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#1
01-20-2021, 06:51 AM
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Is the cycling market in Japan insanely inflated?
Just curious, I have casually noticed this for a while and wondering what is the deal with the economy in Japan and how it related to cycling goods.
Like most of you probably do, I have a few ebay saved searches, and every now and then something shows up for about triple or more of the retail price (new) for used stuff in Japan. Here are a couple examples i noticed this morning: https://www.ebay.com/itm/White-Indus...UAAOSwUEFgBmYA https://www.ebay.com/itm/Otona-039-S...16.m2518.l4276 Thinking more, maybe MUSA items have much higher value in Japan? Just thinking out loud I guess as I drink my morning coffee and wonder about our cycling friends in the far east. 
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#2
01-20-2021, 06:58 AM
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All this guy's stuff is stoopid high priced but as they say, 'whatever the market will bear'...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Order-D...UAAOSwWBRgA~jx When I lived in japan, I could sell old knackered Nike running shoes for YUGE $. I know a guy who brought a Harley over(USN would transport one 'vehicle')..when he was leaving, he went to some random parking lot with a big sign in Kanji and sold that thing in about an hour for about twice what they went for NEW in the US...
__________________
Chisholm's Custom Wheels Qui Si Parla Campagnolo
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#4
01-20-2021, 08:25 AM
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As a general rule, retail distribution in Japan has a lot of middlemen which raise the price of an item each time it passes hands. You really don't have the concept of the big box, direct to consumer stores. (this has a long history starting with the trading companies - sogo shosha which had a strangle hold on the import/export business which survives till this day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogo_shosha )
I think a new Dogma will be about 50% higher in Japan versus US. I just eyeballed on Y's Road website versus Competitive Cyclist website. So for Japan, the relative price bar is just higher. That's why there are select shops in Japan where people buy designer clothing overseas and then resell locally... It's always been this way, and resistant to change. Last edited by verticaldoug; 01-20-2021 at 08:28 AM.
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#5
01-20-2021, 08:32 AM
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Quote:
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It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi. --Peter Schickele
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#6
01-20-2021, 08:36 AM
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very interesting, fascinating really.
i guess i take for granted that i can buy veloflex tires from the UK, campagnolo from germany and wine from france sitting at my keyboard; delivered, shopping for the lowest price. i had no idea such old world trading realities still exist.
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#7
01-20-2021, 08:46 AM
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Quote:
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/v733496514 the ebay guy is a reseller fishing for a sucker. If he gets a bid, he buys it from the local auction kisting which is a shop not in Tokyo and nearly doubles the price. All his ebay listings can be found for sale elsewhere.
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#8
01-20-2021, 08:50 AM
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The opposite also applies, used NJS frames are cheap as chips here but there are buyers in the US prepared to pay top dollar. A local bloke I know put his kids through college selling used Japanese guitars through ebay to the US. Helped that he owned a chain of music stores.
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#9
01-20-2021, 10:57 AM
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You need someone on the ground to make it work.
I had a friend in Belgium that was able to pick up and ship used bikes to me, I mostly used the Belgian versionof Craigslist to find them. I think that it's a supply and demand thing but used bikes in Belgium are very cheap, especially the old steel ones. Everyone cycles there, great place to ride.
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#10
01-20-2021, 01:40 PM
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#12
01-20-2021, 02:03 PM
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Not always...
The used market seems to be much more reasonable than US EBAY, I frequently check out, via pack and ship proxies, rakuten and yahoo auctions when i'm looking for components. Was able to grab a NIB no longer produced crankset and chainrings for the price (after DHL shipping was factored in) of a used crankest only that was up for sale in the US. YMMV, but its a good resource. IMO the listings that do display when browsing ebay in the CONUS for most items, bike parts or not, are often incredibly inflated in price. Not sure of the reasons why for that!
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#13
01-20-2021, 02:16 PM
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#14
01-20-2021, 02:20 PM
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#15
01-20-2021, 09:58 PM
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The Japanese don't really use Ebay. They're all about Yahoo auctions.
Yahoo is literally bigger than Google in Japan. For that reason anything from Japan on Ebay really should be taken with a grain of salt.
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