Buying (JP) Imports

[fauxshot]

Hey all,

So I was wondering, is Ebay usually suitable for buying JP imports? I'd like to get a few of the old games from the Megami Tensei series (eventually), but I want to be sure that I'm buying the real thing. (I'll probably throw a random gameboy game or two in there as well, since I like the little pieces of anime art on the cartridges lol  ). As far as I know, cart-based games tend to only get pirated like that if they're worth big bucks, but I've never bought imports online before.

I've browsed around, and Ebay seems fine, but I thought I'd ask and see if there is anything I should be wary of or look out for, since I haven't bought import games before.

[azure]

From my experience, with import SMT games anyway, Ebay is fine. The prices are very fair, and I've yet to see any bootlegs.

[kashell]

I prefer amazon, but I know others have imported from eBay. I think you'll be fine.

[abe]

For importing most of my older Japanese games, like Super Famicom games, I've used eBay. It's fine. I haven't had any issues with bootlegs on eBay before. For newer stuff, I use Ami Ami and Play-Asia.

[badATchaos]

I've done a lot of importing from Japan in the past few years via eBay.

• One thing to be careful of is bootlegs on older system, particularly Famicom. Japanese sellers assume you know what you are buying based on the images they provide. It's not their fault if you don't know what you're buying. Do your research on what an item actually looks like.
  
• SAL vs. EMS:
  These are two shipping methods provided by Japan Post that I've dealt with. SAL is supposed to be slow, while EMS is fast with tracking. Now... it might be because I live on the East coast of the United States but in my experience there's little difference. I've seen SAL orders arrive before EMS orders in a few cases. If it's something bigger like a console it might worth going with EMS because of tracking. Orders normally take 2 weeks to arrive. On rare occasions I've received packages within a week (and that was via EMS). In any event just be patient.
  
• Combine shipping whenever possible. If you've won multiple items from the same seller on Ebay try the Request Total feature. Remember to leave a comment to calculate combine shipping costs.
  
• Some notable sellers (bad@chaos approved):
  hit-japan has infamously high prices but probably the best selection from anyone, anywhere. Try to make an offer with the seller. I've actually gotten some decent deals that way on a few occasions. -Especially if you spot an item they're selling that's been flowing around for a few months. Hit-Japan also offers traditional auctions as well if you look on their store front.
  yamatoku-classic sells everything via auctions with decent variety. The top reason why I like this seller is because on their lot auctions (auctions with multiple items included) they don't list the titles of the games in the ebay listing. What this means is that people aren't able to search for the content of the listing so there isn't too many people actually looking at this auction increasing your odds of winning.
  

[mrnikon]

I've done a lot of importing from Japan in the past few years via eBay.

• One thing to be careful of is bootlegs on older system, particularly Famicom. Japanese sellers assume you know what you are buying based on the images they provide. It's not their fault if you don't know what you're buying. Do your research on what an item actually looks like.
  
• SAL vs. EMS:
  These are two shipping methods provided by Japan Post that I've dealt with. SAL is supposed to be slow, while EMS is fast with tracking. Now... it might be because I live on the East coast of the United States but in my experience there's little difference. I've seen SAL orders arrive before EMS orders in a few cases. If it's something bigger like a console it might worth going with EMS because of tracking. Orders normally take 2 weeks to arrive. On rare occasions I've received packages within a week (and that was via EMS). In any event just be patient.
  
• Combine shipping whenever possible. If you've won multiple items from the same seller on Ebay try the Request Total feature. Remember to leave a comment to calculate combine shipping costs.
  
• Some notable sellers (bad@chaos approved):
  hit-japan has infamously high prices but probably the best selection from anyone, anywhere. Try to make an offer with the seller. I've actually gotten some decent deals that way on a few occasions. -Especially if you spot an item they're selling that's been flowing around for a few months. Hit-Japan also offers traditional auctions as well if you look on their store front.
  yamatoku-classic sells everything via auctions with decent variety. The top reason why I like this seller is because on their lot auctions (auctions with multiple items included) they don't list the titles of the games in the ebay listing. What this means is that people aren't able to search for the content of the listing so there isn't too many people actually looking at this auction increasing your odds of winning.
  

