Buying reels from Japan

[Bullett]

cool, I've been checking those sites out also. All the stuff I've been looking at looks to be in great shape for a good price, and some reels you cant get in the states. I was just like a kid in a candy store lol 

[Shinmothy]

8 hours ago, GReb said:

My memory may be a little fuzzy but I’ve ordered 7 or so reels from Japan.
 

Digitaka was by far the best experience. The price on their site is what is charged to my card. It’s my go to. 

 

Japan lure charged me $30 more than what their site said. When I asked PayPal they said it was my credit card company’s exchange rate. I think it was really JL had the wrong conversion on their site. It was a $550 order and they threw in a “free” jackhammer so it wasn’t the end of the world but worth noting. 
 

My first order was with Asian Portal. No complaints there but their website kind of sucks. 

Going to slightly defend JLS here. There are two things you should know before you buy from them. One, they do charge money for shipping usually 12-15ish dollars charge on top of your total depending on which kind you get. It’s always been priority shipping for me and usually arrives within 2-3 days from Tokyo. Two, they charge in Yen, the conversions they show you are just a courtesy to you for your convenience, but at the end of the day they charge in Yen and look at the price they charge you in Yen. Paypal has a different conversion rate than your bank, and they both charge an additional 1-5% fee of the amount you pay in USD, nobody does this for free lol.

 

Regardless, they have always been super responsive when I’ve contacted them and always answered my questions politely and promptly (better than a lot of US retailers I might say) They’re super great at arranging warranty services and shipping back to Japan if you would need it as well.  And the free premium lure they give on reel orders helps offset it a little bit (usually something 15-20 dollars at least)

[ABU is overpriced]

The Zillion is the reel to go with over everything currently available😁

[MiceNReets]

3 hours ago, Shinmothy said:

Going to slightly defend JLS here. There are two things you should know before you buy from them. One, they do charge money for shipping usually 12-15ish dollars charge on top of your total depending on which kind you get. It’s always been priority shipping for me and usually arrives within 2-3 days from Tokyo. Two, they charge in Yen, the conversions they show you are just a courtesy to you for your convenience, but at the end of the day they charge in Yen and look at the price they charge you in Yen. Paypal has a different conversion rate than your bank, and they both charge an additional 1-5% fee of the amount you pay in USD, nobody does this for free lol.

 

Regardless, they have always been super responsive when I’ve contacted them and always answered my questions politely and promptly (better than a lot of US retailers I might say) They’re super great at arranging warranty services and shipping back to Japan if you would need it as well.  And the free premium lure they give on reel orders helps offset it a little bit (usually something 15-20 dollars at least)

Too add to this.  I always buy from JLS and have always had a great experience.   When paying through PayPal express I always select to pay in YEN instead of PayPal doing the conversion for Me.    Whatever the conversion from xe.com says is what I’ve always paid to the penny.  Maybe my bank doesn’t charge a conversion fee. Once I selected for PayPal to do the conversion for me and it cost me an additional $20,  won’t make that mistake again

[Bigbox99]

10 hours ago, ABU is overpriced said:

The Zillion is the reel to go with over everything currently available😁

This remains the best looking new Zillion I have seen.  Not the reel itself but that build in particular although I am partial to the blue ZPI spool.

[ABU is overpriced]

36 minutes ago, Bigbox99 said:

This remains the best looking new Zillion I have seen.  Not the reel itself but that build in particular although I am partial to the blue ZPI spool.

It does indeed look better with the blue spool. Since the last time i posted it with the blue spool, i swapped the back star drag and black zero adjuster cap to an SLP silver cap and SLP silver star drag to go full silver on the reel. Was thinking replacing the handle and knobs with one in silver from LIVRE, but those are expensive, and heavier than what's currently on the reel. I did saw a Japanese guy using it on a custom Zillion, and it was so fitting, tho.

[Jimmy Wallhanger]

Ive used japan Lure Shop, I use my bank via pay pal to avoid the pay pal conversion fee. 

 

They gave me a nice tahnk yuou note and a free jerkbait, I plan onn buying more tatulas from them. 

22 hours ago, MiceNReets said:

Too add to this.  I always buy from JLS and have always had a great experience.   When paying through PayPal express I always select to pay in YEN instead of PayPal doing the conversion for Me.    Whatever the conversion from xe.com says is what I’ve always paid to the penny.  Maybe my bank doesn’t charge a conversion fee. Once I selected for PayPal to do the conversion for me and it cost me an additional $20,  won’t make that mistake again

 

Hey man I know you from Reddit!!!!

[MiceNReets]

15 minutes ago, Jimmy Wallhanger said:

Ive used japan Lure Shop, I use my bank via pay pal to avoid the pay pal conversion fee. 

