Buying a GBBR from japan.

[shatis]

So i have came to the conclusion that i want a GBBR. But its very expesive to buy it from the UK. So im considering buying directly from Tokyo Marui in japan. The GBBR im looking to buy is either the TM MP7 gbbr  or The TM mk18 gbbr I have a Ukara so i dont think it should be a issue shipping from there. I know there is a 20% VAT. The only issue i have is custom charges. Does anyone have any experience of buying from them or importing airsoft rifs from outside of the uk. Hows the customs charge and is there any issues with it. 

[JinxDuh]

Not bought from TM direct but imported a bunch of GBBR’s from KyAirsoft and WGCShop.

 

Rarely get hit with customs fees, however in the past when I have had customs fees it tends to be sitting around for roughly a week and then I get sent the cost to pay. I always ask the sellers to write “UKARA: “ with my ukara number visibly on the box and make sure to get it sent to the same address linked to my ukara.
 

Never had an issues other than the customs fee and holding, and must have had at least 15 replicas posted. Ironically I’ve had customs fees on more part orders (As in, a bunch of pew parts like handguards etc) than the actual replicas. 

[shatis]

2 minutes ago, JinxDuh said:

k the sellers

do you know how much roughly the fees are on average. 

[BigStew]

20% import tax (total value of gun including shipping cost) plus handlers fees between £13 to £20.00. You are going to save next to nothing importing an give up any warranty. Also when you say buy from Tokyo Marui what web site are you going to? Airsoft Gun Tops | Tokyo Marui Airsoft Gun Information Site (tokyo-marui.co.jp) this is TMs only official site they don't have it sales.

[shatis]

hey big stew i was looking at their main site https://www.tokyomaruiairsoft.com/

 

[JinxDuh]

50 minutes ago, BigStew said:

fees between £13 to £20.00

I’ve had handling feee excess this, for an order valued at £150 (roughly. It was a while ago), I believe it was £24 something. I know it’s only a small amount more but for the sake of being pedantic 😂

50 minutes ago, BigStew said:

Edited August 13 by JinxDuh

[Cannonfodder]

1 hour ago, shatis said:

hey big stew i was looking at their main site https://www.tokyomaruiairsoft.com/

 

Are you sure that's really their site? It's very different to their official site Bigstew posted and tbh I'd expect TM to have a site that looks like it was made later than 1998.

 

Have you considered to postage cost? This often brings the total cost up to similar to UK prices

[shatis]

8 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

Are you sure that's really their site? It's very different to their official site Bigstew posted and tbh I'd expect TM to have a site that looks like it was made later than 1998.

 

Have you considered to postage cost? This often brings the total cost up to similar to UK prices

I dont know but the site looks legit. like the url and stuff looks fine to me. it comes up 3rd when i search for tm on google. As for the postage cost they include everything in the price so for example a mk18 gbbr is showing to be around 420 pounds with postage

[JinxDuh]

Tokyo Marui only have (To my knowledge) one site.

https://www.tokyo-marui.co.jp

 

For a prolific company known to be out of Japan, I'd be sceptical of a website operating out of "Martigny, Switzerland"

[Dan Robinson]

33 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

I'd expect TM to have a site that looks like it was made later than 1998.

 

Don't overestimate how shyte Japanese websites can be.

 

Here is a link to massive store that sells everything from booze to washing machines, toys, electronics.

 

https://www.biccamera.co.jp/shopguide/report/leaflet/index.html?ref=shop-foot

 

I can't tell you how painful it was last year trying to set up a web domain and email system for my father in-law.

 

That being said, I am surprised there isn't a way of contacting them on LINE (a japanese version of WhatsApp).

Edited August 13 by Dan Robinson

[BigStew]

2 hours ago, shatis said:

hey big stew i was looking at their main site https://www.tokyomaruiairsoft.com/

 

No idea if that site is a legit seller but they are nothing to do with Tokyo Marui. They famously have nothing to do with anything outside Japan.  

[Tommikka]

Importing is such fun

 

Cost wise take into account the full purchase cost plus postage, and allow for variable currency exchange rates depending on whether or not they charge an international £ price or your bank/card issuer converts - and the timing that they use to charge the conversion 

Those are the easy bits

 

If you are very lucky the overseas retailer will be registered for UK VAT to cover UK sales over £135 and they annotate declarations appropriately - therefore customs treat it as if you bought in the UK

 

But this costs them money and probably isn’t worth the effort.

So add on 20%, but not necessarily to the declared sale + postage total converted at ‘todays’ rates on arrival.  Packages may get reassessed to a UK equivalent price and VAT charged on that

 

You shouldn’t get actual customs charges - but check the gov.uk website for the latest on item categories 

 

As the border handling carrier will be dealing with the assessment they will add their carrier handling fee.  This could be a fixed price across a range of amounts depending on carrier, or it could be a percentage charge against the assessed value 

 

Add all those together, plus time and worry whilst watching tracking status and you will most likely be in the ballpark of a UK retail price (or more)

 

………

 

If what you want is not listed in the UK then start by calling some retailers and they may import on your behalf via their suppliers, commercial importing also comes at a cost but handled at a greater scale and they would be paying trade prices.

A special import on your behalf may cost more than an equivalent UK retail item, but it comes with more peace of mind plus their risk. This also supports UK retail and gives you a point of contact for any issues

 

…….

