Before you buy: KAKAKU

[ultragaijin]

Japan's answer to Pricewatch or Cnet Shopper (or DealTime or MySimon)...

http://www.kakaku.com (in Japanese)

Comparison shop, browse user product ratings and find the lowest prices for all sorts of electronics and computer components.

Thanks for the tip, sukebekuro!


Feel free to add more similar shopping links to this thread.

[Big Booger]

I use this site quite frequently when ordering upgrades to my system:
http://www.twotop.co.jp/entrance/default.asp

Good prices, cheap shipping, and friendly staff(at least they are via email).
All in Japanese.
BB

[Anonymous]

I use this site quite frequently when ordering upgrades to my system:
http://www.twotop.co.jp/entrance/default.asp

Good prices, cheap shipping, and friendly staff(at least they are via email).
All in Japanese.
BB

There's a two-top here in Kyoto and we tend to order our company PCs from there as the build quality seems good, they always throw in a free network cable too.

However, the cheaper prices for almost anything are to be found next door (on Teramachi south of Shijo) in Dos V Paradise (DosPara), its just they only give you those prices if you spend pure cash - no credit cards or J-Debit. The price difference can be as much as 10% at times.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Old thread but I'll spread the word.

I'll give Wink Digital a plug for digital cameras and standard brand computers. I don't even bother crossing the river into Akihabara anymore.

http://www.winkdigital.com/ (Japanese)

No fuss shop, work out what you want before you go in.

Also http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ as a shopping look around, but it's not quite as neat in layout as kaku but at least gives you another option. Also only in Japanese.

[emperor]

I get all my electronic goods at Bic Camera
Loads around Tokyo - especially Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.

Their prices are generally the cheapest or quite close and you get up to 20% back on your point card (usually in around 10%) for your next purchase or straight off that purchase (minus a few %).
You save more using cash as opposed to credit cards too.

The odd time they throw on an extra 3% for just a day.

www.biccamera.com

[maoriboy]

for computer related pieces check out this site

http://www.gdm.or.jp/

usually finds the cheapest places in Aki. I use it regularly

[XIII]

I like this price search engine: http://www.coneco.net/

My favorite computer parts shop is: http://www.1-s.co.jp/

:wink:

[FG Lurker]

Yes, PC Ones's (http://www.1-s.co.jp) is a great shop. I've not bought from their web site before, but the guys in the store are helpful and actually knowledgeable!! No one speaks English though, as far as I know. One strong thing in their favour is they offer a warranty against the infamous "aishou no mondai" excuse that so many shops use. If you buy memory etc and it isn't compatible with your machine (either physically or just the two bits don't "like" each other), take it back within a week and they will exchange it! Especially with newer PCs that will work with one brand of DDR but not another, this is very very helpful. PC One's recently moved -- they are on the other side of Sakaisuji now, and a block or two farther South.

For compact digicams in Osaka I have found PC-Box 78 (http://www.pcbox78.co.jp/) to be very good. Definitely a no-frills shop tucked away in the back corner of DenDen town, but great prices -- often one of the cheapest on Kakaku.com (http://www.kakaku.com/sku/pricemenu/dezikame.htm). They also keep their web site up-to-date, so the stock shown there actually very closely reflects what is in the shop. Not all places do that! Know what you want though, they don't do much except move product at low prices. I don't know if anyone in the shop (one or two guys) speaks English or not. Last time I was there they took only cash, no credit cards.

For bigger cameras and their lenses etc (my weakness...) Tokiwa Camera is the best I have found in Osaka. Good selection, great prices, fabulous service! They even have at least one English-speaker in the store. They are about 50m South of Nipponbashi station Exit #5, the first camera store you see as you head towards DenDen town. They are on the corner of Sakaisuji and a small side street, easy to spot as you walk down Sakaisuji. I've spent 100s of thousands of yen there and introduced countless people -- a truly great old-fashioned high-service shop, but with killer prices. I really can't recommend them enough. Cards accepted, but you can get better prices if you pay cash. They have no online presence.

Ian

[fatslug]

I get all my electronic goods at Bic Camera
Loads around Tokyo - especially Ikebukuro and Shinjuku.

