Anyone in Japan willing to shop and ship?

[Necromancer]

I suppose you are right. This may not be the best way to finally frame my Japanese posters... Still, I am frustrated at how expensive it is, especially when I don't need super-nice framing, but simply something functional. Stupid Japanese B1 size...

What kind of frame are you looking for and at what cost?  Making your own out of pre-finished wood or aluminum parts isn't terribly expensive.

[spenoza]

The problem is that the longest dimension is a hair longer than the longest dimension of any common US poster or photo sizes (which would normally be framed). So the combination of getting the frame, backing, and acrylic is, collectively, annoyingly expensive, as opposed to a stock US B1 frame which can be had for as little as $25 - $30.

[soop]

This may be useful: http://www.amazon.co.jp/e-discount-%E5%A4%A7%E9%A1%8D-%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B-%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0-B1/dp/B00120L1QY

[spenoza]

This may be useful: http://www.amazon.co.jp/e-discount-%E5%A4%A7%E9%A1%8D-%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B-%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0-B1/dp/B00120L1QY

Rakuten also has some. But Rakuten is willing to ship to the US (at what cost they don't disclose up front). Can't find international shipping info via Amazon, so if I went that route I'd probably need a proxy.

[soop]

Ok, so far I've been invoiced for one item.  I bid and won on Out Run for 720 jpy.  Shipping in Japan was 160 jpy, and the commission was $6.  And I've been invoiced $23.10 which is a disparity of $12.3.  Anyone know where this has come from?

I'm hoping they've calculated shipping of some kind, which they'll then combine with other items, because that's a 50% increase in price.

Wait, they've added "handling" of $3, but I still don't see the disparity:

[SamIAm]

How much are you paying for postage from the proxy to your country? You didn't list that.

[soop]

How much are you paying for postage from the proxy to your country? You didn't list that.

Don't know yet, but I'm getting surface.  I'm up to about $140 so far, for the stick, outrun and big box forgotten worlds

[spenoza]

Ok, so far I've been invoiced for one item.  I bid and won on Out Run for 720 jpy.  Shipping in Japan was 160 jpy, and the commission was $6.  And I've been invoiced $23.10 which is a disparity of $12.3.  Anyone know where this has come from?

I'm hoping they've calculated shipping of some kind, which they'll then combine with other items, because that's a 50% increase in price.

Wait, they've added "handling" of $3, but I still don't see the disparity:

This is why I'm leery of doing anything through a random proxy. They can charge you pretty much whatever mystery fees and charges they want.

[SuperDeadite]

If I was a proxy, I'd be charging by the hour.  Do you really expect a proxy service to not charge you for time they spent doing all there is required?  It's like a getting a hooker, you are charged by the minute regardless of the condition of your pants.  As I said before directly importing is not for cheap common items or people who want to save money and be cheap.  It is for very expensive or very difficult to find items where the buyer does not care about the price.

[spenoza]

Oh, I believe very much in fair compensation, and payment for time spent is indeed fair. The problem is, Soop is describing a situation that makes it seem like he was very much in the dark about what he would be paying for. If someone quotes you a number and can't tell you WHY, or can't or won't explain in advance what all the various charges are, that's a problem. Paying money to someone for their assistance is not the problem.

[Nando]

Do any of the store in Japan ship to local addresses?