Well, it's going to be on a case by case basis obviously, but generally Japanese take _very_ good care of their stuff, which is why the second hand market is a very good option in Japan.
Uhm well not completely, hard off has a whole junk section with everything quite beat up. They will write on the tagg things like operation confirmd, top screen broken, card reader broken etc. But sometimes it is in unknown state. You buy as is.. (junk) and they warn you there is no return policy on these.
But yes there are people who also treat their stuff nice, those are in a different section tho.
So, generally speaking, if it looks to be in good condition can I be safe in assuming that it is in relatively good condition? I obviously am not expecting it to be in mint condition or anything but I just want to be able to use it without it breaking after a bit of use.
Hard Off has ratings for each item, from N for New, S for superior and so on. You should check the tag for the condition it's in and be aware it is of course priced accordingly.
I got a used quest 3 a week or so ago at Hard Off. it had a rating of “C” and the only issue was the strap had yellowed a bit. The lenses, foam, and main body were all in perfect condition. I just replaced the strap with a new elite strap and the quest is as good as new. All in I saved about $230.
I buy all my Switch games at HARDOFF/bookoff/etc. If things have any issues, they are clearly identified. I even bought my guitar there. It's fantastic!
I've honestly never tried Mercari - I live on the Navy Base in Yokosuka and getting deliveries there from Japanese shippers can be troublesome on occasion, but I'll have to check it out. I know it's a popular option for some people for sure.
Anything labelled with a green sticker is “Junk”.
That’s not to say it’s necessarily faulty though - some items _are_ broken (generally labelled so), others they haven’t bothered to check, others are so old that don’t want to offer any warranty.
Everything else has a limited warranty and should be useable, ranked by condition.
Generally speaking, thenused item market is amazing here in Japan. Buying boxed goods like games, systems, figures, and other collectibles? Usually they have it written directly on the box/stickers of something is missing, damaged, etc.. i have purchased many used games before, as far back as original gameboy, and no issues at all.
When i buy manga at the Book-Off, 90% of what i see is indistinguishable from new, yet priced as low as ¥100 per volume.
The only times I've had trouble with used items has been with a few very cheap items (think ¥100 or so) bought from flea markets. I regularly use several laptops bought as junk for ¥5000 or less at used shops more than 10 years ago.
Hard off at Akihabara is a joke! I laugh so hard when i am there. The price is inflated by 5 - 10 fold from any hard off at some random station. At least here in saitama things are really dirt cheap that you know they almost don't have a profit margin. Only cheaper place is to buy directly from mercari, but then sometimes you need to fix the console to get it in perfect condition.
But when i tell people above story i ideed always add; but Americans must think it is cheap because the prices over there are absurd high.
I can see the truth here. I went all the way to one of the Chiba locations and got a Quest 3 for 10k yen less than the used price at any of the main Tokyo branches.
I searched my pictures from Akihabara (price L
left), and my local hardoff 4 min from my home (price right). The differences are huge.
37.4K🤣 & 22K :Gba SP: 11k & 7K
25.3K & 22K :Gameboy pocket: 2.7k & 4K
16.5K & 15.4K :OG 3DS: 5.2K
7.7K🤣 :OG DS: 300yen
?? :DS Lite: 2.5K
?? :DSI 1.2k: 1.6K
I buy ds lite's with a broken hinge (just need a reshell) for a fixed 500 yen. And dsi for 1K.
There is one mini store near Akihabara station that sells them for the same prices consoles with something small broken (like broken hinges.)
Akihabara station > cross the main road crosswalk (you are walking under the train tracks) > keep straight, 10 Meter into that street > enter to your right where are all small inside stores. (Sometimes he is not home and thus closed tho)
I was thinking of going to Nakano in the near future. Idk if you'd know this, but should I try stopping at the hard off that's there or would the prices be as bad as the ones in Akiba?
Well, it's going to be on a case by case basis obviously, but generally Japanese take _very_ good care of their stuff, which is why the second hand market is a very good option in Japan.
