Figured I'd split this out into it's own thread as the last post (https://premierrockforum.com/viewtopic. ... 86#p856386) was pretty long.

I tried a different proxy site that has pros and cons of it's own. I still bought a bunch of stuff through https://www.jauce.com/ which all went well, but in an unsuccessful effort to get around a block due to no seller feedback, I tried out https://zenmarket.jp/en/ which turned out to be pretty fruitful.

The main benefits of zenmarket over Jauce are:
-More Marketplaces, namely Murcari and Rakuten Rakuma, which are classifieds, not auctions.
-Flat 500yen processing fee
-coupon codes for some minor discounts.
-More payment options than just PayPal

And the one huge drawback:
-Search function is absolute garbage. Practically unusable.

For auctions, this isn't really an issue, as I just keep searching with Jauce and just paste the listing IDs into zenmarket to add them to the watchlist there.
For classifieds on the other hand, you can sometimes get lucky with the search, but the only way to really see what's out there is lots of scrolling.

I have yet to place a shipping order with Zenmarket, but that should happen soon as I'm pretty much tapped out for...(checks notes)...ever. Will report back on this.

There are other Japanese proxy sites I haven't really tried yet. The big one that seems to be promoting itself is BUYEE, which appears to also have access to the same marketplaces as Zenmarket, and has a mobile app, if you're into that sort of thing. Maybe someday I'll try this one out if I can ever afford to buy anything again.

Got some cool shit though. Mostly mics, but also a Roland Space Echo RE-150, and some dog-bone controllers to go with my olde top-loader NES.
Mics are numerous, 3 Aiwa ribbons and a pair of dm-68's, which are supposedly the Japanese version of the AKG D19, 5 yamaha MZ105be's, and an MZ104. a pair of Sony C-37Ps, another C-38B, A pair of C-355's, 3 C-357's, and some incidental stuff including a rode NT3, a pair of SM-58s and a couple cheapos.

They are definitely not all in perfect shape, functionally or cosmetically, but those that need some TLC should be revivable.
Will report back as stuff arrives and I get a chance to test and assess.

Another note. There are ebay sellers listing a lot of this stuff with pretty severe markups. Like $200 more than things go for on the Japanese sites. So if you see anything on ebay that says it's shipping from Japan, have a look at this option, and you can likely get it cheaper. Though, you absolutely have to factor in fees and shipping cost. Shipping from Japan ain't cheap, but if you buy a handful of things, the consolidated shipping can still be a better deal in the end.

A note for any Australians reading - due to an avoidable shipping issue I got absolutely *crucified* with fees and duties importing a couple of cheap basses thru ZenMarket. I can go into details if anyone needs to know. Absolute reaming, put me off this kind of thing permanently.

matttkkkk wrote: Wed Mar 12, 2025 4:01 pm A note for any Australians reading - due to an avoidable shipping issue I got absolutely *crucified* with fees and duties importing a couple of cheap basses thru ZenMarket. I can go into details if anyone needs to know. Absolute reaming, put me off this kind of thing permanently.

Oof, sorry to hear that. Was it a Japan-Australia thing? Or something about the Basses? I'm in the US and so far I haven't been hit with duties, at least not on my Jauce order. Will report back if it happens with zenmarket.

I got my third order from Japan yesterday. First from Zenmarket after the first two from Jauce. This one had 9 mics, and all but 1 are in working shape. Of course the bum mic is another Sony C38B. I'm hoping the capsule will work in the body of the other one I have with the thrashed diaphragm, but the membrane looks like the gold is all gone. We'll see. I think I prefer zenmarket to Jauce at this point, with the exception of the terrible search. I got an order from Jauce a few weeks ago I didn't go into in too much depth. Some cool stuff in there though. The Roland RE-150 space echo is fucking sick...and there's an RE-101 waiting to ship with my next bundle.

Here's a few pics from yesterday's bounty. These all work too.
.
Sony C-37P's, Aiwa DM-68A's, and Sony C-355's
. . .

thecr4ne wrote: Wed Mar 12, 2025 6:16 pm

matttkkkk wrote: Wed Mar 12, 2025 4:01 pm A note for any Australians reading - due to an avoidable shipping issue I got absolutely *crucified* with fees and duties importing a couple of cheap basses thru ZenMarket. I can go into details if anyone needs to know. Absolute reaming, put me off this kind of thing permanently.

Oof, sorry to hear that. Was it a Japan-Australia thing? Or something about the Basses? I'm in the US and so far I haven't been hit with duties, at least not on my Jauce order. Will report back if it happens with zenmarket.

Sorry to skip out there. It was an issue where I shipped two packages using EMS, each under $1000 worth, but because they came through on the same day the Australian Customs decided I was importing something worth over $1000 and required a full declaration and import bill, including inspection of both boxes. EMS don't offer this service so they handed off to a third party agent, and didn't explain the process to me at all so I kept calling Customs to ask how I could avoid these huge fees and getting the runaround (their own people don't seem to understand key aspects of the process). In the end the fee - on TOP of the shipping cost of $200ish - was $A 840.
When I contacted Zenmarket to say hey this is a major avoidable issue (don't ship on the same day!) they said they were actually aware of it and that it was mentioned on one of their shipping advice pages. But nobody thought to implement some kind of warning or advisory. In essence their response was "gee that sounds bad, better luck next time" which I found unacceptable from a service you pay to take care of shipping logistics.

matttkkkk wrote: Thu Apr 03, 2025 8:16 pm Sorry to skip out there. It was an issue where I shipped two packages using EMS, each under $1000 worth, but because they came through on the same day the Australian Customs decided I was importing something worth over $1000 and required a full declaration and import bill...

fuck, that sucks. So far I have not encountered this, but I'm in the US. I'm sure we have our own stupid rules (more by the day it seems) but I haven't hit that wall yet. So far, the shipping experience has been pretty smooth. All my deliveries from Jauce came via DHL, and Zenmarket was EMS, then handed over to the US Postal service. With Jauce you have to choose customs codes for each item when creating a shipment. Zenmarket does this for you. All of them have passed through customs pretty quick though. Shipping costs have been high, but I've been trying to make the most of it by fitting as many items into each shipment as possible. With mics this has been easy but larger things don't get bundled. I think shipping for the Space Echo was around $150 USD. The overall price was low enough to still make this a better deal than buying one locally. I haven't gotten to ordering instruments yet.

Anyone know if the tariffs are going to fuck this sort of operation? Wait and see?

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 8:36 pm Anyone know if the tariffs are going to fuck this sort of operation? Wait and see?

Not sure. wait and see at this point. I'll be ordering another shipment in the next week or so and will report back.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Mon Apr 07, 2025 8:36 pm Anyone know if the tariffs are going to fuck this sort of operation? Wait and see?

Looks like they do, (if they actually went into effect and at what rate seems hard to tell from all the flip-flopping.) Threshold is $800 USD value. Packages below that value aren't impacted.
https://zenmarket.jp/en/blog/post/15371

I've got another load of mics to ship, and will definitely exceed $800USD. I could try to split them into smaller parcels, but I'd probably end up paying the same or more in additional shipping costs. Will report back how it goes.