Focused on enhancing user experience, we've refined our refund process, improved address selection during checkout, and upgraded our Rabbot capabilities for seamless product extractions.
The Customer Wallet Refund Interface was refined to clarify the refund process and improve the user experience.
We improved the Expected Arrival date functionality to better integrate it into our processes & provide users with more precise delivery estimates.
Fixes were implemented for Rabbot for Mercari, Surugaya, and Bandai Fashion, enhancing the overall performance and stability of our product extraction for these stores.
Customers are now able to view notes they've left for Buyers on their Orders, which adds an extra layer of transparency and improves communication.
A bug that affected the selection of addresses from the Address Book during Checkout was resolved, providing a smoother checkout process.
A requirement was put in place to specify the state/region in the Address Form for countries that require this information, ensuring accurate shipping details.
Our company name was added to the Shipping Address during Checkout & Fulfillment.
Improvements to Internal Operations & Fulfillment
We've enhanced our internal operations, optimized load times, enriched fraud detection features, and streamlined our Service Task view and workflow for quicker and more efficient Order Fulfillment.
The load time on the Admin Package Details View was improved, resulting in faster data retrieval and smoother operation.
Multiple changes were made to our Admin Purchasing View for an enhanced User Experience & Efficiency, such as the inclusion of the full address in the Fraud Suite and the display of specific release dates for buyers.
A series of UX improvements were made to our Service Task View & Workflow, including the display of the Package Confirmation List in Pickup, and the reordering of the Pick List to show items from oldest to newest on mobile.
Features such as displaying relevant Customer Details on the Sidebar, maintaining search filters on the Service Task List upon return to the view, and preventing tasks from disappearing instantly after being checked off, were implemented to increase workflow efficiency.
Query and load times were optimized, and Ship-to-State information sent to Fulfillment was improved, leading to a more efficient order fulfillment process.
The Receiving Check View was improved, and expected arrival dates were added to items, allowing better tracking and management of inventory.
Adjustments were made to the Past Due mechanism to use lead time days, and the filtering of in-stock & preorder items in the past-due view was fixed, facilitating better inventory control.
Features for easy updating of Expected Arrival Date and Release Date were implemented, and Task-Item associations were improved in the Receiving Process, increasing operational efficiency.
Staff with the roles of "OPS MANAGER" and "RECEIVING" were granted access to Task handling, enhancing team collaboration and task management.
Additional Bug Fixes & Upgrades
This month saw significant platform improvements, including bug fixes, system upgrades, enhanced analytics, streamlined email notifications, and improved testing practices, all aimed at delivering a robust and user-friendly experience.
We enhanced our analytics events and added new analytics integrations, providing a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior and system performance.
GCP Functions Deployment was improved through the investigation of failures, adjustments to the deployment rate, and enhanced visibility of errors in Continuous Integration (CI), increasing the reliability and effectiveness of our cloud functions.
We enhanced our Fulfillment Service Integration, streamlining the retrieval of shipping rates and customs descriptions, which has ensured a more accurate and efficient processing of orders.
Issues with Hasura failing to apply migrations in CI were investigated and fixed, stabilizing our development and deployment processes.
The Payment Flow Code was optimized and reorganized, increasing flexibility and efficiency in handling transactions.
Unique Algolia indexes were implemented for testing, preventing conflicts and ensuring the reliability of our search functionality.
We implemented a rule to forbid the shipping of packages if any were on hold, improving order management and customer experience.
We disabled the "Out of Stock" options for Yahoo Auction URLs, preventing customers from selecting items that are not available.
Actions for packages on hold were disabled, reducing potential errors in order processing.
We addressed and resolved issues related to failed and "stuck" Service Tasks, improving the efficiency of our operations.
Email notifications were streamlined with revised message streams, resulting in clearer and more effective communication with users.
Proxy installations and configurations were performed, enhancing our network performance and security.
Remove expected_delivery_date from purchases table and related code
The mention of covid-19 delays was removed from the terms agreement email, as covid-19 is no longer delaying shipping 🎉
The shipping notification email now includes extra instructions on getting local tracking numbers.
A guide outlining the next steps was added to email notifications when a package has been packed and is ready to ship.
Plain-text versions of all customer email templates were updated to ensure customers get the information they need regardless of email client and device used.
Various updates and bug fixes
The sorting of packages in the package tab was changed to display the most recently updated packages at the top, so customers can easily find their packages.
