Customer Information

Below, we gathered the most important information you need to know about shopping with Sazen Tea. If you are new to online shopping, you also find a guide here that helps you through the purchase process.

Topics Covered

General Information
Terms and Conditions

Company name: Sazen Tea Co., Ltd.
Company owner and CEO: Jotatsu Motonari
Managing Director: Agnes Balogh
Address: Enmado-Cho 222-1, MORIYAMA, SHIGA 524-0042, JAPAN
Contact information:
Telephone number: +81 77 585 9661
Fax: +81 77 584 4110

Operating Time

Current time in Japan:

*Japanese holidays are highlighted in gold.
Current date is highlighted in grey.

Webstore: open 24/7
Customer Service and Shipping:
from Monday to Friday, 9 AM-5 PM, except on Japanese National Holidays

Our Customer Service is available in Japanese, English, and Hungarian.

Discounts and Bonuses

Free shipping offer
★ Free shipping to Japanese addresses by Yu-Pack over ¥10,000 JPY cart value (for shipments sent by Yamato the difference in shipping fees must be paid)
★ Free international shipping by the lowest-price shipping option on USD orders exceeding $200 USD cart value (The lowest-price delivery service is chosen automatically by the system. If a different delivery service is chosen by the customer, the difference in shipping fees has to be paid.)

Free Tea Sample
★ In every order we include at least one free tea sample as a gift.

Reward Point
★ Get reward points for every order you place as a registered customer.

VIP Club Discounts
For our registered Customers we offer VIP Club Discounts

★ Silver Grade VIP discount - 5% off listed prices after ¥200,000 JPY / $2,000 USD annual spending

★ Golden Grade VIP discount - 10% off listed prices after ¥500,000 JPY / $5,000 USD annual spending.

Payment Options

PayPal: Online payment option through your personal PayPal account with your PayPal balance or credit card (VISA, MasterCard, JCB, AMERICAN EXPRESS, Discover Card)
Credit card payment: Online payment option using the secure web banking interface of Paygent. Accepted cards: VISA, MasterCard, JCB, AMERICAN EXPRESS (only for JPY payments), or Diners credit cards
Money transfer: For international money transfers, we recommend using Wise.
Due to the heavy charges, direct bank transfer is recommended only for those who have a Japanese bank account.
C.O.D. (Cash on delivery): Payment upon delivery. This service is only available with Yamato Transport within Japan.

The banking partner of Sazen Tea Co., Ltd. is Mitsubishi UFJ Bank.

Please note, that in the case of Credit card payments, we are unable to give partial refunds. If there is a need for a partial refund for a Credit card payment we can only credit the refundable amount to the customer's registered Sazen Tea account in Sazen Reward Points (1 USD = 1 point in USD system, 1 JPY = 1 point in JPY system).

Delivery Services

DHL – International Express Courier Service
FedEx – International Express Courier Service
S.F. Express - Chinese International Express Courier Service
Japan Post
- EMS – International Express Mail Service
- Yu-Pack – Japan Domestic Mail Service
Yamato – Japan Domestic Courier Service
Pick-Up – You can pick up your order personally at our headquarters > Sazen Tea Head Office, Enmado-Cho 222-1, MORIYAMA, SHIGA 524-0042, JAPAN

Sales Volume

There is order volume restriction on specific products, depending on stock availability and production capacity.
Please always check the product description page.

Required Payments Other Than Product Prices

Package fee
This fee covers the handling fee, safe packaging materials, postage, fuel surcharge, and emergency surcharge.

Package Fee Calculator

Choose your country and provide estimated package weight to check the package fee:

Country:

Estimated package weight: g

Calculate

*This calculation is for information purposes only. Our system calculates the package fee based on the gross weight of the products, the box they are shipped in, and the shockproof material that guarantees safe shipping.

Optional extra shipping services
+ DDP / All Duties & Taxes paid
+ DS / Direct Signature Request
+ SI / Shipment Insurance

About importing fees
In certain countries, taxes are charged on imported goods. About the current rates of customs duties in the destination country please contact the local authority. The Customs duties do not belong to our competence only in case you have chosen DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) service. As the importer, the recipient of the shipment has the responsibility to take care of all clearance procedures and applicable import charges. These charges are not made to Sazen Tea Co. Ltd. but are charged by and fully belong to the government of the receiving country.

Due for Payment

The withdrawal date is the closing date of each credit card company.

By means of bank transfer:
Please transfer the payment to our designated account within 5 working days. If the payment is not confirmed within this period, the order will be canceled. Preparation of the package only starts after the payment is made.

Payment on Delivery (C.O.D.):
Please pay to the courier from Yamato Transport upon receiving the package.

