Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

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jlang95
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Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by jlang95 » Sun Mar 08, 2020 8:48 pm

Do you guys know how much extra cost there is associated with buying a reel from Japan on Ebay besides the selling price? I'm interested in a couple of reels and all the domestic ones available are crazy high price wise.

Thanks Jacob

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Bass Junkie » Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:55 pm

If you are buying used the only additional fee would be customs, if you get selected. I’ve purchased three reels this winter from Japan, as well as several lots of lures, and have yet to accrue any additional charges. I even managed to get a one piece rod through without customs, but I got lucky there. If you’re buying new then you will have to factor in whether or not you will lose manufacturers support and parts availability. Outside of these factors I can’t think of anything else, although I’m sure others will chime in as well.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Slazmo » Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:36 am

Typically as outlined as above is correct. Definitely message them to pack it well for the trip also, my Bantam MGL came from Japan in 3 days to Aus via DHL and the outer box was trashed!

But if your buying used by god some of them can be a nightmare... Sight unseen type nightmare!

Buy new if you can, or second hand if you've got access to spares for it and are mechanically able or have a good service guy... I bought one Conquest and it was a big repair / rework job and the Japanese seller was very dubious / untrustworthy, wouldn't take a refund or return - PayPal were no help either.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Polkfish1 » Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:12 am

I’ve bought a whole bunch of rods and reels off eBay—japan included. I look at the sellers history and other items. I’ve never paid customs (dozens of rods/reels) and I’m yet to get ripped off.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Pastrmka » Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:25 am

Purchased multiple rods/reels from eBay by Japan sellers and never had any issues or additional cost charged

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:07 am

I got a reel that was pretty rough and dirty on the inside after the listing said otherwise. New gears and I was set. Mostly good experiences other than that.
IG @hobie_wan_kenobi_fishing

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by StymoDe » Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:22 am

Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:12 am
I’ve bought a whole bunch of rods and reels off eBay—japan included. I look at the sellers history and other items. I’ve never paid customs (dozens of rods/reels) and I’m yet to get ripped off.
Polkfish, did you buy 1 piece rod without paying customs? my understanding is 1 piece rod usually shipped through carriers like Fedex/UPS and will be charged with duty/tax at custom...for that reason I haven't ordered anything longer than 1.5 meter. I wish I am wrong, lol

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Polkfish1 » Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:03 pm

StymoDe wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:22 am
Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:12 am
I’ve bought a whole bunch of rods and reels off eBay—japan included. I look at the sellers history and other items. I’ve never paid customs (dozens of rods/reels) and I’m yet to get ripped off.
Polkfish, did you buy 1 piece rod without paying customs? my understanding is 1 piece rod usually shipped through carriers like Fedex/UPS and will be charged with duty/tax at custom...for that reason I haven't ordered anything longer than 1.5 meter. I wish I am wrong, lol
I’ve bought at least 18 one piece (6.8-7.6 Ft) rods from Japan in the past 4 years (appx. 3 in past 6 months) and have never paid any duty/tax. Both from shops and auction sites. They have always been cleared at customs without anything. When I received my third or fourth, I thought maybe I was getting lucky, but now I just don’t think they bother.

And yes; mostly come fedex. Never taxed. My question is; who’s getting these customs charges? I can’t be that lucky.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by StymoDe » Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:52 pm

Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:03 pm
StymoDe wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:22 am
Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:12 am
I’ve bought a whole bunch of rods and reels off eBay—japan included. I look at the sellers history and other items. I’ve never paid customs (dozens of rods/reels) and I’m yet to get ripped off.
Polkfish, did you buy 1 piece rod without paying customs? my understanding is 1 piece rod usually shipped through carriers like Fedex/UPS and will be charged with duty/tax at custom...for that reason I haven't ordered anything longer than 1.5 meter. I wish I am wrong, lol
I’ve bought at least 18 one piece (6.8-7.6 Ft) rods from Japan in the past 4 years (appx. 3 in past 6 months) and have never paid any duty/tax. Both from shops and auction sites. They have always been cleared at customs without anything. When I received my third or fourth, I thought maybe I was getting lucky, but now I just don’t think they bother.

And yes; mostly come fedex. Never taxed. My question is; who’s getting these customs charges? I can’t be that lucky.
thanks for reply. appreciated.

hmm. I am located in Ontario Canada and I've heard people on both sides of border warn possible charges at custom for longer rod package. while I can't speak to a real case in the States, I recently paid extra some 100bucks for a 2 piece rod around 500$ value via Canada Post. I've ordered quite a few rods/reels from Japan and that was first time I was unlucky... no 1 piece rod nor anything over 1.5 meter though.

while apparently there exist different policies at custom, I really wonder if there have never been any such charges State side. just want to sort things out as there are many JDM 1 peice rods I like but never pulled the trigger because of the extra 20% money I don't like to pay...

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by Polkfish1 » Mon Mar 09, 2020 6:03 pm

StymoDe wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 5:52 pm
Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:03 pm
StymoDe wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 9:22 am
Polkfish1 wrote:
Mon Mar 09, 2020 3:12 am
I’ve bought a whole bunch of rods and reels off eBay—japan included. I look at the sellers history and other items. I’ve never paid customs (dozens of rods/reels) and I’m yet to get ripped off.
Polkfish, did you buy 1 piece rod without paying customs? my understanding is 1 piece rod usually shipped through carriers like Fedex/UPS and will be charged with duty/tax at custom...for that reason I haven't ordered anything longer than 1.5 meter. I wish I am wrong, lol
I’ve bought at least 18 one piece (6.8-7.6 Ft) rods from Japan in the past 4 years (appx. 3 in past 6 months) and have never paid any duty/tax. Both from shops and auction sites. They have always been cleared at customs without anything. When I received my third or fourth, I thought maybe I was getting lucky, but now I just don’t think they bother.

