Japanese Consumption Tax
 

According to BBC World News Japanese Goods are going to become more expensive. Japan has voted to raise it's Consumption Tax for the first time in seventeen years.

Because our fandom wasn't expensive enough.

I see less money in my future from this.

It's not an awful increase in costs at another 3%, though of course it will add up. Interestingly, this may prove to make Bluefin purchases a slightly greater bargain as their retail prices are based on flat Japanese retail, without the sales tax included.

Doesn't really make much of a difference to me, whether I pay through the nose to get it from the US or through the nose to get it from Japan.

Oh yeah, that reminds me that Tomopop has an article regarding the tax increase and Bandai gashapon machines, it's quite interesting:

http://www.tomopop.com/bandai-counte...rs-34016.phtml

Hmm, yeah looks like Bluefin will become more of an option for the retail releases that they do get.

For web exclusives that Bluefin can't get, this won't be fun, but oh well.

I've read another article about how the tax increase is gonna really hurt Japanese arcades: Since arcade machines operate in increments of 100 Yen, arcades have to eat the tax hike or charge a lot more for games.

I'm honestly not too worried about the tax increase, outside of the Japanese arcades, but mostly because it was only a year or 2 ago that the US Dollar was so weak against the JPY, and I've been enjoying it being at almost a $1 to 100 Yen ratio again.

You bring up a most excellent point, good sir.

yay.....very sarcastically.

The thing is unless you are buying from a middleman or are in japan yourself you shouldn't be paying this tax and you probably haven't all this time.


Lets use SHF Zangetsu as an example.
http://tamashii.jp/item/10639/

Zangetsu is 3800yen. but 4104yen with 8% tax.

On Hobbysearch he is listed as 3800yen retail with their price being 3230yen which is 15% off
http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10264921

However on the Japanese version of the same item he is listed as 4104yen as retail price. 3283yen as a special preorder price and then 3683yen as their normal price.

http://www.1999.co.jp/10264921

so technically the international site is an item without 8% tax factored in.

with Amiami its....weird.
on the Japanese version of the page they will show the total including tax and then their price after discount

http://www.amiami.jp/top/detail/deta...=FIGURE-004932

but on the English side they only show their price

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/det...=FIGURE-004932

it seems like Amiami keeps the tax in even for international buyers.

and finally with HLJ they list the price as 3800yen. the amount without tax.
http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN986696/Act

so the tax hike shouldn't really effect most international buyers but hey I could be wrong.