MiniDisc Equipment Shipping, Direct from Japan

Nic Boyde, based in Tokyo, will ship MiniDisc equipment abroad.
He provides the following information.

Prices: Last Updated 10 March 1997

Here are prices for several popular MiniDisc units. Please note that these prices are updated weekly, and are therefore good until 17 March 1997. Items are domestic models, unless marked ``/I'' (international). Manuals are in Japanese, unless marked ``E'' which means that I have personally vouched for the fact that it has an English section. All prices are in Japanese Yen, unless otherwise indicated.

All taxes, customs duties, import charges, brokerage and the like in your own country are excluded from these prices, and you should make your own enquiries as to how much these are going to cost you. In some countries these are immaterial, in others they are very significant.

It is most unlikely that my prices are going to be cheaper than retail prices in your own country. Japan is a very expensive place! The service I offer is essentially to source models that are not yet readily obtainable in your own country, but are already available on the market in Japan. Do you want to get ahead? Read on.

Portable MD Players and Recorders

Sony 100V-240V 50-60Hz battery chargers
Model	Battery charged/machine	JPY Price
	NH-9WM: MZ-E50, MZ-E30	3,000
	LIP12: MZ-R30, MZ-R4ST	5,000

Sharp				Foreign Prices Including Shipping
Unit	Man.	Price	Weight in Kgs	USD	GBP	CHF	AUD
MD-MS100	E	31,930	0.900	313	193	462	386
MD-MS200	E	42,230	0.920	400	247	590	497
MD-ST60		36,050	0.755	348	215	513	431
MD-SS70		27,810	<1Kg	278	172	410	342

JVC - Victor Portables
Unit	Man	Price	Weight in Kgs
XM-R2	J.	48,410	1.1Kg

Kenwood Portables
Unit	Price	Weight in Kgs
DMC-G5	39,140	<1Kg

Pioneer
Unit	Price	Weight in Kgs
PMD-R2	45,320	N/A

Decks

I have received several enquiries for the Sony MDS-JA50ES. This top line model is very hard to come by, and not many retailers are discounting it. I can place an order with a supplier with quota at a cost to you of JPY179,000. In view of its weight (in the order of 18-20Kgs I think), shipping it is prohibitively expensive for most people. UPS charge for 20Kgs: JPY32,000 in Asia, JPY36,400 to North America, JPY53,400 to Europe and JPY66,800 to Central and South America.

I used to quote prices for other decks and car equipment etc. but have received few serious enquiries. If you are interested, Email to: [email protected]

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Blank Disks

Blank Recordable Minidisks
Maker	Model	Size and type	Price
Sony	MDW-74C	ES74 x10	8,652
Sony	MDW-60C	ES60 x10	8,034
Sony	MDW-74AL/AR/AN/AY	Colour x10	5,974
TDK	XG74	Standard x10	5,974
Maxell		Standard x10	5,800

10 Disks weigh 0.5Kg

Shipping costs:

Domestic models usually come with adequate if rudimentary English sections to the manuals (I have personally verified the ones marked "E" above). NB The JVC XM-R2 does not, despite the case being labelled in English. All models display English (Roman) letters, and all the recorders permit MDs to be labelled in Roman letters as well as Japanese. Adaptors and chargers may not work properly outside Japan which uses 100V electricity. Warranties are only valid in Japan, and foreign ones cannot be obtained.

Any domestic machine incorporating a tuner will not work properly outside Japan. The wave bands assigned to AM and FM in Japan are different from the bands used in most other countries.

International versions are made for very few models. If they are not listed above, they are not available on the street in Japan. When they are available, they have English manuals, warranties valid outside Japan, and have 100-240V adaptors and/or battery chargers. Choice of colours etc. is limited, and they are significantly more expensive. Most clients buy the domestic version and use adaptors bought at home.

Please contact me at [email protected] for quotes in foreign currencies, or quotes for equipment (MD or otherwise) not shown above). If you are requesting a quote, please specify the complete make and model of the unit(s) you wish to buy, and whether you require the International version if available.

Nic Boyde
Work: +81-3-5203-3070

Terms:

1. You (the customer) pay C&F (cost and freight) from Tokyo, Japan.
2. Insurance covering normal shipping risks is automatically provided by the shipper [UPS]. This is limited to coverage of:
1. loss during shipping.
2. theft during shipping.
3. damage during shipping.

If you need more insurance, consider buying your own.

3. Once you accept my quote, I will need payment in advance. You can make payment to my own bank accounts in any of USA, Canada, UK, Hong Kong, Japan, Philippines, Singapore and Australia in those countries' currencies, and in any other hard currency (including ECU) to Hong Kong. I can quickly detect whether I have been paid (usually by the next day). This saves international transfer costs for most people. I am an individual, not a business - I can't take credit cards no matter how gold they are. This saves you money too.
4. If you want a quote in foreign currencies (foreign meaning not Japanese), then quotes are good only for a week and are in any event automatically invalid if exchange rates move more than 1% within that week. For big orders I can arrange to quote firm rates.

Customer Comments:

• He provides an excellent service. I bought the MZ-E50 from him.
  -Alex Brumann ([email protected]) Switzerland
• Mr. Boyde's service was absolutely excellent! I ordered a Sharp minidisk player and accessories. It arrived only three days after Mr. Boyde received the money by wire transfer to his bank. Having never done this before, I e-mailed several requests to Mr. Boyde for a progress report on how the transaction was going. In each case, I received a courteous and thorough response the same day or the next day. The package arrived right on time and UPS collected the $27.00 in duty on delivery to my office. I cannot say enough good things about the great service provided by Mr. Boyde, and I heartily recommend his services to you!
  -David Christine ([email protected]) Pennsylvania, USA

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