shopping in japan

Hi guys,



Finally book my tix to japan for a trip in may. And to make my trip worth the money, will get a GS over there. Anyone have any experience shopping in the mastershop?



I know Yodabashi and BIC camera will offer like 20% off and with visa+tax rebate another 10% so should be good. Plus the 7% gst if ship by ourselves. But wat about mastershop? The models that I'm interested seems to be mastershops only model.

If there is any kind souls out there, am going japan next year as well and interested to knw too !

"jackyeo90"

If there is any kind souls out there, am going japan next year as well and interested to knw too !

bro jacky, when are you going? Mine's in May.



I read some posts elsewhere that mastershops models arent allowed to have any sort of discounts......but i have my doubts. It's possible to get get better prices compared to the MSRP through unoffical sources. For normal pieces, can try look at BIC camera or Yodobashi(they have a nice catalogue online) but bargaining. You will get an extra 5% off for tax and another 5% off if you use Unionpay. Else can use the point card to gain 10% of value in terms of credits to use for next purchase.

I just came back from Japan, Tokyo this year May.



Yes, a good place to get your Grand Seiko will be Yodobashi. Their shop is like our Singapore "Bencoolen" shops where they sell watches at 10% or 20% off MSRP. Not too sure about GS prices though.



I stayed at Shinjuku and Yodobashi has practically everything, one shops sells Computers, one shop sells camera stuffs, one shop sells TVs, and one sells Watches.



Remember to bring your passport along as they will require it to deduct any tax before the final payment. Once the tax is deducted, a slip of paper will be given to you to show that the watch you bought has already been tax deducted. In fact, most places will practice this so bring your passport along whenever you shop to get tourist tax rebates.



Another shop you can try is BIC Camera. They do sell watches off MSRP as well. Both Yodobashi and BIC Camera has 99% similar prices. (I think both places have the same price for most of their watches) just that they have some difference in watch selections. Yodobashi has a larger selection of Grand Seikos.

"samloi"

[quote="jackyeo90"]If there is any kind souls out there, am going japan next year as well and interested to knw too !

bro jacky, when are you going? Mine's in May.



I read some posts elsewhere that mastershops models arent allowed to have any sort of discounts......but i have my doubts. It's possible to get get better prices compared to the MSRP through unoffical sources. For normal pieces, can try look at BIC camera or Yodobashi(they have a nice catalogue online) but bargaining. You will get an extra 5% off for tax and another 5% off if you use Unionpay. Else can use the point card to gain 10% of value in terms of credits to use for next purchase.[/quote]

Im going end feb, tokyo. Thanks for the info guys.!

"jackyeo90"

[quote="samloi"]


bro jacky, when are you going? Mine's in May.



I read some posts elsewhere that mastershops models arent allowed to have any sort of discounts......but i have my doubts. It's possible to get get better prices compared to the MSRP through unoffical sources. For normal pieces, can try look at BIC camera or Yodobashi(they have a nice catalogue online) but bargaining. You will get an extra 5% off for tax and another 5% off if you use Unionpay. Else can use the point card to gain 10% of value in terms of credits to use for next purchase.

Im going end feb, tokyo. Thanks for the info guys.![/quote]

cool! Do let us know your experience yeah?

Thats for sure ! ;)

If you're planning to head over to Tokyo, do check out this Guide from Seiya-San.



http://www.seiyajapan.com/blogs/news/9839282-seiya-recommended-watch-hunting-plan-in-tokyo" false;



Another 2 places that you might want to check out are Tokyuu Hands of Loft



Cheers & Happy shopping...

^ thanks! We're planning to go on 2015 and hope to catch a few vintage Seikos ;)

I saw quite an extensive selection of Seikos at Big Camera in Tokyo.

By the way, i'm new and looking to get a SBDX0011.

on a side note, is it cheaper getting seikos over there?

seems to me the only good thing about going there is for the domestic versions.

or does it satisfy the cheaper & domestic versions clause?

Well have not done it on my own but I can tell you one of my friends went there for a business trip and got a Sumo for below $500 and a Shogun for around $1000. So yes it is cheaper. Sorry don't quite get your second question.



But for me if ever I fo Japan, I 100% will hoot a GS. No question.. :D



Happy hunting.

"baitiansi"

on a side note, is it cheaper getting seikos over there?

seems to me the only good thing about going there is for the domestic versions.

or does it satisfy the cheaper & domestic versions clause?

Just came back today from Osaka company deployment. Went to YODOBASHI @ Osaka rail station and BIC Camera store somewhere near a busy shopping arcade(pardon me for unable to remember thee district name...), find that YODOBASHI have a much wider range compare to BIC which occupies a counter. Price wise, BIC Camera is much competitive than what what YODO offers on the same model. BIC price tag displayed is oredi a "tourist duty free" price. While the price tag of YODO's range are tax inclusive. Although you may get the tax refunded or discounted, pricing is still much little higher than BIC. Daimaru Osaka Rail station also have SEIKO, but the range and prices makes your head turns away...

Airport? Kansai Airport SEIKOs cannot compete with what YODO and BIC can offer on the same models. Forget about that...



Worth or not... depends on individual.

For example, one of the Presage dress piece with brown dial, RG bezel and dual tone bracelet, powered by 4R36, priced JPY29.9k @ BIC, JPY33k @ YODO(note that the current GST is 8%). Locally, ThongSia stock priced about $380~400, depend on where one gets...

Local Warranty vs International Warranty...(as claimed, but we know... T/C/$ applies...)

Niche configuration, Jap/Eng day wheel vs Roman/Eng day wheel...

Packaging, Japan's "classier" packaging vs local "ok" packaging...

with all above... the choice differs between individuals...

I guess if one goes to Japan, one should look for JDM models that are not readily available in Singapore. Just my thought. I would if I am there.

Just hooted MM300 from Yodobashi Umeda, Osaka. After discount, JPY165,565 nett. Quite a good deal !





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If you are looking for GS limited edition pieces especially the gold pieces, only high-end shopping malls like Mitsukoshi will carry them. For the gold pieces, I understand the allocation is only one piece per model per mall. I bought my 2 GS limited edition gold pieces from Mitsukoshi Ginza and Keio Mall in Shinjuku. Both no discounts.

I find that non-JDM seiko models in Japan are priced higher than in SG generally ... so no point. Should just look for the JDM models; easy to find in Yodobashi without even looking for the specialized shops (unless you are looking for the master versions)

I'll be going next month. Do yodo and Bicc sell GS?