And yes; mostly come fedex. Never taxed. My question is; who’s getting these customs charges? I can’t be that lucky.
thanks for reply. appreciated.

hmm. I am located in Ontario Canada and I've heard people on both sides of border warn possible charges at custom for longer rod package. while I can't speak to a real case in the States, I recently paid extra some 100bucks for a 2 piece rod around 500$ value via Canada Post. I've ordered quite a few rods/reels from Japan and that was first time I was unlucky... no 1 piece rod nor anything over 1.5 meter though.

while apparently there exist different policies at custom, I really wonder if there have never been any such charges State side. just want to sort things out as there are many JDM 1 peice rods I like but never pulled the trigger because of the extra 20% money I don't like to pay...
I’ve heard about it too. I remember the first time I finally bought directly from Japan, I was counting on it based on the info I got at the time. It’s just that it’s never happened to me; I’m in FL. Don’t get me wrong, about $100 is a pretty good average cost to expect for the actual shipping charges. Some places go lower, but not by much. Good to get multiples in the same tube in those cases, if possible.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by StymoDe » Mon Mar 09, 2020 6:52 pm

I would be quite happy if 100$ extra includes shipping... the 20% I'm concerned is on the top of shipping cost... perhaps I would rather take a trip to Japan in the future, keep wife happy and grab a few gears as by product...LoL

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by jlang95 » Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:38 pm

Well I ordered a SS SV103SH on ebay from Tokyo. So we will see how it goes lol.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by ftl1951 » Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:25 pm

I hope your experience with the purchase goes well. I have purchased rods and reels on eBay from Japan and directly from the Japanese websites and have not incurred any extra charges so far. One thing I would like to pass along is something I found out recently is that you should check the eBayer’s personal website if they have one before you buy. I have purchased several items from the seller Asian Portal both off eBay and directly from their site. The recent discovery is that sometimes their eBay price is actually cheaper than that on the website. Normally, on the website it is cheaper, and over $100 sale it is free shipping. There have been purchases off their website that can be $20-30 cheaper if you buy from them direct rather than going through the eBay site. They charge a nominal handling fee from their site. So, case in point, yesterday I noticed they were selling the Daiwa Ballstic FW 1000S for right at $210 from eBay, and on their site it was listed as $258. What I guess I am trying to pass along is you should check both sites (eBay and their personal site) for their best offering before making a purchase.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by jlang95 » Tue Mar 10, 2020 7:47 pm

ftl1951 wrote:
Tue Mar 10, 2020 5:25 pm
I hope your experience with the purchase goes well. I have purchased rods and reels on eBay from Japan and directly from the Japanese websites and have not incurred any extra charges so far. One thing I would like to pass along is something I found out recently is that you should check the eBayer’s personal website if they have one before you buy. I have purchased several items from the seller Asian Portal both off eBay and directly from their site. The recent discovery is that sometimes their eBay price is actually cheaper than that on the website. Normally, on the website it is cheaper, and over $100 sale it is free shipping. There have been purchases off their website that can be $20-30 cheaper if you buy from them direct rather than going through the eBay site. They charge a nominal handling fee from their site. So, case in point, yesterday I noticed they were selling the Daiwa Ballstic FW 1000S for right at $210 from eBay, and on their site it was listed as $258. What I guess I am trying to pass along is you should check both sites (eBay and their personal site) for their best offering before making a purchase.
That's a good point. I never thought about that.

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Re: Buying Reel On Ebay From Japan

Post by noc10 » Fri Apr 03, 2020 6:54 pm

Bass Junkie wrote:
Sun Mar 08, 2020 9:55 pm
If you are buying used the only additional fee would be customs, if you get selected. I’ve purchased three reels this winter from Japan, as well as several lots of lures, and have yet to accrue any additional charges. I even managed to get a one piece rod through without customs, but I got lucky there. If you’re buying new then you will have to factor in whether or not you will lose manufacturers support and parts availability. Outside of these factors I can’t think of anything else, although I’m sure others will chime in as well.
I've bought a dozen or so rods from Japan, at least as many reels and dozens of lures and I've never had to pay any Customs fees. Maybe it has to be over some monetary limit before there is a charge?

The only downside I know of is that the shipping can be a bit more, or even quite a bit more if you are ordering 1 piece rods and they have to go through FedEx. On E bay they say free shipping, but if you check out the same seller's websites in Japan you will often see prices a hundred dollars cheaper than the rods with free shipping.

The catch is that sometimes the shipping is like $60 for shipping one rod. My answer is to try to order them 3 at a time. The shipping goes up to around $90 for the big tube, but then again it's down to $30 per rod. Not a big deal when I'm saving $100 or more on each rod. And Fed Ex gets them here in 3 days usually.

For example not too long ago I bought a Megabass Evolution TI Super Griffin, a Megabass Destroyer Speed Tip Custom, both in very nice shape,and a brand new Original Generation Black Label Diawa ML. I got all of them to my front porch for $378 shipping included.

I've seen some of the same rods as I've bought for $150 going on the web site classifieds or E bay for as much as $300-400.

Don't get me wrong I like to buy USA stuff, but I'll pass the US stuff for JDM almost every time when it comes to fishing gear.


EDIT: Sorry I got side tracked talking about rods and ended up ignoring the OP question. As for reels, the most I've ever paid for shipping a reel from Japan was $16, but again, not a big deal when I"m getting a $300 reel for $169.

we best enjoy it while we can, the world's currencies float and a strong dollar today could be a weak dollar in short time.
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