In the case of Debit Cards, the bank issues the payment in two steps, which might appear as a double payment, but your bank will release the allocated amount within a few days.

Processing and Delivery Time

Your shipment will be dispatched within 3-10 business days*. Preparation time can vary due to the manufacturer's capacity, Japanese National Holidays, as well as natural disasters or accidents, and we do not guarantee posting dates. If there is a delay due to a sudden stock shortage, we will inform you by e-mail. After posting, the delivery time varies by country and delivery service.
*Business days = days excluding weekends and Japanese holidays.

Return and Exchange

If you would like to request a refund or a replacement, please contact us within 10 days after the arrival of the product. We can comply with your request if

the wrong product has been shipped,
a defective product has been shipped,
the product got damaged during shipping (please always check the outward appearance of the package before opening it and take pictures if you see any damage).

Detailed Information about General Purchase Terms and Conditions

Introduction

The following General Terms and Conditions of Purchase (hereinafter: GTC) apply to the www.sazentea.com website and they qualify as the general contract terms and conditions.
Our company reserves the right to modify the provisions of the GTC. Therefore, we kindly ask you to read the terms and conditions on the website before you make your purchase. In the event of any amendment to the GTC, the terms and conditions effective on the day you place your order will apply.

How to Order

You may place your order for our products via our website.
Click "ADD to cart" to add the specific product to your shopping list. If you wish to add other items to your shopping list, click “CONTINUE shopping”. To verify or change the content of your shopping list, go to your Cart menu. Once you select the shipping address, this page will also display the estimated shipping cost.
Click "Proceed to CHECKOUT" to place the order. There you can either revise your shipping data or fill in the required fields if you are a non-registered customer. Bellow the "Proceed to CHECKOUT” button you may also find “PayPal” which is an express checkout, where our system takes all your shipping data from your PayPal account. (Please make sure that it is the address you want us to deliver your order to!)
We recommend you to register and make a Sazen profile because that comes with numerous benefits. As a registered customer, you will receive "Reward Points" with each purchase. Click HERE for more details on our reward program.
Once you enter the required data (shipping address, payment method, shipping method), click "CONFIRM payment" to confirm your order.
Depending on the selected payment method, you are either directed to a secure payment website or our 'Confirm' page. After confirming the payment, your order is activated.
You will receive an automatic confirmation email of your order to the e-mail address you entered. (If you don’t receive this email within 48 hours, please inform us through the Contact Us menu on our website. Sometimes the email goes to SPAM, so please make sure you also check your SPAM box.)

Payment

PayPal Transaction

By clicking on the “CONFIRM Payment” button the customer is redirected to a secure payment web page operated by PayPal Pte. Ltd., where options to proceed with a PayPal account or guest user are available. After giving adequate information and by clicking on the “Continue” button, you can start the transaction.
If you are not redirected from the payment page to the web store then the transaction is considered unsuccessful. If you are on the payment page and you click on the “Cancel and return to Sazen Tea” or “Refresh” buttons or if you close the browser window before you are redirected to the web store, the payment is considered unsuccessful. If you would like to receive further information on the status of your transaction or the reasons for its failure, please get in touch with the bank managing your account.
Cards accepted: The payment page of PayPal accepts VISA, MasterCard, JCB, AMERICAN EXPRESS, and Discover Card. You can pay from any foreign currency account according to the current exchange rate of PayPal.
Using PayPal’s system is a secure transaction method.
Learn more about PayPal HERE.

Credit Card Transaction

By clicking on the "CONFIRM Payment" button you will be redirected to Paygent’s secure site.
After giving adequate information and by clicking on the “Continue” button, you can start the transaction.
If you are not redirected from the payment page to the web store, then the transaction is considered unsuccessful. If you are on the payment page and you click on the “Previous page” or “Refresh” buttons or if you close the browser window before you are redirected to the web store, the payment is considered unsuccessful. If you would like to receive further information on the status of your transaction or the reasons for its failure, please get in touch with the bank managing your account.
Cards accepted: Paygent accepts bank cards belonging to the MasterCard and VISA family of cards as well as JCB, AMERICAN EXPRESS (only for JPY payments), or Diners credit cards.
Using Paygent’s system is a secure transaction method.
Please note, that in the case of Credit card payments, we are unable to give partial refunds. If there is a need for a partial refund for a Credit card payment we can only credit the refundable amount to the customer's registered Sazen Tea account in Sazen Reward Points (1 USD = 1 point in USD system, 1 JPY = 1 point in JPY system).

Money Transfer

Direct bank transfer is only available for Japanese bank account holders. We are not accepting bank transfers from non-Japanese bank accounts.
If you wish to pay by bank transfer but don’t have a Japanese bank account, we suggest you use Wise. Wise is one of the most reasonable options to send money abroad.

