Jpopmp3s blog

It looks like Apple has responded to the recent news about Chinese hackers selling 200 dollar iTunes cards for less than $3 online by trying to limit their liability and capping giftcard purchases to USD50 (5000 yen in the Japanese store).

When attempting to purchase a 10,000 yen card tonight I was surprised when the drop down menu only gave me 5 choices, up to a maximum of 5000 yen. At first I thought that maybe I was approaching my limit on my account and only had 5000 yen credit left, (Apple limits the amount of gift cards you can purchase on each iTunes music store account).  But a quick check at various iTunes music stores verified that a 50 dollar limit was in place on all international stores as well as the US store.

Hopefully this is just a temporary action while Apple tries to figure out how to beat these cyber-criminals who are selling thousands of dollars worth of cards online. There is speculation  online about whether the hackers have cracked the algorythm that creates the iTunes store codes or if it’s just a case of criminals using stolen credit card numbers to buy large quantities of cards and then selling them.

For the time-being I’ll be removing the option to purchase 6000-9000 yen cards from the store until further developments at the iTunes music store. Check back here for further updates on the situation.

Meanwhile, in the silver lining department, if anyone chooses a 10,000 yen card, I’ll send them two 5000 cards for the price of a 10,000 yen card, which is actually USD4.60 less than the price of the 2 cards sold separately

You can get your hands on the latest video of Utada Hikaru’s newest English language single “Come Back to Me” from her upcoming all English language album “This is the One” at the Japanese iTunes music store.

The new album, her second English language album will be released in Japan on March 19th and in the US on March 24th. You can get get the whole album almost a week before everyone else in the US gets it by downloading it from the Japanese iTunes music store with a prepaid Japanese iTunes music store card.

Get it now at the Japanese iTunes store

Released under the name “Utada”, it will be her second album released to the American market after her 2004 debut US album, “Exodus”.

From her Myspace page:

Utada did make one earlier foray into the English-language marketplace with the EXODUS album n 2004. But even though the singles “Easy Breezy” and “Devil Inside” were hits on the club charts, she views the new album as her true debut. “On that album, I was so insecure,” she says. “I was trying too hard, it wasn’t natural. But on This Is The One, there’s a maturity, a more free-flowing and natural confidence.”

In approaching the new album, Utada was very careful about choosing her collaborators and setting their expectations. “With both teams, I wanted them to lay out the basic tracks,” she says, “but I told them that I have to write my own songs, with complete control over melody and lyrics.”

You can download the video by clicking on the iTunes Japan screenshot image at the top of this post or by clicking here

We have just upgraded our service at JPopMp3s.com to include a new 2 pronged 110% money back guarantee on all Japanese iTunes music store prepaid cards.

What does this new guarantee cover? Well if you are looking for Jpop or Jrock music online, prepaid cards from the Japanese iTunes music store are one of the fastest, safest and easiest ways to go. No need to worry about navigating the junk files and malicious malware that people load up to those file sharing sites and mislabel to trick you into downloading them.

We have sold more than a thousand Japanese iTunes cards since we started in November 2007.  Every single person who has purchased a card from us has been able to successfully use the card to open an account at the Japanese iTunes musc store and download the Jpop/Jrock songs and music videos of their choice.

We guarantee that you will be able to create an account at the Japanese iTunes music store, credit the account with the card you purchase and download any song and video from the Japanese iTunes music store catalog without any problems. If for some reason you are not able to successfully download from the Japanese iTunes store with a card purchased from us, we will refund 110% of the amount of money you paid. There is no risk on your behalf. Your card will work, guaranteed or we will refund more than you paid for the card. Of course we will need to first verify with Apple that the card code has not been redeemed.

Also, if you have ever been frustrated by having to wait a number of days or maybe even a week for the cards that you want to be in stock or to be delivered to your inbox, you will be happy to hear about the second part of our new guarantee. Unlike other places, all of our iTunes cards are ALWAYS IN STOCK ( we also have the largest selection of card values, from 2000 yen all the way up to 10,000 yen) and we guarantee that you will recieve your iTunes card in less than 24 hours or we will refund you 110% of the purchase price. For those people who have ordered before, you know that it rarely takes that long and depending on the time of day you order (ie. if I’m not asleep) orders can come within a matter of minutes. But as I do have to sleep sometimes and still have go to work there may be times when I am not sitting at my desk when an order comes in. Even so you will get your card as soon as I wake up or get back from work or karaoke or wherever I am. Whatever the case, you will have your iTunes card in way less than 24 hours, and if not (it’s never happened so far), I will refund 110% of your purchase price AND send you the card. You can’t get much better than that.

When you join JPopMp3s.com you are asked to white list our email addresses, even so, if it’s been a while since you ordered (more than 10 hours) and you still haven’t received your card, please check your bulk email folders, ie, your spam folder.

To recap, our new 110% money back guarantee protects you 2 ways.

1. When you buy a card from us, it WILL work and allow you to download Japanese (and any other type of music) songs and music videos from the Japanese iTunes music store.
2. You will receive your iTunes redeem code in less than 24 hours (a lot sooner in most cases).

If I don’t deliver on both of those counts I will refund you 110% of your purchase price. There is no risk involved (except for me) when you decide to bypass all the hassles and dangers and download jpop the safe and legal way with a Japanese iTunes music store card form JPopMp3s.com

Currently I am on vacation on Boracay, a tropical island in the Philippines.

I am able to check my email twice a day so cards may not be sent out with the usual speed people are accustomed to. Rest assured though that if you have ordered, I am keeping an eye on things and you will get your iTunes code within 24 hours at the latest, as stated on the order thank you page. Thank you for your understanding.

Happy New Year!

UPDATE:

I’m back in Japan now and order speed is back to normal.  Jan 8, 2008

Merry Christmas to all Jpop and JRock lovers!

As a special seasonal treat I have a number of 3000 Yen iTunes cards that I am giving away AT COST. That’s 3000 yen cards for 3000 Yen!! At today’s exchange rate, that works out to be a couple of cents over USD33. These cards normally go for USD38, so that’s a Christmas saving or over 5 USD per card. Buy 4 cards and that’s a 20 dollar saving.

Paypal charges me a fee for every transaction and I have to recoup that, so that actual price is 3175 yen, but there is still no profit on top of the card price, so you get more Jpop tunes for your buck.

I only have 25 21 14 10 2 of these cards available at this money losing (for me   ) price, so get in while you can before they all sell out. SOLD OUT

You don't need a Paypal account to purchase an iTunes card through Paypal.

When you click the above “Buy Now” button, you will be taken to the Paypal order page.  You don’t need a Paypal account to order. If you don’t have a Paypal account, look for the link at the bottom left of the page to pay with you credit card, similar to what is show here above.