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I need a proxy in Japan and like yesterday!

Colin G

One Too Many
Messages
1,198
Location
Canada
Monitor, since we were just speaking about Buyee shipping costs a bit earlier I figured I'd add this.

We all so silly things and I did the other day by buying another leather jacket from Yahoo Auctions. I literally needed another jacket like I needed another hole in my head. Anyway, the package arrived at Buyee and DHL shipping cost to Canada was only $51 CAD. I wonder if it is some kind of computer error that defaults you to an insane shipping cost?

EMS is way cheaper but that service is suspended right now from Japan to Canada so DHL is my option. I pay about a $30 CAD brokerage charge which is not so bad compared to UPS's $70 fee. For some reason I never pay import taxes when sent by EMS since maybe they do not list declared value and with DHL and their full documentation I'll have to pay %10 tax so about $124 CAD total including tax and brokerage fee.
 
Messages
16,798
Monitor, since we were just speaking about Buyee shipping costs a bit earlier I figured I'd add this.

We all so silly things and I did the other day by buying another leather jacket from Yahoo Auctions. I literally needed another jacket like I needed another hole in my head. Anyway, the package arrived at Buyee and DHL shipping cost to Canada was only $51 CAD. I wonder if it is some kind of computer error that defaults you to an insane shipping cost?

EMS is way cheaper but that service is suspended right now from Japan to Canada so DHL is my option. I pay about a $30 CAD brokerage charge which is not so bad compared to UPS's $70 fee. For some reason I never pay import taxes when sent by EMS since maybe they do not list declared value and with DHL and their full documentation I'll have to pay %10 tax so about $124 CAD total including tax and brokerage fee.

I can't say if it's an error or not but it's the amount they wanted to bill me when I clicked on Buy Now. It's all neatly calculated at the Checkout screen, Japanese tax, shipping costs, etc., and the total value was consistent with the $300 shipping. It did seem extreme as I know Japanese eBay sellers often include free shipping so how much can it get but I still didn't feel like risking it, especially since the outcome of the declared value was uncertain at that point.
 
Messages
16,798
I've been reading the definition of an import duty. It says "Import duties have two distinct purposes: raise income for the local government and to give a market advantage to locally grown or produced goods that are not subject to import duties.". This is utter bs. Nobody in my country makes leather trousers. There isn't a company that makes them. I cannot buy leather pants made in Croatia. I can scarcely hope to buy any sort of pants made here! This is exactly why I don't want to give them a dime.
 

Ivalodgem

New in Town
Messages
8
Neokyo used to be a good proxy, actually. I used it back when I was working for a Japanese company. Honestly, it was the only Japanese proxy that was working perfectly for me. I tried a couple of proxies, and none of them satisfied all of my requirements, and they disappointed me pretty much. Since I stopped working in Japan, I don't need Neokyo anymore, and I decided to buy premium proxies. And you know what, they are way better than I thought. Honestly, I thought that I was overpaying for something that was not worth it, but now it's fine.
 
Last edited:

Edward

Bartender
Messages
25,074
Location
London, UK
I've been reading the definition of an import duty. It says "Import duties have two distinct purposes: raise income for the local government and to give a market advantage to locally grown or produced goods that are not subject to import duties.". This is utter bs. Nobody in my country makes leather trousers. There isn't a company that makes them. I cannot buy leather pants made in Croatia. I can scarcely hope to buy any sort of pants made here! This is exactly why I don't want to give them a dime.

I suppose by extension the argument would be you'd still buy something to cover your legs even if you couldn't get leather trousers, and that might be something local. Of course these concepts originated in a pre-globalised world where every bought local because there was little other choice. Yes, there was mail order (particularly popular for a lot of the less well off in the UK before the advent of 'fast-fashion' as they offered the option of paying in installments), but that too was limited. Didn't predict a world where at the touch of a button we can buy niche products from the other side of the world... It's sure no less frustrating, for knowing that though when, as you say, the reason you're buying from elsewhere is due to lack of availability locally rather than by preference.
 

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