Outdated content on eye drops and Otamart was removed.
The Blackship banner on the homepage was redesigned.
The issue with having two sign-in icons on the changelog page was resolved.
The problems with scraping images and prices from booth.pm subdomain was fixed.
Improvements to internal operations
The process of receiving items was improved by displaying the total expected number of items and allowing fulfillment staff to type larger numbers.
The order of measurement inputs was streamlined to L x W x H for consistency.
The recording of monetary values in USD was adjusted to convert from cents to dollars, with the recording currency specified.
The system now logs when Shipping Rates are unavailable for a package.
An Order Item Canceled event was created.
Logins were integrated with Auth0 for tracking login counts.
Buyers were granted the ability to see and search for customers in the admin app.
Recently active users were identified to target customer communication more effectively.
Identify calls were added to ensure Customer Traits remain updated.
We've updated how we keep track of important decisions.
We've established a new system to make working together on software improvements easier.
Additional bug fixes and upgrades
Missing customs descriptions on the order details table have been fixed.
The error that caused "Ship" requests to appear under Service Tasks was corrected.
An issue of "Shipping" requests getting stuck in the admin app was fixed.
CI deploys being skipped were fixed.
The fulfillment location mutation was updated to use camelCase consistently.
Our software is now running on a newer, better platform.
We now show the estimated arrival time of items in the cart and on the order. The estimated arrival time is based on the delivery performance of recent packages for the given webshop.
Customers are now able to select what to do with remaining items when one or more items in the order are out of stock.
Customers now receive additional details about the cancellation reason in cancelation emails, helping them understand the decision and plan accordingly.
The snow effect on the Japan Rabbit homepage has been updated to cherry blossom petals for Hanami
The image presentation for articles on the Japan Rabbit homepage has been improved.
Various Bug Fixes
The chat icon blocking the "Update" button in the cart on Mobile has been fixed.
The sorting of packages in package tabs has been fixed to correctly sort consolidated packages, making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for.
The loading of orders in the "Completed" order tab not working due to timeout has been fixed.
Creating duplicate accounts with the same email has been fixed, preventing confusion and improving data accuracy.
Improvements to internal operations
Package dates are now retained when the customs description is set.
The "purchase order ID" is now shown on the "Past Due" view, making it easier for staff to identify and retrieve the necessary information.
The "Pick List" on mobile devices now shows packages as picked each time pick-up is finished, improving accuracy and reducing errors.
Testing has been improved by writing several additional tests and automatically retrying failed e2e tests in a separate workflow step
Diffbot not getting details for Mercari orders has been fixed.
Too many unexpected events in Amplitude from the Japan Rabbit website have been fixed.
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, symbolizing calmness and good fortune. In Japan, the Chinese zodiac is still widely followed for divination and personality analysis, despite using the Gregorian calendar for the new year.
Cart Improvements
Solved Yahoo!Auctions failures to get product details by using a proxy
Allow customers to start editing cart item details before Rabbot has finished trying to gather product title, price, and image
Fixed an issue with "add to cart" loading indefinitely
Allow customers to select DHL and FedEx insurance during checkout
Various improvements and bug fixes
Improved load-time for Japan Rabbit Wallet by optimizing queries
Fixed an issue with Auth0
Improved the contrast of the alert on the customs value page
Set login sessions management to the maximum number of days allowed
Cleaned up orders with duplicate package items
Updated Japan Post international shipping rules for Japan Rabbit
Fixed an issue where payment was being charged twice
Improvements to internal operations
Added an option to manually trigger deploys from the GitHub UI
Added an alert bar to the user profile page of disabled accounts
Populated the "created_at" column in the refunds table
Created a role for offsite Mercari receivers
Added fields to the Airtable error logging to record the proxy used in Rabbot failures
Increased the timeout of the "add-product-information" function to prevent it from timing out before Rabbot
We've added a 'Report a Bug' feature to Japan Rabbit. This new tool makes it easy for you to report any issues you encounter while using the app. Our engineers will use the information you provide to help identify and fix the problem as quickly as possible.
To access the 'Report a Bug' feature, simply click the 'Report a Bug' in the top right menu of Japan Rabbit. From there, you can start a screen recording or take a screenshot, give your issue a title, and provide any additional details that might help our engineers.
