Our Japanese EBay sellers

**goatsNdonkey** · 08-11-2016, 08:37 AM

It's very interesting to find this thread. I've found that when I search for something Pentax and forget to check "[ ] US Only" some listings from Japan are likely to show up, often competitively priced and with free shipping. The positive feedback percentages have been very high, but it is good to hear what actual customers have to say!

**gofour3** · 08-11-2016, 10:24 AM

Originally posted by goatsNdonkey

often competitively priced and with free shipping.

The free shipping and no pre-charged duties is why I mainly buy from Japan and not the US any longer.

Most of the bigger sellers in the US now only ship with higher cost USPS tracking/insured options and use a custom broker where you have to also pay eBay the import taxes up front.

I can easily save $70.00US for a lens selling for $150.00US if I buy it from Japan, as the US seller would charge $35.00 for shipping and I have to pay eBay another $35.00 for prepaid Canadian import taxes & broker fees. That $150.00US lens would then cost me $220.00US from the USA or just $150.00 from Japan.

If the lens comes from Japan I almost never have to pay import duties from Canada Post, unless it's really expensive and the shipping is also way faster.

Phil.

**eyrr** · 08-21-2016, 05:56 PM

Originally posted by gofour3

the shipping is also way faster.

Phil.

I clicked "Buy it now" In Toronto Canada late Saturday afternoon. The item was in my hands Thursday afternoon. Impressive doesn't begin to cover it.

**cometguy** · 09-23-2020, 07:47 PM

One of the things I've noticed in spending a long time looking at, and buying, Pentax camera equipment off Ebay is that the Japanese are usually much more complete and professional in posting what they sell. American sellers are often very sloppy, very brief, and show way too few photos. I find that I often have to ask numerous questions of American sellers before I can even consider whether what they are selling is of any interest or use to me, whereas the Japanese, with all their many photos and careful wordings, leaves little to ask. The other thing I've noticed is that American sellers' camera equipment on Ebay frequently appears in much worse shape than the same equipment being sold from Japan. Lenses and cameras look to have been put much more through the mill in what's sold by many American sellers. My take from this is that Japanese photographers just take much better care of their camera equipment than do Americans, generally, and I therefore am much more prone to buy from Japanese sellers, and less prone to even consider the camera equipment sold by American sellers -- especially when it comes to digital cameras (but also to a lesser extent to other camera equipment).

**ivanvernon** · 09-24-2020, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by cometguy

One of the things I've noticed in spending a long time looking at, and buying, Pentax camera equipment off Ebay is that the Japanese are usually much more complete and professional in posting what they sell. American sellers are often very sloppy, very brief, and show way too few photos. I find that I often have to ask numerous questions of American sellers before I can even consider whether what they are selling is of any interest or use to me, whereas the Japanese, with all their many photos and careful wordings, leaves little to ask. The other thing I've noticed is that American sellers' camera equipment on Ebay frequently appears in much worse shape than the same equipment being sold from Japan. Lenses and cameras look to have been put much more through the mill in what's sold by many American sellers. My take from this is that Japanese photographers just take much better care of their camera equipment than do Americans, generally, and I therefore am much more prone to buy from Japanese sellers, and less prone to even consider the camera equipment sold by American sellers -- especially when it comes to digital cameras (but also to a lesser extent to other camera equipment).

My experience has been the same, and shipping is fast.

---------- Post added 09-24-20 at 05:01 AM ----------

Much of the difference in U.S. and Japanese camera users and dealers is understandable in light of Japanese cultural practices and the expectations and requirements of Japanese customers. Some cultural marketing practices: Japanese autos are displayed in the showroom on tilted platforms so Japanese customers can fully inspect the bottom of the auto, but in U.S. showrooms customers would have to lie on their backs on the floor to do so but in fact do not do so. In Japanese food stores, each piece of fruit is individually wrapped and placed individually in displays so that the fruit cannot be bruised by contact with other pieces of fruit, but in U.S. practice an entire basket of fruit may be "poured" into the display bin and allowed to bump against other pieces of fruit with no individual wrapping. Japanese customers may bring measuring devices to the auto showroom in order carefully to check auto body tolerances, but many American customers pay these tolerances no mind. Japanese fruit growers carefully wrap each piece of fruit while it is growing on the tree in order to prevent weather and/or insect damage while U.S. growers are more likely to leave the fruit unwrapped and instead control insect damage with various types of chemical sprays. While I am not familiar with Japanese photographic use and distribution practices, it is easy to imagine how cultural practices in other areas might translate into the photographic equipment trade.

