Selling to train shops overseas: worth it or not?

[ED75-775]

I'm heading back to Japan for my third trip in a couple of weeks time, and I have been wondering about something: how easy is it for foreigners to sell stuff to a train shop or second-hand dealer that deals in trains, and would it be at all worthwhile?

 

I have an older Kato 10-382 500 series Shinkansen and it doesn't quite fit in with my collection anymore. I've thought about selling it locally, but there's not much interest in Japanese N locally. So my thoughts have shifted to whether it's practical to take it somewhere like Popondetta or Mandarake while I'm in Japan and see whether I can sell it there. Sure, I won't get terribly much for it, it's an older set without any of the add-on sets, but at least it might stand a chance of being moved on to a caring home, and I'll have some cash to spend on new trains, a meal or two, or experiences.

 

I've had a look at this thread, among a few, which seems to suggest that in some cases it might or might not be possible, there doesn't really seem to be any hard and fast 'yes' or 'no' in place. Hobby Land Pochi doesn't clearly state whether they would or wouldn't let foreigners do it (although I suspect from the wording that it's more for domestic Japanese residents), and the same goes for Popondetta.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Alastair

[katoftw]

I'd say not worth it also.  Second hand / used prices are so much cheaper in Japan.  So the buy back prices for you will be much lower.

[SwallowAngel]

From what I've heard Hobby Land Pocchi can a bit "weary" of foreigners, so I'd assume selling to them could pose a bit of a challenge. So probably not worth it to try selling it in Japan.

Personally I would try to sell it locally or post a classified. Pretty sure someone here would be interested in the set for the right price.

 

[Beaver]

In my experience Popondetta will happily buy from foreigners, but require an address in Japan on the sales form. So residents yes, short term visitors no, would be my answer.

 

Unless maybe you have friends or relatives in Japan who would let you put their address on the form.........

 

Also kato's comments regarding the amount of money given are quite true. In my experience the less selective a shop is about what they will buy from you, the less money they will give you. 'We buy almost anything' usually means 'We pay almost nothing'.

[cteno4]

We have our free classifieds here on the forum which works pretty well. Only down side these days is international shipping rates are so high…

 

jeff

[kuro68000]

I emailed both of them to ask, I'll let you know if/when they respond. My Japanese isn't perfect but I find it's usually good enough.

 

The other option is to ask the hotel staff to call ahead and ask on your behalf. They usually seem to be helpful in matters like that, as well as making bookings as restaurants and the like.

[Kamome]

If you had a set that’s difficult to find or only had a single run, never to be repeated, you may get a “decent amount”, probably 30% of what the shop will probably try to sell it for. Anything else, you’d get a token amount. 

 

As this is the very old 7 car set, possibly the original release, the likelihood is you’ll be offered an insulting amount for it from most shops. I do like your optimism, but the reality is it will not provide you with any money for other trains and when you suggest a meal or two, it may be more likely a single beef bowl at Yoshinoya, if you’re lucky. You often see older sets on the used market once updated models have been announced. 

 

Sorry to say but the Kato 500 sets in their various guises are often 10 a penny in a lot of used shops and are very low prices in many cases. And you may find they dictate that you need to provide an address and proof of one in Japan to avoid any issues with the possibility of receiving stolen goods. The general mentality is only non-Japanese break the law. Current trend seems to be to blame any incident of theft on Vietnamese migrant workers. 

 

So generally not worth the hassle. 

 

 

[kuro68000]

I got an email back from Hobbyland Pochi. They said that foreigners can sell stuff with their passports, but they need an address and can't accept hotels, so in reality it's impossible for visitors.

 

Hard Off has the same issue. ID is not the issue, needing a non-hotel address in Japan is.

[ED75-775]

Thank you to everyone who's chimed in so far and given what has been very sound, sensible advice. I had thought to myself I might have been rather over-optimistic suggesting selling my set overseas, so it's good to have some confirmation on that. Special thanks to @mojo for putting in the time to ask HLP and confirm that too.

 

In any case, I've had an offer on the 500 so it's going to head off to its new home in the next week or so. That should free some more space up, with what I'm thinking about buying I will probably need it!

 

Alastair

[kuro68000]

I had an email back from Popondetta, they also said that non-residents cannot sell items to them.

 

They also mentioned that they don't do duty free sales. Well, at least the exchange rate is highly favourable at the moment.

Edited May 5 by mojo