marcusloke1977
New Member
Hi All,
Saw a thread about getting Cameras and stuff in Hong Kong.
Did a search and could not find a recent thread nor post on getting one from/in Tokyo or from USA.
Disclaimer:-
1. Advice given is in my personal opinion. I may not be accurate 100%.
2. I do not guarantee that information given here will be accurate for the next minute nor the next second, I will later explain why I mention this.
3. Examples of prices given are based on FEX rates with respect to the date and time this thread was written.
4. PLEASE NOTE!! FROM and IN Tokyo and FROM ONLY USA (meaning you are not physically in USA itself but via other means, e.g. online purchases)
5. There may not be ANY warranty from buying and overseas item, even though there is an International Warranty that came with it
CONTENT
Part 1 - Compulsory Steps to purchasing online from USA or Japan
Part 2 - Simple guide to purchasing from your preferred online shops from USA or Japan
Part 3 - Purchasing in Tokyo
Compulsory steps to Purchasing online from USA or Japan.
1. Ensure you have an online payment mode, e.g. Credit/Debit Cards or Paypal
Needless to say, any if not all online purchases requires you have an online payment mode, DO NOTE that some Debit card are NOT accept, e.g. HSBC debit card (Visa Electron).
Paypal is by far the most common form of purchase online besides the regular credit cards. If you are using paypal, you have to ensure that it is a VERIFIED account, or there will be limitations.
2. Trusted sites
ANY of your preferred sites Or in my case --> Amazon.com OR Ebay.com (USA) // kakaku.com or amazon.co.jp (Japan)
Disclaimer :
If using my recommendations, please ensure you do a proper background check on the sellers in these sites, e.g. customer feedbacks/etc. Sellers with more than 98ish% customer satisfactions and with more than a few hundred to thousands feedbacks are generally trustworthy.
Purchaser's discretion is advised at all times, why? Well even bank with decades of reputation can cheat you.
3. Get a vpost account
Vpost allows for shipment of goods within USA or Europe or Japan to be shipped to Singapore.
You will be assigned 3 different addresses with your user account on the address. One each for USA/Europe/Japan.
4. Always ask for shipping insurance when and where possible
I personally do not trust shipping companies, be they Singapore post/DHL/FEDEX, etc.
For example, my Iphone arrived from USA to me via USPS with a cracked screen, fortunately the package was insured and I manage to claim it (although it took me ages).
Simple guide to purchasing from your preferred online shops in USA or Japan
Over the years I have purchased a myriad of electronic items from the USA and Japan.
It was near impossible initially, as they do not usually ship overseas. I had to get my friends and contacts who lived in those countries to send them over once I purchased them.
Fortunately in the pass few years, Vpost came out with the ability for us to purchase such stuff from these countries and send them to Singapore, albeit a 7% GST and Shipment cost.
I currently use the following sites frequently:-
1. Amazon.com - Arguably the foremost site for relatively good prices on all items. Offers a wide range of items as well as individual shop links.
2. Ebay.com - Auctioned items can be won cheap, moreover some rare and hard to get items can be obtained as well.
3. Kakaku.com - In my opinion, this is the premier Japanese online electronic site, they have a wide range of stuff from different shops/sellers. You can access respective shop info and visit their sites for purchases.
4. Amazon.co.jp - same as Amazon.com, however it does not have the variety as kakaku.com.
***Please use google chrome to visit the Japanese sites, as it has auto translate and thus enabling easier viewing.
Here is the simple few steps to buying online Camera and accessories from said sites:-
1. Search for your desired item at your desired or preferred online shop.
2. Make purchase via Credit Card OR other electronic online payment form, e.g. paypal or electronic money (Japan)
3. Provide your Vpost USA/Japan address as accordingly.
4. Alert Vpost of your purchase.
5. When vpost receives your item, they will alert you.
6. Make payment to vpost for shipping from purchased country to Singapore.
7. Item reaches Singapore BUT goes to customs and checkpoint authority, where you must provide proof of your purchase and 7% GST from the purchased amount (sometimes if you are lucky, the item gets sent directly to your home)
Purchasing in Tokyo
Going to Tokyo? GOOD FOR YOU photography buffs!!!
Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo does provide one of the cheapest range of Cameras and Camera/photography Products.
Many individuals make the BIGGEST mistake by shopping at Yodabashi / Bic / Denki etc for their photography needs.
I for one do not suggest going to the above mentioned shops, UNLESS you REALLY REALLY cannot find said items elsewhere in the WHOLE of Tokyo/Japan.
