To beat down prices in Japan ??

[domino]

Hey all

 

Time for my trip to Tokyo is coming (oct 9) , and im planning to find some second hand train stores , so my question is, is it ok to beat down the price in Japan ??

 

Brian

[the_weird_one]

I'll leave it for a resident to confirm but I've always been under the impression that its not a done thing.

[miyakoji]

Do you mean to bargain?  That is, make an offer of a lower price than what the shop has put on the item?  That's a good question.

 

I think it happens when buying higher-priced items, like home appliances.  To be discreet about it, the buyer types a price into a calculator and shows that to the salesperson.  Presumably the salesperson types in a higher price and shows that to the customer.  Eventually they arrive at a mutually agreeable price.

 

I'm not sure if this is done on smaller, lower-priced items.  I think it would require pretty good Japanese language ability to do this effectively, and without offending anyone.

[domino]

Do you mean to bargain?  That is, make an offer of a lower price than what the shop has put on the item?  That's a good question.

 

I think it happens when buying higher-priced items, like home appliances.  To be discreet about it, the buyer types a price into a calculator and shows that to the salesperson.  Presumably the salesperson types in a higher price and shows that to the customer.  Eventually they arrive at a mutually agreeable price.

 

I'm not sure if this is done on smaller, lower-priced items.  I think it would require pretty good Japanese language ability to do this effectively, and without offending anyone.

Yes , to Bargain ??

 

Brian

[disturbman]

I would never ever try to do it.

 

First, because the language barrier is so strong, staff in hobby shops do not speak English. They will most likely not understand your request.

 

Second, because it is already difficult enough in Germany to haggle price down, people here some time do not seem to even get the concept of bargaining, the asked price is the price. I can't imagine Japanese and Japanese culture being much different.

 

Third, because second-hand sets are usually extremely well priced, to the exact value depending of conditions and availability, there is no real reason to get them for cheaper and, anyway, somebody will easily accept to pay the asked price for it, so there is for the salesman no incentive to make a good price for a random Gaijin he will never see again. Maybe if you buy a crazy amount of trains but... 

 

Fourth - and probably biggest hurdle - it probably will be almost impossible for you to do it without offending anyone. I would not even believe it is socially acceptable to bargain price down in these kind of situations.

Edited September 14, 2014 by disturbman

[railsquid]

Yeah, Japan isn't exactly one of those countries where they set a sky-high price and expect you to bargain it down to something sane. Price matching is more common, especially in big chain stores like Yodobashi, if you can prove the same product is available somewhere else for less, but they pretty much keep an eye on each other's prices anyway.

 

For second-hand stores, If I was a well-known customer (not that far gone yet...) and I was buying a whole lot of stuff then I'd certainly ask about a possible bulk discount. But otherwise, hard to imagine...

 

On the bright side, the Yen is weaking at the moment which provides an automatic general discount ;)

[Sean]

I have to agree with the above (and I have spent more than 10 years of my life in Japan) - bargaining is almost never done.

 

The only place I have ever attempted it is at a flea market, but at stores it is generally a no-no.  Most likely the salesperson would not understand what you were trying to do, or might get offended once they did understand.

[domino]

Thanks for all your input.

 

Dont want to  offend anybody, hence the thread, so NO bargain or beating down the price, got it.

 

Thanks

 

Brian

[lurkingknight]

I think it's generally seen as a dishonest practice... why ask for more when it really isn't the right price? It's like no tipping. To have to pay more than one expects is both insulting to the service staff and to the customer.

 

There are instances apparently when you can initiate negotiation but I doubt you could get it to happen without understanding the culture tells and the language that would mark a vendor as a negotiator. 

 

Also if you've never been, even if you don't speak the language, the level of service is such that even if they don't make the sale, you feel guilty that you couldn't buy from them. 

 

We had sales guys in various stores running around trying to track down a battery for a camera that was since discontinued when they sold it... whereas in north america it was a new model. I'm not exaggerating. They were RUNNING through the store in and out of the store room and checking terminals.

Edited September 15, 2014 by lurkingknight

[westfalen]

Japanese model trains are already cheaper than any others.  When I first visited Japan my first thoughts were that the prices must be a mistake and must surely be more than what was marked.

 

No if someone can tell me how to beat down prices of German trains when I go there next month. :confused2:

[keitaro]

hello

 

My experience in japan is it is done. but not in a known cheap and discounted store.

 

Example you would not go to a joshin already doing 20% off on a model train.

 

but there air conditioners for example are pretty recomended retail price.

 

And yes i always see people bargaining these things down.

 

it depends on the product really and the person. like any country.

 

I would not try your luck in a used shop they likely won` be able to budge unless it`s only to clear out some stock.

 

 

 

I got 11,000 yen off my tv and free install on my a/c and 5000 yen off. So it is possible.

 

 

Things i can say won`t get discounted

 

dvds, games, toys models small everyday house goods.

 

things i usually see people bargain down

 

tv, fridges, cameras, computers,

 

and yes i see japanese people say

 

takai several times and ask "price down" lol so don`T be afraid and they will understand price down hahahaha

[bikkuri bahn]

As keitaro says, the bargaining/haggling usually occurs in the electronics/home appliance markets, where there is keen competition between retailers.  Most people accept the use of loyalty point cards as de facto bargain pricing, as well as the low-price matching practice.  One large retailer, K's Denki, actually encourages bargaining as they don't use a point card system.  As for hobby goods, just shop around for the best price, nscale as westfalen mentioned is already very attractively priced (oh how I wish it was the same for HO!).