Japanese Ebay Sellers- Stubborn?

braxus · Dec 16, 2023

Should have just kept my mouth shut.

xya · Dec 16, 2023

Why care for Japanes prices if you can buy it in the US for much less? Maybe Japanese sellers are more patient to wait for THE client to come. It may just take much longer until they adapt their prices...

braxus · Dec 16, 2023

Delete.

Dan Daniel · Dec 16, 2023

Many of those Japanese listings are not real. You'll see the same photo set, same serial number used by multiple 'sellers.' And lots of Japanese sellers seem to have 50-200 sales total. As if people set up accounts, run a bunch of shill purchases to get out of the basement of sales numbers, and then see who stumbles along. This also allows them to create the impression of 'market price' being stupid high. And I keep hearing of very bad cameras coming in from Japan. I think that the day of nice cameras from Japan at reasonable prices is over. Pay attention, look for long-term sellers, and check any item listing for duplicate photos being used and ignore those sellers. There are still good sellers, but the noise level is high.

braxus · Dec 16, 2023

Some of the gear I got from Japan had unlisted issues, which I didnt catch when I first got the item. So yeah I agree with the poor condition comment. A couple even sold me a different copy of that item, not what was shown in the listing. Shady it seems.

mshchem · Dec 16, 2023

I've had great results buying from Japan. Prices vary, certain dealers just do not sell anything that's below excellent condition. Remember that a lot of the analog equipment is 50 years old, or worse. Got to expect a few hiccups.

Alan Edward Klein · Dec 16, 2023

Offer them less. What do you have to lose?

Steve@f8 · Dec 16, 2023

If the item for sale is less than A************ basically it’s crap.

awty · Dec 16, 2023

Why do people like to complain so much over non essential spending.

Chan Tran · Dec 16, 2023

They can ask whatever price they want. You don't like it don't buy it. It doesn't hurt anyone but the sellers and they don't seem to care.

DREW WILEY · Dec 16, 2023

I've had superb service and quite reasonable pricing from Japanese dealers. The condition rating in most cases was very conservative, and I was pleasantly surprised just how good the condition was. Yes, certain lenses are somewhat high at the moment, but quite a few others seem like exceptional bargains. Pricing ups and downs go in cycles; pay attention to the current exchange rate too. And always double check listings to make sure all the details match the pictures. That's the case no matter who you're looking at. But going around bashing dealers just because they're in a certain country sounds blatantly prejudicial to me, and completely counter to my own experience. Someone might say the same thing about here, based on a random incident or an uninformed rumor mill.

neilt3 · Dec 16, 2023

braxus said:
Why hasn't Japan woken up to this? Example- Pentax 645 with 75mm lens- $600-700 Canadian dollars sold from Ebay Japan, locally a $450 dollar kit doesnt sell for half a year, one kit for $300 with lens does sell. And this applies to other gear as well, not just what I mentioned.

Emphasis added .
You answer your own question .

In any country , the selling price is determined by the market .
So if you can sell a camera and lens in Japan or wherever for $700 , why should they sell it for only $300 , just because some foreign country can't sell the same thing for more ?

If I'm selling something , I want the best return on it as I can .
If I can get more for something in my country than you can in yours , whey the heck should I reduce my asking price ?

I've bought goods from abroad because I got a better deal on them than what's for sale over here .
It's a buyers market , shop around .

neilt3 · Dec 16, 2023

Everything I've bought from Japan has been exactly as listed , in excellent condition .
Never had a problem with the sellers .
Delivery from Japan to the U.K is often quicker than buying local . Go figure !

GregY · Dec 16, 2023

My experience has been the same as neilt3. I've bought online and in person on numerous visits to Japan. The price of things in general is tied to the local economy. Braxus, there are many brick & mortar dealers in Japan, & you can bet their rent is higher than in Chilliwack. The last time the Canadian $ was at par with the US $ was 2010, & it's a good 30+% less now. There's no good reason at all, that the Japanese should drop their prices based on what's going on in another country....
Heck you can still buy a 200mm for a Pentax 645 for $63 with free shipping. There are a number of Pentax 645 listings w 75mm lens for $500 or less.... still sounds like a bargain to me.

Dali · Dec 16, 2023

braxus said:
Why haven't they woken up to the current trend of a recession?

Ask them directly instead of ranting here. It shall be more effective.

dynachrome · Dec 16, 2023

I can't speak for Canada but here in the U.S., the economy is not "tanking." The stock market is up, GDP is expanding and unemployment is at historic lows. I have purchased photo items from sellers in Japan for many years. In that time only two transactions were unsatisfactory. In one case the glass in the back of an RB67 arrived broken. The price I paid was so low that I didn't complain. I replaced the glass and had the camera overhauled. The second case was a Contax SLR with a bad finder. I sent the camera back via DHL with a label provided by the seller and a refund was made promptly. I found a properly working Contax from another seller in Jspan.

I agree that most of the cameras being discussed are quite old can't all be expected to be perfect. I bought most of my medium format cameras when prices were low and when ones in good condition were easier to find. Medium format equipment in good condition is not as easy to find now. If you don't need all the bells and whistles, an RB67 or RB67 Pro S is a good starting point. Most of these can still be repaired and even the first generation of lenses for them, if in good condition, are capable of excellent results.

Rayt · Dec 16, 2023

A lot of these stores sell stuff that are on consignment. Often the shop lists whatever the customer asks for. At the end of the day what difference does it make the camera takes many months to sell since the customer is willing to wait and the item doesn‘t take up much room.

Pieter12 · Dec 16, 2023

Recession? The economy has tanked?

