Buying via HiFi Do in Japan

Norliss

Active Member
Hi all,

Firstly - apologies if this thread isn't in the most suitable place.

Does anyone have any experience of buying anything from these people? If so, I'd be grateful for any shared knowledge/experience.

I realise most people here are based in USA (I'm in UK) but I'm sure most things will still apply (other than the kind of voltage converter we need!)
 
Bought my GT-2000 from them last year. Absolutely first rate packing and well documented and photographed equipment. They even have a warranty on some items now I believe.

I would not hesitate to recommend them.

jblnut
 
Bought my GT-2000 from them last year. Absolutely first rate packing and well documented and photographed equipment. They even have a warranty on some items now I believe.

I would not hesitate to recommend them.

jblnut

Wow, thanks for such a fast response! Did you have to ask them any questions and if so, were they helpful in responding to them?

Did you manage to negotiate on price at all?
 
I did not have any questions and I did not negotiate on price. If you watch HiFiDo enough, you will see that you need to act fast on certain items or you will lose out. I already knew it was going to cost a lot to ship the table back here and I know what they go for. They are responsive to email but there is the time factor to deal with which means losing a day to each back and forth usually.

I don't clam to be an expert on other cultures, but I think the classic phrase "low ballers will be politely ignored" applies here, very much. Get too aggressive on the haggle and you may find yourself no longer receiving emails.

If you want the art of the deal, get good at Yahoo Japan or Buyee. On the other hand if you want to pay a fair price for a gone over and tested item that will arrive looking exactly like the picture (and with a warranty standing behind it), look no further than HiFiDo.

jblnut
 
There have been quite a few people on the Yamaha forums who have made purchases from Hifido and all that I've read have been positive.
You can probably do a search and read over a few but they all seem to tell the same story of condition, packaging, customer service.
 
Many here at AK who have bought items from HiFiDo did so after I responded when they asked the same question that you have asked . As I fully expected, they not only had no problems, but they also have recommended HiFiDo to others. In the end, the numbers of people who recommend HiFiDo to others has very little to do with my particular recommendation, and everything to do with the high standard of service that HiFiDo offers.

I will give you an important tip:

When dealing with HiFiDo via email, always use an ISP-provided e-mail address. I tried buying items for a couple of years from HiFiDo using a free email address. I was continually unsuccessful in getting any response from them. I read somewhere that they don't reply to emails generated from free email addresses. So I used my ISP's webmail address and had success immediately. Since then they know me and will reply to emails from my free email address.

Everything that jblnut told you is accurate. Their packing for overseas shipment is especially noteworthy.
 
How much did you guys end up paying for shipping? They've quoted me $365 which seems like a lot of money!
 
How much did you guys end up paying for shipping? They've quoted me $365 which seems like a lot of money!
That sounds about on a par with what I paid for my 30 Kg turntable to be shipped from Japan to Australia. Wales is a lot further from Japan than Australia.

Why don't you simply tell us what component they quoted that shipping price for?
 
It's also a turntable, albeit half that weight. The shipping price has surprised me and has made it far more expensive than I originally envisaged. Here we have to pay tax (20%) on the total cost including shipping :(
 
It's also a turntable, albeit half that weight. The shipping price has surprised me and has made it far more expensive than I originally envisaged. Here we have to pay tax (20%) on the total cost including shipping :(
A turntable is a very fragile item. Even local shipping necessitates excellent packing. Shipping from Japan to Wales is literally halfway around the planet. It has to be packed securely or you are going to be paying $365 for a box of junk even if the turntable was pristine prior to packing and shipping. This necessitates a largish heavy box(es). What were you basing your expectations of shipping price upon?
 
Truth be told I was thinking it would be more like half that, although I was probably basing that on figures for other, less heavy/fragile items. I'll have to give it some consideration as the whole thing is working out to be a fair chunk more than originally anticipated. I suppose $365 wouldn't seem so bad if I was shipping something of a value of a GT2000 but given the turntable itself is only $300 more than the shipping cost, psychologically it seems salty!
 