The best way for looking for an item is to do a search on kakaku.com using google chrome (the auto translate really makes life easier). I use www.xe.com to give me a rough idea of the exchange rate, I strongly suggest checking your local bank or paypal rates when buying before you do so. Banks or paypal is known to give REALLY lousy rates sometimes.
On kakaku.com you can check out camera/lense/etc prices from most expensive to cheapest and also the info on the shop that sells that particular item.
I usually use google map and paste the shops address for a better idea of how to get there and where it is. Some shops do provide the relevant access information, but mostly as a picture in Japanese which you cant translate using ANY translation tool online.
A word of advise, is that some of these shops cater exclusively to online purchases only, therefore you may need to select carefully. Usually shop info with a shop map are those with retail outlets, however this may not be 100% accurate, for the shop map may be the collection depot not a retail shop.
Or you can spend a WHOLE day or 2 and look for your wanted items at Akihabara's DUTY FREE or NON Duty free shops, haggling and bargaining is expected at these shops as their prices are not attractive at all
. Tourist on temporary visitor visa (less than 60/90 days) enjoy no consumer tax which is 5% at the DFS (look of for the duty free sign and confirm before purchase there is a 5% rebate for tourists, some shops have the sign BUT they are not actually licensed to give duty free.).
Most if not ALL of MADE IN JAPAN (not china not other countries) photography equipment are CHEAPER in Tokyo/Japan than in SG itself.
Why I stress MADE in JAPAN is due to the sad fact that big names like Sony or Panasonic or etc, have production in China/etc.
Also another important thing to note is that ALL SONY AND PANASONIC Japan Domestic models DO NOT HAVE ENGLISH MENUS!!!
The only way ever to even get an english menu is to hope and pray for a global firmware update or crack from some grey online sources. Of course with that said, you can download the english manual and learn by hard how to use it from the instructions.
Fortunately, as of today, after downloading some of the most recent model Japanese manuals from Canon/Fujifilm/Nikon/Casio, I can safely say they have the english menu option.
However this MAY change without prior notices, as Sony introduced Japanese only models in 2008/9 and Panasonic did it just this year in 2010.
As for other brands, I suggest you download their Japanese Manuals and see if there is an option to change the language to English.
I hope this information is useful to you guys.
CHEERS!
Saw a thread about getting Cameras and stuff in Hong Kong.
Did a search and could not find a recent thread nor post on getting one from/in Tokyo or from USA.
Disclaimer:-
1. Advice given is in my personal opinion. I may not be accurate 100%.
2. I do not guarantee that information given here will be accurate for the next minute nor the next second, I will later explain why I mention this.
3. Examples of prices given are based on FEX rates with respect to the date and time this thread was written.
4. PLEASE NOTE!! FROM and IN Tokyo and FROM ONLY USA (meaning you are not physically in USA itself but via other means, e.g. online purchases)
5. There may not be ANY warranty from buying and overseas item, even though there is an International Warranty that came with it
CONTENT
Part 1 - Compulsory Steps to purchasing online from USA or Japan
Part 2 - Simple guide to purchasing from your preferred online shops from USA or Japan
Part 3 - Purchasing in Tokyo
Compulsory steps to Purchasing online from USA or Japan.
1. Ensure you have an online payment mode, e.g. Credit/Debit Cards or Paypal
Needless to say, any if not all online purchases requires you have an online payment mode, DO NOTE that some Debit card are NOT accept, e.g. HSBC debit card (Visa Electron).
Paypal is by far the most common form of purchase online besides the regular credit cards. If you are using paypal, you have to ensure that it is a VERIFIED account, or there will be limitations.
2. Trusted sites
ANY of your preferred sites Or in my case --> Amazon.com OR Ebay.com (USA) // kakaku.com or amazon.co.jp (Japan)
Disclaimer :
If using my recommendations, please ensure you do a proper background check on the sellers in these sites, e.g. customer feedbacks/etc. Sellers with more than 98ish% customer satisfactions and with more than a few hundred to thousands feedbacks are generally trustworthy.
Purchaser's discretion is advised at all times, why? Well even bank with decades of reputation can cheat you.
3. Get a vpost account
Vpost allows for shipment of goods within USA or Europe or Japan to be shipped to Singapore.
You will be assigned 3 different addresses with your user account on the address. One each for USA/Europe/Japan.
4. Always ask for shipping insurance when and where possible
I personally do not trust shipping companies, be they Singapore post/DHL/FEDEX, etc.
