Purchase from Japan
- TrombVB
- Posts: 129
- Joined: Oct 11, 2021
Has anyone ordered a trombone from Japan with delivery to Europe?
Were there any problems or did everything go well? Interested in buying through Ebay
Were there any problems or did everything go well? Interested in buying through Ebay
- Rusty
- Posts: 470
- Joined: Jun 01, 2018
I’ve ordered a Trombone from a shop in Japan and had it shipped to Australia, very fast shipping with DHL (only took about 4 days), although you need to factor in the shipping and any potential customs costs as well.
- Late
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Jun 09, 2024
I recently bought a customized, used Yamaha YSL-882G from Joy Brass in Tokyo. Wonderful shop with great communication throughtout the process. It was shipped in case (inside a postbox) which worried me, but nothing happened to the instrument, everything was as promised in the description and the pics. Delivery to Finland took a week. Customs and the finnish VAT (25,5% <EMOJI seq="1f624" tseq="1f624">😤</EMOJI>) are a pain in the ass, but the yen is weak and they have great instruments for sale in that country! Of course Joy Brass is a respected specialized shop, so it is not like buying from ebay. As per usual, one should never buy an instrument without testing (like I did). I got lucky with a great instrument! Don't do as I did, do as I say!
Few months ago I bought a mouthpiece via Buyee, and everything went smoothly. Buyee has great instruments listed, but also a whole lot of broken trash, so beware!
Few months ago I bought a mouthpiece via Buyee, and everything went smoothly. Buyee has great instruments listed, but also a whole lot of broken trash, so beware!
- Chazzer69
- Posts: 296
- Joined: Jul 06, 2019
Reviving this thread with a US focus since the tariff garbage is now in full effect. Curious if anyone in the US has made a recent purchase and what they have been seeing with the additional cost? As best as I can tell, it's an additional 15% for anything over $10 in value, but things are so messy...
I keep passing on possible purchases (through the bidding sites) because I don't want a huge surprise when something arrives at my door.
I keep passing on possible purchases (through the bidding sites) because I don't want a huge surprise when something arrives at my door.
- bassclef
- Posts: 337
- Joined: Mar 23, 2018
Back in November, I bought a couple more JDM-only Shimano fishing reels from a shop in Japan I have purchased from frequently before this tariff BS. I was expecting the shipping company to reach out prior to delivery to collect any related fees...but like clockwork, a box showed up on my porch exactly three business days after my purchase. :idk:
I haven't bought a horn from Japan recently, but I have still been looking at a lot of auctions. That said - eBay seems to be doing a good job of making it clear if the additional cost is built in to what you pay during checkout, or if the additional fees will be collected in between that step and delivery. Seems like that configuration might be up to the seller. If I saw something I wanted bad enough to cough up the additional cash, I think I'd personally feel comfortable pulling the trigger without getting surprised.
I haven't bought a horn from Japan recently, but I have still been looking at a lot of auctions. That said - eBay seems to be doing a good job of making it clear if the additional cost is built in to what you pay during checkout, or if the additional fees will be collected in between that step and delivery. Seems like that configuration might be up to the seller. If I saw something I wanted bad enough to cough up the additional cash, I think I'd personally feel comfortable pulling the trigger without getting surprised.
- bassclef
- Posts: 337
- Joined: Mar 23, 2018
So this:
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Versus this:
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Versus this:
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- HawaiiTromboneGuy
- Posts: 1025
- Joined: Sep 03, 2018
I prefer the hand carry option :biggrin:
- jacobgarchik
- Posts: 358
- Joined: Oct 27, 2018
Something I have always wondered...who are the boutique trombone makers in Japan? and if there are none, why not?
- harrisonreed
- Posts: 6479
- Joined: Aug 17, 2018
[quote="jacobgarchik"]Something I have always wondered...who are the boutique trombone makers in Japan? and if there are none, why not?[/quote]
There are a few boutique mouthpiece makers like Jun's Renaissance Brassworks, but I think only Yamaha makes trombones there. Yamaha does have a custom shop for pros. The closest thing I've seen to a Japanese boutique trombone maker is the Ginza showroom. There you can grab trombones and trumpets that were hand selected at the factory (during custom shop visits, I guess!) by members of the big orchestras in Tokyo and across Japan. My friend was play testing C trumpets there back to back against his Bach, and he finally tried the "professional selected" C trumpet they had, picked by the guy from the Tokyo Phil. It was like, "bro, you need to sell your Bach now and get that Yamaha C!" He ended up going home with it and it blew the other C trumpets out of the water!
