2nd hand electronics sales will soon be illegal in Japan

[Archaic]

http://www.akihabaranews.com/news-11230-X.html

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.

 

[bell02+]

hmmm... I hope this doesn't include used games and game parts/systems..

 

[Archaic]

That's what we're all worried about.

 

[Jukain]

This is bad. Most of the good cars in the US are Japanese, and most of our electronics are also made in Japan. I guess this is where we buy things just like ordinary, but instead, we gut some of them for the parts.

 

[Archaic]

Update
http://www.mutantfrog.com/2006/02/22/2nd-hand-electronics-sales-will-not-soon-be-illegal-in-japan/

It'll still be legal with a permit. *phew*

 

[Unregistered]

Actually, Sceptile726, most Japanese cars sold in the US are now made in the US. And most electronics, even if they have Japanese brand names, actually come from China, Singapore or other Asian countries. Finally, the lawmakers in Japan can do whatever they want to do, but once the goods leave Japan, they fall under the laws of the countries importing them. The American market is too big for them to screw us.