Purchasing in and shipping from Japan

[DesAstor]

I've been looking to buy an upper end Sailor pen (nearly decided on the Ebony Sculpture series particularly the Yogazsumi following a recommendation from A Smug Dill, thank you very much ). Purchasing directly in Japan, or thru Ebay and having it shipped to me, yields a significant saving. Having said that though, the purchase would then go thru US Customs, which may slap an additional tax on it. 

 

I am now wondering whether purchasing this way is in fact a way to save money, or am I asking for a frustrating experience that in the end may cost me more than simply purchasing directly in the US?

Have users found other ways to purchase from Japan?

[A Smug Dill]

If available through your local Amazon website — but sold and shipped by Amazon Japan — that's probably the best way, with no surprises in terms of additional taxes or duties to be paid once the order has been shipped, and if anything goes wrong, Amazon is pretty good about doing what it takes such that you're not out-of-pocket (even if you might not end up securing a satisfactory product in hand).

 

I ordered the Yakoh last week on Amazon.com.au, with a caveat that it was not in stock but “usually dispatched within 4 to 6 weeks”. Surprisingly, that order looked like it was going to come through… but I cancelled it, because I don't think I can justify spending even that amount on a pen with an M nib I don't think I'll end up using much; I have six TACCIA urushi fountain pens in my personal fleet (not counting my wife's) with more suitable nibs that are also made by Sailor, and I hardly ever write with them. All of those TACCIA pens were also ordered from Amazon, by the way, with very significant savings over their retail prices either in the Japanese domestic market or elsewhere.

[Seney724]

With regard to fountain pens, the number of high-end fakes and shameless scams coming out of Japan these days is staggering.

And, in addition, eBay & Amazon are two of the most likely places where you'll get screwed.

eBay is a virtual sewer where preying on unsuspecting buyers is a local sport.  Getting scammed is less likely on Amazon but the fakes there are abundant.

I recommend you stay far, far away from both of them.

 

Your best approach is to find a known, creditable & ethical individual shop owner and purchase directly from him or her.  

I believe there are some recent threads here where well known members have taken the time to share the names of such shops.

[senzen]

I've bought from Amazon Japan through regular Amazon, and from eBay; no problems after checking out the sellers.

[DesAstor]

On 7/12/2024 at 10:50 PM, A Smug Dill said:

If available through your local Amazon website — but sold and shipped by Amazon Japan — that's probably the best way, with no surprises in terms of additional taxes or duties to be paid once the order has been shipped, and if anything goes wrong, Amazon is pretty good about doing what it takes such that you're not out-of-pocket (even if you might not end up securing a satisfactory product in hand).

Unfortunately, Amazon US only offers low to lower-mid range pens w/a few Kings offered here and there. Beyond that, nothing. I would have loved to pick up one of the Ebonite Sculpture pens but they are only offered by typical retailers for close to $800. I am not sure if that reflects the poor standing of the yen or if those sellers sell at the original retail prices. The latter  would make sense if they have old stock and would otherwise sell at a loss or no profit trying to match prices based on the current Yen. Very unfortunate for me 

[inkstainedruth]

The only experience I have in ordering directly from Japan was for a Pilot Decimo on eBay from a seller with 100% positive feedback ratings (which, by the way, the seller DID NOT LOSE a smidge of a percent IMO ).  The pen came within the expected scheduled time frame, even though the seller warned me that because of the time of year (ordered it the week of Thanksgiving), it might take longer than the 10-14 days listed.  I was able to track the pen through Japan Post, then, once it got out of US Customs in NY, through the USPS until it was out for delivery, and then in the middle of the afternoon the mailman was knocking on my front door because I had to sign for the package.  (I looked recently and the seller didn't have any listings -- but I wouldn't hesitate ONE SECOND to order from the person again if it was something I wanted!).  Ironically I DID have a really bad experience with a US seller who had thousands of transactions on eBay but NOT 100% positive ratings.  In that case, I filed a dispute and was able to keep the pens AND get my money back -- but was NOT allowed to provide feedback.... 