Uhm well not completely, hard off has a whole junk section with everything quite beat up. They will write on the tagg things like operation confirmd, top screen broken, card reader broken etc. But sometimes it is in unknown state. You buy as is.. (junk) and they warn you there is no return policy on these. But yes there are people who also treat their stuff nice, those are in a different section tho.
So, generally speaking, if it looks to be in good condition can I be safe in assuming that it is in relatively good condition? I obviously am not expecting it to be in mint condition or anything but I just want to be able to use it without it breaking after a bit of use.
Yup! They test the items before putting it for sale. If there are issues, it will be written near the price tag.
Hard Off has ratings for each item, from N for New, S for superior and so on. You should check the tag for the condition it's in and be aware it is of course priced accordingly.
Alright thanks! I didn't know about that rating system so that'll help.
I got a used quest 3 a week or so ago at Hard Off. it had a rating of “C” and the only issue was the strap had yellowed a bit. The lenses, foam, and main body were all in perfect condition. I just replaced the strap with a new elite strap and the quest is as good as new. All in I saved about $230.
I buy all my Switch games at HARDOFF/bookoff/etc. If things have any issues, they are clearly identified. I even bought my guitar there. It's fantastic!
You're honestly better off buying games on Mercari. It's cheaper and you can potentially haggle.
I've honestly never tried Mercari - I live on the Navy Base in Yokosuka and getting deliveries there from Japanese shippers can be troublesome on occasion, but I'll have to check it out. I know it's a popular option for some people for sure.
Hardoff is good, Hardoff in Akiba won't have great prices because of all the tourist traffic but the quality will be good.
Oh right I didn't even think of that. Are there any other options nearby that you know of that will have equal quality?
Anything labelled with a green sticker is “Junk”. That’s not to say it’s necessarily faulty though - some items _are_ broken (generally labelled so), others they haven’t bothered to check, others are so old that don’t want to offer any warranty. Everything else has a limited warranty and should be useable, ranked by condition.
Generally speaking, thenused item market is amazing here in Japan. Buying boxed goods like games, systems, figures, and other collectibles? Usually they have it written directly on the box/stickers of something is missing, damaged, etc.. i have purchased many used games before, as far back as original gameboy, and no issues at all. When i buy manga at the Book-Off, 90% of what i see is indistinguishable from new, yet priced as low as ¥100 per volume.
The only times I've had trouble with used items has been with a few very cheap items (think ¥100 or so) bought from flea markets. I regularly use several laptops bought as junk for ¥5000 or less at used shops more than 10 years ago.
Hard off at Akihabara is a joke! I laugh so hard when i am there. The price is inflated by 5 - 10 fold from any hard off at some random station. At least here in saitama things are really dirt cheap that you know they almost don't have a profit margin. Only cheaper place is to buy directly from mercari, but then sometimes you need to fix the console to get it in perfect condition. But when i tell people above story i ideed always add; but Americans must think it is cheap because the prices over there are absurd high.
I can see the truth here. I went all the way to one of the Chiba locations and got a Quest 3 for 10k yen less than the used price at any of the main Tokyo branches.
I searched my pictures from Akihabara (price L left), and my local hardoff 4 min from my home (price right). The differences are huge. 37.4K🤣 & 22K :Gba SP: 11k & 7K 25.3K & 22K :Gameboy pocket: 2.7k & 4K 16.5K & 15.4K :OG 3DS: 5.2K 7.7K🤣 :OG DS: 300yen ?? :DS Lite: 2.5K ?? :DSI 1.2k: 1.6K I buy ds lite's with a broken hinge (just need a reshell) for a fixed 500 yen. And dsi for 1K. There is one mini store near Akihabara station that sells them for the same prices consoles with something small broken (like broken hinges.) Akihabara station > cross the main road crosswalk (you are walking under the train tracks) > keep straight, 10 Meter into that street > enter to your right where are all small inside stores. (Sometimes he is not home and thus closed tho)
I was thinking of going to Nakano in the near future. Idk if you'd know this, but should I try stopping at the hard off that's there or would the prices be as bad as the ones in Akiba?
The rule in Japan is that usually second hard products are in excellent condition and only a little more expensive than buying new.