It's a Me Jimmy!

Hi there. Hello, it's me Jimmy. Yes I am still alive. 

As the years have gone by I still feel terribly homesick for Tokyo. Even more so that a fellow teacher friend has applied for, and is getting back in the saddle for another stint of teaching in Japan after returning home for many years and missing Japan just like me. 

Anyhoo what I am writing about is that I want to share a post about buying from Japan using a proxy.

 

Where I can I try to buy directly myself. (Yes I did buy another guitar). You can check out the unboxing here. In that case I dealt directly with Ikebe Gakki and it arrived without fuss. 

In the past I have used Zenmarket with Yahoo Auctions to buy Fuji packfilm (that sadly all turned out dried out and a complete waste of money). 

You'll find that there are many of the same item pictures on eBay from different Japanese sellers. What these guys are doing is acting as a middle man and collecting a sizable chunk of yen off of something they don't even own! If I do a reverse image search I can usually find the original true seller. 

This time I was after a Super Mario Rubik's Cube from Mercari (It's kind of a Gumtree/Craigslist Japanese selling portal). Lately I have been incredibly addicted to Rubik's Cubes. It's just another addiction that takes my mind off my everyday mundane life. 

This time I went through an excellent Japanese proxy service called Teresa's Toy Store. 

Why did I choose to go this way? Well she just took a 20% commission. I didn't have to sign up to any website (which is great, very informative). I also don't lose another 10% robbery to the Australian government, and I get to pay with Wise, which is an awesome payment portal alternative to Paypal. 

If you haven't heard of Wise (formerly called TransferWise) you need to switch ASAP. From your local bank account you can practically shoot through funds instantly to an overseas account and the rates are MUCH MUCH better than Paypal, or your bank. 

Another benefit is Teresa let me have it shipped "Small Packets" registered airmail which although not tracked, requires a signed delivery. Roughly a third of the cost compared to EMS. I ordered 26th of June and my package arrived today the 9th of July which is fantastic. 

Communication with Teresa was faultless, and every step of the way was stress free. When I lived in Tokyo I only ever sold one of my guitars back to Australia. If I was smarter I should have started my own proxy buying business! Anyway, if you're reading this ありがとう Teresa! I will be keeping you in mind when I have something else to buy from Japan and yes, I have already solved the Mario cube :)