What to expect if I import an amp and preamp from a Japan seller via US eBay
I can’t afford the cost of the amp and preamp I’d like to buy. I’ve discovered I can pay just less than half what I’d pay at a dealer in the US. But I haven’ t done this before. I’m aware that I won’t have a guarantee and that I’ll need a step down transformer. I willing to take the risk of no guarantee. But I don’t know what to expect when my box hits CUSTOMS. What can I expect? What are my responsibilities? How much is it likely to cost me?, I’ll be paying $7000 for the amp and the preamp..
I would not send more than $100 or so out of the country. You'll never get your money back no matter what unless _maybe_ if you use a CC that will protect you. The risk is 10X what it is for U.S. only transactions.
No wire fraud, no U.S. postal service inspectors, no consumer protection laws across international borders...
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@rsf507 -- No sarcasm intended at all, but please enlighten me why "No ebay Ads" is your qualifier? Do I buy stuff off ebay? No. Do I know others that buy a ton of stuff off ebay? Yes. Would I buy an Accuphase from ANYWHERE? No, I think it is extremely overpriced gear and I'd rather pick the money from the tree in my back yard and spend it on vintage gear like my MC-225, ARC SP-17, Dennis Had Inspire 45 and LP3.1, and some great sounding Chi-Fi products. I found 3 or 4 ebay sites in Japan selling Accuphase gear for roughly half of the U.S. costs, and each seller has over 3,000 sold transactions and 97% or higher ratings. Other than being in Japan, they have ebay statistics a heck of a lot higher than most other vendors, including online dealers in the U.S.
So am I a newbie at ebay? Absolutely. Have I heard horror stories on this site about ebay? Absolutely. But I've also read horror stories about Audiogon sales, U.S. Audiomart, Canuck Audiomart, etc., etc. So I really want to know -- why does an audio dealer in Japan selling the same item for 50% off on ebay make that an automatic "No Deal" for you? Other than the normal pitfalls of any audio transactions online, what am I missing? Thanks in advance.
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A lot of people here talk about ebay but it seems many of them have no clue about the buyer protections offered there. I've bought and sold a lot of expensive items on ebay for many years (particularly photo gear) and I've never been scammed. ebay has buyer guarantees and anyone who buys expensive anything without reviewing seller feedback has only themselves to blame. In fact many sellers gripe about how ebay tends to side with buyers before sellers. One of these days I'm going to upgrade my current Marantz Reference gear to an Accuphase E280 and I'm going to buy from a Japanese seller on ebay without a care in the world. |
