In retrospect, I didn't really need a new baseball cap. But this one, advertised by the publisher of a nationally circulated magazine, had a humorous logo in Japanese that tickled my fancy, making it — like much of the merchandise sold via mail order — a novelty item not sold in stores.
Succumbing to temptation, I sent in my order. The instructions for purchase were clear enough ("Complete the form and mail to the address below with payment in the form of postal money orders") but the promised delivery date was vaguely worded, and with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I should have sensed this might cause problems.
On July 21 (note that date), I mailed off the form with ¥2,500 in postal money orders.