If you’re looking to save on UK retail then you often don’t really save anything or a much smaller amount saved than expected 

 

 

……..

 

Sometimes though it’s a matter of getting that special thing that isn’t available in the UK, or to be first to get it - but sometimes trying to be first ends up being last when it’s sat in a depot awaiting document clearance

 

(Last year I spent $295 plus almost £60 in charges(£45.73 import VAT, £12 handling) with 3 weeks in transit / handling …. And picked it up at the depot on the way to the event I wanted to use it at, only just beating it being released for delivery.) *

 I used it twice last year and will be using it twice this year - £300 plus some worry so that I could ‘be that guy’ with the unique niche product 

 

There is also another elephant in the room - will it arrive to UK spec, and will

it get identified as over powered at customs ?

 

 

* little correction that I just remembered.  I didn’t ‘beat’ the release for delivery, I was watching the tracking status wondering if it would clear in time for onward delivery - which it didn’t, and was in fairly regular contact with the help desk including clarifying if it would stay in situ once the final charge was calculated or get forwarded to my local sorting office.  It was cleared on the evening before / morning of the day that I was leaving and a minor diversion on my route so I managed to pay and collect in person at Basingstoke on my way from Salisbury to London

 

 

Edited August 13 by Tommikka

[Colin Allen]

46 minutes ago, shatis said:

I dont know but the site looks legit. like the url and stuff looks fine to me. it comes up 3rd when i search for tm on google. As for the postage cost they include everything in the price so for example a mk18 gbbr is showing to be around 420 pounds with postage

I am pretty certain that is not a TM website; a lot of the information on there does not match that on the TM website or their company details.

 

[Dan Robinson]

21 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

allow for variable currency exchange rates

 

 

Annoyingly (especially for me as it is school fee's season) the pound has just tanked against the yen. 

[Tommikka]

1 hour ago, Dan Robinson said:

 

 

Annoyingly (especially for me as it is school fee's season) the pound has just tanked against the yen. 

Joy

[Cannonfodder]

3 hours ago, shatis said:

I dont know but the site looks legit. like the url and stuff looks fine to me. it comes up 3rd when i search for tm on google. As for the postage cost they include everything in the price so for example a mk18 gbbr is showing to be around 420 pounds with postage

Sorry but a TM glock 17 posted from the far east to the UK for £89 posted? There's no way that's legitimate. Also, as posted earlier, the company details don't match up to those of TM (who are famous for not giving 2 shits about the market outside of Japan). Checking the shop's details against Google maps shows that the address listed is a block of flats and the location marked on the map is a fashion store

[shatis]

6 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

Sorry but a TM glock 17 posted from the far east to the UK for £89 posted? There's no way that's legitimate. Also, as posted earlier, the company details don't match up to those of TM (who are famous for not giving 2 shits about the market outside of Japan). Checking the shop's details against Google maps shows that the address listed is a block of flats and the location marked on the map is a fashion store

thank you brother. I cant lie it sounded too good to be true. i guess i got a save up to buy it from the uk now ahahahah

[Cannonfodder]

No worries, it's better than getting ripped off. It might just be old age and cynicism but I tend to think if something looks too good to be true it usually is

Edited August 13 by Cannonfodder

[JinxDuh]

Very shady site to say the least. Located in Switzerland, claiming to be TM, having a registered virtual address for Japan, Website was made not that long ago, dirt cheap. Reviews on the site seem rather suspect too. 

 

[hitmanNo2]

It's A 100% not TM. TM only deal with customers and distributors in Japan.

Edited August 14 by hitmanNo2

[rj1986]

You can buy from TM directly, but only in person - and i think they might have stopped doing that.

 

Impulse101 is a well known JP based shop that is used to dealing with overseas customers.

[GiantKiwi]

On 13/08/2024 at 21:06, JinxDuh said:

Very shady site to say the least. Located in Switzerland, claiming to be TM, having a registered virtual address for Japan, Website was made not that long ago, dirt cheap. Reviews on the site seem rather suspect too. 

 

 

Eww a wix site - if anything needed to be an indication of a dodgy retailer, its that.

Edited August 16 by GiantKiwi

[Herrgh]

On 13/08/2024 at 18:10, Dan Robinson said:

Annoyingly (especially for me as it is school fee's season) the pound has just tanked against the yen. 

 

It's going back up, 191 this morning. Hopefully it'll stabilise a little bit around that rate. As long as the BOJ don't do anything crazy like raise interest rates 0.01% we should be good!

[rj1986]

33 minutes ago, Herrgh said:

 

It's going back up, 191 this morning. Hopefully it'll stabilise a little bit around that rate. As long as the BOJ don't do anything crazy like raise interest rates 0.01% we should be good!

Despite not going back to japan for the next few years at least - i did do a cheeky order for £750 worth of yen when it was around 205.

[Dan Robinson]

Yep - it seems to have a spike each morning...  I sent WMBO a load of stirling, but of course it was my fault hte exchange rate went down and she "couldn't use it". LOL

 

We use Wise bank so can set the rate to convert money automatically - I wonder how ambitious she has got?

 

With all the worry about the megaquake I am assuming things will not be changed at their end for a while so hopefully the pound will continue to recover.