Japan to Discourage Sale of Old Electronics

[orange]

lets hope this law doesn't affect ebay:
link

[Orjan]

There is a "loophole", so to speak. If someone could check to see if all Amigas (and equipment) conforms to the standard set by the current law, then the trading of Amiga goods can continue unhampered.

[justthatgood]

Ooh, does this mean that I can grab me some good deals on logic analyzers and test equipment? I'm talking about the really expensive stuff that some of the greedy surplus electronics store people in the USA still charge and arm, leg and your first born for (that's if they even sell it at.)

Who knows, maybe I'll be able to be the greedy swag hoarding whores. Happy times in the land of Seaweed and Sushi.

 :hammer:

[Failure]

justthatgood wrote:
Ooh, does this mean that I can grab me some good deals on logic analyzers and test equipment?

Almost OT: in another hobby I partake in, strict laws in Japan about what can be brought over actually drove UP prices in the USA for the same stuff.  The product?  Vintage Volkswagens, specifically split-window buses (Type IIs).  From what I understand, vintage vehicles there must pass very strict inspections to be able to be driven on their highways.  Unlike Georgia here, where I just need a valid tag and insurance and if it can drag itself onto the road it's basically street legal.  

So as a result, a lot of the very nice Type IIs made their way across the Pacific (mostly from Cali), and this made the prices skyrocket.  For some desirable models prices could go well over 15k and even over 20k.  For a bus.  And they leave the rustbucket basket cases (now "RARE") behind.

I paid $500 for my '67 with no engine, three wheels that wouldn't turn and the wrong transaxle and I blame Japan ;-)

(It got better...after a solid year of work)

Soon you'll see eBay auctions for "certified A4000s" that will make today's prices look like gas prices in '97 :-)

[alexh]

exports are exempt from the new law.

Which means all old Amiga's in Japan will be coming here!

[Kronos]

Failure wrote:


Vintage Volkswagens, specifically split-window buses (Type IIs).  

T1 : Split window 2part-side door
T2 : 1 Window, sliding door but still round
T3 : Edgy version of T2
T4 : Water-cooled front-engine
T5 : The new really ugly ones  :-o

[countzero]

Failure wrote:

justthatgood wrote:
The product?  Vintage Volkswagens, specifically split-window buses (Type IIs).  From what I understand, vintage vehicles there must pass very strict inspections to be able to be driven on their highways.

Yes, there are very strict laws here for cars older than 10 years old, and everybody tries to get rid of their car before it reaches this limit. Older cars are more trouble than their worth. I know a guy here who bought an Volkswagen for about 400$ last year. I'm not sure how much exactly he paid to get it running on the road, but it was much more than what the car was worth.

I'm not sure if this law prohibits the sale of second hand electronic parts. If it does, I'ld be really pissed and I guess I'ld take the government to the court for breaching my freedom of ... commerce ? well, something ...

[Hyperspeed]

I'm sure I heard of attempts in Japan to ban second hand videogames in shops. How this would be possible over there I don't know - places like Akihabara are cities of gadgets unto themselves!

:-)

Pity DCE didn't have the same stringent quality controls as Japanese companies, a lot of Cyberstorm PPC boards didn't make it to the next decade!

[K7HTH]

Keep an eye on eBay folks. And don't bid like crazy because the miggys will flow enmass out of Nippon; maybe.

[Tomas]

Yes, there are very strict laws here for cars older than 10 years old, and everybody tries to get rid of their car before it reaches this limit.

Here it is the opposite for some odd reason.. Here you pay less roadtaxes once the car has reached the age of being called vintage or however you spell it. I think the car has to be around 25-30 years to be classified old enough for cheaper taxes.

[countzero]

K7HTH wrote:
Keep an eye on eBay folks. And don't bid like crazy because the miggys will flow enmass out of Nippon; maybe.

no way. Amiga never had a market share in japan. Most machines here are imports from US or some european amigas, and they're not plenty. When they go auction at yahoo auctions (auctions.yahoo.co.jp) they fetch unbelievable prices. I saw a rather clean Amiga 500 with a multisync monitor and ext drive go for $550. (that's even higher than a VW!) and a plain amiga 1200 go for $280. Japanese don't use amigas, they keep them for exhibition, like an item for a museum. So cleanness is more important than the specs most of the time. See this auction for a 4000 video toaster most probably imported from the US. It's currently at 580$, five hours left. I bet it will hit around 1000$ by the end.

edit : the auction ended at 800$.

[justinr12]

countzero, wouldn't that ban include the following: PC Engine, FamiCom, Super FamiCom, Master System/MarkIII, MegaDrive (Genesis to those of us in North America), MSX series (1/2/2+/Turbo-R), X68000 series, and the like?  Reason I ask is due to how huge the importing scene still is for classic systems and such.