For example, my Iphone arrived from USA to me via USPS with a cracked screen, fortunately the package was insured and I manage to claim it (although it took me ages).
Simple guide to purchasing from your preferred online shops in USA or Japan
Over the years I have purchased a myriad of electronic items from the USA and Japan.
It was near impossible initially, as they do not usually ship overseas. I had to get my friends and contacts who lived in those countries to send them over once I purchased them.
Fortunately in the pass few years, Vpost came out with the ability for us to purchase such stuff from these countries and send them to Singapore, albeit a 7% GST and Shipment cost.
I currently use the following sites frequently:-
1. Amazon.com - Arguably the foremost site for relatively good prices on all items. Offers a wide range of items as well as individual shop links.
2. Ebay.com - Auctioned items can be won cheap, moreover some rare and hard to get items can be obtained as well.
3. Kakaku.com - In my opinion, this is the premier Japanese online electronic site, they have a wide range of stuff from different shops/sellers. You can access respective shop info and visit their sites for purchases.
4. Amazon.co.jp - same as Amazon.com, however it does not have the variety as kakaku.com.
***Please use google chrome to visit the Japanese sites, as it has auto translate and thus enabling easier viewing.
Here is the simple few steps to buying online Camera and accessories from said sites:-
1. Search for your desired item at your desired or preferred online shop.
2. Make purchase via Credit Card OR other electronic online payment form, e.g. paypal or electronic money (Japan)
3. Provide your Vpost USA/Japan address as accordingly.
4. Alert Vpost of your purchase.
5. When vpost receives your item, they will alert you.
6. Make payment to vpost for shipping from purchased country to Singapore.
7. Item reaches Singapore BUT goes to customs and checkpoint authority, where you must provide proof of your purchase and 7% GST from the purchased amount (sometimes if you are lucky, the item gets sent directly to your home)
Purchasing in Tokyo
Going to Tokyo? GOOD FOR YOU photography buffs!!!
Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo does provide one of the cheapest range of Cameras and Camera/photography Products.
Many individuals make the BIGGEST mistake by shopping at Yodabashi / Bic / Denki etc for their photography needs.
I for one do not suggest going to the above mentioned shops, UNLESS you REALLY REALLY cannot find said items elsewhere in the WHOLE of Tokyo/Japan.
The best way for looking for an item is to do a search on kakaku.com using google chrome (the auto translate really makes life easier). I use www.xe.com to give me a rough idea of the exchange rate, I strongly suggest checking your local bank or paypal rates when buying before you do so. Banks or paypal is known to give REALLY lousy rates sometimes.
On kakaku.com you can check out camera/lense/etc prices from most expensive to cheapest and also the info on the shop that sells that particular item.
I usually use google map and paste the shops address for a better idea of how to get there and where it is. Some shops do provide the relevant access information, but mostly as a picture in Japanese which you cant translate using ANY translation tool online.
A word of advise, is that some of these shops cater exclusively to online purchases only, therefore you may need to select carefully. Usually shop info with a shop map are those with retail outlets, however this may not be 100% accurate, for the shop map may be the collection depot not a retail shop.
Or you can spend a WHOLE day or 2 and look for your wanted items at Akihabara's DUTY FREE or NON Duty free shops, haggling and bargaining is expected at these shops as their prices are not attractive at all
. Tourist on temporary visitor visa (less than 60/90 days) enjoy no consumer tax which is 5% at the DFS (look of for the duty free sign and confirm before purchase there is a 5% rebate for tourists, some shops have the sign BUT they are not actually licensed to give duty free.).Most if not ALL of MADE IN JAPAN (not china not other countries) photography equipment are CHEAPER in Tokyo/Japan than in SG itself.
Why I stress MADE in JAPAN is due to the sad fact that big names like Sony or Panasonic or etc, have production in China/etc.
Also another important thing to note is that ALL SONY AND PANASONIC Japan Domestic models DO NOT HAVE ENGLISH MENUS!!!
The only way ever to even get an english menu is to hope and pray for a global firmware update or crack from some grey online sources. Of course with that said, you can download the english manual and learn by hard how to use it from the instructions.
Fortunately, as of today, after downloading some of the most recent model Japanese manuals from Canon/Fujifilm/Nikon/Casio, I can safely say they have the english menu option.
However this MAY change without prior notices, as Sony introduced Japanese only models in 2008/9 and Panasonic did it just this year in 2010.
As for other brands, I suggest you download their Japanese Manuals and see if there is an option to change the language to English.
I hope this information is useful to you guys.
CHEERS!
