Buyee

OK, not exactly a record shop, but this seemed the most appropriate category.

Watching some videos recently of a Japanese rock / metal band called Mardelas
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNkIi2QYA1QdM181uOprZE9BwNto7xMs4
I came across a link to buy a copy of a live performance 2-CD set the band has issued. The link was to a third-party website called Buyee (https://buyee.jp/?lang=en).

Who? What? Well I hadn't come across it before, but Buyee (as the name sort of suggests) is a proxy shopping service, which buys the product on your behalf from the band, the Japanese retailer, or whoever is selling it. For this CD there was a fee of 300 yen on top of the advertised price (that's under £2 - the only bargain to be found in Japan I suspect). When the ordered item arrives in Buyee's warehouse, they send an email to let you know, and at that point you select your desired shipping, paying for it separately. Then Buyee arrange for what you've bought to be shipped.

Thinking I'd take a flyer on this, I registered with Buyee and placed my order, using Paypal. At the then exchange rate my double CD was £24, and shipping by Federal Express was £18, so not cheap, but it all worked a treat, and the CD was delivered to my door just over a week later (shipping was four days of this). The CD came wrapped in a bubblewrap envelope, and enclosed in an outer envelope. It is possible to pay for additional wrapping, but not knowing what might be standard I chose not to request any, as the other consideration is the more wrapping, the more weight, and the more shipping cost.

I suspect that few here are fans of Japanese music, but it may be that someone is offering Japanese issues of non-Japanese artists which can be bought this way. If you discover something where Buyee is a purchase option fear not, it's genuine (and not limited to music-related items).

Was the CD any good? Yes - live recordings can be hit and miss, but I'm pleased to report this one is great!

For me, it was an ideal way of sourcing classic Technics cartridges at way cheaper prices than  eBay.