As for Amazon?  I had a bad experience with a 3rd party vendor (not for a pen -- a CD that was supposedly "remastered" but I suspect that it was (a) a bootleg (I owned the album on since the early 1970s); and (b) that the seller ordered it from a slightly cheaper vendor in Germany (which is, I suspect, the reason why the seller claimed that DHL didn't provide tracking... they didn't want me to know that they'd ordered from other seller).  I did also have a less than stellar experience ordering a couple of other CDs directly from Amazon -- which were delivered by some guy in his car(!) who apparently didn't plug my address into the GPS and was at the OTHER END of the street I live off of).  I spent something like an hour and a half on the phone with some woman at Amazon's Customer Support while she attempted to track down where the delivery guy was.  I did get my money back in that case (which I was then able to use to buy prizes for a sort of scavenger hunt I was asked to run sometime after that).

But in general, for both eBay and Amazon?  Read the reviews of the sellers carefully -- especially if the seller does NOT have 100% positive feedback -- but I did get jerked around a while back from an eBay seller who DID (supposedly) have a 100% positive rating: after agreeing to the offer I made, the seller cancelled the sale 2 days later and I found that out from PAYPAL before I found out from eBay!  I was told, "Oh, you can't provide feedback on a transaction that was cancelled!" and what I basically said to eBay in response was, "HOLD MY BEER!"  And did it ANYWAY!  I don't know if the seller (who was in Jamaica, Queens, in NYC) got a better offer or never had the pen in possession to begin with (the pen was a Luxor-made Parker Vector with a design that was apparently ONLY sold in Asia ).  That seller was the ONLY one listing that particular pen who *wasn't* in India and was the ONLY one who had 100% positive feedback (well, not anymore !).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[stan]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:06 PM, Seney724 said:

With regard to fountain pens, the number of high-end fakes and shameless scams coming out of Japan these days is staggering.

And, in addition, eBay & Amazon are two of the most likely places where you'll get screwed.

eBay is a virtual sewer where preying on unsuspecting buyers is a local sport.  Getting scammed is less likely on Amazon but the fakes there are abundant.

I recommend you stay far, far away from both of them.

 

Your best approach is to find a known, creditable & ethical individual shop owner and purchase directly from him or her.  

I believe there are some recent threads here where well known members have taken the time to share the names of such shops.

Can you please provide several examples of fakes and scams 'coming out of Japan.' Provide links. I've purchased pens from Japan for twenty five years and have never bought a fake or have been scammed. When we sold pens we were pushing 10,000 pens bought, sold, or traded, or collected.

 

For Yahoo Japan you must exercise care in what you purchase. Check all photogrpahs carefully. Enlarge if needed. Read the fine print - translations are good. 

[DesAstor]

On 7/12/2024 at 10:50 PM, A Smug Dill said:

If available through your local Amazon website — but sold and shipped by Amazon Japan —

I just checked the two orders I had placed for two Sailor pens, both were thru Amazon Japan and I had no difficulties, or suprise charges whatsoever getting the items. I am now wondering whether I can somehow contact them to ask if they can directly procure a pen for me.  Any chance you may have contact information for them, other than what is listed at Amazon? 

[A Smug Dill]

18 minutes ago, DesAstor said:

I am now wondering whether I can somehow contact them to ask if they can directly procure a pen for me.

 

No. That's not how Amazon works.

[Seney724]

13 hours ago, stan said:

Can you please provide several examples of fakes and scams 'coming out of Japan.' Provide links. I've purchased pens from Japan for twenty five years and have never bought a fake or have been scammed. When we sold pens we were pushing 10,000 pens bought, sold, or traded, or collected.

 

For Yahoo Japan you must exercise care in what you purchase. Check all photogrpahs carefully. Enlarge if needed. Read the fine print - translations are good. 