Rayt · Dec 16, 2023

Dan Daniel said:
Many of those Japanese listings are not real. You'll see the same photo set, same serial number used by multiple 'sellers.' And lots of Japanese sellers seem to have 50-200 sales total. As if people set up accounts, run a bunch of shill purchases to get out of the basement of sales numbers, and then see who stumbles along. This also allows them to create the impression of 'market price' being stupid high. And I keep hearing of very bad cameras coming in from Japan. I think that the day of nice cameras from Japan at reasonable prices is over. Pay attention, look for long-term sellers, and check any item listing for duplicate photos being used and ignore those sellers. There are still good sellers, but the noise level is high.

In many Asian cities there are specialised malls that sell the same products. There are computer malls, video game malls, wedding gown mall and so forth. Those malls attract a lot of foot traffic because people don’t need to run all over town to compare products and prices. The dozens or so shops in those malls are most likely owned by just several entities. One guy would have say 12 shops scattered around the mall. Cast a wide net and so forth. Price collusion is common.

Incidentally when I was a kid in New Joisey I was calling all those insurance brokers in the yellow pages for motorcycle insurance. Finally one guy in frustration said he already gave me several quotes. Many of the businesses I called apparently were the same people different addresses and numbers.

Steven Lee · Dec 16, 2023

braxus said:
Being the economy has tanked and people don't have money to go around on frivolous items such as camera gear, and that things are now selling for way less than a year ago, why then have Japanese Ebay sellers not reduced their prices on their gear?

The US economy is in excellent shape. Income inequality has been shrinking due to wages at the bottom raising faster than inflation. The inflation itself also has been curbed. GDP growth in 2023 has been phenomenal. Unemployment is at record low levels. Stock market is up over 20% YoY. I suppose most of eBay buyers are Americans.

Naples · Dec 16, 2023

I just ordered on eBay, from Japan, a K2 focus screen for my Nikon FE2, in "Mint" condition according to the ad. I've never ordered from Japan before. I hope I'll be happy.

reddesert · Dec 16, 2023

I don't think these discussions of pricing really go anywhere, but for the "Japanese ebay sellers" discussion: Why are we trying to buy camera stuff from Japan? Because it isn't available here ("here" being the US or Canada or someplace else), or it's more expensive from a camera store in the US or Canada or wherever. In such a case it doesn't seem fair to accuse the ebay sellers of being greedy.

Ten years ago the market price of a film camera was so low that one might get used to buying whatever you wanted. Now the market price isn't (and in particular, things like medium format gear are no longer ridiculously cheap, but still much cheaper than when new).

lecarp · Dec 16, 2023

It seems rather arrogant of you to think they have any responsibility to lower their prices just because our countries are screwed up, or to please you.

If you can't afford it don't buy it. If you can afford and just not willing to pay their price don't buy it. Either way quit complaining about it.

Rrrgcy · Dec 17, 2023

Nothing new here but for anyone on the fence.
Japan is my go-to. Yesterday I just bought a Minolta AF Reflex 500mm f/8 Mirror Lens A mount from Japan. There were 161 total listed available, almost all from Japan (only 17 from U.S. Sellers). From $160 to $250 + avg. $15 shipping.

Pick the cheapest BEST one from what seems is a good (often Japanese) seller! Mine was just under the mean but w free shipping. So Japanese pricing doesn’t look stubborn to me.

Mine looks perfect but for a touch of usual dust. I’ve consistently used Japan for my cameras and lenses. eBay. I have no fear the lens will not be near-perfect as Imaged and described.

Over the years, probably purchased 40 items from bodies to lenses to accessories and not once had an issue, and received the items within 2 days to a week. I love Canon and Minolta. My gosh they’ve got lots there. My recipe is to simply rank by Least to Most expensive, then begin clicking and importantly look at the IMAGES (especially lenses, you must see through and angles of front rear), then double check their feedback, and make an offer 10% less through the Make an Offer feature or by Contact Seller. It’s almost always accepted. I’ve not found their prices higher for vintage camera goods than U.S. - their pricing is spread fairly wide with a lot of the same items. And then before buying remember to checkout that Seller you’re going to buy from to view their other listed items and if you see something worthwhile and equally perfect, ask to bundle a combo-deal discount. Tends to work out for me.

I’ve been pleased every time - and I always double check the seller to see if I’d bought from them before, and seemingly do often by chance. Lots of great Japan sellers on eBay.

To the OP about, “Also people are starting to not shoot film in medium format or larger, because of the high film costs today which all adds up.” I find film is like shooting, a lot of people bought a lot and consistently when prices dip or were low, bricks and bricks (like those who bought .308 cal by the 800-pack and 1000-rd cases, several times a year, over years, when it was like 18 cents/rd) and have quite a lot of stock to draw from so that film roll pricing doesn’t matter as much as those newer to MF.

250swb · Dec 17, 2023

So why @braxus doesn't Canada drop the price of Maple Syrup because it's very expensive and I stomp my little feet every time I think of it. AND my teacher says you've got literally hundreds of maple trees!

Good grief, since when was the world economy based on fairness, complaining about the unfair price of cameras is like children crying over who has the most sweets. It is perhaps symptomatic of a rich society thinking the world revolves around them alone that 'fairness' become an economic term, but if the Japanese have large stocks of cameras and can get the prices they ask I say good for them. They were at the front of film nostalgia and didn't sell off nearly as many film cameras cheaply to switch to digital, so instead of 'blaming' the Japanese blame your fellow photographers in Canada and the rest of the world for devaluing the home markets in the race towards digital.

Japanese Ebay Sellers- Stubborn?

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