes back 10 years.

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=JPY&view=5Y

USD:JPY trend over the past 5 years. The graph goes back 10 years.

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=JPY&view=5Y

 

Ah, cool! Man, this year's trend reversal looks even crazier in graph form. It also shows how volatile the current rate really is. Blugh, even the next four months or so waiting for the rest of Homura to ship is going to drive me bonkers trying to keep track; I'm very impressed with those of you going through a year's worth for Kos-Mos and/or Miku!

Anyone else worried about the Senbonzakura outfit? It's almost time for the pre-orders to start and no word about it yet..

Anyone else worried about the Senbonzakura outfit? It's almost time for the pre-orders to start and no word about it yet..

 

ehh... I'm not going to worry until right on the 28th. They've still got 2 days tech (since it's already the 26th in japan). I hope they do release it, I really really want it.. -__-

Miku by Miss Nekopon, on Flickr

Miku by Miss Nekopon, on Flickr

 

meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeow! love it!!!

Just saw whats included in the Senbonzakura outfit set OvO

 

http://www.volks.co.jp/miku/en/dress0101/

 

NICE~!!! I'm so getting it!!

 

(forgive me if someone has posted the link already)

Miku by Miss Nekopon, on Flickr

 

Very nice!

Just saw whats included in the Senbonzakura outfit set OvO

 

http://www.volks.co.jp/miku/en/dress0101/

 

NICE~!!! I'm so getting it!!

 

(forgive me if someone has posted the link already)

 

Pretty expensive but seems the included wig and eyes,in the end will justified the price

The boots with that outfit are so awesome...

 

yes but 200 bucks for the boots is kinda overkill for me

holy cow. This is pretty, bot not *that* pretty to me. I'd very much like the wig and the eyes though

 

when is the deadline for both doll & outfit??

yes but 200 bucks for the boots is kinda overkill for me

 

Yeah, but I like the eyes/skirt/socks/glovettes too. The boots are just AMAZING (to me).

holy cow. This is pretty, bot not *that* pretty to me. I'd very much like the wig and the eyes though

 

when is the deadline for both doll & outfit??

you wanna split?

i want the boots and outfit

yes but 200 bucks for the boots is kinda overkill for me

 

Yeah, but I like the eyes/skirt/socks/glovettes too. The boots are just AMAZING (to me).

i know but for me those boots are the dealmaker

Those are the weirdest boots. I would just give them to you, shinegamix-san.

Those are the weirdest boots. I would just give them to you, shinegamix-san.

sounds like a deal to me

Awww You are so sweet.

The outfit looks great! It's expensive, but I think I will get it anyways. It comes with a lot of stuff, the the price is understandable (adding up the parts with what Volks usually charges for stuff like that, it's actually not bad at all). This will be my first fullset purchase, I might as well go all the way, lol.

I'm on the fence about Miku (her face sculpt doesn't really do anything for me), but that Senbonzakura outfit.... *v*

 

I'm super tempted to put in my order... only two days left to make a decision.

I'm on the fence about Miku (her face sculpt doesn't really do anything for me), but that Senbonzakura outfit.... *v*

 

I'm super tempted to put in my order... only two days left to make a decision.

you mean 2 months