LaserDisc Database
https://forum.lddb.com/

Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand...
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=5979		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  daro2096 [ 11 Jan 2016, 11:42 ]
Post subject:  Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand...
on Ebay?

Especially if still factory sealed?
Author:  samaron [ 11 Jan 2016, 12:24 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
No, not really. If you go on Yahoo Auctions they're most of the time quite cheap. I've bought box sets from Japan that demand several houndred dollars on eBay, and I've paid less than 50 in those cases. Of course, shipping does tend to cost a lot more...

That the set is sealed doesn't really add value in my opinion. You're always having the risk that the disc(s) are rotted or have production defects. Japanese people tend to take good care of their belongings, so even if it's used it most likely is still in very good condition.

eBay isn't a good reference when it comes to prices. They're most of the time very inflated.
Author:  daro2096 [ 11 Jan 2016, 13:15 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
I told one seller his prices were way too expensive.

The reply was polite but boiled down to go away. I said he had 47 years experience and knew what he was doing. He was selling Deep Space nine sets at nearly £300 each. I told him I could buy all 7 seasons for DVD for less. I told him I recently got one set for less than £50. I looked at his complete sales for laserdiscs. He had 2 sales in 3 months. I told him you be losing money forever relisting them as nobody will pay that much for obselet media.
Author:  je280 [ 11 Jan 2016, 13:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
daro2096 wrote:
I told one seller his prices were way too expensive.

The reply was polite but boiled down to go away. I said he had 47 years experience and knew what he was doing. He was selling Deep Space nine sets at nearly £300 each. I told him I could buy all 7 seasons for DVD for less. I told him I recently got one set for less than £50. I looked at his complete sales for laserdiscs. He had 2 sales in 3 months. I told him you be losing money forever relisting them as nobody will pay that much for obselet media.


Sadly that is very common, not an ebay thing more the mentality of some sellers - watch them sit forever.

Cheers :thumbup: .
Author:  samaron [ 11 Jan 2016, 14:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
A friend of mine paid like 110 quid for all the DS9 sets that he bought from Yahoo Auctions. Shipping not included, of course.
Author:  kris [ 11 Jan 2016, 18:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
I've said it before,
It's worth what someone is willing to pay.

In the end no laserdisc is "rare" to begin with.
The "rare" discs I own aren't anymore since I have em... 8-) :lol:

it is sometimes sad what people dare to ask for a disc.
I mean come on... some titles :crazy:
Not only on ebay.... :think: :think:
Author:  substance [ 11 Jan 2016, 22:59 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
I imported the entire star trek tos/voy/ds9/tng boxes, maybe some more (x-files comes to mind). We are talking 40+ boxes, perhaps couple hundred kilos, shipping from Japan costed me a fortune(5 times more expensive than what I paid for the items). Postal service destroyed a number of my parcels although they were very well packed, I had to re-buy those, pay shipping again. Some series are 14 boxes(TNG), those you have to split them into 3 shipments otherwise US postal service will destroy them during transit, this cost 3 times the money. Nevertheless I paid less than those ebay prices(or lddb prices) but it was a year long journey(each shipment take 2-3 months), a lot of hassle, a lot of money. After going through all this, if I ever decide to sell them, I am not listing them cheap. It's not worth it. If they don't sell for high prices,I will sit on them, at least I will feel better. This should explain some of the ebay sales.
Author:  je280 [ 12 Jan 2016, 00:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
Fair shout on the postage thing relative to the purchase cost & heartbreaking when such items arrive damaged particularly when the seller has packed well but sadly it does happen.

Some discs & boxed sets (usually the Japanese F1 ones) that I have spent years looking for at a "good" price I have finally given in & gone for the importing route with all the postage expense, risk of customs charges, risk of damage & all the rest of the palaver that can often go with it.

With the purchase price + postage + any customs fees/duties + Post Office handling fee brings the actual cost to way over the expected "average" price or so called value but that's my choice & just happy to have the item - very unlikely to sell them anytime soon. If I do ever end up selling them then it will without a doubt at a loss but again my choice.

Unless something unexpected happens & they really have to go I am more than happy to sit on mine also.

Sealed or not sealed they are, as has been said many times, only worth what they actually sell for at the time of purchase or what a buyer is happy to pay.

With patience you usually can pick up all but the very so called "rarest" LDs & sets at reasonable prices, they can pop up in pretty weird or unexpected places but that patience can often be translated into years on occasions, great when you do bag a good one at a good price though :thumbup: .

Happy hunting.
Author:  elahrairrah [ 10 Feb 2016, 23:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
If you're shopping on the US Ebay, Japanese Laserdiscs are usually price gouged, because they know it's not so easy for US buyers to get Japanese LDs.

Just don't fall for it. You're usually better off going to yahoo Japan and going through a proxy bidder.
Author:  rein-o [ 11 Feb 2016, 04:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
you do get slammed really hard buying large heavy box sets from Japan.
1 - Shipping is a lot if the seller won't send it slowboat.
2 - Depending on the overseas seller they sometimes don't know how to pack and the boxes will get split edges.

these are the only reasons you would pay more from a USA seller for any box sets.

________________________________
the rein-o official signature:


Image
Author:  Guest [ 02 May 2018, 14:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
Like others have said - they are if you really want them and have the cash.
I have picked up a lot of box sets from Japan and got them quite a lot cheaper than buying through ebay etc - I am in Australia so if I buy from the states the freight is expensive anyway so better off from Japan.

There are a few sets I want badly and a very few I would pay $100 each for , but that is just me.