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08-11-2016, 08:37 AM	#16
goatsNdonkey Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Fulton County, Illinois Posts: 3,736	It's very interesting to find this thread. I've found that when I search for something Pentax and forget to check "[ ] US Only" some listings from Japan are likely to show up, often competitively priced and with free shipping. The positive feedback percentages have been very high, but it is good to hear what actual customers have to say!

08-11-2016, 10:24 AM	#17
gofour3 Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 8,092	Originally posted by goatsNdonkey often competitively priced and with free shipping. The free shipping and no pre-charged duties is why I mainly buy from Japan and not the US any longer. Most of the bigger sellers in the US now only ship with higher cost USPS tracking/insured options and use a custom broker where you have to also pay eBay the import taxes up front. I can easily save $70.00US for a lens selling for $150.00US if I buy it from Japan, as the US seller would charge $35.00 for shipping and I have to pay eBay another $35.00 for prepaid Canadian import taxes & broker fees. That $150.00US lens would then cost me $220.00US from the USA or just $150.00 from Japan. If the lens comes from Japan I almost never have to pay import duties from Canada Post, unless it's really expensive and the shipping is also way faster. Phil.

08-21-2016, 05:56 PM	#18
eyrr Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery Posts: 320	Originally posted by gofour3 the shipping is also way faster. Phil. I clicked "Buy it now" In Toronto Canada late Saturday afternoon. The item was in my hands Thursday afternoon. Impressive doesn't begin to cover it.

09-23-2020, 07:47 PM	#19
cometguy Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2020 Photos: Gallery Posts: 131	One of the things I've noticed in spending a long time looking at, and buying, Pentax camera equipment off Ebay is that the Japanese are usually much more complete and professional in posting what they sell. American sellers are often very sloppy, very brief, and show way too few photos. I find that I often have to ask numerous questions of American sellers before I can even consider whether what they are selling is of any interest or use to me, whereas the Japanese, with all their many photos and careful wordings, leaves little to ask. The other thing I've noticed is that American sellers' camera equipment on Ebay frequently appears in much worse shape than the same equipment being sold from Japan. Lenses and cameras look to have been put much more through the mill in what's sold by many American sellers. My take from this is that Japanese photographers just take much better care of their camera equipment than do Americans, generally, and I therefore am much more prone to buy from Japanese sellers, and less prone to even consider the camera equipment sold by American sellers -- especially when it comes to digital cameras (but also to a lesser extent to other camera equipment).

09-24-2020, 01:41 AM	#20
ivanvernon Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Medina, OH Photos: Albums Posts: 7,224	Originally posted by cometguy One of the things I've noticed in spending a long time looking at, and buying, Pentax camera equipment off Ebay is that the Japanese are usually much more complete and professional in posting what they sell. American sellers are often very sloppy, very brief, and show way too few photos. I find that I often have to ask numerous questions of American sellers before I can even consider whether what they are selling is of any interest or use to me, whereas the Japanese, with all their many photos and careful wordings, leaves little to ask. The other thing I've noticed is that American sellers' camera equipment on Ebay frequently appears in much worse shape than the same equipment being sold from Japan. Lenses and cameras look to have been put much more through the mill in what's sold by many American sellers. My take from this is that Japanese photographers just take much better care of their camera equipment than do Americans, generally, and I therefore am much more prone to buy from Japanese sellers, and less prone to even consider the camera equipment sold by American sellers -- especially when it comes to digital cameras (but also to a lesser extent to other camera equipment). My experience has been the same, and shipping is fast. ---------- Post added 09-24-20 at 05:01 AM ---------- Much of the difference in U.S. and Japanese camera users and dealers is understandable in light of Japanese cultural practices and the expectations and requirements of Japanese customers. Some cultural marketing practices: Japanese autos are displayed in the showroom on tilted platforms so Japanese customers can fully inspect the bottom of the auto, but in U.S. showrooms customers would have to lie on their backs on the floor to do so but in fact do not do so. In Japanese food stores, each piece of fruit is individually wrapped and placed individually in displays so that the fruit cannot be bruised by contact with other pieces of fruit, but in U.S. practice an entire basket of fruit may be "poured" into the display bin and allowed to bump against other pieces of fruit with no individual wrapping. Japanese customers may bring measuring devices to the auto showroom in order carefully to check auto body tolerances, but many American customers pay these tolerances no mind. Japanese fruit growers carefully wrap each piece of fruit while it is growing on the tree in order to prevent weather and/or insect damage while U.S. growers are more likely to leave the fruit unwrapped and instead control insect damage with various types of chemical sprays. While I am not familiar with Japanese photographic use and distribution practices, it is easy to imagine how cultural practices in other areas might translate into the photographic equipment trade.