With the holidays approaching I thought I might share my most recent purchase experience so that those who are considering buying a bass from Japan might benefit.
If you see a bass for sale on one of the auction sites and the location is somewhere in Japan, you may wish to stop and do a Google search for that particular instrument. Use the serial number if at all possible. There appears to be a market of sorts where third party individuals attempt to sell guitars and basses that are up for sale at one of the music stores within Japan. The actual price at the music store is often much much less.
As an example of this, I've been searching for a specific bass and about a week ago I noticed one for sale on the auction sites. I did my Google search, found the music store that had it for sale, and proceeded to place my order. On top of that, the store had a 5% sale going, so all in all I saved over $900 from the price that I might have paid otherwise.
My bass came with all of the case candy, the pickup covers, the original factory strap, and the original case. It was listed in "good" condition, but showed up in near showroom condition. Shipping to the west coast of the USA was approximately $225 and was ultra-quick (I ordered the bass on the morning of November 2nd and received on the afternoon of November 7th).
Though this is my third purchase from the same store (I'll share the name if you PM me), I have no affiliation with any of the music stores in Japan. I'm just your average Talk Bass guy trying to help other Talk Bass guys and girls with my experience.
If you see a bass for sale on one of the auction sites and the location is somewhere in Japan, you may wish to stop and do a Google search for that particular instrument. Use the serial number if at all possible. There appears to be a market of sorts where third party individuals attempt to sell guitars and basses that are up for sale at one of the music stores within Japan. The actual price at the music store is often much much less.
As an example of this, I've been searching for a specific bass and about a week ago I noticed one for sale on the auction sites. I did my Google search, found the music store that had it for sale, and proceeded to place my order. On top of that, the store had a 5% sale going, so all in all I saved over $900 from the price that I might have paid otherwise.
My bass came with all of the case candy, the pickup covers, the original factory strap, and the original case. It was listed in "good" condition, but showed up in near showroom condition. Shipping to the west coast of the USA was approximately $225 and was ultra-quick (I ordered the bass on the morning of November 2nd and received on the afternoon of November 7th).
Though this is my third purchase from the same store (I'll share the name if you PM me), I have no affiliation with any of the music stores in Japan. I'm just your average Talk Bass guy trying to help other Talk Bass guys and girls with my experience.
