2nd hand electronics sales will soon be illegal in Japan

[Guest Stuge]

Taken from here :Akihabaranews

The customer is not always... well, rarely, right in Japan, and manufacturers don't really care about them. The second hand marker flourishes over here, and most people take good care of their equipment, so used goods are usually in a very good condition and are sold easily to be replaced by new goods. It's easy to strike a good deal when buying these second hand goods. But that's exactly the big problem for manufacturers, because this grey market is not generating them any profit, and they would like to get rid of this phenomenon. The first ones to talk to the government about this were the car manufacturers, and they convinced the government to enforce a rule that used cars have to go to the technical inspection after 3 years, and this is a costly matter since a check costs between 1500 and 3500 EUR. Once you're in the system, you have to get your car checked every 2 years, and once your car is 10 years old, you need to go there every year. This is a reson why the Japanese change cars quite fast, usually before the car is 3 years old. Important aspect is that you have no control whatsoever on the cost of possible repairs, because after the technical check, the car is driven to the garage and they do the repairs that the technical check asked them to do, you just get the bill with your car. A very nice rip-off... and this system is being envied by a lot of other domains, like the electronics domain at this moment. So from April 1st 2006, ALL electronic products sold in Japan before 2001 will be prohibited from the 2nd hand market! This means that for example a PC like the Vaio U1 (PCG-U1) will be soon not vailable on the Japanese market anymore, since it was sold in April 2002... and you still have about a month to get a Vaio C1! It also seems that a 5 yeas old product (made after 2001) will Face the same problem in the futur.

Needless to say that like any law, it can and will be circumvented, but this is a disaster for the small shops in Akihabara. The excuse of the Japanese government are security reasons on anything electronical.

[Richard_p]

I have alot of respect for Japan, but that really does seem so stupid and greedy of the companies involved.

BOOOOH!

[Guest Stuge]

This is foolish. Do this in any part of the world and see how consumers are going to put these stupid & greedy companies in court .

.Japanese govement might be getting something from these companies .

[MDX-400]

It seems the Japanese boost their economy with all kind of different shennanigans, lol. Like in Japan, don't you have to replace the engine in your car, by law, at 60,000km or something? (That's why we get all those used Japanese engine imports available in North America I believe...)

Though I don't agree with such nonsense, I'm guessing it actually does do a lot to strengthen their economy...

[Guest Stuge]

I will suggest you people to see here also :

2nd hand electronic sales will NOT be made illegal in Japan.

Only goods which were manufactured before 2001 will not be allowed to be resell .