Anyone buy from Yahoo Japan?

[PunkicCyborg]

you can always find deals on Ebay though if you are patient enough...... I just got a boxed IFU for $95 in an auction that ended at a good time, you just have to be patient and look often and be ready to jump on a good deal.

[SignOfZeta]

I would bother with Yahoo auctions to get stuff I can't find on eBay (ie: old garage kits, laserdiscs) but I wouldn't bother with it to possibly save $30 on untested hardware I can get from some guy in the US, or a seller who is actually interested in dealing with me directly, such as Hit Japan.

[Samurai Ghost]

By the way, the Super CD auction just ended for 8,750 yen ($113), and the DUO-R for 7,250 yen ($93). Pretty average prices, but by the time you factored in shipping you'd be looking at around $200 for either set up, plus whatever you'd have to pay to a proxy service.

Here is what I estimate:
Item: 7250 yen - 93 usd
bank transfer fee (if any) - 2 usd
japan shipping - 10 usd
celga fee - 10 usd
international shipping, cheapest (ems/airmail/sal) - 50 usd
Total: 165 usd

This one:
http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f106065528
only went for 3200, which using the above numbers comes out to: $114, albeit with an untested cdrom

Well I'd say your numbers are a little off in regards to domestic and international shipping, but feel free to give it a shot! But I'd just warn you assume the system is broken in some way. Even if it is listed as tested, this often means that it powers on or displays something on the screen. Often DUOs have audio cap problems. Not the end of the world, but by the time you pay to get it recapped or repaired, you'd be in over $200 total, and for all that money and hassle you could probably just buy a refurbished one locally for less. Someone sold a recapped, region-modded DUO-R for around $200 on here recently. If a CD based system is listed as untested on YJA it's safe to assume it doesn't work at all.

Not saying YJA is a bad place to buy stuff, as I buy things off it all the time, but be careful as you might end up out of a lot of money to get a system with issues. This is why I buy systems for low prices, get them repaired, and test them extensively before I would consider selling them. That way someone doesn't here doesn't get burned with an unreliable system.

[mesmer]

Well I'd say your numbers are a little off in regards to domestic and international shipping

What would you estimate for domestic and international shipping for a DUO-R?

[Samurai Ghost]

Well I'd say your numbers are a little off in regards to domestic and international shipping

What would you estimate for domestic and international shipping for a DUO-R?

It depends on the distance it has to go, but I'd say domestic shipping would be from 1100 to 1500 yen, and international shipping at least 6000 yen for EMS/Airmail and around 5000 for SAL. So you're looking at least $70-$90 for shipping costs. It's bad because the yen is so high compared to the dollar right now.

[mesmer]

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

I guess it makes sense for proxy services to under-estimate shipping costs, or maybe their data is based on out-of-date exchange rates.