It's interesting -- Shires and Thein are pretty huge in the instrument shops around Ochanomizu, in Tokyo. I think that the pros over there, if they don't play Yamaha, are going for Shires or German made trombones. In fact, even here in Virginia, I just played a Christmas recital with a woman from Japan, and she was playing a German-made trombone. I did see a small smattering of Edwards horns in the various Japanese military bands when I lived there, but nothing like the number of Shires and Yamahas.
There are a few boutique mouthpiece makers like Jun's Renaissance Brassworks, but I think only Yamaha makes trombones there. Yamaha does have a custom shop for pros. The closest thing I've seen to a Japanese boutique trombone maker is the Ginza showroom. There you can grab trombones and trumpets that were hand selected at the factory (during custom shop visits, I guess!) by members of the big orchestras in Tokyo and across Japan. My friend was play testing C trumpets there back to back against his Bach, and he finally tried the "professional selected" C trumpet they had, picked by the guy from the Tokyo Phil. It was like, "bro, you need to sell your Bach now and get that Yamaha C!" He ended up going home with it and it blew the other C trumpets out of the water!
It's interesting -- Shires and Thein are pretty huge in the instrument shops around Ochanomizu, in Tokyo. I think that the pros over there, if they don't play Yamaha, are going for Shires or German made trombones. In fact, even here in Virginia, I just played a Christmas recital with a woman from Japan, and she was playing a German-made trombone. I did see a small smattering of Edwards horns in the various Japanese military bands when I lived there, but nothing like the number of Shires and Yamahas.
- Chazzer69
- Posts: 296
- Joined: Jul 06, 2019
[quote="bassclef"]Back in November, I bought a couple more JDM-only Shimano fishing reels from a shop in Japan I have purchased from frequently before this tariff BS. I was expecting the shipping company to reach out prior to delivery to collect any related fees...but like clockwork, a box showed up on my porch exactly three business days after my purchase. :idk:
I haven't bought a horn from Japan recently, but I have still been looking at a lot of auctions. That said - eBay seems to be doing a good job of making it clear if the additional cost is built in to what you pay during checkout, or if the additional fees will be collected in between that step and delivery. Seems like that configuration might be up to the seller. If I saw something I wanted bad enough to cough up the additional cash, I think I'd personally feel comfortable pulling the trigger without getting surprised.[/quote]
Thanks for that info. I'm bypassing the eBay sellers for various reasons and trying a slightly more direct approach through Japanese sites. I passed on a sweet Yamaha bass this morning just because I'm not sure about the fees. Like you, I'm willing to pay a little extra and probably should have just done it. Oh well...next time.
I haven't bought a horn from Japan recently, but I have still been looking at a lot of auctions. That said - eBay seems to be doing a good job of making it clear if the additional cost is built in to what you pay during checkout, or if the additional fees will be collected in between that step and delivery. Seems like that configuration might be up to the seller. If I saw something I wanted bad enough to cough up the additional cash, I think I'd personally feel comfortable pulling the trigger without getting surprised.[/quote]
Thanks for that info. I'm bypassing the eBay sellers for various reasons and trying a slightly more direct approach through Japanese sites. I passed on a sweet Yamaha bass this morning just because I'm not sure about the fees. Like you, I'm willing to pay a little extra and probably should have just done it. Oh well...next time.
- Chazzer69
- Posts: 296
- Joined: Jul 06, 2019
[quote="HawaiiTromboneGuy"]I prefer the hand carry option :biggrin:[/quote]
No fair, Drew. :P
No fair, Drew. :P
- Aznguyy
- Posts: 664
- Joined: May 01, 2018
[quote="Chazzer69"]<QUOTE author="HawaiiTromboneGuy" post_id="291429" time="1767039017" user_id="3695">
I prefer the hand carry option :biggrin:[/quote]
No fair, Drew. :P
</QUOTE>
You know, my friends and I were just talking about this recently. We're better off flying there to pick up some horns than to buy from Japanese sellers. I've had two ebay purchases from Japan this year canceled on me because they were "out of stock." Like Burgerbob said, it's not really worth buying from Japan at the moment unless it's something you really can't find elsewhere, the prices aren't what they used to be.
I prefer the hand carry option :biggrin:[/quote]
No fair, Drew. :P
</QUOTE>
You know, my friends and I were just talking about this recently. We're better off flying there to pick up some horns than to buy from Japanese sellers. I've had two ebay purchases from Japan this year canceled on me because they were "out of stock." Like Burgerbob said, it's not really worth buying from Japan at the moment unless it's something you really can't find elsewhere, the prices aren't what they used to be.