Truth be told I was thinking it would be more like half that, although I was probably basing that on figures for other, less heavy/fragile items. I'll have to give it some consideration as the whole thing is working out to be a fair chunk more than originally anticipated. I suppose $365 wouldn't seem so bad if I was shipping something of a value of a GT2000 but given the turntable itself is only $300 more than the shipping cost, psychologically it seems salty!

The reason why I asked you what type of component it was you wanted shipped from Japan, was that if it was a headshell(for instance), the charge of $365 would be manifestly excessive given the weight of the item and how easy it is to pack securely for international shipping. The reason I mentioned a turntable as an example is due to the amount of, weight of and quality of packing necessary to securely ship a turntable halfway across the planet. Given that the quote wasn't for an item as light or as easily packed as a headshell. Given that the item was a turntable that you would desire to see arrive in one piece after a journey halfway around the planet: I'd say the quote for shipping the turntable was perfectly reasonable.

I do get your point about the cost being more in line with a more expensive turntable purchase, but you have to realise that shipping an expensive turntable securely and shipping a somewhat less expensive turntable securely for a trip halfway around the planet is essentially the same exercise. Sure as a proportion of the overall cost, that $365 charge for shipping an expensive turntable becomes a relatively smaller percentage of the overall cost, but as I explained in the last sentence you can't offer budget packaging for budget turntables and expect excellent outcomes. First and foremost HiFiDo has to get the turntable to you in one piece. They will do everything they can to expedite that outcome. That will cost you. That is fair.
 
Truth be told I was thinking it would be more like half that, although I was probably basing that on figures for other, less heavy/fragile items. I'll have to give it some consideration as the whole thing is working out to be a fair chunk more than originally anticipated. I suppose $365 wouldn't seem so bad if I was shipping something of a value of a GT2000 but given the turntable itself is only $300 more than the shipping cost, psychologically it seems salty!

If you look at it in terms of scale, you're a small importer, moving grey-market gear across the globe. If that table was $500 here, $100 of that would be covering the import fees. And it's a big item, it's volume makes it expensive, not the weight.

You didn't buy a $600 table and pay $300 to ship it. You imported a $900 table, now worth $1200 on the market imho.
 
I hear everything you say. I've just placed the order. Exciting but scary :eek:
Although disasters happen, on probability, it will arrive in one piece. Please post again on this thread that you started. Many people want to know how safe it is to deal with this Japanese group. Others will read what you have to say. I'm not asking you to praise HiFiDo. I'm only asking you to tell us the eventual outcome, thanks.
 
Well, by the time I get it here it will have cost me approximately $1250 but it sure as hell shouldn't lose any value?! It's a strange thing, because I wasn't really looking to buy one of these 24 hours ago!! I like to see it as a long-term investment :)

I've wanted a vintage turntable for a number of years and decided to keep my eye out for a Yamaha PF-1000/800, although they seem quite rare (I've yet to see one for sale in UK). So, I was on HiFi Do last night and spotted this Kenwood KP-1100. I did a bit of reading about it here, on Vintage Knob (and a couple of other places) and it seems extremely well regarded. It also doesn't offend the aesthetics committee as it's (piano) black like all my kit, which is somewhat unusual by vintage turntable standards.

It contains a mere Shure M44G cartridge which I'll probably have to live with for a little bit (given how it's become more expensive than envisaged), but I'll put a better one on there in the very near future.
 
By the accounts that I have seen over the years about the KP-1100, only the L-07D outranks it in the Kenwood line-up. The 1100 is not as excellent as the L-07D but it is still said to sound excellent.

Just out of interest: What is the system that you are planning to put the 1100 into?
 
By the accounts that I have seen over the years about the KP-1100, only the L-07D outranks it in the Kenwood line-up. The 1100 is not as excellent as the L-07D but it is still said to sound excellent.

Yeah, I think if it were a 'cooler' brand it might fetch higher prices!

Just out of interest: What is the system that you are planning to put the 1100 into?

Somewhat appropriately (numerically) a Yamaha A-S1100 integrated amplifier, with XTZ 99.25 speakers.
 
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