Their prices are generally the cheapest or quite close and you get up to 20% back on your point card (usually in around 10%) for your next purchase or straight off that purchase (minus a few %).
You save more using cash as opposed to credit cards too.

The odd time they throw on an extra 3% for just a day.

www.biccamera.com

Bic camera seems cheap as they fuck with your head offering point and discounts, but if u check on the sites listed on this thread like www.kakaku.com etc, the starting price is already cheaper than what bic camera offers with discounts.

but of course, its alwasy nice to go into a store and see the thing b4 u buy it.

[fatslug]

http://www.winkdigital.com/ (Japanese)

No fuss shop, work out what you want before you go in.
.

does wink offer warrantys etc ?

[alicia454]

I'm not happy with my current keitai (mobile phone), even though I still have a few months left on the contract. So rather than commit myself with another 2 year contact, I think it would be best to buy a used keitai, and just put my Softbank wSIM chip-card into it. I found some second hand (recycle) keitai shops around Shinjuku that have some decent Softbank phones. But the much cheaper option (at a fraction of the cost) to get those same Softbank phone is from Yahoo Japan:

http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/

I have a Yahoo account, and can manage through the Japanese webpages. But my auction experience has been only with eBay, and I don't have any experience with bidding on Yahoo Auction in any language.

If I win, how do I pay? PayPal? I would prefer some type of credit card protection in case the seller is unethical. Is there any type of fraud production for Yahoo Japan Auctions?

Shipping should not be a problem for me, since I live in Tokyo.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[omae mona]

Alicia - honestly, I'm not saying this to be mean, but if your language skills are not good enough to get that information yourself from the Yahoo Auction help pages and the details on the particular auction, then you might want to reconsider this course of action and shoot for something more English-friendly. You will not be able to communicate with the seller, and your likelihood of ending up in an argument or a disputed transaction are very high.

[pheyton]

Alicia, re-payment: It depends on the seller. There are many ways to pay, just as there are on Ebay. Post, bank, CC, etc. My wife and I have used Yahoo auctions for years and have had very little negative experiences, except for the habitual flake who doesn't pay. Everything we have bought has been spot on.

I would say go for it and if you need help just ask.

Cheers

[FG Lurker]

There are two things you have to know about Yahoo auctions before you can proceed:

1) Fluent Japanese is a requirement to bid on Yahoo Japan. It's not just a common-sense requirement, it is in the rules.

2) If you want to bid more than 5000yen then you need a credit card issued in Japan. The card will be charged about 300yen/month and is used to verify your ID before allowing you to bid.

If you can get past those two things then you can bid. If you win you can pay with your credit card (you will be charged 5% of the total for this), or you can pay by furikomi from your bank account to the seller's account. 代引き is also an option with some sellers but you will have to pay for that too, usually a few hundred yen. Available payment options vary from auction to auction and are listed near the top of the auction page.

[alicia454]

Thanks for the very useful advise above. I think that I will try to bid on Yahoo auctions, but I will ask a Japanese colleague for assistance, and maybe act as a mediator incase there are any difficulties.

I don't yet have a Japanese credit card, but I changed the billing address of my Canadian AMEX card to my home address in Tokyo, and so far I have not had any problems buying stuff online with it and having it shipped to my home. I hope that it is good enough for Yahoo Japan. If not, I guess I can apply for a credit card from my Japanese bank.

BTW, it is still preferable to buy a used phone in person than from an online auction, if I can get a good price. So if anyone knows of any second hand (recycle) keitai shops with decent prices on Softbank Windows Mobile phone in the greater Tokyo area (including Yokohama and Chiba), please let me know.

Thanks again.

[FG Lurker]

I'm not sure what will happen with your AMEX card. Yahoo used to not accept AMEX at all but now you can use them to verify your account. It still isn't possible to actually pay for things from the auction site with AMEX though.

If you want a Japan-issued credit card (will save you a lot on exchange if you are using your CC here) then getting a Japanese AMEX is probably going to be the easiest thing to get. When you apply make sure that you note that you have a Canadian AMEX already and you shouldn't have problems getting the Japanese one.