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futureworks

What is going on with eBay sellers in Japan!!!!!

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Hi all

Bit of a rant really, so here goes. Like many on TC and the Forum, I've been around in the international buying game for vintage kits and parts as well as new releases for almost as long as TC has existed. The likes of Jasons Store (JR-RC) and TAMIYA-RC were two of several places I used to buy lots from when they existed on eBay, and the former also used to have a great direct website with even better prices on rare stuff. Point is, hard to find and/or expensive stuff (if bought in Europe) was cheap from Japan, shipping costs not too bad, and likelihood of customs charges (in this case to the UK) was low. I now use other sources to find stuff from the Far East outside of eBay - there's always a way. 

But back to my rant - having got back into the hobby recently after a couple of years concentrating on other things, I'm just gobsmacked at the prices now being charged for pretty much anything by sellers based in Japan and the Far East: new stuff, vintage NIB and even used rolling chassis'. Prices do seem to have gone up across the board in the last few years from everywhere, shipping too, and also likelihood of getting customs charges, but stuff from eBay sellers in Japan seem to really stand out as crazy when the same stuff can be bought in Europe or the US much more cheaply. 

It’s like a role-reversal. Am I the only one to notice this? 

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I haven’t checked but could it be exchange rate is worse for imports now that it used to be?

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Well- I guess they have come to realize that the rest of the world is now buying supplies in Japan after the domestic spring has dried up. Word travels fast and they are certainly not stupid.)
So why not raise prices? I'd probably do the same thing...

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I’ve bought some bargain stuff recently from Jpn

depends what you are buying I guess 

mat the moment, everything tamiya seems expensive 

JJ

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eBay has a bunch of Japan listings for crazy high prices.  It's becoming a bit of a joke to me.  Looking at Neo Scorcher kits running from $250 to $300+ USD.  Now it's not in stock at Tower currently but when it is I can get it locally for $150 USD and that is before coupons.

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3 hours ago, futureworks said:

But back to my rant - having got back into the hobby recently after a couple of years concentrating on other things, I'm just gobsmacked at the prices now being charged for pretty much anything by sellers based in Japan and the Far East: new stuff, vintage NIB and even used rolling chassis'. Prices do seem to have gone up across the board in the last few years from everywhere, shipping too, and also likelihood of getting customs charges, but stuff from eBay sellers in Japan seem to really stand out as crazy when the same stuff can be bought in Europe or the US much more cheaply. 

It’s like a role-reversal. Am I the only one to notice this? 

Fyi 5-10yrs (ish) ago many foreign LHSes (like outside of Japan & HK) were angry at their local national distributors who charged them more for T stock than could be bought online direct from Japan or HK stores. 

So T muscled in on the Japanese & HK sellers, reducing stock supply & raising prices. Foreign distributors might've gotten a better deal too to offer their customers. 

(Otoh T USA tried mandating crazy high "MAPricing" too... go figure)

In the same period there's also consolidation amongst shipping providers, many can't survive on the negligible margins they were getting. At the same time snailmail letter volumes have dropped (killed by email) so parcel rates have gone up as postal systems still have to pay for their infrastructure from a smaller volume. 

 

It's worse depending which side of exchange rate you're on too... AUD has depreciated a lot in past 10yrs, was up over 105c to USD and now it's down to 67c. 

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I too have noticed the hike in Japanese prices, ta07ms kits can be almost £800 and half that from Hong Kong 🤔

Some of the used chassis's such as ta02/3/4 can be way more than a nib kit! Baffling. 

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56 minutes ago, futureworks said:

Not the best example as there are some really hard to find stuff here. For example that O.S 26 Surpass motor is a highly sought after collectors item. Not quite worth what he's asking though but therefore he accepts offers as well

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Anything old, they slap on a couple thousand dollars.  If some rich dude buys it, they make a huge profit. 

If they don't sell it, other stuff l look cheaper in comparison.  

"We have an iPad for $4000, but we have cheaper one for $1000."  People put in an offer for $900, when they could have gotten it for $800. 

 So, the ridiculous price is to raise the ceiling.  

I found that the solution for that, is time.  I waited like 2 years until I could find TL01B for about $80, Manta ray for $60, DB01 for $70, etc.  If you have a large pile of projects, waiting is less of a problem.  It's like driving slower; the fuel economy will get better.  It's a hobby. Nobody is going to die without it (though it feels like that sometimes).  

