Why the huge disparity in Amazon pricing?

23 comments

1. The listing on Amazon Japan is probably by an importer/scalper that is charging a huge markup. Find the official listing under the Japanese name/part number or just import from Amazon US.

   Amazon Japan is full of these sorts of bogus listings. You might try other retailers.

2. Anyone can list on Amazon at basically any price point they want. For objects that are not generally available in Japan, the importers/drop shippers charge insane mark-ups. Look at the estimated arrival date – chances are those speakers aren’t even in Japan yet. It just takes advantage of people who don’t know better.

3. I’ve notice that too. Even the same listing by the same seller seems exponentially marked up for some items.

   There was a necklace I wanted to get for a photo shoot, and the Japanese Amazon listing with shipping wanted to charge the equivalent of $170 USD, but to get it straight from Amazon US with shipping to Japan it was something like $40. I never figured out why.

4. Find a friend in the USA, have Amazon send it to their address, have them send it to you, throw them a $20 spotify card or something

5. Are you looking at this [Amazon.co.jp](https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B01N1M4I93) listing? It says 並行輸入品 in the product name so that means it’s going to be drop shipped / parallel imported by a middle man. If you really want it buy it from else where. There are plenty of suitable alternatives out there.

   Additional note. The computer speakers seems to be EOL in Japan. On their Japanese [website](https://www.klipsch.jp) they don’t have info on it. They also don’t have the updated “[Heritage](https://www.klipsch.com/products/promedia-heritage-2-1-multimedia-speaker-system)” model listed there either so even if you do buy it, I highly doubt you would get any tech support over here.

   TL:DR It’s no longer sold here. Get something else.

6. I don’t think that speaker you want is officially sold in retail here in Japan. Most place that sells them usually import them, and the price clearly reflects that. Try to find speakers that is actually officially sold here, you’ll find they’re competitively priced.

7. They are imports and probably on the rare side. So whatever shop that’s selling them through amazon is upselling a lot.

8. That listing is not from Amazon Japan, it’s by some random guy who created the listing on Amazon Japan. If you buy it from him, he will order it from Amazon.com and have it delivered to you. Classic retail arbitrage business.

9. Sometimes people just put crazy prices on things hoping someone will bite I think.

   In me and my friends’ group chat I challenged them to find a more absurdly priced item than me and so far nobody has.

   https://item.rakuten.co.jp/f432130-uki/135-1604/

   I also present the challenge to anyone here.

10. I have found that same thing to be true. I’ve ordered multiple items from the US over paying Amazon Japan prices. When I want something fast, I sometimes bay much more than what it would cost to have it shipped from the US, but certainly not four times.

11. Amazon is just a place to sell stuff. Lots of people try to sell stuff at lots of prices. And sometimes Amazon will automatically list things in other countries with crazy shipping and other markups.

    Also… I think people on this sub are way too into Amazon. I know a number of people who’s entire livelihood relies on online sales, and Amazon is nowhere near their top earning site. Lately Amazon has more and more cheap junk, etc.

    If you want to buy speakers just go outside and visit bic camera. Then if they break, you can take them back for a quick and easy refund – which I can almost promise you won’t get with goods resold from another country.

    Of course if you just need some exact thing that isn’t sold here, go for it – but then you’re probably better off ordering it directly from an overseas store anyway.

12. Just buy it from [Amazon.com](https://Amazon.com) and have it shipped to Japan. Sometimes even with the shipping and duty, it ends up being much cheaper.

13. and if you think you’re buying some funky tool on Amazon for cheap, check for the same item on Taobao, it’s likely made there and loads cheaper. recently i bought a pair of weird but very comfy shoes from a brand called Uin. didn’t realize it was a Chinese brand and about 1/3 the price of Amazon.

    i’m ready for all the downvotes for mentioning China not in a negative light.

14. I saw a listing for a dollar tree brand rubbing alcohol selling for ¥12,000 for a bottle 😭😭😭

15. Amazon Japan doesn’t ship items from the US, you were seeing a third-party reseller. Always check the right-side column to see who the seller and shipper are when you’re looking at a product on Amazon.

16. I actually bought the exact same speakers when I arrived in Japan last year. Costco Japan had it as an online-only item for ¥16,980. Seems to be currently out of stock [Here](https://www.costco.co.jp/c/Klipsch-Certified-Computer-Speaker-PROMEDIA-21-THX/p/35131)

17. I often buy things from Amazon america and just pay the exchange rate. It’s anywhere from half to 75% less than here.

18. Buy another brand.

    >**Klipsch Audio Technologies** [/ˈklɪpʃ/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) (also referred to as **Klipsch Speakers** or **Klipsch Group, Inc.**) is an American [loudspeaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker) company based in [Indianapolis, Indiana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis,_Indiana).

    That’s why.

    Ifc., whatever you buy is made in China, but if the corp/brand didn’t think of the Japanese market, it won’t be available here. And why would they think of the Japanese market, when the competition from Asian brands is so stiff?

    Edit: speaking of competition: [https://kakaku.com/pc/pc-speaker/itemlist.aspx?pdf_Spec101=3](https://kakaku.com/pc/pc-speaker/itemlist.aspx?pdf_Spec101=3)

    More edit: subwoofers are not very popular here, because you don’t want to annoy your neighbours. But who knows, maybe you own a house or something.

19. Doesn’t appear to be an officially sold product in Japan, so you’d have to import it. To import and sell it in Japan, because it has an internal power supply, that importer will need to test and certify it for the import and sale to be legal – real costs which for a niche product with low demand will massively push up the cost.

    So instead you have people posting it for a massive markup on Amazon and (illegally) importing and selling it in Japan. Good luck with that – you won’t get in trouble as the consumer, but you won’t have any warranty or support.

    A part of why some products in Japan have a higher cost is because of the requirements of consumer protections which require the company selling it in Japan to provide things like warranty and repairs, and for devices to be correctly certified and carry the correct regulatory markings – see Ubiquiti for a good example of this. Part of it is just the cost of shipping, importing and storing devices so they are available when demand is very low.

    Why not get something else?

20. Sometimes it’s the same store as the Amazon US listing, so I think it’s some kind of automatic pricing system that is wrong. I often see things being sold for either 10x or 100x their actual price. So maybe conversion error?

21. Are you just opened to buying that specific Klipsch audio system? Have you tried your luck at Hard Off by any chance?

22. Just go to [Kakaku.com](https://Kakaku.com) and see who sells it the cheapest.

23. Big thank you to all who commented. This has been a eye opening experience. I guess the word “naive” works well here. I kinda trusted Amazon, now, I do not. Lots of great advice, which I really appreciate. I had never heard of Kakaku.com , but I do now! I also hope that this has helped others who may be in the same position. Reddit wins again.