Prices in Japan

[hairyjon 101]

Hey All,

So ... firstly its worth saying I have no care about what people sell things for, it's yours and you can do as you like.

Now that's out of the way, I was wondering if anyone has any insight into the Japanese sellers you see frequently see on eBay. The photo is of one such seller. They are selling a used Manta Ray body shell in a non box art colour for what is a lot of money. They are not the first to try to sell a seemingly low value item at a high price.

My question is, Why would they do this? Do people buy such items? Is it a currency conversion thing? Etc.

I just don't get it, opinions/ thoughts are welcomed. 

[OnTheTrail 1170]

Maybe their wives told them they have too many RC cars and they need to sell some of them. 

"Okay, Honey.   Got a lot of them for sale on eBay, hope they sell!"   

[Kpowell911 2164]

Similar to this I sometimes see multiple listings of the same item, at a different price, from a different seller.

I then started using Buyee, and noticed the same item on there, on bids for considerably less..

My guess is, I buy it off eBay, they then hope to be successfull winning it on Buyee and post it to me making a profit?

 

[Twinfan 1833]

Is it something to do with rare paint? I didn't realise they existed until the recent thread on here about them.

[Kpowell911 2164]

6 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

Is it something to do with rare paint? I didn't realise they existed until the recent thread on here about them.

Ahh is it rare Pastel Grey?

[Siclick33 37]

It’s not just rare stuff though. Maybe the postage has something to do with it (the same seller is listing an Egress for sale with £7.93 shipping to the UK!).

All I know is that is it really annoying having to scroll past dozens of ridiculously priced search results. I think I’m going to stop looking for international bargains and just filter the searches for UK items only.

[Twinfan 1833]

53 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

Ahh is it rare Pastel Grey?

I think it is, rather than Pastel Blue:

 

[kalsh 48]

It is very very frustrating on EBay as you can’t filter out a Country where at time their sellers have lots of items at unrealistically high prices. I would love to filter Japan out.  Does anyone know how to?

[wolfdogstinkus 1966]

It's just eBay fees have risen so much you have to add £100 to make a profit. Lol

I say lol, but I'm not far off.

[Juls1 1716]

Your looking at re re resellers, whatever the price is on ebay it will be half if you can find the original japanese listing. These people act as rip off proxy sellers basically. They are not necessarily in japan but the item is. Your not buying it directly from the actual seller on ebay. 

[Ghostpig 468]

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/b1108845888?lang=en

[Kol__ 3387]

On 2/13/2024 at 7:29 PM, Kpowell911 said:

I then started using Buyee, and noticed the same item on there, on bids for considerably less..

My guess is, I buy it off eBay, they then hope to be successfull winning it on Buyee and post it to me making a profit?

Exactly, I realised the same thing when I got on Buyee last year, prior to that I was always bewildered as to what the inflated, ridiculous prices are about. What do we reckon, they get maybe one idiot per year who buys one of these over priced items and that makes it all worth it for them?

23 hours ago, Siclick33 said:

All I know is that is it really annoying having to scroll past dozens of ridiculously priced search results. I think I’m going to stop looking for international bargains and just filter the searches for UK items only.

Dozens? I'd say hundreds on some searches😤

12 hours ago, kalsh said:

It is very very frustrating on EBay as you can’t filter out a Country where at time their sellers have lots of items at unrealistically high prices. I would love to filter Japan out.  Does anyone know how to?

Simplest way to ensure you don't see items from these pain in the ******* Japanese sellers and anyone else you don't want to see repeated adverts from is to add them to the list of blocked sellers in your saved search options. It takes a bit of work, but once you've got the initial list together it's pretty easy to update it once in a while. My approach is to take screen shots of these repeat offenders on my mobile when I see a new one pop up and then add them to a list on a word doc and copy and paste that into the eBay search options. I don't believe you can access the full list of saved search options from the mobile/tablet app, hence the use of a word doc and the PC. Plus it's easy to accidentally delete the list from eBay if you're not careful, so having a back up copy is a life saver. Like is said, takes a bit of work, but it makes regular saved searches a breeze from the mobile app once done, and stops these ******* invading my daily life!!!!

[Kol__ 3387]

17 minutes ago, Ghostpig said:

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/b1108845888?lang=en

Even that price is dum as **** no?😤😂

[Sogogi 3359]

I feel like lots of japan auction price/mercari went up compared to several months ago while i was actively using it. Not sure if it is due to demand or something else… but even considering weak yen, things are pricier now.

 

and those resellers on ebay…. Not a fan of them also.

[Pylon80 3435]

2 hours ago, Sogogi said:

I feel like lots of japan auction price/mercari went up compared to several months ago while i was actively using it. Not sure if it is due to demand or something else… but even considering weak yen, things are pricier now.

 

and those resellers on ebay…. Not a fan of them also.

I think the prices follow what people are ready to pay and it's possible that more and more people from Europe or the US are getting less shy about using Buyee. There are still some insane bargains; but I did notice a lot of items that are just way too expensive as well. Things like 100$ Kyosho motors and such which is practically in the eBay price range.

[ImALlama 1408]

4 hours ago, Sogogi said:

I feel like lots of japan auction price/mercari went up compared to several months ago

I too have noticed the prices rising as well, not that much on the auctions, but mercari prices seem to have gotten out of hand. I can still find some good deals on mercari but its nowhere like it was a month or two ago.