We understand that any issue you encounter while using Japan Rabbit can be frustrating, and that's why we've added the 'Report a Bug' feature. This tool makes it easy for you to report any problems you encounter, and our engineers will use the information you provide to help resolve them as quickly as possible. So don't hesitate to use the 'Report a Bug' feature if you run into any issues.
Minor enhancements
Allow customers to delete addresses and give them more control over their address information.
Improved error feedback on User Sign In
Displayed a more informative disposed message for packages where only some items have been disposed
Optimized website to improve loading time
Updates and bug fixes to improve reliability and performance
Added new customs types
Fixed status of packages that have been consolidated and shipped, but were still showing as pending in the Received mailbox
Updated the status correctly after customers pay for adjustments or fail payment requests.
Changed status of an Order to Completed after fully purchasing it, requesting additional payment and receiving payment from customer
Fixed issues with E2E tests failing.
Fixed the input event bugs in the Arrival Barcode Scanning.
Add and delete customs types.
Add payment information on Service Task Details: This will allow staff to easily view payment details for each task.
Added ability to save user notes for disabled accounts.
Corrected sorting order on dashboard for "Closed" tasks
Fixed issue making it unable to "Continue to Purchase" on orders
Aggregate completed task at bottom of "My Tasks" on the dashboard
Fixed bug in issuing credit to customer
Improved UI of Order Expenses, auto-stripped out commas and kept figures intact when pasting amount
Add cart item limit.
Change the SEE IN STRIPE link to open in new window
Changed the environment variable so that staging and dev do not use the production pub/nub queue for fulfillment.
Fixed a bug that prevented some customers from making payments after adjustments.
Fixed an issue that prevented successful barcode scans when attempting to receive an item with unreceived items in the order.
Fixed images of the items in the Received mailbox
Fixed issue with imgix image requests returning 404 errors
Fixed page information in search results after move to Cloudflare (from netlify)
Fixed static site 404 page
Fixed the Auth0 top link in the reset password email
Fixed the lag in Match & Verify
Improve UI of Service task picking list. Add location ID.
Prevented duplicate package barcodes
Removed broken "Add discount" option before capturing payment on an order
Refactor GraphQL subscriptions, queries & mutations. This improved performance and scalability of the application.
Refactored the Melonbook banner service for Japan Rabbit
Improved performance of the Measuring Step by refactoring the Mutation causing delays.
Refactored the receiving workflow to eliminate temp_id barcodes and address multiple related issues.
Removed completed service tasks from service task list.
Resolved loading issues on the Receiving Past Due page.
Reviewed ahrefs audit for japanrabbit.com
Updated call to action links on the White Rabbit Express website that link to japanrabbit.com.
Updated permissions for receiving staff in Admin
Updated staging auction pricing to be the same as production
We updated our Consolidation Fee to be more cost-effective for you. The cost of consolidation has been reduced from $3.00 to $2.50 per package. Additionally, we will now only charge a maximum of $12.50 per consolidation, regardless of the number of packages.
Consolidating two or more packages from the same order continues to be free of charge.
Auto-complete shipping address
We've integrated the Google Address API to make shipping address entry faster.
Show item price in yen on order details
Added price in yen to order details. This was a popular request from our product feedback community.
Other Improvments
Updated the home page frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Shortened login message
Added new customs type for TOY AIRSOFT GUN
Added "Auction Lost" as a cancellation reason for an item
Corrected wording on payment update
Fixed issue where clicking on “Japan Rabbit” in Help Docs did not always navigate to homepage
Added pop-over to request full name after sign up
Added account setting for editing name
Improved responsiveness when adding an item to a cart
Improved cart's add item loading animation
Addressed issue where support chat button was obstructing view
Improved mobile compatibility of Update Item window
Displayed prices in yen in cart view
Enabled button for validation trigger on shipping calculator
Ensured shipping calculator is accessible by customers and staff users
Housekeeping 🧹
Made "Domestic shipping" the default expense for purchases
Updated style for tasks on dashboard
Added "Add Customs to Purchase Item" analytics event
Improved packing station ID management
Addressed inability to change "Assigned to" once purchase was completed
Added payment information to Package Details and User Details
Added order ID to order page
Disabled Slack notification for new orders
Removed count of items pending arrival from our internal dashboard to improve performance
Squashed bugs 🪲
Addressed issue where customers were unable to sign up
Fixed issue where customers were unable to pay for adjustments after payment method had been removed
Addressed issue where refunds to PayPal were not possible
Resolved "unexpected error" when trying to change password
Fixed issue where only "Seamail" shipping option was displayed
Addressed issue where customers were unable to add PayPal or credit card as payment method
Fixed issue where wrong location was reflected in fulfillment
Resolved issue where tax number was not pushing to fulfillment
Fixed incorrect address on shipment page
Addressed issue where "Backoffice" card did not always appear on dashboard for admins
Resolved issue where canceled orders were showing up as completed
Resolved issue where station number and menu button overlapped on mobile view
Fixed issue with too many event types in Amplitude
Fixed cart's add item loading animation state issue
Fixed issue where "See In Stripe" button linked to test environment
Fixed navigation/router issue between service task and package
Fixed slow performance of "Match & Verify" receiving process
Fixed broken order URL in "Match and Verify" feature
PayPal is no longer available
We no longer accept PayPal as a payment method. We’re working with PayPal to resolve this issue, and will update this help docs page if the situation changes.