C.O.D. (Cash on Delivery)

Payment upon delivery. This service is only available with Yamato Transport within Japan.

Payment due date:

The total order amount is pre-authorized by the credit/debit card company immediately after the customer approves the payment. The amount is withdrawn from the customer's account on the card company's closing day.

For bank transfers, the total purchase price of the order sent by e-mail is expected to be credited to our bank account within 5 business days following your order. If the full amount is not credited to our account by the deadline specified, your order will be canceled.

If you chose cash on delivery (C.O.D), please pay the total amount of your order (including the shipping fee) to the Yamato Transport courier.

In the case of Debit Cards, the bank issues the payment in two steps. First, it reserves the amount you need to pay (so it disappears from your account), and second, it transfers us the amount. They do these two steps at the same time, so it can appear as a double payment, but in fact, the bank is just holding the allocated amount for a while even after transferring the payment to us. Please wait for a little, soon you will see that the amount in question will be returned to your account by your bank.

Prices

The sales prices on the website are listed in United States Dollars (USD) or Japanese Yen (JPY). The prices include the Japanese VAT.

In case you choose DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) service for an international order, we reduce the DDP service price with the Japanese VAT (which is 8% of the item’s net price) of the items you have ordered.

If you did not choose the DDP service but customs charges are applicable to the shipment in your country, you can forward us the payment proof of customs clearance, and we will refund you the Japanese VAT of your purchased items in Sazen Reward points.

Extra Charges You Need or Might Need to Pay

Package Fee

The sales prices of our products listed on the website do not include the shipping or customs fees. Handling costs (packaging and preparation of package), postage (official prices charged by delivery services), and fuel and emergency surcharges (also charged by delivery services) are calculated based on the receiving country, the chosen delivery service, and the measurements of the package. These expenses are shown as “Package fee” in the Cart and are to be paid by the customer.
Customers are notified about related fees in all cases before the contract comes into force. The final compensation has to be paid in advance for the delivery of the products. Please note that the Package fee is calculated based on the gross weight of the full package which is made up of the gross weight of the ordered items and the packaging. The shown weights in some product descriptions (e.g. teas) are of the net weight. For instance, the gross weight of 100 g loose tea is 120 g, or the gross weight of 40 g matcha tea is 90 g because of the can it is provided in.

Customs Duties

Please note that customs duties do not belong to our competence and the Package fee does not include customs fees. Duties may have to be paid on receipt of the parcel. These fees are charged by the receiving country and we have no control over them. Please learn about your country’s import rules before ordering.

In case you choose DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) service, we undertake all the incurring charges upon the customs clearance. Please note that you might still be required to provide some documents to clear the package for customs (eg. invoice, proof of payment), but no extra fees will be charged to you to release the parcel.

Be informed that the DDP service is not available for all the countries we ship to.

Discounts and Bonuses

Free Tea Sample
In every order we include at least one free tea sample as a gift. These samples can be matcha or loose-leaf teas. They are selected randomly by Sazen, and we can not comply with special requests.

Reward Point
At Sazen Tea webshop registered and logged-in users can earn and collect points calculated based on the total value of the purchase.

Reward points for purchases with US dollars:
After every 50 dollars spent we offer 1 point that equals 1 US dollar.

Reward points for purchases with Japanese yen:
After every 50 yen spent, we offer 1 point that equals 1 Japanese yen.

The received points are valid for 12 months. After each purchase, this expiry date is extended. The countdown starts from the date of the last purchase.
Expired points cannot be revalidated, our system deletes them automatically.

VIP Club Discounts
For our registered Customers we offer VIP Club Discounts

Silver Grade VIP discount
If you spend ¥200,000 JPY / $2,000 USD or more in one year, you get a 5% discount on all following purchases.
Golden Grade VIP discount
If you spend ¥500,000 JPY / $5,000 USD or more in a year, you get a 10% discount on all following purchases.

Wholesale Program
We offer a wholesale program for tea stores and cafes with corporate ID and proof of business activity related to tea. For further details and conditions contact us at
Please note that we can not support Amazon or Ebay sellers, drop shippers, bloggers or tea clubs with our wholesale program.

Please note that any official certificates (e.g. Certificate of Origin, Certificate of Authenticity, Organic Certificate, Phytosanitary Certificate, etc.) do not belong to our competencies and we can not comply with any requests for such documents.

Packaging

We package orders with the utmost care and attention.
Our extensive experience guarantees that the products you order will be delivered without any damage. On the rare occasion that a product does get damaged while shipping, we take responsibility and either replace the damaged item or issue a refund.

