Cheaper to buy kits from Japan

I had a check through some sites today and got prices for a few kits i'm going to get.
Here in NZ each kit is $59.95NZ each.
For me to get the same kit imported from Japan is only haly the price. I cant beleive the difference. So far its costing me just under $100.00NZ for 2 kits/18"rims tyres for my next project(EVO) and a muffler kit that Dan has used on his R34...also includes shipping costs.
This is the order so far i'm getting.
Well post up later as to what else im getting once there site is back up.

this is the other

these wheels so far

Wow! I hadn't seen the Castrol Altezza yet. Looks cool. I never got around to ordering the regular Altezza from HLJ because I found an R32 locally.

I'm also not that into buying aftermarket wheels yet. I just like the stock wheels more often than not... :D

I think in most cases, it's cheaper for me to buy from Japan if I'm getting two kits or more. The combined shipping is what helps. That, and it makes me sick when I go to the store and see how much they're marked up. :mad:

I know they have a mark up...but i just could not beleive it was that much.
Makes you wonder its not done more often.

My Catrol Mugen NSX is a great example of how it can be much cheaper to buy from Japan. I bought mine when HLJ had it on sale for 1400 yen. (~$14) After shipping, it came out to about $19. The very same kit was at one store for $20, and another for $28. :rolleyes:

But usually I buy the kits from Japan that no one carries. Either older Tamiyas or Fujimis that get overlooked.

I will be buying most of my kits from them now on.

Hold On! That Castrol Altezza was a bad kit. The front spoiler was wrong and the interior was the street machine one... It should be a Gr. N+ racing interior!
And some minor problems too >:(

Originally posted by LauBak
Hold On! That Castrol Altezza was a bad kit. The front spoiler was wrong and the interior was the street machine one... It should be a Gr. N+ racing interior!
And some minor problems too >:(

Yeah, you have to do your research on Fujumi kits!
I was interested in a Megane Rally car they do in British rally colours, until I found it was only the body that was rally car, it had a full road interior!:confused:
But sometimes you gotta take the risk!
Buying my Extreme was a risk, I didn't know if the wheels were going to be any good!
It worked out Ok in the end!
If you are used to Tamiya kits anything else can be a bit of a shock!
But anyone with a decent spares box can make something of a good body and a set of decals!
I still say go for it!

Originally posted by LauBak
Hold On! That Castrol Altezza was a bad kit. The front spoiler was wrong and the interior was the street machine one... It should be a Gr. N+ racing interior!
And some minor problems too >:(

just like how the FUJIMI Mugen Integra Type-R kit? where the bumper literally fits over top the exsisting bumper (so the finished product will have some super long frontend) :rolleyes:

which means more body parts from scratch

I can see i'm going to have to look into this a bit more now. Thanks for the info men.

On the original topic:
from HLJ Service Overview: (http://www.hlj.com/hlj_overview.html)
Q: Just how low are HLJ's prices?

A: It depends on the item, but HLJ's prices are generally 20-50% lower than in North America or Europe when converted into the local currency. These are not special discount prices, but simply the Japanese retail price. Even with the higher shipping costs from Japan, most products are still quite a bit lower than when acquired outside of Japan. Just dug it up, and wanted to post it for reference. :)

Hell yea its cheaper to buy from japan. Here in Dallas they try to rip you off so bad, like a Fujimi Integra Type-R is like 20-25 dollars here but in japan its like 10-11 bucks.

are you patient, or do you like instant gratification?

do you have a nice local hobby shop to support, or are there only the chains (hobbytown)?

for me, i have a great independent shop that i support through buying supplies, but they really don't get too many new kits in. they do accept orders, but only what their distributor can get.

an hour's drive gets me some great kits at another independent shop.

everything else, i need to order or bid on ebay.

do try to support those good shops though, they're a dying breed (perhaps because of all those markups?)

Warren - Have you seen those wheels in person? They are very sturdy wheels, but if I remember right there not that big. I think I still have some pics of mine. I don't have them up here at college with me to get better pics.

Hell yea its cheaper to buy from japan. Here in Dallas they try to rip you off so bad, like a Fujimi Integra Type-R is like 20-25 dollars here but in japan its like 10-11 bucks.

Well consider the cost of shipping to Dallas. Ive done it and I can tell you that after shipping charges and the hasale of waiting for it to be shipped, it's about the same price as the 20-25 $$ kit at your local hobby store.
The only thing I dont care for is when the local shop here charges more than 30 bucks for the same kit. AGH! I know what they paid for this kit, 25 dollars is a fair price to pay but 30+ is just down right wrong...

Scott

Warren - Have you seen those wheels in person? They are very sturdy wheels, but if I remember right there not that big. I think I still have some pics of mine. I don't have them up here at college with me to get better pics.
Considing he posted that 2 years ago i'm sure he has seen them and used them by now :confused: