Hi everyone,

I am slowly going broke buying the Region 2/Japanese versions of American movies. Obviously, I am buying these for the Japanese subtitles/dubbed Japanese speech, but it is an expensive hobby!

I know that on Amazon.co.jp there are many marketplace stores that offer used DVDs for a much more reasonable price (eg. less than 1000 yen), but none of these marketplace stores appears to ship to the UK.

So, does anyone know a website that sells **used/2nd hand** Region 2 Japanese versions of American movies, **and** will ship to Europe/UK???

Thanks very much for your help in advance,

Mark

Hmm, there are used here from 600 yen on up. You could try getting a Japanese pen pal and have them send you them cheaper. Definately has to beat paying 3000 yen a movie.

You could try eBay.

It's something I've thought about selling (via eBay) myself. DVDs and manga but not sure how big the demand is; plus postage isn't that cheap; contributing to global air freight is just going to add to 地球温暖化; and I'm lazy.

That said, next time I'm down BookOff I'll check out the prices and let you know. If you feel covering the costs then chucking a bit extra in so I could get a book or two is fair, perhaps it will be worth both our whiles...

Hey, if you started selling 2nd hand books/manga (with a bit on top to make it worth your while) I'd be much obligued. I'm not picky about subject matter either...

I was going to send some books to a user of the site but I think we were both shocked at what the postage charge was going to be. DVDs should be cheaper though so that might be more appealing for all concerned.

As far as books go, the price I (or anyone else in Japan) would pay for most second hand manga is 105 yen for a book that originally costs about 400 yen. Then you've got the postage on top of that but I can't quite remember what the rates are...

Laziness certainly helps with 地球温暖化 so I think you would be net negative. ^_^

Has anyone hit Book-Off outside Japan? There's one in LA, one in NYC-- do they have the coveted cheap DVDs?

markl11 Wrote:I know that on Amazon.co.jp there are many marketplace stores that offer used DVDs for a much more reasonable price (eg. less than 1000 yen), but none of these marketplace stores appears to ship to the UK.

Not second hand but I get lots of disks from dddhouse.com, as long as get get a few at once (I got 35 in my last shipment, but that's ust me overdoing it again LOL) it works out VERY cheap. I normally buy a combination of Thai/Korean/Japanese movies, but they have loads of other stuff too.

-Mex

You've always got torrents if you're looking for a 5 finger discount

There seem to be plenty of sellers on eBay already but they could certainly be beaten on price. So seeing as I'm not planning on doing this for a living, I'll put a few books and, when I manage to get down to BookOff, a few DVDs up there for your perusal.

- everything I post will be used.
- I'll post the price in JPY I pay for each item.
- shipping costs are still unknown at the moment.

Oh, my username on eBay is kanji.tea

synewave Wrote:You've always got torrents if you're looking for a 5 finger discount

There seem to be plenty of sellers on eBay already but they could certainly be beaten on price. So seeing as I'm not planning on doing this for a living, I'll put a few books and, when I manage to get down to BookOff, a few DVDs up there for your perusal.

- everything I post will be used.
- I'll post the price in JPY I pay for each item.
- shipping costs are still unknown at the moment.

Oh, my username on eBay is kanji.tea

Thanks very much.

I must emphasize that I personally am looking for *American* movies with Japanese subs/dubbing - I have access to Japanese movies, but I really want to liven up my studies with some of my favourite American/European movies, just in Japanese.

That way, I already know a lot of the plot/context, and can soak up lots of Japanese with less effort - I work on the 'less pain, more gain' principle

So, stuff from Bookoff/other used DVD stores in Japan would be good.

Personally, I would be willing to do the following:

1. I have a rummage around a used DVD store website like Bookoff/Bluemoon ( http://www.dvd-bluemoon.com ), and decided which DVDs I want.

2. I email a kind person in Japan (such as yourself?), and I pay via ebay/paypal the cost of the DVDs, PLUS the shipping to the UK, PLUS an agreed upon 'thanks for helping me out' fee (a small though worthwhile percentage).

3. The kind person in Japan buys the stuff from the store, simply pastes over the label on the box that they receive from the store in Japan, puts it in the post to me, and hey presto we all win - with little effort on anyone's part!


It would probably be a good idea to do a trial run with a few DVDs first, but don't see why it couldn't work regularly if everyone is happy with the price/etc.


Whaddya think?

Thanks,

Mark

billyclyde Wrote:Laziness certainly helps with 地球温暖化 so I think you would be net negative. ^_^

Has anyone hit Book-Off outside Japan? There's one in LA, one in NYC-- do they have the coveted cheap DVDs?

I plan to stop by this weekend. I'll get some prices. They should be pretty cheap, my gf sold some dvd's to them for $1 each a while ago.

markl11 assuming suffah can find some things you're after, that's probably a better way to go. The expense wouldn't come from the DVDs themselves but rather the postage. So if you're in the US too, that would be a better way to go.