These are the best tips to follow, I could not have said it better my self.
Hit-Japan, is good with issues with Famicom Disk System games That have been subject the rewrite issue, and they just send me a new Disk with the correct game on it and don't ask for the original one back. I have had it happen twice and I just sent them a message and the send me a new one pretty quickly.

[kingrat101]

Nin-Nin game has good prices on hard to find stuff I wouldn't buy expensive Neo Geo games from them simply because those games a lot of times are fake but good on everything else

[fauxshot]

Coll beans, thanks everyone!  I will keep these tips in mind (for example, I had no idea there were re-write issues on Famicom stuff 0.o;  ).

I prefer amazon, but I know others have imported from eBay. I think you'll be fine.

I would shop on Amazon for the stuff, but a lot of the time sellers don't include a picture, and I'm kinda picky about that, sometimes. I really like to see what I'm getting if possible, because their descriptions aren't always the best. >.<;

[mrnikon]

Coll beans, thanks everyone!  I will keep these tips in mind (for example, I had no idea there were re-write issues on Famicom stuff 0.o;  ).

I prefer amazon, but I know others have imported from eBay. I think you'll be fine.

I would shop on Amazon for the stuff, but a lot of the time sellers don't include a picture, and I'm kinda picky about that, sometimes. I really like to see what I'm getting if possible, because their descriptions aren't always the best. >.<;

For the Famicom Disk System, disks they had kiosks where you would take your disk and get a new game put on it. I bought The Legend of Zelda pop it in (after spending about an hour fixing the read head) and get Vs. Excite Bike on the screen. Not a bad game but not what I was expecting.

[fauxshot]

Coll beans, thanks everyone!  I will keep these tips in mind (for example, I had no idea there were re-write issues on Famicom stuff 0.o;  ).

I prefer amazon, but I know others have imported from eBay. I think you'll be fine.

I would shop on Amazon for the stuff, but a lot of the time sellers don't include a picture, and I'm kinda picky about that, sometimes. I really like to see what I'm getting if possible, because their descriptions aren't always the best. >.<;

For the Famicom Disk System, disks they had kiosks where you would take your disk and get a new game put on it. I bought The Legend of Zelda pop it in (after spending about an hour fixing the read head) and get Vs. Excite Bike on the screen. Not a bad game but not what I was expecting.

Woah, really??? 0.o That's awesome! ^.^ I had no idea you could do that with the Famicom! That's an interesting piece of information, I'll have to look up more on it. ^^

[gf78]

The main problem with buying import games is that they can sometimes take a long time to arrive.  As for quality of the product I have received, I can't complain.

All of the import Famicom and Super Famicom games I have bought from Japan have been in great condition.  The eBay sellers list the items (most of the time) with several quality pictures and usually try to highlight any flaws.  The most recent arrival for me was a complete copy of Chrono Trigger for the Super Famicom.  Everything looked fantastic.  I also only paid $15 with shipping for it!   

As an added bonus, I've found that import games have better packaging.  The boxes are almost always in better condition because the cartridge is held by a fairly rigid plastic holder inside the box. 

One thing though...it's bewildering the variety of shapes and sizes that the manuals and boxes come in.  A lot of games deviate from the "standard size" that most of the games use. 

[fauxshot]

The main problem with buying import games is that they can sometimes take a long time to arrive.  As for quality of the product I have received, I can't complain.

All of the import Famicom and Super Famicom games I have bought from Japan have been in great condition.  The eBay sellers list the items (most of the time) with several quality pictures and usually try to highlight any flaws.  The most recent arrival for me was a complete copy of Chrono Trigger for the Super Famicom.  Everything looked fantastic.  I also only paid $15 with shipping for it!   

