Anyone bought a guitar from Japan ??

riffpowers

Been looking at getting a higher end Tokai lp custom alike , a white one with an ebony board .
not much in the uk at the moment , but I wondered how practical it was to but one from Japan where there’s more choice ?
has anyone done it ?

Neilybob

I’ve ordered 5 guitars and quite a few pedals from Japan yahoo auctions over the last 5 years or so.  You need to use a buying website like Buyee or Zenmarket as we can’t access Japanese Yahoo auctions website from the uk. 

I would love to travel to Japan on a guitar shopping trip. A few members here have had the pleasure of shopping in Japan. 

Advise -

1. Study the photos as the descriptions aren’t great. 

2. If you aren’t sure then go with your gut and find a different guitar. 

3.  Remember you will have to pay a) Japan postage fees plus b) handling fees plus c) international shipping fees plus d) customs charges.

Paul_C

I've bought a few basses and a guitar from Japan, the most recent one was through eBay and went fine.

Neilybob

Here is my costs from my last guitar purchase from Japan in 2022. 

Purchase price	112000	£703.37
Buyee Service Fee	300	£2.00
Payment fee	200	£1.00
Std Plan	500	£3.29
Local shipping	1780
International ship	19300	£130.49
UK Customs	25% roughly	£159.50
		Total price paid £999.65

SquireJapan

Everything @Neilybob said, basically. 

TTony

A couple of my Kawais came direct from Japan.

Only took a few days, cost something like £100 for shipping (air).

Just make sure you buy from someone who has experience of packing for air shipping and filling in the paperwork for duty/VAT calcs.

Neilybob

Lots of good info in here - https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/250094/ishibashi-music-japan-anyone-imported-a-guitar-to-the-uk-from-them-ngd

JezWynd

Paul_C said:

I've bought a few basses and a guitar from Japan, the most recent one was through eBay and went fine.

I've been wary of using eBay to buy from Japan as there are often multiple listings for the same item. I assume that the lowest offer is the seller who actually holds the item but there's no certainty to that and so I end up passing. Saying that, I have bought a couple of drum machines and they both were fine and delivered very quickly too.

TTony

JezWynd said:

Paul_C said:

I've bought a few basses and a guitar from Japan, the most recent one was through eBay and went fine.

I've been wary of using eBay to buy from Japan as there are often multiple listings for the same item. I assume that the lowest offer is the seller who actually holds the item but there's no certainty to that and so I end up passing. Saying that, I have bought a couple of drum machines and they both were fine and delivered very quickly too.

Generally in that scenario, none of the advertisers actually have the guitar.

If someone buys from their ad, then they'll go buy it from whoever the seller is (generally a shop).

stickyfiddle

I bought one when I was there in Feb.  

Actually had my eye on several. Most of the big Tokyo dealers (Ishibashi, Ikebe, Kurosawa, NicoNico) are extremely well setup for international buyers and will help any way they can. And the Yen is low right now so used prices tend to be quite competitive for the first time in at least 10 years. 

JezWynd

TTony said:

JezWynd said:

Paul_C said:

I've bought a few basses and a guitar from Japan, the most recent one was through eBay and went fine.

I've been wary of using eBay to buy from Japan as there are often multiple listings for the same item. I assume that the lowest offer is the seller who actually holds the item but there's no certainty to that and so I end up passing. Saying that, I have bought a couple of drum machines and they both were fine and delivered very quickly too.

Generally in that scenario, none of the advertisers actually have the guitar.

If someone buys from their ad, then they'll go buy it from whoever the seller is (generally a shop).

In that case, is there a way to do an image search and locate the store, who presumably are selling at the lowest price of all? I'm presuming that all the eBay sellers are using the store's images, as all sellers use the same pics.

Bennyboy-UK

Hi Ant, Also see if you can get the Japanese sales tax removed from the price i recall it being either 5 or perhaps 10%.

that might go some way towards covering the shipping and impost costs.

Cheers,
Ben.

Octavio

I'm on the hunt for something with humbuckers or P90s, Les Paul or something ES-355 like. If you gents see any good Japan deals from trusted sellers feel free to share! £1,00-1,500 budget for something USED.

@Neilybob what was your last purchase out of curiosity?

Pete.R

I've bought some of my FGNs directly from Japan,

big stores like Kurosawa ship overseas, bought 2 guitars from them, easy to deal with

Kurosawa does remove the 10% japanese sales-tax

Or you can buy via a proxy-service like Zen-Market,

they list items from smaller sellers in Japan who don't ship outside, bought two guitars via Zen-Market.

Good packing and fast shipment.

Be careful if you look on eBay, there are lots of sellers who don't own what they offer, 

and they sometimes offer a few thousand items.

'spp-international' and 'japanproduct' are just two of them

If you buy from one of them, they try to get the item in Japan and send it to you with a big price-hike

If the item is already sold, which happens a lot - you'll get your money back after a week or more....

In the meantime they work with your cash for free

I've seen a guitar listed by such sellers weeks after I've bought and had it already here in Germany

In my experience it is only interesting for models that aren't regulary available in your country

or used guitars.

https://shop.kurosawagakki.com/items/search/electric-guitar?q=Tokai

https://reverb.com/de/shop/g-club?product_type=electric-guitars&make=tokai

BobHillman

I once bought a synth from David Sylvian.

Neilybob

Octavio said:

I'm on the hunt for something with humbuckers or P90s, Les Paul or something ES-355 like. If you gents see any good Japan deals from trusted sellers feel free to share! £1,00-1,500 budget for something USED.

@Neilybob what was your last purchase out of curiosity?

This! And it's now my #1. 

https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/237554/ngd-just-in-from-japan-navigator-content

rlw

I’ve bought Tokai through the Japanese stores and have had very good experiences.  There are some fantastic guitars to be had that we never ever see here.
A new premium range Tokai LP will only be slightly over your budget.

CavemanGrogg

Serious suggestion that I have actually done.  If it's an expensive enough guitar, one where the import fees are going to be comparable to spending a few days in Japan, fly out for a few days, buy the guitar in person, and fly back with it.  Do this right, as in time it for when flights and hotels are at their cheapest, not only will you not pay any tax, you'll also save quite a lot of money.  Though some imagination and forethought needs to be used here, for example, like flying out to Japan with a piece of shit cheap Harley Benton in a hardcase and then bin/donate it in Japan before flying back with the guitar you flew out to buy, and claim the good guitar is the guitar you brought out to Japan with you, and not the cheap shitty Harley Benton in a cheap hardcase that you flew out with.

TTony

CavemanGrogg said:

 like flying out to Japan with a piece of shit cheap Harley Benton in a hardcase and then bin/donate it in Japan before flying back with the guitar you flew out to buy, and claim the good guitar is the guitar you brought out to Japan with you, and not the cheap shitty Harley Benton in a cheap hardcase that you flew out with.

Sssshhhhh!!

FFS, don't share secrets like that.  Customs had never heard of that one before.

Neil

TTony said:

CavemanGrogg said:

 like flying out to Japan with a piece of shit cheap Harley Benton in a hardcase and then bin/donate it in Japan before flying back with the guitar you flew out to buy, and claim the good guitar is the guitar you brought out to Japan with you, and not the cheap shitty Harley Benton in a cheap hardcase that you flew out with.

Sssshhhhh!!

FFS, don't share secrets like that.  Customs had never heard of that one before.

Oh come on Tony - it's a masterplan. 

fretmeister

I've had 1 bass and a few pedals.

Ishibashi and another large place that I cannot remember the name of!