Buying used equipment in Japan

Try Yahoo Japan auctions. You will have to get an agent to transact unless you have someone who speaks Japanese and can do this for you.

On your first impression you'll believe that you can get arround with English only, but it only will be first impression...

hi I am using YahooAuction (almost like ebay, but much safer).
Yes, you need to know japanese to use it. Most of items on Yahoo is not really a good deal but sometimes you might find some good deals, especially if you looking for items that are not so popular here. There is quite a few used equipment dealers - but again, need japanese. This is the most popular used dealer - they operate quite a few shops and take trade ins: http://www.audiounion.jp/index.html
also, be aware that yen is very high comparing to dollar/euro so pricing is quite high, recently i buy my equipment in US (McIntosh can be very easy converted to 100 vac as long as it is a product other than current line, after you can probably sell it here with a good profit.
As far as speakers - JBL is very popular here and they have quite a lot different models than in US (older line).

Thanks, Hakuchosan, this is helpful advice. I am worried about availability and also price. So I suppose it is easy to find dealers in the major cities, but even used equipment is very expensive? (Yes, and I have also heard that it is difficult to survive on English only. I have begun studying Japanese, but this will be a long road.)

I have heard that SET amplifiers are very popular in Japan. I also love SET amps, and I was hoping to see many. I live in Boston and it is surprisingly difficult to find tube amps around here.

I recently bought a Cary SET headphone Xciter amp, used, for a good price. It's not big, but it's also not small. Perhaps I should bring it with me, or ship it.

Is Rega popular in Japan? I just bought a Rega DAC. Maybe I should bring that also.

I used to live in japan and found it to be an audiophile's paradise. There are many cool shops there. My favorite was Audio Union, which is a chain store with locations all over japan. They have tons of used stuff in great condition. If you google search the name you can find their website where they list all their used and new inventory. Pretty rad.

http://category.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/list/%E6%9C%AC%E4%BD%93-%E7%9C%9F%E7%A9%BA%E7%AE%A1%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97-%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97-%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%82%AA%E6%A9%9F%E5%99%A8-%E5%AE%B6%E9%9B%BB-AV-%E3%82%AB%E3%83%A1%E3%83%A9/2084046925/?p=%E6%9C%AC%E4%BD%93&tab_ex=commerce&s1=cbids&o1=d&slider=0&b=1
this is a link to YahooAuction for used tube amplifiers - japanese, but it has pictures/names, so it should give you idea about the market here (im not into tubes so i dont have knowledge about pricing/brand names...)

Hakuchosan and Sabai,

Can you offer any recommendations for an agent to facilitate a transaction between the U.S. and Japan?

Thanks,
Sam

C1ferrari, dont know of any agents here in japan, but if you are looking for something particular - let me know, maybe i can help you.

Hakuchosan,

Thanks for extending the offer of assistance -- it is very generous :-)

I don't know, at this time, if I/we can e-mail one another using AudiogoN...at least, initially.

At your convenience, please try:

c1ferrari at yahoo dot com

Best regards,

Sam

c1ferrari,
i sent email to you,
Regards,
Stan

Good afternoon, Stan,

Your e-mail was received.
Effusive thanks for your generosity :-)

Best regards,
Sam