We continue to accept payment through credit and debit cards via Stripe. For high-value items, we also may request payment through a bank wire transfer.
Japan Rabbit uses Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction over time. NPS is calculated by asking customers to rate their likelihood to recommend our product or service to others on a scale of 0 to 10. Customers who give a rating of 9 or 10 are considered Promoters and are more likely to continue doing business with us and refer others to us. On the other hand, customers who give a rating of 0 to 6 are considered Detractors and are less likely to remain loyal to our company. We calculate our NPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. A high NPS is a positive sign for our company, indicating that our customers are loyal and satisfied.
Polished UI and fixed bugs to better serve you
Fixed an issue where the wallet was not loading
Improved the mobile view to make it easier for customers to access the confirm button
Updated the copy on the cart item page for when the wrong product is selected.
Added a deselect/select all button to the purchase page
Changed the text of the Request Early Access button
Fixed an issue where scraping was not returning on review cart page
Improved the functionality of the Japan Rabbit Wallet ledger
Included the region when sending shipments to fulfillment
Implemented a fix to prevent duplicate items in consolidation requests
Re-enabled the Auth0 verification email now that the onboarding done
In June, we celebrate onboarding our first customers
After nearly two-years of work, in June 2022, we onboarded our first Japan Rabbit customers. A big thank you to those of your who volunteered for our Early Access Program. You helped us find a lot of issues.
We added a feature to allow customers to declare their own Customs value.
This is something we never had in White Rabbit Express.
We polished our UI/UX
Improved the design of the Pricing page
Updated the 404 graphic
Changed the style of the Add Address feature in the Checkout process
Updated the style and color of the popover to match the brand style
Made various style and copy edits to the Customer UI
Added a total to the customs value
Updated the placeholder image for missing items
Improved the copywriting on the Customs page
Improved the animation and text on the cart loading page
Enhanced the copy on Checkout validation issues
Improved the design of the Order Success page, including adding a graphic and confetti
Improved the payment method selection process
Improved the pre-approval explainer in the Checkout process.
And, we crushed dozens of bugs, to serve you better. 🐞🔨
Add "count from customs queue" to Dashboard
Add link to Service Task details on Service Task page
Add tests for allowing customers to declare their own customs value
Add back "Edit Cart" link after it was removed during redesign
Allow buyers to add notes for receiving and packing teams
Update copy about credits in Wallet
Convert metrics to list view on Admin Dashboard
Create mocks for testing scraping functionality
Disable Auth0 verification emails during Early Access onboarding
Fix bug where assigned credit card is not available for purchasing
Fix bug with customs on Purchase History page
Fix bug where fulfillment staff cannot print more than one barcode at a time
Fix issue with invalid order total calculation
Fix bug where customers see "NEW" packages on Order Details page (should only see "RECEIVED" and beyond)
Fix issue with adding PayPal as a payment method.
Fix issue with missing input control for setting customs type
Fix "no rates" and "internal error" messages during checkout shipping estimate
Fix routing issues on fees page
Fix link to service fees on home page
Format display of storage bins on all views
Hide address selector if no address is present on Checkout page
Hide Terms of Service checkboxes after first order on Checkout page
Make it easier to discover how to end impersonation (admin feature)
Make title in match-verify link to product page and remove shop link
Link product title to product page in Receiving view
Make UI improvements to Customs category selection tool
Move status badge from Receiving view to prevent it from blocking images
Post to Slack when a new order is created
Prevent cart checkout when user's primary address is from a blacklisted country
Remove Help Scout integration
Remove welcome message from Front Chat
Show country and payment method on Purchasing view
Show item details during "review and checkout" step on Checkout page
Show photo and item info during measure step on Receiving view
Show receiving and arrival queue metrics on Dashboard
Simplify validation on Checkout page
Tidy up dashboard design on Admin page
Update badges to use accent blue color
Update cart style
Update company address in iubenda Terms of Service
White Rabbit Express unveils a new name, logo, and platform in a complete brand overhaul.
