Self importing/buying while in japan 860

[zaurusaardvark]

Anyone got any idea of the actual price of the c860 on the ground in japan ?
The imported versions are just too expensive as I don\'t actually need one :-) (my 5500 is fine). But I would like a bigger keyboard again (after 13 years and 100,000s of words of being spoilt with my hp 95lx keyboard, the 5500 is a major downer and I can\'t be doing with external keyboards as I tend to type away from tables).
To be honest if I were going to spend £500 plus on a clamshell pc it\'d have to be a cheap laptop.
BUT if you can buy the 860 in japan for a sensible price and I\'m not overly fussed about the warranty, then I\'d seriously consider it.
Someone I know is bound to go to japan in the near future :-)
So anyone got any ideas ?

[zaurusaardvark]

Decided to check out amazons japan site. They sell the 860 for 65,951 yen which works out at around £340 or $602
Now bear in mind that imported 860\'s sell for £565 from shirtpocket.co.uk
And I\'ve seen imported 860s on a us website for $699 (approx £400).
Okay so the english one does the rom conversion for you (pretty sure this wouldn\'t be a problem after browsing this website :-)
In short shirtpocket are really taking the piss. £225 ($393) for importing and flashing rom and warranty.
It\'s actually cheaper for me to get a budget flight to the us and buy an imported 860 from the states, and that can\'t be right can it :-)

[zaurusaardvark]

Right let\'s add this up. I\'m assuming I know someone going to japan in the next couple of months (hmm what about singapore ?) so I get them to get me an 860 (£340). I then flog my zaurus 5500 for £150 on ebay (probably get more, but it\'s had some use and I\'m keeping my 256mb flash and 128sd cards but it does have spare battery :-).
I spend an afternoon reading up on roms and flashing the 860 rom myself. Viola I\'ve got an 860 for total cost of: £190 ($332)
Makes you think doesn\'t it :-)

[LadyBug]

Shirtpocket etc are also paying for the VAT. If you buy one from
japan-direct / Amazon@JP / wherever, you\'re liable for VAT when
shipping/bringing it to Europe. VAT is calculated from the sales
price plus shipping.

I bought my C760 from japan-direct and the unit got caught in customs.
+ 22% in Finland . 8( But if you bring one with you when coming back
from abroad,  it\'s unlikely (but possible) the customs will query about
your PDA.

And of course, they probably don\'t sell these units in huge volumes,
so their sales margin must be reasonable for them to make a living
(or even as a side business).

[mikew]

You may avoid paying VAT when importing your Zaurus, but they can ask you for proof that you have paid VAT, each time you come into the country.

You could also have a problem if the unit is returned after a warranty repair in Japan.

It is not a risk I would take, I paid the VAT on my C760, scanned the VAT documents & put them on my Zaurus.

Mike

[Stubear]

You can actually do better than that

www.kakaku.com - kinda best buy for Japan lists the best price for C860 at 60,685 yen (I think that tax included but if you are visiting you cold probably get 5% back form the tax man at the airport)

Stu

[Omicron]

Anyone got any idea of the actual price of the c860 on the ground in japan ?
The imported versions are just too expensive as I don\'t actually need one :-) (my 5500 is fine). But I would like a bigger keyboard again (after 13 years and 100,000s of words of being spoilt with my hp 95lx keyboard, the 5500 is a major downer and I can\'t be doing with external keyboards as I tend to type away from tables).  
To be honest if I were going to spend £500 plus on a clamshell pc it\'d have to be a cheap laptop.
BUT if you can buy the 860 in japan for a sensible price and I\'m not overly fussed about the warranty, then I\'d seriously consider it.  
Someone I know is bound to go to japan in the near future :-)
So anyone got any ideas ?

I bought mine from this guy in Japan...and he was excellent.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...3093109814&rd=1

As you can see the price is $669.80, but then there is +35 for shipping and MINUX $20 for non-credit-card PAYPAL payment...which adds up to be $669.80+35-20 = $685.00 Shipped  

Not only that but it includes a full official receipt for warranty purposes and he threw in a really SWEET screen protector (real tough little nugget).  

(NOTE: I have no asssociation with him except as a satisfied customer.)

Also, he will do the Basic English conversion for you and his shipping is fast (recieved lesss than 5 days after payment, with a tracking number).  He leaves the Japanese English dictionary removal for you, but that that is just an \"remove program option\"

I gotta say, I could NOT be happier, and the guy is really really patient and takes the time to answer every question in emails (he ussually breaks them down in replies and inserts anwsers throughout...not just answering the last question like some people do,....which I find extremely annoying.)

He always seems to have one out on Ebay at any given time and also will do a direct deal if you ask him (ie: you are in a hurry).  He is very concerned about security and will only send to paypal verified addresses as well.

For about $200 less than Dynasium (sp? which I heard is a great company, so I am not meaning to bash them in any way) I was very pleased with the transaction and his responses to all my queries.

There are alot of good sites and people out there selling them, but it was real hard for me to send my hard earned dough halfway around the globe to a person I never met, but after many an email and his 100% ebay feedback rating, I took the plunge and could not possibly see how anyone could have done a better job.  (I literally took about a month to decide and his patience was truely heroic  :wink: )

Good Luck...the C860 is an amazing machine and once you get past the money issue, you got plent of tech support here and a valid (although somewhat inconvient) warranty from japan.

QUESTION: I don\'t know if I paid VAT tax...as i live in the USA...Should I have?  Would that have affected my warranty?  I don\'t see how, becuase Sharp is a company, not the Japanese governmet.  And I have honestly never heard about VAT outside of Europe...or was that all what you guys were refering to?  Please advise...thanks !

[zaurusaardvark]

As far as vat and warranty goes - don\'t worry about it. Vat is charged by governments (\'cause lets face it they don\'t take enough of your money already right :-) The warranty is with the company who made the device. No problem or conflict of interests. And yep I was working on the assumption that import vat would be avoided - one way or another :-)

[rikiya]

BREAKING NEWS! The SL-C860 in japan used to be around 68000 yen but now it\'s about 72000yen!!!!!

[datajerk]

Got mine for Y57500 (cash price) while in Japan last Feb.  +5% tax was also added.

[Stubear]

BREAKING NEWS! The SL-C860 in japan used to be around 68000 yen but now it\'s about 72000yen!!!!!

Please be sure of your FACTS before spreading FUD.

As of  1st April 2004 the Jaapnese Government ordered that all pricing in Japan show the full price including 5% tax, rather than the past process of only showing the price pre-tax.

This means that all Japanese advertised prices appear to have risen by 5%, BUT the buyer still pays exactly the same amount as they did before.