Ordering from Japan on ebay

[ColSebastianMoran]

I don't think you can generalize about sellers in any country, but I have had very good experience with sellers in Japan, especially a couple of sellers who are visible here on RFF.

EMS Japan to US is fantastic! Good tracking, items arrive very quickly in the US. For the $30 or whatever it is, this is a very good service.

 

[Carterofmars]

Would you purchase a camera from the Fukushima Prefecture?

 

[hausen]

I doubt there is a better country to import from than Japan. I have nothing but great experience over 3-4 purchases and EMS are very reliable.

 

[Scrambler]

There are a lot of good quality film cameras in Japan, and generally a culture of service.

As with any ebay purchase, look at the volume of trade, number and type of negative comments, type of products getting positive feedback (e.g. if its all $2 plastic elephants and you are buying an M9, think twice!)

I have seen some advertisements selling used or even damaged cameras at a price which would imply very good if not pristine condition. I wouldn't buy from these sellers. But in general you should do OK with usual precautions.

And Japan Post EMS puts everyone else to shame with low cost, high speed and useful tracking info. I would recommend buying something from Japan just to watch what proper post can be.

 

[Robert Lai]

I like buying from Japan. The ratings are very conservative. If they say there's a blemish, there may be something that is barely noticeable. EMS is amazingly fast, and the tracking works all the way into the USA. With the US Postal service OTOH, the tracking is lost as soon as it leaves the borders of the USA.

I've never had any customs added on any items from Japan sent by EMS. This included expensive items such as a 35mm Summicron ASPH in LTM mount (made by Leica for the Japanese market in 1999), which was over $3300.

A long time ago I ordered a beater Nikon F3 from a seller in Canada. US Customs stopped it at the border and there was a $100 fee for a duty agent. The seller used one of the couriers, I believe. The camera was in truly bad condition, so I returned it.
However, if ordering internationally, I would prefer EMS (or Canada Post) instead of a courier for this reason.

Anyway, back to the original question - buying from Japan is one of the truly pleasurable experiences one can have.

 

[Rob-F]

The only customs issue I've had was from Canada to the USA, when shipped by UPS. UPS routes shipments from Canada through US customs, and charges a service fee. The first and last time I used UPS for a shipment from Canada was probably 10 years ago. Then, the fee was $26.00 per box. Here's the joke: Customs doesn't even look at these shipments, doesn't need to see them. Not even the USPS routes incoming Canadian packages through customs. If there were any need, they would know about it. I'm sure there's no duty, because of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

It's a scam to make an extra $26.00 on every package from Canada. That's why I avoid UPS. That, and their excessive packing charges. And they won't insure anything unless they pack it. Fed-ex and USPS will insure without insisting on doing the packing. [/rant]

So here's what I do: I request that the seller ship by Canada Post. When it reaches the border, the package automatically goes through USPS, right to my door.

 

[Asim]

Thanks for all the responses. So can anyone tell me how I find matsui camera on ebay. Do they have a website?

 

[CameraQuest]

You might want to remembers many photo manufacturers do not repair grey market products (products sold outside the buyer's home country)
at any price, much less honoring foreign warranties!

This means if repairs are needed, you may have to ship it back to the foreign seller.

Stephen

 

[plummerl]

Thanks for all the responses. So can anyone tell me how I find matsui camera on ebay. Do they have a website?

Try this: http://stores.ebay.com/Matsuiyastore

 

[Asim]

Thanks for all the replies and detailed info. I went to the Matsuiya Store site but they didn't have anything I'm interested in (at the moment). So I think I'll just go with someone that has good ratings and uses EMS shipping. I guess that would be a safe bet, no?

 

[john_s]

I've bought from Japan a couple of Mamiya rangefinders and I've not had any problems: good communications too.

I would hesitate to recommend the GR1v: beautiful design, serious common problem with the LCD screen which blanks out. My camera still works, but various information that I would like to know is no longer visible (mode, pre-set focus point, frame number, etc). My previous GR1 also had electronic failure (locking up which was very difficult to clear, involving removal of film: removing battery etc did nothing).

 

[judsonzhao]

That's going to be the best place you could get used film cameras, awesome price and great condition. And Japanese seller are great to deal with, honest and responsible, their like new condition is not a Ebay like new condition, seriously, they usually rate the condition conservatively.

I've ordered Contax G2 with 45 and Fuji Tx-1 set from Japan, everything works out smoothly, cameras and lenses are better than described.

Japan EMS is also very fast, you will receive your package most likely less than 1 week.

I haven't been collected any custom fees yet, might be lucky.