YOKOHAMA (JAPAN) JUNE 01, 2022
Inside
Announcing our rebranding
New Features of the Japan Rabbit proxy service
Japan Rabbit Pricing
More to come
Welcome to Japan Rabbit
We launched White Rabbit Express in 2005 to make buying from Japan simple and easy. Today, we announce the completion of an extensive rebranding effort in response to accelerated company growth and a renewal of its product vision.
The new two-word Japan Rabbit brand name is shorter, punchier, and more descriptive than its predecessor — while retaining the equity built up in the word "Rabbit” over almost two decades. The Japanese aspect of the brand is further reinforced with Japan Rabbit Red and its association with the Japanese flag.
Japan Rabbit is launching with a completely redesigned and re-engineered interface and backend that provide customers with various new ways to manage their orders and packages better. The new platform combines innovative features, playful branding enhancements and the company's traditionally high levels of customer service* into what is a delightful user experience overall.
New Features of the Japan Rabbit proxy service
The Japan Rabbit shopping cart can retrieve product images, titles, and prices from submitted URLs, reducing the effort to create an order.
Items from different shops are organized into separate carts, making managing orders easier.
Customers can now set their Customs value during shipping checkout.
Customers can specify an allowance for incidentals like domestic shipping, sales tax, and payment fees, reducing delays and back-and-forth communication.
Cancel an order with a click; contacting customer support is no longer necessary.
The Japan Rabbit Wallet simplifies order adjustments by reducing the number of payments and refunds. Refunds will now appear as credit in your Japan Rabbit Wallet. And, any funds your Japan Rabbit Wallet will automatically be applied to your next payment. Or, you can still withdrawal the funds back to your payment methods if needed.
Package Split allows customers to split the contents of a received package to ship separately. And,
Customers can initiate photo, consolidation, and disposal requests right from the Package view.
People and businesses using the Blackship.com (http://blackship.com/) package forwarding service can shift Japan Rabbit packages to their Blackship Mailbox for consolidated shipping.
Japan Rabbit shipping add-ons include Price Tag Removal, Extra Padding, Fragile Tape, and Discreet Packaging.
Shipping methods include service options provided by Japan Post, DHL, and FedEx.
Japan Rabbit accepts payment by credit and debit card and PayPal.
We plan to launch many more features in the coming months, and we welcome your input in setting the future direction of Japan Rabbit with our new Product Feedback (http://feedback.japanrabbit.com/) page.
Japan Rabbit Pricing
Japan Rabbit pricing differs from White Rabbit Express in several ways.
Consolidation Fee. Consolidating multiple packages into a single shipment can save big bucks on shipping fees. We charge $3.00 for consolidating packages from two or more separate orders. Consolidating two or more packages from the same order costs nothing.
We've adjusted our per item fee from $1.00 to $2.00
We've eliminated our $4.00 per shop fee to offset these changes; and,
We've introduced a sliding service fee, designed so that the more you spend per order, the lower your effective service fee as a percentage of your total order.
All service fees are shown on our new pricing page
Commenting on the Japan Rabbit rebranding, founder and CEO Max Hodges said, "Global eCommerce from Japan is accelerating fast. Companies must be on the front foot to handle the rapidly expanding opportunities. Our new brand and our enhanced platform perfectly illustrate our growing ambitions. This is a significant milestone for us."
As part of the rebranding, Japan Rabbit is also launching a Discord community in 2023 Q1. The aim is to create a space for people to connect, swap information, and build relationships around a shared love of Japanese products and cultural interests.
About White Rabbit Japan
White Rabbit Japan is working to elevate eCommerce between Japan-based sellers and overseas buyers. Our flagship products, Japan Rabbit and Blackship, serve a global market of businesses and individuals in 140+ countries. We combine exceptional customer service and innovative technology to make buying from Japan as easy as possible.
