Looks like there is a lot of confusion surrounding K3 pricing in Japan. :-)
We've worked with EDC in Japan for 10 years. They are a very small company, owned by JA8CCL, that is honorable and that gives support above and beyond what is normally required to their customers. That includes fixing improperly customer built K1s, KX1s, K2s and K3s under their 'warranty' at no charge. They are a high value added distributor who does not forget the customer once the sale is made. I agree that the prices can look high when just comparing the raw EDC JA price to our web price. What many do not realize is that EDC bears a lot of import and transport expense that would normally be borne by the customer if they buy a product direct. The K3 prices listed by EDC also include the following ALL of the following import and support costs that do not appear on our price list here: 1. The local JA consumption tax. (VAT) In the US this is added to the invoice at time of sale. In JA, EDC shows it already included on their K3 price list. 2. Import duty entering JA. (The above two items are computed based on the total cost of the product on the shipper invoice, including all shipping and handling costs. ) - EDC can't fly 'under the radar' as many individuals try to do. Like us, they are carefully watched by the import officials and have to be squeaky clean - paying all taxes, duties etc. 3. Import shipping to JA from CA. (not cheap!) 4. Cost of handling all the customs paperwork, fee payment etc. Especially when importing larger value and size shipments, Japan can be one of the more time consuming bureaucracies to deal with. 5. Cost of the variation in the Yen - Dollar exchange rate. This is significant. The exchange rate has varied between 110 and 90 yen to the dollar over the past 18 months, 22%, and even more so over the past 2-1/2 years. I know of specific periods over the past ten years where EDC has actually lost money importing our products due to shifts in the exchange rate. 6. Cost of funds to carry inventory. EDC orders many of our products well ahead of time and stocks them at their cost, tying up funds that could be used elsewhere. 7. Cost to pay for their offices, test equipment and employees. EDC also carries all of the cost of advertising in the JA local market. Ads in JA CQ are way more expensive than QST. They also translate all of our manuals into Japanese. Not an easy undertaking. On top of these costs they also need to make a small profit. It isn't much, based on what I've observed. (He makes most of his revenue from designing custom medical equipment and custom hard disk drive manufacturing test equipment.) To be honest, JA8CCL does this out of his love for the hobby, and out of a personal friendship with me going back 20 years. Once he sells a product to a customer, he supports them for life. Period. He has a large following of loyal customers, many who have emailed us directly to compliment EDC on their support. That said, we're also always working with them to try to get the JA EDC price lower. Its a challenge, but we'll keep working on it. There is not a lot of margin to play with in the ham radio market. While others have pointed out that its difficult, if not impossible, to buy most JA manufactured top end radios directly from Japan, please let's not let this thread degenerate into a pro-con of one manufacturer or government against another. Rather than tie up the reflector with an extended conversation on this, please feel free to email me directly with any comments and suggestions you might have. 73, Eric WA6HHQ ---- >> Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 13:09:32 -0800 >> To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> From: fumi...@okushi.com >> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Disgrunteled Japanese >> >> I would personally prefer to buy from a local distributor, for the exact >> reason you mention. >> So I'm willing to pay a little extra for that convenience. >> The question is how much will I (or more generally, one) be willing to pay >> for the additional convenience. >> >> With regards to ham radio equipment, bands could be different from one >> country to another (and certainly the case between US and JA), so there's >> another reason you might want to deal locally. >> >> Regards, >> Fumi Okushi/KB2KVV >> >> From: Duncan Carter <d...@vibrotek.com> >> Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Disgrunteled Japanese >> Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2010 13:51:19 -0700 >> >> >>> Another consideration is the degree of risk in acting as your own >>> import/export agent. Almost all vendors sell on terms where the buyer >>> is the owner of the equipment once it leave the seller's facility. If >>> there's a problem during transit, it becomes the buyer's problem. >>> Insurance can help but it's not a cure-all; avoidance of claims payment >>> is a common practice. In many countries, getting equipment through >>> customs can be a real "adventure". Most countries are also familiar >>> with the many ruses for avoiding import duties; most have a high degree >>> of regulation of payment for just this reason. Attempting to avoid such >>> duties can produce a high risk of having the equipment confiscated. >>> >>> Dunc, W5DC >>> > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
