Recommendations for buying from Japan

[gnavigator1007]

I've been looking to order several items direct from Japan and was hoping someone here might be able to recommend a decent forwarding/proxy service. I'm looking for a service that accepts paypal and will allow me to both order direct from japanese sites and allow me to bid on japanese auctions. Would also like to hear of any negative experiences with these services. Thanks!

[ez24]

Watch out for warranties.  You will have to ship back to Japan and back to you and pay a lot of shipping charges.  Probably not worth it unless the item is over $1000.  I have lost a couple of items (a tape recorder by Panasonic and a headphone by Sony) because the warranty was only good in Japan and the cost of shipping both ways was too high.   I would suggest use Amazon if available, it may save you money in the long run.

Unless you get a DOA warranty (not likely).

[saturation]

For Japanese auctions I use Rakuten.com but they rarely have T&M equipment.  I also bought a number of things from Japanese sellers who sell on the US sites Amazon.com and eBay.com