@stan

Thanks for your perspective. 

Please let me state, immediately, I never said that every pen sold by a Japanese seller was a fake or a part of a scam.  I think some of the finest fountain pens in the world have come (and continue to come) from Japan.

 

For two reasons your experience does not surprise me:

1)  Clearly, as a professional seller and dedicated collector, you are about as "educated" a consumer as they come and surely your vast knowledge kept you away from trouble. 

2) You say your business is no longer active and I must wonder if you didn't "get out" before things got to their current state.  For reasons you will read in the link I am providing, this all sky rocketed concurrent to the Pandemic.

 

I must say, I am surprised by your expression of being unaware of this practice.  Quite honestly, I thought it was pretty common knowledge among seasoned collectors and I was offering the information in my post to try and help guide those who were more inexperienced.  But, if it is only a small segment of us who believe this to be true than that really should be mentioned in the name of providing our newer, more inexperienced members with the proper balance as they try to educate themselves.

 

Let me offer this link for you to peruse.  I'd be interested in your thoughts after you look though it.  At the least, I hope you will acknowledge that I am not a lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to this matter and its significance.

 

Finally, you ask for specific links to scams and fakes.  I find this a bit ironic because the few I have posted over the years have been taken down pretty much immediately by a Moderator.  True, none of them, (that I can recall) were posted in this sub-Forum; perhaps if they had you would not have removed them?  Anyway, there have been quite a few and as a super moderator perhaps you have access to banned posts which contain the links you seek?  I'm sure that over time some have survived and remain here on FPN somewhere and, again, I have to believe that as a super Moderator you have easier access to them than I do.  Or, alternatively, perhaps another member will know just where to find some examples.

 

Thanks again for your sharing your experience and perspective @stan.  

[Number99]

2 hours ago, Seney724 said:

@stan

Thanks for your perspective. 

Please let me state, immediately, I never said that every pen sold by a Japanese seller was a fake or a part of a scam.  I think some of the finest fountain pens in the world have come (and continue to come) from Japan.

 

For two reasons your experience does not surprise me:

1)  Clearly, as a professional seller and dedicated collector, you are about as "educated" a consumer as they come and surely your vast knowledge kept you away from trouble. 

2) You say your business is no longer active and I must wonder if you didn't "get out" before things got to their current state.  For reasons you will read in the link I am providing, this all sky rocketed concurrent to the Pandemic.

 

I must say, I am surprised by your expression of being unaware of this practice.  Quite honestly, I thought it was pretty common knowledge among seasoned collectors and I was offering the information in my post to try and help guide those who were more inexperienced.  But, if it is only a small segment of us who believe this to be true than that really should be mentioned in the name of providing our newer, more inexperienced members with the proper balance as they try to educate themselves.

 

Let me offer this link for you to peruse.  I'd be interested in your thoughts after you look though it.  At the least, I hope you will acknowledge that I am not a lone voice in the wilderness when it comes to this matter and its significance.

 

Finally, you ask for specific links to scams and fakes.  I find this a bit ironic because the few I have posted over the years have been taken down pretty much immediately by a Moderator.  True, none of them, (that I can recall) were posted in this sub-Forum; perhaps if they had you would not have removed them?  Anyway, there have been quite a few and as a super moderator perhaps you have access to banned posts which contain the links you seek?  I'm sure that over time some have survived and remain here on FPN somewhere and, again, I have to believe that as a super Moderator you have easier access to them than I do.  Or, alternatively, perhaps another member will know just where to find some examples.

 

Thanks again for your sharing your experience and perspective @stan.  

Have you verified that it is indeed a Japanese seller who speaks Japanese?

Do you know that there are people who resell Japanese e-commerce sites' products without inventory from outside Japan?

They steal images of products from original Japanese sellers and convert them.

They use resale apps to sell products without inventory.

They link their own sales page to the original Japanese seller's product page.

