Buying From Japan

[Skip Ellis]

Has anyone bought a guitar from Japan? There are some fairly attractive prices on new Ibanez GB10s on Reverb but not sure if I'd be hit with import duty/brokerage fees, etc. I had an acoustic built in the UK a couple years ago and dealt with that stuff but not sure what the situation is with Japan. I've found a couple pretty good deals on used ones here in the States but the Japanese price on new ones seems to be getting close to used territory.

[nyc chaz]

As far i know if the guitar is built outside the U.S. then there is an import fee.

[ThatRhythmMan]

If it comes shipped by UPS or DHL you will almost certainly pay fees. DHL usually only collects duties. UPS will often charge ridiculous “brokerage fees” on top and by ridiculous, I mean I’ve seen fees triple the import taxes. If it comes EMS/USPS there is a fairly good chance you won’t pay anything extra.


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[wintermoon]

Posted this before but once bought a Gibson from Canada sent UPS and the shop failed to fill out the proper paperwork.
I was hit w/ a big import duty I refused to pay and they kept after me for a couple years and finally gave up.
If you do buy out of the country make sure the seller fills out the forms.

[andrew]

A USA made guitar that is "repatriated" from a foreign country back to the USA is not supposed to have any import duties or fees. I bought such a guitar from a store in Japan a year ago and didn't have to pay fees (the fact that they didn't put my address on the package, so it went to the dead letter office before I filed a claim and had it sent to me 3 weeks later is a different story). Foreign made items imported into the USA valued over $800 are subject to import fees (items under the threshold aren't).

Wintermoon's Canada/Gibson thing is interesting because I thought with NAFTA, there weren't supposed to be tariffs between the USA and Canada.

[Top of the Arch!]

I have bought well over 75 guitars from Japan and have never paid a customs fee. Have I been lucky? I'd say so . I know of a few others who have bought many guitars from Japan and have never paid any fees too, so I guess it's a crap shoot. There are no fees if the guitar was made in the USA , at least that's the way it was when I bought my first guitar directly from Japan about 20 years ago. My last purchase from Japan was about two months ago from Ishibashi Music , an Eastman ar403ce and it arrived with no fees aside from the shipping charge. YMMV. Bob

[DawgBone]

Done it before and had a lot of problems. My best advice:

Only deal with reputable big name Japanese guitar shops, Ishibashi or Ikebe, for example. They know what they are doing. A private seller can be honorable but not know the paperwork routine and it can really hang things up. Also, a lot of sellers are just taking photos of guitars in local shops and then buying it after you've paid them, and then shipping it to you. Most of them are also honorable, that type of seller is common in Japan, but they are also more likely to be rookies in the international shipping department. It's not worth the headaches IME.

[nyc chaz]

For me to buy a guitar from overseas,it would have to be a unicorn guitar,something not readily found.The OP is looking for a GB10 which are in abundance here in the U.S.Besides the import tax,what if the guitar is damaged and you have to return it.Just too much of a hassle for a readily available guitar.

[Flat]

I'm American, born in NYC and California raised. But my wife is Japanese and we live in Hamamatsu half the year. I've been here since October. I can't really give you any advice about shipping or buying long distance or import duties.

What I can tell you is that it is a really good time to spend dollars in Japan. The yen is trading at close to 150 yen to the dollar. Check this chart. It goes back 10 years. That is probably why the new Ibanezes you look at seem like deals.

I don't want to talk you into anything, but over here your dollars are worth almost 50% more than they were just four years ago.

[chris32895]

How do people here feel about using proxy services like ZenMarket or Buyee, for example? As I understand going through these companies you are essentially buying from Mercari Japan and the seller ships to this company who then repacks it and ships to you for a small fee.

I've almost done it but the fact that the shipping fee is ambiguous has been my main source of doubt.

[Jabberwocky]

How do people here feel about using proxy services like ZenMarket or Buyee, for example? As I understand going through these companies you are essentially buying from Mercari Japan and the seller ships to this company who then repacks it and ships to you for a small fee.

I've almost done it but the fact that the shipping fee is ambiguous has been my main source of doubt.

Not advisable. You end up paying 10% Japan sales tax for their proxy service as it is seen as a domestic sale. When guitar is directly exported to you, you do not pay the 10% Japan sales tax.

The other reason is you have no recourse should the guitar prove faulty in some manner. These proxy services are no guitar experts; they will tell you that their duty lies in shipping the guitar to you. Their work is done when it is shipped out. Oh, not as described? Too bad. They won't act for you. They exist only to collect fees.