 

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Banzai in Japan used to sell Tamiya for very good prices. Tamiya didn’t want them to sell this cheap, so when Banzai wouldn’t do as told by Tamiya, they stopped selling through Banzai. A real pity, as they did a really good job.

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7 hours ago, WillyChang said:

It's worse depending which side of exchange rate you're on too... AUD has depreciated a lot in past 10yrs, was up over 105c to USD and now it's down to 67c. 

Yes - I suffer this with you. Hard to swallow with Tamiya, way worse with Traxxas. I got into this hobby when our dollar was at "parity" with the USD, but of course now everything's 50% dearer.

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Yeah I dunno. I feel like it's just gone crazy the past 6 months or so. I got back in to the hobby about a year ago now and things weren't bad. But now *every* model from Japan is 2-3x the domestic US market. But thanks to TC I learned about Tamico and e-Kalfakis, and took a chance on RCJAZ. Very happy with all of those.

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Yeah, from my perspective everything RC on Ebay has gone up in price.
Combined with a *******weak AUD and the across the board increase in shipping costs (for whatever reason) and the hobby has gotten a lot more expensive.

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16 hours ago, WillyChang said:

to USD and now it's down to 67c. 

 

8 hours ago, lsear2905 said:

Yes - I suffer this with you. Hard to swallow with Tamiya, way worse with Traxxas. I got into this hobby when our dollar was at "parity" with the USD, but of course now everything's 50% dearer.

I find with new tamiya kits, they are often cheaper to buy at local hobby stores than buy from Hong Kong, 

Of course we still gotta buy all the bits from HK and ebay. But at least being able to get some of the newest releases locally at often better than any imported price is a slight bonus. 

Tamiya is now imported by the Traxxas agent, so they are keeping the prices trimmed on the kits, but stocking basically no parts. 

This is what I'm finding at my hobby stores in Perth anyway, Metro hobbies up your way normally sells kits pretty reasonably priced.

 

As for the Stuff from Japan at silly prices, Well these days Tamiya kits beyond about $1000 typically don't sell, so I'm sure they will just sit there forever making ignorant people think there kits are worth that, 

It's only worth whatever someone is willing to pay, Not what someone wants to put as a price tag. I feel ebays free 30 day listings only make this type of thing worse. 

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i'm in the us and the hong kong/china/japan prices still fall below tamiya's retail and arrive way faster, without having to pay anything extra.

the exception would be postings like these below.  doubt this esc is that highly sought after?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153569332033

they're very small and don't take up too much room, even in a 210 mm wheelbase M-06 tub.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254452110516

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264596397945

retail seemed to be about 70 usd before they were discontinued. 

their replacement seems to be the TEU-105BK for 65 usd (tamiya site) in retail packaging and 53 usd for bulk. 

best price on ebay has been about 35 usd. 

 

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I'm pretty sure those were the replacement for the TEU-105BK, not the other way around. The 105 replaced the 104 and had a BEC so it was compatible with 2.4ghz Tx/Rx systems.

Edit - I guess I was wrong about this, sorry.

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Tamiya 302 esc was released even before the teu101bk esc (I think), 101,104,105 esc have a 25/27t motor limit, the 302 had a 23t motor limit so was ideal for the super stock range of Tamiya motors

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14 minutes ago, taffer said:

Tamiya 302 esc was released even before the teu101bk esc (I think), 101,104,105 esc have a 25/27t motor limit, the 302 had a 23t motor limit so was ideal for the super stock range of Tamiya motors

Costs about a million pounds now😕

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2 hours ago, taffer said:

Tamiya 302 esc was released even before the teu101bk esc (I think), 101,104,105 esc have a 25/27t motor limit, the 302 had a 23t motor limit so was ideal for the super stock range of Tamiya motors

I didn't know that. I never saw it until after the TBLE-02S started shipping with kits so I assumed it was a newer brushed esc that could handle the Super Stock motors. Thanks for info.

Sorry soft springs, I didn't mean to give you wrong info.

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16 hours ago, Juls1 said:

This is what I'm finding at my hobby stores in Perth anyway, Metro hobbies up your way normally sells kits pretty reasonably priced. 

I've bought most of my Tamiya kits from Metro recently, the exception being the CW01 Lunchbox from Hobbytech (posted from your part of the world I believe).

That said, spares are inevitably coming from HK or Japan.

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On 2/21/2020 at 7:18 PM, Biz73 said:

Sorry soft springs, I didn't mean to give you wrong info.

no problem.  at times, i find it a lot to keep up with. 

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