hibachifinal wrote:hello. I think this is the right thread to ask this, but, what's a good price range for a Japanese Saturn (HST-3220)? I'm thinking of getting one, and naturally, I don't wanna be overpaying. Rakuten/YahooJapan shops has them ranging from as low as 600yen (considered as untested 'junk') up to hefty 15,000yen (fully mint in-storage sets). I'm just lost on what's a fair value is for 'good' condition working systems are.
thanks
With Yahoo and most Rakuten shops (including ALL the ones that deal in "junk"), they won't ship outside of Japan and won't communicate in anything other than in Japanese. There are middleman companies that will do this for a charge, which of course racks up the price pretty quickly. With shipping, it is expensive.
Expect to be shelling out at least $100 when it's all said and done for a Saturn, 2 controllers, memory card, hook-ups and some common games.
IN Japan (junk=untested and maybe discoloured to varying degrees):
-junk Saturn: 300-1000yen
-junk controllers: 300-1000yen
-junk memory card: 100-1000yen
-power cord: 100-500yen
-AV cord: 100-500yen
Total: 1000-4000yen (good freaking luck on 1000yen)
Cheap common games: 100-1000yen each (some online ships might have some for under 100yen, but those run out quickly!)
So, total for a junk Saturn set-up with 10 games: 2000-6000yen, give or take (the lower end would involve a LOT of searching in the countryside, unless you luck out. The higher end it in a major city, and that is NOT in a place like Akihabara). Add in the price for getting around (gas/train) to these places, and you can add in another 2000yen minimum plus hours of time.
So, realistically, an online seller on a forum is going to sell something like this set up for 7500-10000yen (US$100, give or take... probably a bit more). That's WHEN they come up. You can try to use sea shipping to save money if you want. It'll still be around $50 for shipping. So... US$150 total is not unrealistic. Once you get done with the middleman services to use something like Yahoo Japan, you're looking at a similar price. Be aware that those online shops at Yahoo or Rakuten will ONLY send EMS in most cases (unless you can deal with an individual seller though Yahoo), so you'd be looking at around $200 or more in total including shipping.
In other words, if you buy from someone on a forum for $100 for a full lot, or maybe $40-50 for just a tested and working system (because once a "junk" system is tested, it is not "junk" anymore), you are paying a very fair price I think. Expect to pay a bit more, to be honest.
Of course, you could always use a middleman and buy a 600yen junk system. They'll charge you 800-2000 for the service, and you'll pay another 5000yen or whatever for shipping for just the unit. That's like $70 for a Saturn that MIGHT work at your door.
Hopefully that clears up a few things for you.
My daughter is not quite two years old and she already knows how to throw a kamehameha.
major ones.
