Updates On Shipping, Challenges & Our Journey Forward...
Happy 2026! ✨ As we welcome the new year, we wish to express our sincere gratitude for your incredible patience and support. We also want to provide a transparent update regarding our current operations and shipping situation.
First, here is the latest breakdown of our fulfillment progress:
Products Recently Shipped or Currently Shipping: Virtues EP (Deluxe) vinyl | Neoncity Hits! vinyl | Summer Touch vinyl | AMMA vinyl | All Sanrio collaboration products | NCPod MP3 players
Returned/Previously Stuck Items Now Being Reshipped: Cassette and CD players (various designs) | 10MMA vinyl | All previously in-stock vinyl
(Note: Many orders containing the items listed above have already been dispatched. Tracking information is sent manually, so please allow some time to receive your update.)
Next Shipping Batch: Timeless vinyl | Sailorwave vinyl | Neoncity Cruise vinyl
Many of you have noticed our quiet period and have kindly expressed concern, some fans even traveled all the way to Hong Kong to offer encouragement in person. We cannot thank you enough for your support and care.
In 2025, we faced the most difficult challenges since our label began. To be candid, these obstacles nearly ended our business. For those who missed our previous updates, here is a recap of what happened:
Early last year, the US government raised tariffs on goods from China and ended the long-standing de minimis exemption for low value shipments (under $800). As a direct result, Hong Kong Post suspended all standard shipping services to the US, the method we had always relied on.
This sudden change caused many orders to be delayed or returned due to unexpected tariffs, and we were unable to ship any new items to the US. We spent months seeking alternative shipping methods, but the dramatic cost increases, both in shipping and tariff fees, meant we were operating at a loss, the revenue from our products couldn’t even cover the new processing fees. As a result, we were forced into an indefinite hiatus and had to cancel every planned project.
Although these tariffs were specific to the US, they impacted our global operations since the majority of our orders come from the US and are shipped together in consolidated batches.
This extended hiatus left us with no income. To continue operating, we made the painful decision to reduce our team significantly and close our main office.
Although we have been quiet online, our team has been actively working behind the scenes, repacking and fulfilling the backlog of orders that piled up during our operational freeze. We resumed shipping a couple months ago, but many of the shipping methods we tried created new challenges. After extensive testing, we have now established stable, secure shipping channels. However, operating with a smaller team and navigating the more complex shipping procedures means processing and delivery will take longer than before.
Our Current Priorities:
- Fulfilling Backlog Orders: We are working tirelessly to process all pending and returned orders. We've successfully shipped hundreds in recent weeks, but with over a thousand still to fulfill, this effort will take considerable time. We deeply appreciate your continued patience and understanding. We anticipate the entire process will take several more months and will keep you updated as we make progress.
- Vinyl Records: Due to their size and weight, vinyl records are the most challenging and costly items to ship under the new system, to focus on fulfilling existing orders, we have temporarily removed all in-stock vinyl from our store until the majority of the backlog is cleared.
Ways You Can Support Us During This Time:
While we cannot release new products at this difficult time, we must still sustain our basic operations. We do not wish to ask for support without offering something in return, so if you would like to help us rebuild, here are several ways to do so:
- Sanrio Collaboration Sale: All Sanrio collaboration products are available on our website at a discounted price until the end of this week. These items are fulfilled from a separate location and are not subject to the shipping delays affecting our other products.
- Label Merchandise: Our brand merchandise is also available online. These items are produced and shipped directly from overseas locations (US or EU) and are not impacted by current shipping delays. We have added new designs recently and will continue to introduce more over time.
Sanrio merch and label merch available at: https://www.neoncityrecords.com/
- Bandcamp Fan Club: We have launched a new fan club subscription on our Bandcamp page. Subscribers receive access to our digital back catalog, bi-weekly digital mixtapes, discounts on all Bandcamp products, and will gain access to exclusive merchandise in the future.
Bandcamp: https://neoncityrecords.bandcamp.com/fan-club
We want to assure you that are determined to continue and have no plans to close our business. Your support has been our greatest motivation, and we are committed to recovering fully so we can continue bringing you great music in the future.
Thank you for standing with us. We wish you a wonderful 2026❤️
The NCR Team
For any questions or support regarding your order, please contact us at: shipping@neoncityrecords.com