If I could get them cheap including freight then I would but not possible.
Author:  rein-o [ 02 May 2018, 15:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
I have some good prices then.
Asking 150-200 for a box that I have play tested is a good price considering you are taking a risk buying from Japan and not knowing the playback quality.
Author:  signofzeta [ 02 May 2018, 15:33 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
As you told the seller (so classy, btw) you can get the DVDs for nothing so it is your own fetishishtic desire that makes you want large impractical discs that won’t play on any machine made in the last decade. A high price is part of all that because LD was a super expensive format to begin with and for many people they are still worth that. You are never going to get a “good deal” on DS9 because it isn’t a good deal on LD period. The price is high but it’s just what you’re going to have to pay. If you think the price is too high then I guess you aren’t hardcore enough to collect massive bricks of low quality copies of shows you can get better versions of for close to free elsewhere.

You can’t get a good deal on being hardcore. It wouldn’t be hardcore if you could. That’s not how fandom works. Either bleep or get off the pot.

Btw, experienced LD people almost never value “sealed”. You don’t want sealed LDs. You want recently play tested ones. “Sealed” is “untested” which on eBay translates to “broke”.

Also, if a known working copy of something is in your country already that is for *sure* worth paying something for, especially in places where you pay VAT. Maybe not as much as a guy wants, but it’s something. A single ¥1000 LD probably costs $40 by the time it’s in the UK. (Estimate, I’m sure others here can come up with a more accurate figure).
Author:  blam1 [ 02 May 2018, 16:30 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
Sometimes you get lucky and find a 'rare' Japanese disc posted in the wrong group on eBay. I picked up the "Lost in Space" sets that way. I paid retail for the Japan "Star Trek" boxes when they first came out. Next Generation sets were either 36,000 or 42,000 (or 6,000 yen per disc). Over the years, the average dollar to yen ratio is 1:100, mapping these sets to $360 to $420. Asking someone to match the price for the same program on DVD is patently ridiculous. If you were after the program based on price, you'd buy the DVD (or blu-ray). If you're looking for it on LaserDisc, you want it on LaserDisc and as long as it's reasonably priced, based on the medium (typically less than retail) you pay it.

The same is true for DVD-Audio titles. You can get the CD for pennies, but if you want it on DVD-A, you will pay more. And more often than not, a lot more than retail.
Author:  daro2096 [ 29 Jun 2018, 01:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
signofzeta wrote:
As you told the seller (so classy, btw) you can get the DVDs for nothing so it is your own fetishishtic desire that makes you want large impractical discs that won’t play on any machine made in the last decade. A high price is part of all that because LD was a super expensive format to begin with and for many people they are still worth that. You are never going to get a “good deal” on DS9 because it isn’t a good deal on LD period. The price is high but it’s just what you’re going to have to pay. If you think the price is too high then I guess you aren’t hardcore enough to collect massive bricks of low quality copies of shows you can get better versions of for close to free elsewhere.

You can’t get a good deal on being hardcore. It wouldn’t be hardcore if you could. That’s not how fandom works. Either bleep or get off the pot.

Btw, experienced LD people almost never value “sealed”. You don’t want sealed LDs. You want recently play tested ones. “Sealed” is “untested” which on eBay translates to “broke”.

Also, if a known working copy of something is in your country already that is for *sure* worth paying something for, especially in places where you pay VAT. Maybe not as much as a guy wants, but it’s something. A single ¥1000 LD probably costs $40 by the time it’s in the UK. (Estimate, I’m sure others here can come up with a more accurate figure).


When I said I got one set cheaper I was referring to a Laserdisc box set. Deep Space Nine Season 2 Vol 1. Got it for about £30 from a seller in Hong Kong.
Author:  rein-o [ 29 Jun 2018, 02:29 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
What did you pay for shipping????
HK doesn't have cheap shipping to here in the USA, does it have cheap shipping to the UK???

Also ebay is free to list, so is lddb and even other selling sites are doing the same.
List for free and pay when you sell.
Author:  takeshi666 [ 29 Jun 2018, 03:27 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
I found an Italian seller with some titles I want - they cost more than on the LDDB marketplace, but 1) the seller is within Europe, and 2) he had some titles I haven't seen on the MP at all.

Unfortunately, when I tried to ask him about disc rot, I don't think he understood the question. I wonder if he was playing dumb or if he just doesn't speak english. :/

Also is it just me or is shipping from Japan to Europe a lot cheaper than it is from the US?
Author:  rein-o [ 29 Jun 2018, 04:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
Some sellers who pickup collections and have no idea what LDs are just sell them off and don't care.
But again rot is not as big a deal as all you newer collectors want to think.

As for shipping, I don't believe its still that cheap from Japan to Europe, may be cheaper but not cheap.
What are you getting charged for a single disc or box set from US to Europe and Japan to Europe.

Last disc I bought from Singapore cost me 18 bucks and I won it for 10 bucks.
Author:  daro2096 [ 29 Jun 2018, 04:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
rein-o wrote:
What did you pay for shipping????
HK doesn't have cheap shipping to here in the USA, does it have cheap shipping to the UK???

Also ebay is free to list, so is lddb and even other selling sites are doing the same.
List for free and pay when you sell.


I think the total cost including shipping was about £36. Shipping was surface though and took about 8 weeks to arrive. The spines were all split though caused I assume by the discs moving during shipping.
Author:  rein-o [ 29 Jun 2018, 04:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Are the Japan box sets really worth what sellers demand.
So you paid 6 pounds for shipping an LD box set from Hong Kong to the UK :think:

I understand shipping may be cheaper but really....

The cheapest shipping from the state I live in to the state my parents live in 3hrs away will be 7.25 for a 10 disc set.
Page 1 of 2 All times are UTC [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/