Sales Volume Limitations

Orders on matcha tea, loose tea, and incense have no volume limitations (except for products marked as “Limited”, or on specific products, depending on stock availability or production capacity).
For tea utensils and accessories, our stock is often limited. It is possible to obtain larger amounts of certain items, but that might take a longer time, depending on the producer’s capacity. In case there is a delay, we will contact you by email.

Shipping Details

Delivery time has three main sections:

1. Process time
The Sazen Team works hard to make sure that your order is shipped as soon as possible. Depending on our inventory, packages are shipped within 3-10 business days* after we received your payment. Preparation time can vary due to the manufacturer's capacity, Japanese National Holidays, as well as natural disasters or accidents, and we do not guarantee posting dates.
If you order large quantities, delays are expected, because depending on the makers’ capacities, the preparation might take longer than usual.
*Business days = days excluding weekends and Japanese holidays.

2. Transit time
Delivery time after dispatching depends on the destination and the chosen delivery service.
Some seasons are busier for the delivery services, causing delays in the delivery. E.g., in countries where Christmas is celebrated, the delivery may take significantly longer before and during this holiday season.
Please take into account that our partners do not operate on weekends and Japanese National Holidays, thus we are not able to dispatch packages on these days.
Delivery time can vary due to the delivery service, the customs clearance of each country, as well as natural disasters or accidents, and we do not guarantee delivery dates.

3. Customs Process Time
Your package may be subject to customs procedures in certain countries. This may slow down the final delivery and may incur some extra charges. Customs proceedings are beyond our control and we cannot be held liable for what happens to your package once it reaches the country of destination. For more information, please contact your local authorities or the local office of the carrier company you have chosen.
Exception from this is DDP service, in which case customs duties and taxes are paid to us by the customer upon placing the order, and we are responsible for all the customs clearance payments. The consignee might still be contacted for the customs clearance process and asked to provide documents, such as invoice, proof of payment, etc.

Responsibility for the package

All our packages are sent as FOB (Free on Board), which is a term in international commercial law meaning that as soon as the shipment of goods leaves our warehouse, we record the sale as complete. You own the products en route as a buyer and you assume responsibility for completing the customs clearance and for managing the final delivery. That also means that if the package is lost or damaged in transit, you must file any claims for reimbursement.
For this reason, we recommend choosing Direct Signature and/or Shipment Insurance extra services for orders. Using Direct Signature greatly reduces the chances of misplaced or stolen packages, and with Shipment Insurance lost and damaged packages can be fully refunded by the delivery service. Without these extra services chosen for an order, we are only able to comply with refund requests for damaged or lost packages in the value the delivery service decides to compensate (no full refund).

Refund and Replacement

If you need a refund or replacement, please contact us within 10 days from the date the product was delivered to you.

We can fulfill your request for a refund or replacement if

the item shipped does not match the item ordered
the item shipped is defective
the item shipped is damaged.

Other personal or subjective reasons are not acceptable.

IMPORTANT!
Please check your package for any damage upon delivery.
If there is any visible damage on the outside of the package, take a photo of it before opening it. If the items inside are intact, there is nothing else to do. But if you notice damage, take photos of that too, and send them to us. Once we have the evidence of the damage, we either issue a refund or send you a replacement. Should you have any complaints, please use the Contact Us menu on our website.
In your package, you will find a checklist and handling instructions. We are packing your order with the utmost care, but mistakes happen. Please take the time to check whether the checklist and the items you received match.

We do not accept a complaint after 10 days from the date of the delivery.
We are not able to refund perishable goods (tea, sweets, etc) or items that were already used.

Any refunds will be processed within 10 business days of the acceptance of the request for refund.

Order Cancellation

Replacing or canceling a purchased item before shipping is only possible within 12 hours after the order was placed. After 12 hours, we start with the preparation process, and we are no longer able to cancel or change the order.
Please carefully consider your purchase before ordering.

Warranties and Guarantees

We offer a warranty and guarantee for our products as required by law.
Please be informed that under the laws currently in force your purchase of our products qualifies as a consumer contractual agreement.

The item we have in stock might not be the same piece shown in the photos on the website.
Handmade products are unique and slightly different from each other. If you are particular about either the size, the capacity, or the appearance, contact us, and we will share photos or the exact details of our available pieces in stock. We are not responsible for visual or design differences.

Breakage guarantee: If an item gets damaged in transit, we replace it (unless the stocks are exhausted) or issue a refund in Sazen Reward Points.
Follow the instructions above (Refund and replacement).

We are not responsible for typos or spelling mistakes.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact us via the Contact Us menu.

We constantly strive to develop and provide the best service we can offer, and we wish you a pleasant browsing and shopping experience.

Updated on May 27, 2024

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