 

They gave me a nice tahnk yuou note and a free jerkbait, I plan onn buying more tatulas from them. 

 

Hey man I know you from Reddit!!!!

Probably my alter ego.  He’s a jerk on there lol

But yeah JLS is the way to go and glad your orders have gone well. 

 

[HawkeyeSmallie]

On 7/25/2024 at 11:26 PM, MiceNReets said:

Too add to this.  I always buy from JLS and have always had a great experience.   When paying through PayPal express I always select to pay in YEN instead of PayPal doing the conversion for Me.    Whatever the conversion from xe.com says is what I’ve always paid to the penny.  Maybe my bank doesn’t charge a conversion fee. Once I selected for PayPal to do the conversion for me and it cost me an additional $20,  won’t make that mistake again

 

Hmmm, not sure what you are doing exactly.

 

I've bought twice and yes I get charged an extra fee.

 

This last one just a few days ago was $23.

 

How do you pay in YEN??

[herder]

[MiceNReets]

7 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

Hmmm, not sure what you are doing exactly.

 

I've bought twice and yes I get charged an extra fee.

 

This last one just a few days ago was $23.

 

How do you pay in YEN??

Whenever I buy from JLS I have to use the PayPal express (I’m not sure if there is any other way).   The first time I selected pay in YEN and my bank did the conversion which was spot on to what xe .com told me it would cost.  The next time I didn’t notice the option and let PayPal do the conversion and it cost me an extra $25 or so.    Then my next 9-10 orders I made sure to select pay in yen and never had an extra charge.   Only get a bill from fedex a month and a bit later for around $16 for custom charges.  

[GreenPig]

Never had a problem with Digitaka. Free shipping, paid the price shown in US dollars,  and quick delivery. 

[Maverick2017]

Do it!!!!!!  I buy ALL of my reels from

Japan. Digitaka to be exact. Never once had an issue. I can order Saturday night and get the reel Tuesday or Wednesday. All of my Metanium 100’s and Bantams are JDM examples. I believe all of the present day versions of Metaniums from Japan (2020, Shallow, and 100) have brass gears following the 2016 release with the aluminum and reported “buzzing”

 

I also ordered a JDM Met 100 from Amazon that came the next day with no issues.

 

I will probably never buy a high end reel within the US ever again.

[bulldog1935]

Different vendors have different methods when charging paypal for your reels.  

Some vendors bill direct US$, in which case, they have padded currency conversion worked into their listed price for US customers (Hedgehog Studio, JapanTackle).  

Asian Portal is an exception.  The US$ price they list on their website will be the conversion rate on the day they added the listing to their website; however, they will still bill you in the actual JPY price, and paypal or your credit card will calculate and pad the currency exchange at their rate.  (Currency conversion fee shows up as a separate charge on your credit card.)

I've had AP purchases bill at 15% lower than the listed US$ price and 5% over, because of short-term currency fluctuations.  Never a worry.  It's fair to consider this as the same pricing as Digitaka; however, AP has a higher minimum purchase amount for free express shipping.  

Differences in shipping resulted in the '20 world postal collapse, when vendors ran to the courier services - each vendor has their own contract with a courier, which renews every few years, and shipping cost will go up when JPY is trending down.  

[Jrabbit82]

I’m thinking it’s bad I joined this forum.  I was already hooked after buying my first JDM product a couple weeks ago.  Now I joined a bunch of enablers! 😂 Bought the 21 Zillion SV TW.  It’s excellent 

 

I build my own rods and I’m needing a 2000 or 2500 spinning reel.  Will use for crappie and bass at times.  Why I’m trying to balance the reel size so I can use the reel for both,  
 

I’ve been eye balling the 24 Vanford, 24 Airity, Twinpower, Vanquish, etc.  I’m definitely open for suggestions.  My budget was around $250, but I don’t mind going over that either if it’s worth it. 24 Vanford for around $197 is very appealing and it’s a great looking reel.  

 

 

[newapti5]

1 hour ago, Jrabbit82 said:

24 Vanford for around $197 is very appealing and it’s a great looking reel.

 

Could be cheaper.

 

 

[Jrabbit82]

48 minutes ago, newapti5 said:

 

Could be cheaper.

 

 

Thanks.  Still learning the places to buy JDM.  Digitaki, JLS, and Asian are the ones I’m aware of. And Amazon Japan.  ebay I don’t use. 

[Eric 26]

If you search “Shimano spinning reels” /“Daiwa spinning reels” on this site you’ll get a lot of opinions on just about every reel you have listed and the reasons why they’re liked in the way they’re being used. I will add I finally bought a Stradic and I’m hoping to add another although I’d ultimately love a Vanquish based on the opinions of the members on here.

