Buying from Tokyo

[jazzstick]

I'm wondering if anyone here has ordered from ishibashi music. It seems they are a big dealer in Tokyo. Has there been any problems with their basses?

They mentioned that there may be an import duty, is there one for the US? and how would that work?

lastly how long does it take to get an instrument from them?

Thanks for any and all help

Brett

[antipodean]

Hi Brett,

I bought my 4001V63 and my 660/12TP from Ishibashi. I strongly recommend them. Their service is excellent, and their integrity is second-to-none. However, please remember that English will be the second language of your contact there, so be sure to frame any questions simply and clearly in order to avoid any misunderstanding.

I'm not an expert on US duties but as you are "re-importing" a product of US origin my guess is they should not apply. There may be other costs like customs clearance fees to check on.

Shipping took a tad under 2 weeks to Oz. It may be faster to the US as there is more traffic on the US/Japan route.

[Colonel Sanders]

I'm wondering if anyone here has ordered from ishibashi music. It seems they are a big dealer in Tokyo. Has there been any problems with their basses?

They mentioned that there may be an import duty, is there one for the US? and how would that work?

lastly how long does it take to get an instrument from them?

Thanks for any and all help

Brett

You've seen them too...

The 96 v63 is very nice. It was hard to convince myself I did not need another one.

[johnhall]

Ishibashi is one of our best dealers, both in Tokyo and Shanghai. Absolutely reliable, great people. Their flagship store is a must-see if you're in Tokyo. All of the staff I've spoken with are fluent in English- can't speak for their export staff though.

They need to declare the goods as being of American origin but, yes, you still will pay some fees to the customs broker for handling the entry documents, just not any duty on top of that. This fee can be considerable and is not a consumer friendly process, although at least with a carrier like FedEx or UPS you know what it will be up front.

How long it takes is a function of how much you want to pay; you could have it overnight or it could take a week. I recently sent a parcel to Japan by Priority Mail and it took 3 days door to door.

[bobbolux]

yes - I've been watching those two V63's as well! I'm leary about the '98 though, it looks as if the body wings are separating at the neck heel!

as to their cred, a friend recently purchased a bass from them, and I believe it took about 5 days to hit his doorstep.
never really heard anything but glowing reviews of their service and reputation.