 

2 hours ago, Pylon80 said:

it's possible that more and more people from Europe or the US are getting less shy about using Buyee

I'm sure this is one of the main reasons, just on this forum since November its been mentioned/recommended quite a few times by several members including myself. Showing and telling everyone what to expect, and that you can trust it and you get what you order problem free. I know I would've never started using it if I hadn't seen members I trust talking about how great it is.

[Sogogi 3359]

One good thing? Is that i haven’t bought anything from buyee this year…

[Tobyone 558]

5 hours ago, Sogogi said:

One good thing? Is that i haven’t bought anything from buyee this year…

Wish i could say the same! 

Yes, prices seem to be higher than end of last year, but bargains are still there. End of last year, it seemed everyday i looked, i was shocked at the low prices, even taking into consideration the cost of posting back to the UK. Now, not so much.

 

[junkmunki 850]

I have purchased a couple of items from Japanese sellers in the past.

Once the item enters the UK, the tax and duty system kicks in, and then the price pretty well doubles.

If its a very rare item that i'm after, fine, but otherwise its not worth the money.

J

[Twinfan 1833]

19 minutes ago, junkmunki said:

Once the item enters the UK, the tax and duty system kicks in, and then the price pretty well doubles.

That's a bit harsh - 20% VAT and a £12 handling fee is not doubling the price of RC parts/kits over £135  

[Kol__ 3387]

8 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

That's a bit harsh - 20% VAT and a £12 handling fee is not doubling the price of RC parts/kits over £135  

Agreed. It's simple enough to work out the costs and at a 5th it's nowhere near double the item value🤷🏻

I've never been charged any VAT on items less than the £135 mark, but people do seem to say here and there that they have been.

[Kol__ 3387]

24 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

That's a bit harsh - 20% VAT and a £12 handling fee is not doubling the price of RC parts/kits over £135  

Tamico advised today that their slightly more expensive shipping DHL option doesn't fall into the hands of Parcel Force, the package stays with them end to end and you pay the taxes online apparently. I hope that avoids the BS handling fee, which as you say is usually £12 from Parcel Force.

I'd be looking at £143 plus 20% VAT (£171) plus £30 shipping for the Top Force 2017 rere. Not bad at all considering the UK prices are currently looking like £250 - I'll wait to see what they actually are nearer the time though before I decide.

[Twinfan 1833]

1 hour ago, Kol__ said:

Tamico advised today that their slightly more expensive shipping DHL option doesn't fall into the hands of Parcel Force, the package stays with them end to end and you pay the taxes online apparently. I hope that avoids the BS handling fee, which as you say is usually £12 from Parcel Force.

I'd be looking at £143 plus 20% VAT (£171) plus £30 shipping for the Top Force 2017 rere. Not bad at all considering the UK prices are currently looking like £250 - I'll wait to see what they actually are nearer the time though before I decide.

I'm not sure that's right @Kol__ unless I've misunderstood your post.  I've had a couple of orders from Tamico over the last month - both were DHL (non-Express) deliveries, there was no Royal Mail/Parcel Force option unlike an order I made earlier in 2023.  The DHL deliveries both came to my door via Parcel Force.

I suspect you'd need to select one of the Express options to have DHL carry it all the way, but they're likely to be more than £12 extra.....

[Kol__ 3387]

1 hour ago, Twinfan said:

I'm not sure that's right @Kol__ unless I've misunderstood your post.  I've had a couple of orders from Tamico over the last month - both were DHL (non-Express) deliveries, there was no Royal Mail/Parcel Force option unlike an order I made earlier in 2023.  The DHL deliveries both came to my door via Parcel Force.

I suspect you'd need to select one of the Express options to have DHL carry it all the way, but they're likely to be more than £12 extra.....

Not sure you understand what I mean, I'm probably not being clear enough, this is what Mario from Tamico said today -

"The following shipping options are available:

DHL 24€

DHL Express Economy 36€

Customs processing via DHL Express is usually easier because it is Express. Experience shows that with normal DHL shipping, processing is usually carried out via Parcel Force.

The shipping time with DHL Express Economy always depends on available capacities and is usually 2-5 days. 

The big advantage here is that customs clearance can be carried out online during shipping."

So I take that to mean that if I spend the extra 12€ to upgrade to the DHL Express Economy (like I said £30 once converted), then DHL won't pass it to Parcel Force and will deliver direct to me, and I'll get an email link to pay the VAT online. I assume that as it seems to be an end to end service, there would be no 'handling charge' from another courier. That's just my understanding from what Mario is saying, and either way there's something to pay over the standard 24€ Tamico shipping service, whether that be the 12€ upgrade the shipping or the £12 to Parcel Force. If I can pay 12€, get it faster, and not have to pay those Parcel Force mutha f@&#ers any money they I'm good with that😆👍

[Twinfan 1833]

Gotcha - and yep the "Express" option would give you DHL door to door for an extra €12.  If you're ordering multiple kits (like I might be.......!) then the extra shipping cost is more than £12 unfortunately.

For a single kit though, I'm with you - avoid paying Parcel Farce anything!