And on second thoughts I'm not so sure about eBay. That's more for matching buyers and sellers. But if there are just a few people here looking for stuff I reckon simply using Paypal would be the easiest way to go about things.

Kinda OT: synewave, I sent you an e-mail a day or two ago via the E-mail link in your profile. I was wondering if you recieved it?

aircawn Wrote:Kinda OT: synewave, I sent you an e-mail a day or two ago via the E-mail link in your profile. I was wondering if you recieved it?

Just checked my email just now and can't see anything. Nothing in my junk folder either. Can you resend it?

I wouldn't mind shipping stuff to fellow RtK'ers on this forum that are located in the US. Shipping to the UK might not be cost effective. If anyone needs something let me know before my trip to BO this weekend.

Oh, I'm also trying to get rid of my comics with furigana...anyone interested in the first 18 volumes of the Prince of Tennis?

fiminor I've still got books 1-4 of Fruit Basket if you were wanting them. No problem either way. They are on my "to read" list

送信しました。

aircawn Wrote:送信しました。

It went to my junk folder so perhaps I did delete the previous one

Hey all,
I live in Japan and have access to bookoff, used DVD stores, etc, as well as Amazon.co.jp. American Dvd`s are getting pretty cheap now, even new ones, since blue ray is coming out.

I would not mind to help out people who are looking for Books, DVD`s,Manga, etc.

The main thing is that shipping from Japan can be a bit expensive, but if you don`t mind to go a slower speed, rates are cheaper. Best thing would be to buy a lot of things at once and ship in one box.

The second issue would be how much are people willing to pay on top of cost and shipping for me to run around, find the product then ship it. If its just simply having something sent to the house from amazon then resending, that is easy enough. Having to run around and search for and item then go to the post office to ship it would take more time and naturally cost more.

zazen666 Wrote:The second issue would be how much are people willing to pay on top of cost and shipping for me to run around, find the product then ship it. If its just simply having something sent to the house from amazon then resending, that is easy enough. Having to run around and search for and item then go to the post office to ship it would take more time and naturally cost more.

Don't know how many people outside Japan are looking for stuff but it would be good if there were a few of us here that can do some "exporting". I doubt any of us are expecting to become millionaires but I don't think anyone would begrudge us adding on a little something for the "running around"

Perhaps prospective buyers and run arounders should agree on what sort of "fee" it's fair to add on. Don't want to get accused, a second time, of trying to rip fellow kanji koohii members off.

Being in Japan myself, I know this is a bit of a hassle and deserves a small pay-off for services rendered. That said, has anyone given any thought to customs and taxes? I don't believe all packages are inspected, but it might be something to look into beforehand?

Aikiboy Wrote:has anyone given any thought to customs and taxes?

I don't think this will be an issue. The destination country may impose some sort of charge but I wouldn't have thought so for books and DVDs.

The only thing I've had to pay, re: customs, were for some food suppliments that were sent from the UK to Japan.

This is for the US.

DVDs: HTSUS code 8523.40.4000 - Duty Free
CDs: HTSUS code 8523.40.3000 - Duty Free
Books & Magazines: HTSUS code 4901.99.00XX - Duty Free
Calendars: HTSUS code 4910.00.XXXX - Duty Free

Nice to know! Thanks Laura

zazen666 Wrote:Hey all,
I live in Japan and have access to bookoff, used DVD stores, etc, as well as Amazon.co.jp. American Dvd`s are getting pretty cheap now, even new ones, since blue ray is coming out.

If its just simply having something sent to the house from amazon then resending, that is easy enough. Having to run around and search for and item then go to the post office to ship it would take more time and naturally cost more.

I think that keeping it simple is the key for everyone.

I'll have a look around one of the used DVD websites, and decide on a few DVDs, then I'll post back here. I think that many of them offer free postage *within Japan* if the order is for more than a certain amount.


*** So, the process for helping me out would simply involve me paying someone via paypal, them ordering the DVDs from the website that I identify, then receiving a parcel, and just putting a new label on it/posting it to me.


There obviously would be no need to go to any shops/search for anything/re-box or package the DVDs - which makes things a bit easier.


I haven't lived in Japan for a few years, but I do remember that the postal rates are a bit steep. But Express Mail Service (EMS) seems to be not toooo bad (considering it's Japan!) for shipping from Japan to the UK:

http://www.post.japanpost.jp/cgi-charge/...p?lang=_en



So, I'll have a look around some of the websites, and then post back here in two/three days with a short list (together with website link), then perhaps someone can let me know what they'd want as a 'service fee'...

And if everyone is happy with the trail run, there's obviously no reason it couldn't be a semi-regular thing...(at least from my point of view).


Cheers,

Mark

Here are some prices I gathered from Book Off this weekend.

Region 2 DVDs (American movies) were generally $15.
Region 1 DVDs were $7-10.

The selection of Region 2 DVDs was small, I'm going to check the store closer to my work to see if they have a better selection of DVDs.