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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..

128x128echolane

Showing 1 response by janmountjoy

janmountjoy
2 posts
 

Reply to allenf11863

@echolane -- I can understand where you are coming from, and if it is an Accuphase Amp, I find it freaking ridiculous that a person can buy a brand new, in the box, unopened Accuphase E4000 Integrated Amp in Japan for $6,190...but buy it here in the U.S. and it’s $14,000! F**k that. I don’t begrudge a U.S. business owner making a living, but if you are going to deal in a product that has that big of an upcharge, good luck.

I, too, find it freakin ridiculous to have a $7000 disparity in price between the product in Japan and the product in the US.  I don’t really understand why it should be that extreme.  It certainly opens the door for people like me to find a workaround.  I simply cannot afford to buy the product at the US price so the distributor and the vendor would never profit from my sale.  Why should Japan profit from it?  The whole thing is just all wrong.

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