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The depreciation of the yen against the dollar has made it much more profitable to buy foreign currency instruments in Japan now. As a result, equipment dealers have become more active – they buy goods from Japanese markets and resell them within Russia or abroad, making a good profit.
Apple noticed the problems with the exchange rate of the Japanese national currency and took action. The Cupertino-based company increased the prices of its products in Japan by about 20% in July. However, the measure proved ineffective and the yen continued to weaken.
Dealers actively bought gadgets for the future during the yen’s biggest weakening period. Even after Apple’s price hike, it was still profitable to buy smartphones and game consoles from Tokyo’s exclusive district of Akihabara or from markets like Rakuten.
Vladivostok 13 Pro
Vladivostok has become the main place for sellers. Many online store offices have appeared, hundreds of individual sellers work from Vladivostok on online classifieds services.
Oftentimes, everyone specializes in a particular area, whether it’s smartphones or game consoles from a particular company. The FarPost online flea market is unofficially considered the main platform for such purchases.
Prices for iPhone 13 with 128 GB of memory as standard on this resource start from 50 thousand rubles. Versions with 256 GB of memory can be purchased for 52 thousand rubles.
PlayStation 5 game consoles in the disc drive version, which gamers prefer more often than a regular digital one, are available for sale on FarPost at a price of 53 thousand rubles. We are talking about a completely new prefix, specially brought from an Asian country.
According to equipment owners, they manage to save 10% to 30% in this way. For example, instead of buying a PS5 for 70 thousand rubles in Russian retail stores, you can pay only 53 thousand rubles. This price already includes delivery to Moscow or any other city in Russia.
Some sellers in the description directly state that the gadgets are made to order and the wait for delivery can take two or even three weeks. In addition, they may sometimes require a prepayment of up to 50% of the total purchase amount. Delivery conditions to the buyer are also negotiated.
When choosing a seller, you should follow the same principles as any other online site with advertising. So look at the reviews, look at the ratings and, of course, don’t buy from those that offer very attractive prices. There are also sellers with such offers on FarPost, so buyers need to stay vigilant.
Also, some sellers may try to lure customers with the fact that Japanese products are distinguished by “exclusive build quality and durability.” Unfortunately, this can only apply to vehicles that are little known in Russia and are often produced specifically for the domestic market.
However, iPhone 13 smartphones and PlayStation 5 game consoles are brought from China even for the Japanese market.
Accordingly, they are assembled with electronics for the European and Russian markets and do not have any special qualities. Devices originally designed for the Japanese have their own subtleties of use.
Cons of saving on price
For example, iPhones purchased in Japan cannot take photos and videos without clicking sound even in silent mode.
According to Japanese law, the iPhone’s shutter sound, like any device, must be clearly heard by the user and those around him.
This was done to respect privacy, but for iPhone owners this can be an issue. For example, if the sound is not pleasant.
With the release of iOS 15, this issue was partially resolved. You need to update your iPhone to this version of the mobile operating system and insert a Russian SIM card. If these two conditions are met, there will be no camera clicking sound in silent mode in most cases.
An exception applies if you enable “Airplane Mode”. After that, the gadget will stop accepting the Russian SIM card and turn on the click again, even in silent mode.
As for the PlayStation 5, Sony’s game consoles are virtually indistinguishable from those sold through parallel imports in Russia. In the case of cameras, it could be an issue with the language settings (everything is in Japanese by default) and the button labels (some design differences from the European versions).
However, the main disadvantage of such purchases should be understood: there is no official guarantee for “Japanese” iPhones in Russia, and Apple did not even exist before they left our market. Cameras and game consoles of Japanese companies have the same problem.
Thus, the purchase of Japanese devices from Vladivostok will save on price, but there will be no official warranty service. This point should be discussed with the sellers. Sometimes they give their own guarantees for the gadget.
For example, if the iPhone 13 breaks down, the seller can cover the repair costs. In this case, the smartphone will be repaired at an unofficial service center or sent to Japan for official warranty service.
However, if you do not agree on the warranty with the seller in advance and do not fix it in writing (indicated on the receipt or warranty card), the buyer will have to make repairs on his own.
Source: Gazeta
Jackson Ruhl is a tech and sci-fi expert, who writes for “Social Bites”. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of technology and science fiction.