Edited October 22, 2024 by Eric 26
Content

[casts_by_fly]

3 hours ago, Jrabbit82 said:

I’m thinking it’s bad I joined this forum.  I was already hooked after buying my first JDM product a couple weeks ago.  Now I joined a bunch of enablers! 😂 Bought the 21 Zillion SV TW.  It’s excellent 

 

I build my own rods and I’m needing a 2000 or 2500 spinning reel.  Will use for crappie and bass at times.  Why I’m trying to balance the reel size so I can use the reel for both,  
 

I’ve been eye balling the 24 Vanford, 24 Airity, Twinpower, Vanquish, etc.  I’m definitely open for suggestions.  My budget was around $250, but I don’t mind going over that either if it’s worth it. 24 Vanford for around $197 is very appealing and it’s a great looking reel.  

 

 

 

JDM stradic and be done with it.  I prefer the 2500/3000 sized frame, but YMMV.

[F14A-B]

On 9/25/2024 at 10:16 AM, bulldog1935 said:

Different vendors have different methods when charging paypal for your reels.  

Some vendors bill direct US$, in which case, they have padded currency conversion worked into their listed price for US customers (Hedgehog Studio, JapanTackle).  

Asian Portal is an exception.  The US$ price they list on their website will be the conversion rate on the day they added the listing to their website; however, they will still bill you in the actual JPY price, and paypal or your credit card will calculate and pad the currency exchange at their rate.  (Currency conversion fee shows up as a separate charge on your credit card.)

I've had AP purchases bill at 15% lower than the listed US$ price and 5% over, because of short-term currency fluctuations.  Never a worry.  It's fair to consider this as the same pricing as Digitaka; however, AP has a higher minimum purchase amount for free express shipping.  

Differences in shipping resulted in the '20 world postal collapse, when vendors ran to the courier services - each vendor has their own contract with a courier, which renews every few years, and shipping cost will go up when JPY is trending down.  

This is exactly what’s happened to me when ordering from Asian Portal. The main charge then usually another charge.. 8 to 12 more dollars but a second charge. In the last three orders it’s only happened once and I use my CC straight up. Screw PayPal lol

Hell I want free lures who should I be using? I know a lot of times these other places are out of stock on my selection, so there’s that factor 

[Eric 26]

@F14A-B Japan lure shop(JLS) always includes a free gift. 

[woolleyfooley]

I like japantackle.com. The guy who runs it, Jun speaks very good English and is great to communicate with. He’s always responded to my emails in less than 24 hours and has been very helpful.

 

One other big thing is you get a warranty from Japantackle. They also facilitate if you need to use the factory warranty. 
 

Say you buy a JDM Daiwa. You need warranty work done. What you would do is send the reel to Jun at Japantackle. He then sends it to Daiwa Japan so they can make repairs. Daiwa sends it back to Jun. Jun ships it back to you. 
 

To me, that’s a big deal.

[bulldog1935]

I ended up buying my Twin Power from a buddy, because he somehow ordered 2 from Asian Portal and received them on consecutive days.  He discovered shipping back to Japan for refund was not cost effective.  

I've sold some high-grade tackle in Japan collector's market, myself, and the shipping cost from US has always been high.   Shipping $700 antiques, the shipping cost is easily absorbed.  

  

The JDM vendors marketing to US have bulk shipping contracts - we don't.  

That said, Jun and son Kayo are the finestkind, and I've placed 15 orders with them, but only one reel.  

[F14A-B]

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

@F14A-B Japan lure shop(JLS) always includes a free gift. I received a Jackhammer when I bought my Tatula 80 and a Mega Bass pop-x when I bought my SLX MGL.

Wow! That’s a sweet deal for sure!

 

[woolleyfooley]

On 10/22/2024 at 5:39 PM, bulldog1935 said:

I ended up buying my Twin Power from a buddy, because he somehow ordered 2 from Asian Portal and received them on consecutive days.  He discovered shipping back to Japan for refund was not cost effective.  

I've sold some high-grade tackle in Japan collector's market, myself, and the shipping cost from US has always been high.   Shipping $700 antiques, the shipping cost is easily absorbed.  

  

The JDM vendors marketing to US have bulk shipping contracts - we don't.  

That said, Jun and son Kayo are the finestkind, and I've placed 15 orders with them, but only one reel.  

@bulldog1935

 

Interesting. When I spoke to Jun about the potential for warranty work, he said it would run about 20 bucks to ship it from me to him in Japan and that he’d pay the return shipping.

 

Not calling you a liar, just relaying what I was recently told. Maybe it’s different if you’re sending a reel in for warranty?