Buying from Japan

[Marshall]

Anybody have experience good and/or bad buying a guitar listed on Reverb and/or ebay in Japan and shipped to US?

There are a couple things I'm considering clicking on one. But I'm wary. They look to be new from "shops" in Japan, not individuals.

[TheGITM]

I won't do it just because of the possible issues that can occur with customs and product imports. It's probably more of an 'imagined' issue than a real life issue, but everything that you buy from a foreign country has to clear customs and there are associated costs and it takes longer to get from A to B. If anything gets flagged along the way you have to deal with it...

But many people do it, so it can't be that big of a deal. I just haven't yet found anything compelling enough for me to go that route...

[kevinplarson]

I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan. I’d feel far safer than most places with the way the country works.

[rollypolly]

I bought a K. Yairi Rag Parlor from one of the ebay sellers in Japan. Can't remember which seller but it was one of the ones that has many guitars listed. The guitar arrived in a week (maybe a day or two faster) in good shape. No problems at all, and I got a K. Yairi for a great price. I ended up selling the guitar because I realized after some time that parlors are just too small for me, but it was a phenomenal little parlor. Nothing negative to note on the seller or experience.

[NBMgreg]

Originally Posted by Marshall

Anybody have experience good and/or bad buying a guitar listed on Reverb and/or ebay in Japan and shipped to US?

There are a couple things I'm considering clicking on one. But I'm wary. They look to be new from "shops" in Japan, not individuals.

I have been close to buying a few on eBay but backed away. Odds are you’ll find the same guitar listed by multiple stores at different prices. If you google this, there’s tons of threads on this issue on various forums. From what I gather, most eBay Japanese storefronts do not actually have the guitar on hand and when you buy from them they then go buy the guitar from the original source and resell it to you. In many cases, the guitar is not even available anymore and they’ll reach out saying the guitar was damaged, lost etc and is no longer available. In the instances I’ve read about they had no issue refunding the money. There are a few reputable Japanese storefronts on eBay, but sifting through them and verifying that they are the actual owners of the guitar is work. I’ve also heard about a Japanese version of EBay where you’ll most likely find the original guitar listing but making purchases through it is very difficult.

Edit: there’s nothing wrong with buying from these stores if you want a guitar they are listing, they do and will sell/ship these guitars, just be aware that it’s marked up and there’s a chance the guitar is not available from the original source anymore.

[Osage]

I've bought maybe a dozen guitars from Japan on ebay and Reverb. All were painless transactions and the guitars showed up as quick, if not quicker, than from American sellers. I would do it again without reservation.

[Mr. Paul]

A1 experience buying from Miki Gakki on Reverb.

[mesabgM4]

I purchased a US made guitar from a shop in Japan off of Reverb. USA made products aren’t subject to import duties, but the seller has to fill out the correct forms so it doesn’t get flagged for it. I also found out from my neighbor that you can have items tagged as “demo only” and they won’t be charged duties. Not sure how long involved the paperwork is for that though.

[Marshall]

How about G-CLUB Produce by Kurosawa Music?

They do state that the guitar in question might not still be available as it is listed on multiple shops. I sent a message, but they haven't responded yet.

[slopeshoulder]

Kurosawa Gakki is a pretty large chain. I have purchased several from them. G Club is one of their higher end stores. Excellent reputation and customer service.

[NickTuneUp]

Originally Posted by Marshall

Anybody have experience good and/or bad buying a guitar listed on Reverb and/or ebay in Japan and shipped to US?

Just bought a Yamaha LS36 from Japan. Showed up in 4 days. Just amazing.

[KevinH]

I'm curious, if you live in the US and bought a guitar from Japan, what import duties or customs fees were you charged? And was your guitar originally made in the US? I've purchased a guitar that was made in Germany, and is being shipped from there to the US, with a duty of almost 10%.

[NickTuneUp]

Originally Posted by KevinH

I'm curious, if you live in the US and bought a guitar from Japan, what import duties or customs fees were you charged? And was your guitar originally made in the US? I've purchased a guitar that was made in Germany, and is being shipped from there to the US, with a duty of almost 10%.

I sell guitars, so I imported as a business. In this instance there were no import fees. Here is the LS36

[Cornishguilt]

I’ve bought from G-Club Kurosawa before, and they were excellent. I’ve also bought a couple of Martins from Kurosawa Gakki, and the customer service has always been top notch. I think I’m right in saying that Kurosawa are the distributor for Martin in Japan.

Originally Posted by Marshall

How about G-CLUB Produce by Kurosawa Music?

They do state that the guitar in question might not still be available as it is listed on multiple shops. I sent a message, but they haven't responded yet.

[Marshall]

OK. Thanks for the feedback. I popped for the guitar.

We'll see what entails.