As an added bonus, I've found that import games have better packaging.  The boxes are almost always in better condition because the cartridge is held by a fairly rigid plastic holder inside the box. 

One thing though...it's bewildering the variety of shapes and sizes that the manuals and boxes come in.  A lot of games deviate from the "standard size" that most of the games use.

Yeah, I've noticed that even 'damaged' boxes are still in really nice condition on some postings.

$15? Sounds like a deal to me!

I kind of wish Nintendo would do something like the NES remix, except they'd feature a bunch of JP games that never got imported. It seems like there's quite a few good ones out there, but it's a matter of discovering them.

[tafk]

How would one go about hooking up a JP system to US grade outlets? I know I've heard you can't really just plug and play a Famicom in the US.

[gf78]

The main problem with buying import games is that they can sometimes take a long time to arrive.  As for quality of the product I have received, I can't complain.

All of the import Famicom and Super Famicom games I have bought from Japan have been in great condition.  The eBay sellers list the items (most of the time) with several quality pictures and usually try to highlight any flaws.  The most recent arrival for me was a complete copy of Chrono Trigger for the Super Famicom.  Everything looked fantastic.  I also only paid $15 with shipping for it!   

As an added bonus, I've found that import games have better packaging.  The boxes are almost always in better condition because the cartridge is held by a fairly rigid plastic holder inside the box. 

One thing though...it's bewildering the variety of shapes and sizes that the manuals and boxes come in.  A lot of games deviate from the "standard size" that most of the games use.

Yeah, I've noticed that even 'damaged' boxes are still in really nice condition on some postings.

$15? Sounds like a deal to me!

I kind of wish Nintendo would do something like the NES remix, except they'd feature a bunch of JP games that never got imported. It seems like there's quite a few good ones out there, but it's a matter of discovering them.

There is so much cool stuff in Japanese gaming that just never made it over here.  The box art for older NES/SNES games here in America are atrocious, misrepresentations of fantastic Japanese originals.  Look at the artwork for old Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles to get an idea.  You had all kinds of cool items like the Famicom Disk System and the N64 DD drive that never made it out of Japan. 

I think a lot of it has to do with how each culture views gaming.  In Japan, it's been completely acceptable forever to be into gaming, toys, models, anime, etc.  Look at all the fantastic Mech anime like Gundam they produce.  They make figures, OVA's, series, music soundtracks, etc. 

At least here in the US from what I have seen and experienced (and as we have discussed), gaming is still seen by the "masses" as something for kids.  The older generations don't understand  nor care to understand  why someone would be into playing games, collecting figures, etc.  My parents watch a bazillion hours of television that I couldn't give two poo's about and I don't get it, but it's fine because that's what they do.  But from their mindset, I'm wasting my time playing games. 

Thankfully, the times they are changin'. 

[badATchaos]

How would one go about hooking up a JP system to US grade outlets? I know I've heard you can't really just plug and play a Famicom in the US.

In my experience Japanese AC adapters are safe to use. Most adapters for consumer electronics are capable of excepting a range of frequencies and voltages. If you look on a power brick they'll usually say something like... Input: 100-120v. -Meaning it will take that range of voltage. The one thing you don't want to do is use a US adapter, like one made for NES, on a Famicom. If I remember right, the Famicom wants a lower amount of power than a NES so you could potentially ruin it if you give it more than it's expecting. If you want to play it safe you can by a 120 to 100v transformer. I might be getting one soon.
Simple heat generating appliances such as tea pots, rice cookers, hairdriers should be stayed away from because most will overheat.

Another important thing I forgot to mention in my first post is that Japanese RF channel numbers are assigned to different frequencies. This means even though the Famicom for example can be set to broadcast to channel 1 or 2 on an American television that might be channel 95-97. So make sure you have a TV that can go that high. I know a lot of the older TVs with dials don't.