Ebay purchase international

[peterk123]

I believe some of you have purchased things like optics from Japanese sellers. I'm looking into the nikon ed50 with a 27x lens. It can be had for around $450. But I raley use ebay, nevermind buying from overseas. All the listings mention possible additional taxes, brokerage fees etc. Does this come into play? How do you verify the cost so there are no surprises?

Thanks Pete

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I have never used Ebay. Never will. I have heard of too many bad deals.

 

[ODB]

The most expensive book I have ever bought I got through eBay from the UK. Other than the delivery time it was the exact same as buying from the US. No surprises.

I will say I have heard of some shady stuff with Japanese sellers and guitars. They will apparently take pics of guitars they do not actually own in shops, list them on eBay for more than asking and if they sell go buy the guitar and keep the difference (or something like that).

I would think total communication is the key. Shipping something from Japan with unknown costs (maybe) sounds like a recipe for trouble though. Like you owe a “brokerage” fee, but the broker is the guys brother - type of thing.

 

[SummitsCalling]

I buy Toyota parts for my land cruiser through Jauce (jp auction site), ebay Japan, UAE, and even bought space on a container from Australia. Never any issues. In fact I find shipping from Japan is cheaper and faster than in the US despite having to go through customs.

Obviously not camera stuff but buyer always beware

 

[tuffcity]

You will pay duty on anything not made in North America. You sould be able to look up the tariff rate from the US Customs website. Anything delivered by FedEx, UPS, etc will cost you brokerage. You also might have to pay your applicable state sales tax. You're best bet for delivery is by mail from originating country into the USP system.

 

[Hill Difficulty]

Here's my ED50 experience, FWIW:

• I bought a new ED50 spotter summer of 2019 from a USA source
• In October 2019 bought a 27x eyepiece on Amazon from a Japan seller (item shipped FREE from Japan)
• Later that October the spotter body/housing separated into 2 pieces
• Sent the broken ED50 to Nikon warranty address in California
• Received a new ED50 in late November (great ever since, btw)

What might be helpful are 1) I think I understand that any Nikon item purchased from a source outside of US will not be serviced by Nikon USA, and 2) my limited Japan seller experience was favorable/legit, while I also notice plenty of USA people claiming to buy Nikon stuff from distribution entities in Japan.

If I had to do over again, while supposing that a warranty matter is less likely, would not hesitate to buy a Nikon item from a Japan source if it cost considerably less. Also seems used ED50s are offered somewhat regularly on RS classifieds, so there's that.

Hope this is helpful! Let me know if you meant to ask something different.

 

[Bubblehide]

You may need to ship the out of country for warrenty service.