Japan import games store

[Darwock]

The ridiculous strength of the yen surely makes it pretty much impossible to turn a profit - last year a member here asked me to pick up Bayonetta for him but when I checked the yen prices, it would have cost more than for him to get it from one of the well known internet retailers.

[J0e Musashi]

So does that mean we all should just work for someone and forget about starting a new business?

Of course not, but as people have already said importing is pretty much dead. It's certainly a relic. The number of "hardcore" importers who use this site can be counted on one hand.

If you operated purely as a gathering service you may have some success, but you're essentially entering a dead or at the very least a dying market. It's comparable to starting a business making CRT TV's IMO. Sure there are a handful of people who'd be interested, but it's not something that is ever going to last. Steve666b who I mentioned before must be sitting on so much stock, that he has little chance of ever selling. VGI too, they've got PS2 games that I don't think they'll ever sell without making a loss.

I'm not sure I'd use your service personally. I can buy at JPN retail prices, plus postage to the UK. The only thing I have to worry about is getting caught out by Customs, which 9 time out of 10 I get away with. You'll be wanting to make a profit, so you could not offer me the same service for the same price. There will be people who want the odd game/item now and again, but you surely don't think you're going to be rushed off of your feet out on missions to gather up items for people everyday? There isn't that much demand for the items you are selling.

Maybe open it up more and offer other Japanese goods, not limiting yourself to only video games could prove more successful.

[Scorpio]

I would love for this to become a success and be the 21st Century Version of Shekhana Consoles

"Go for it!"

[Decider-VT]

The number of "hardcore" importers who use this site can be counted on one hand.

Really?

[J0e Musashi]

Really?

Well go on then, don't hold back now. Other than myself and importaku, tell me who else doesn't own a single domestic game.

[Decider-VT]

I'm not going to have a go, I'm just interested in how you arrived at that conclusion. While a lot of people here have switched to buying PAL games for 360/PS3 due to there no longer being a huge difference between most regional versions, a high number of people here still import or trade imported items.

[J0e Musashi]

But that wouldn't make them "hardcore" importers would it?

[Decider-VT]

Well, you've clarified your definition of "hardcore" since you edited your initial reply.

[J0e Musashi]

What else could "hardcore" possibly mean though?

[Decider-VT]

I would've taken it to mean somebody who predominantly imports games fairly regularly as opposed to buying domestic releases but I suppose that the term is ultimately subjective.

[Johnny]

If you can get them in, sell loads of Japanese/Asian preowned games. Most of them are in great nick and it is a cheaper way to get stuff. PA are decent enough, but it's frustrating that new import game sprices never seem to drop, even years after release!
I'm sure we've all seen the pics on Japanese blogs where shops over there discount games heavily after a few weeks/months like with most of the UK online stores, which makes it ridiculous that some of the more sought-after (not rare/OOP) Japanese games still go for ?40-?50 when they're a couple of years old.

[J0e Musashi]

Fair enough. But, still the popularity of importing has dropped significantly since the last generation, which I why I thought that Nakano should be careful with his business idea.

[Johnny]

What else could "hardcore" possibly mean though?

You don't have to have a 100% Japanese collection to be 'hardcore'. I have imported all of the current consoles and handhelds, pay over the odds to import a lot of Japanese stuff when they come out but am sensible enough to buy a UK or US version of a game if it comes out first or is cheaper.

To give some recent examples, I bought Tales of Graces for the Wii when it came out in Japan as there is no Western release in sight. However, am I going to buy Peace Walker from Japan, knowing that it comes out over here a few weeks later for a lot cheaper? No, and to me that's just sense. FWIW I still consider myself to be a very hardcore importer.

[Johnny]

Fair enough. But, still the popularity of importing has dropped significantly since the last generation, which I why I thought that Nakano should be careful with his business idea.

Well look at the consoles this gen and last gen. Last gen the PS2 and Gamecube were easily soft-modded and you didn't need to buy a new console to play imports. This gen, the PS3 is region free but doesn't have many Japan-only games, the Wii can be soft-modded but there's not a huge amount of Japan only games that are worth playing, the 360 is locked down so importing a console with a large failure rate is too risky/expensive for some.

[J0e Musashi]

I do not, you're just an importer IMO. Mid-range if you will.