As soon as your product is sold, the app will push the buy button of the original Japanese seller's product.

Multiple no-stock resellers can be linked to a single product of one original Japanese seller.

 

If you don't have a cell phone or an account, you can do this using a buying agent.

 

Do your own research. You should not create a heavy impression on people based on your imagination and fantasy without doing your own research.

 

I am not aware of any previous eBay product pages that can be checked at any time.

 

 

Edited July 15 by Number99
Correction of the text.

[Merrick]

Regarding US customs, to the best of my knowledge they do not charge the package recipient any customs fees if the declared value of the package is below $2,500. 

[Seney724]

22 minutes ago, Number99 said:

Do your own research. You should not create a heavy impression on people based on your imagination and fantasy without doing your own research.

 

 

 

 

Sorry pal, none of this is my imagination or fantasy.  It's here, it's now and it's very real.

If you don't think it is happening then YOU are the one who is the victim of imagination & fantasy.

[Seney724]

14 minutes ago, Merrick said:

Regarding US customs, to the best of my knowledge they do not charge the package recipient any customs fees if the declared value of the package is below $2,500. 

I was under the impression that the upper limit was USD $800.

Has US Customs recently revised that number upwards?

[Merrick]

Just now, Seney724 said:

I was under the impression that the upper limit was USD $800.

Has US Customs recently revised that number upwards?

I believe merchants are charged by US customs for items between $800-$2499 but I am not an expert and those rules can be difficult to parse. 

[Seney724]

3 minutes ago, Merrick said:

I believe merchants are charged by US customs for items between $800-$2499 but I am not an expert and those rules can be difficult to parse. 

Thanks.

So, if I am understanding correctly......... you are saying given an individual transaction between an offshore merchant and a US buyer, for items between $800-$2499, the merchants are expected to pay the import duties, not the buyer / importer??

That's something I've not heard before.

I'm no expert either!

Perhaps some member can clarify for us..........

[Merrick]

Definitely don't make big purchases off of my layman's understanding of opaque customs declaration requirements. 😄

[Number99]

29 minutes ago, Seney724 said:

Sorry pal, none of this is my imagination or fantasy.  It's here, it's now and it's very real.

If you don't think it is happening then YOU are the one who is the victim of imagination & fantasy.

So I explain that you should look into it before making a claim. That is a basic human thing to do. I explained how the no-stock resale works.

[Seney724]

1 minute ago, Number99 said:

So I explain that you should look into it before making a claim. That is a basic human thing to do. I explained how the no-stock resale works.

Thank you very much for your advice but I have already fully examined the matter.

If you had taken the time to read my post, and the link I attached from 2022, you would know that this is something which has been of interest to me for some years now.  

Reading someone's post before harshly criticizing it is a basic human thing to do.

[Number99]

1 hour ago, Seney724 said:

Thank you very much for your advice but I have already fully examined the matter.

If you had taken the time to read my post, and the link I attached from 2022, you would know that this is something which has been of interest to me for some years now.  

Reading someone's post before harshly criticizing it is a basic human thing to do.

If you understand how the no-stock resale system works, that's fine.

Too bad I can't move on to talk about the people who are selling and consulting on this system and making even more profit.

 

P.S.

Naturally, products are more expensive because they add expenses and profit to the original seller's price. And since they do not have the product in their possession, they do not know the drawbacks of the product.

 

Apart from the scam stories, there are many troubles caused by their lack of product knowledge and their failure to explain the shortcomings of the products. The phenomenon of foreign resellers without inventory has been a social problem in Japan for quite some time.

 

Some of the original sellers whose images are stolen and resold perceive them as customers who will buy their products, while many others consider it annoying that their images are reproduced on scam websites.

 

Anyway, it is difficult for Japanese people who do not speak the foreign language well enough to understand the commercial system of eBay and set up a store on eBay with an eBay application that does not have a translation function.

 

 

Edited July 15 by Number99