buying used Gibson pickups from Japan, what do I need to know?

[hieronymous]

Would it be worth going through someone to get it? There's an interesting guy who buys up a lot of the old Japanese basses (mostly late-'70s/early-'80s?) that are clearly modeled on the Fender classics - he also gets the current boutique kind of stuff like Moon, Dragonfly etc. Here's the reverb store: https://reverb.com/au/shop/bass-japan-direct

Disclaimer: I've never ordered anything from him, just follow him on Instagram because I lived in Japan in the '80s and a lot of the stuff he finds is from that time.

[gtrguy]

They say they only ship using 'EMS'. Can that service send them to my USPS PO Box?

[gtrguy]

Well, I just trying charging these to my credit card yesterday and a 3rd party credit card company affiliated with my credit union jumped in and 'declined' the purchase on my behalf, as they thought it seemed suspicious. I had placed 2 calls to my credit union before attempting to buy these and asked what I needed to know, and they never mentioned this might happen. What with the time zones between here and Japan, communication is a pain to let them know what is going on.  I'll try again.

This whole thing is surprisingly hard to do.

[growlypants]

My crazy credit card company requires that you notify them, prior to any out-of-state purchases, or they decline them.

[mica]

EMS is Express Mail Service, so if you get mail there, you should get this parcel just fine.

[gtrguy]

I just bought the pickups from Japan and learned a lot doing it. I contacted both my credit card companies in advance to let them know I was purchasing something from Tokyo. The first one 'declined' the sale anyway, when I tried to make the purchase. Then they started issuing fraud alerts to me with case numbers. I answered both the text and the call they made, telling them I had made (or tried to make) the purchase, but they then would not let me use that card until I cleared it up with my credit card company AND the 3rd party company that my credit card company uses for its credit cards.


Then I tried my big credit card company. I also called them first and the helpful service person told me he would stay on the phone with me while I filled out the purchase info online. This one started to go through, but then stalled as the online Tokyo store site bounced over to my big credit card companies site, and they asked to send me an email to verify I was actually buying the items. However, they had my wrong email address. Luckily the service person on the phone was able to update that before the sale was declined.     


Finally I was able to purchase the items. I still got a call within 2 minutes from the credit card folks asking If it really was me trying to buy this.


What I learned:
Make sure your contact info for your credit cards is up to date.
It may be helpful to call your credit card company first before buying overseas. However, my 1st card company was not knowledgable enough to know the problems involved.
Stay near your phone and email while making the purchase, you may likely get a call/email with a fraud alert, which you need to respond to quickly.
Many companies issuing credit cards are actually 3rd party, and your credit card may be run by another company you have never even heard of, which means the service people for the company named on your card may be no help.
If a sale is declined, your credit card may no longer work, which can play havoc with any automatic bill pay you have set up.


Shipping was with EMS, which is tied into the US Post Office.
Customs and duties may apply

[pauldo]

David, appreciate you sharing your experience/ tips.

[elwoodblue]

Helluva learning curve...congrats on getting there 
(and thanks for the tips)

[gtrguy]

Well, the pickups are here! The actual shipping, including clearance through customs, only took 48 hours, which amazes me.
No extra fees or anything.

[hieronymous]

Wow - they still have the plastic on them?!! How old are they?


Oh, and congrats on the deal!

[growlypants]

Indeed!  Congrats on the deal!  (And, as I'm sure you know...most folks would have gladly waited a few weeks!!)

[gtrguy]

They look to likely be NOS and would be from around 1980. Each has a reading of a little over 12K ohms, which is normal from what I have read. The store in Tokyo is TC-Gakki and they were extremely helpful. I would not hesitate to buy from them again.

[edited to remove unintentional formatting]

[gtrguy]

They look to likely be NOS and would be from around 1980. Each has a reading of a little over 12K ohms, which is normal from what I have read. The store is TC-Gakki and they were extremely helpful.

[elwoodblue]

They look to likely be NOS and would be from around 1980. Each has a reading of a little over 12K ohms, which is normal from what I have read. The store in Tokyo is TC-Gakki and they were extremely helpful. I would not hesitate to buy from them again.

Way cool, Massive even. (tryin' to recall my early 80's lingo)
Do you have the rest of the parts for assembly ?


P.S.
Another extremely helpful thing I've found is the second button from the right above the text edit window, it removes formatting...like this:


"

They look to likely be NOS and would be from around 1980. Each has a reading of a little over 12K ohms, which is normal from what I have read. The store in Tokyo is TC-Gakki and they were extremely helpful. I would not hesitate to buy from them again.

"

[adriaan]

Three times is the charm, for sure.