Thinking About Selling Some Zs?

[burao]

Hello world,

I am an American living in Tokyo for about 3 years now.
I started using my C700 shortly after arriving and upgraded
to an 860. My next goal is to buy a 3100 (or whatever next comes
down the pike)

This got me to thinking. I live a short distance from Bic Camera in
Yurakucho. As of today, they sell the SL-C3100 for 79,800yen (roughly $720)
They also have a points program that gives a 10% credit for this purchase.
So my idea is to re-sell a few Zs, accessories, etc, close to cost(plus shipping)
and keep the 10% credit. Then once I have enough, I will buy my Z upgrade.

I am thinking of sticking with Paypal payments as I don't want
to mess with credit/checks, etc.

I haven't worked out nearly enough details yet, but wanted to throw out the idea
and see what kind of suggestions (or flames) might come back.  

Thanks,
Brian

[samxiao]

you should open a Japan Zaurus vendor business for us

[burao]

If it's fairly painless, legal, and worth the trouble, I would give it serious thought!

[speculatrix]

my advice is
1) make it very clear what you're selling and what not (e.g. international power supply, cables etc)
2) make it very clear what support you offer (sold with/without Jp->English conversion)
3) make it very clear how you handle returns (who pays for shipping, how you charge for repairs etc)

If you know people who regularly travel from Jp to UK/Eu/USA, you'd have a useful conduit for couriering items.

I'd say there's a definite market,  ebay seems to be a popular place for people to do this. see also conics, pricejapan etc etc. Check out the "where to buy" at https://www.oesf.org/index.php?title=General

You'll find there's a three-tier system. People like Trisoft who do a top professional service - get EU approvals, provide documentation online, provide repair service. Then there's a midle tier, Conics, who do a simple language conversion and a basic returns.
And finally there's the "pack it and ship it, you're on you're own" services.

I bought my 860 from the latter (ebay), because I saved enough money to factor in the risk of having to arrange my own repair.  Like anything on ebay, is the price saving covering the true costs of risk... sorry, I digress.

I hope you DO do it, especially if you are able to do all the accessories and interesting software like picsel viewers too.

Paul

[burao]

my advice is
1) make it very clear what you're selling and what not (e.g. international power supply, cables etc)
2) make it very clear what support you offer (sold with/without Jp->English conversion)
3) make it very clear how you handle returns (who pays for shipping, how you charge for repairs etc)

If you know people who regularly travel from Jp to UK/Eu/USA, you'd have a useful conduit for couriering items.

I'd say there's a definite market,  ebay seems to be a popular place for people to do this. see also conics, pricejapan etc etc. Check out the "where to buy" at https://www.oesf.org/index.php?title=General

You'll find there's a three-tier system. People like Trisoft who do a top professional service - get EU approvals, provide documentation online, provide repair service. Then there's a midle tier, Conics, who do a simple language conversion and a basic returns.
And finally there's the "pack it and ship it, you're on you're own" services.

I bought my 860 from the latter (ebay), because I saved enough money to factor in the risk of having to arrange my own repair.  Like anything on ebay, is the price saving covering the true costs of risk... sorry, I digress.

I hope you DO do it, especially if you are able to do all the accessories and interesting software like picsel viewers too.

Paul
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Paul,
Thank you for your input. I had the same general idea, though I haven't done any proper research yet.
I probably would fall between the 2nd and 3rd level you described.

Level 1: I don't have the time to get goverment approval, provide documentation, etc, and my repair capabilities would be even worse then
what is described to be the state of Sharp official repairs!

Level 2: I am capable of doing language conversions and the like, though I suspect that the folks buying Zs from OE forums would
probably just asume to do this themselves. Simple returns may be a possibility I would assume, though the shipping costs
is the key problem to work out.

Level 3: I suppose that what I am thinking of doing is not so far from what vendors offer now on ebay.
I guess what I am looking for is any creative ideas on how I can use my advantage of living in Tokyo to both
provide better access to Zs and accessories for people outside Japan, and make it worth a bit of my own time.

As for knowing regular travelers, I am afraid I don't have any good connections, though I do have many friends in the US
and also have a US address (of my "snowbird" parents)

I don't see any reason that if it works to export Zs, that I could not also export interesting accessories as well (for that matter,
I suppose non Zaurus items could be fair game). I really have no idea what the rules are governing Japanese exports, etc. though.
I assume that the companies that currently export Zs also export other products to make a decent profit.
This is not my goal. I am just toying with the idea of a side-business/weekend pastime.

Please keep the ideas coming!

Brian

[rebski]

I think for us to have access to a Zaurus specialist in Tokyo would be cool. Not just to buy a new Zaurus but we could also get styli, cases, screen protectors and all those interesting accessories that appear on http://www.wolf.ne.jp/syuhen/zaurus.html

In addition to PayPal consider MoneyBookers as a cheaper option.

As regards 1st tier service, here in Europe Trisoft have an exemplary reputation and I can’t see you wanting to take on that level of commitment.

Personally I would be happy with the option of the bottom tier service though it would be nice to have a helping hand if a warranty claim with Sharp Japan was needed. In such an event it would be reasonable to charge for out of pocket expenses, shipping etc. and perhaps a small fee would be acceptable in view of the slim margins involved.

[crstophr]

Well I just bought my 3100 from pricejapan for $738.  I understand they only mark it up 5%.  They offer warrenty service and will act as middleman if repairs are needed... at my expense of course.

If you could compete on price and had the other goodies (overlay brilliant, case, pentopia, etc) then you would definitly have something.

[burao]

Yeah. Seems that I would need to give it a bit more thought. Bic Camera in Yurakucho (my 10% credit) charges 79,800 for the 3100.
PriceJapan says the cheapest price is 63,600. Not sure where the 16,200 difference comes from.
I am starting to guess that between the limited number of buyers, shipping, and the small margins charged by vendors,
it's probably not something I should mess with right now. If any bright ideas pop up, let me know.
Otherwise, I will probably put it on the shelf for a bit.

[speculatrix]

PriceJapan says the cheapest price is 63,600. Not sure where the 16,200 difference comes from.
I am starting to guess that between the limited number of buyers, shipping, and the small margins charged by vendors,

I think that PJ and others have a volume discount with the larger retailers, and they also use the effective refund of their customer loyalty cards to pass on cheaper prices.

Try asking one of the larger retailers what discount they would give for five 3100's. PJ's search engine will help you find the best price anyway.