John Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:

> Louise Bremner wrote:
>
> > ...except for the search function, which seems better for
> > English-language books on the English-language websites....
>
> I always assumed that was because the Japanese site was limited to copies
> which were actually available in Japan. For example, Wenckstern's
> bibliography of the Japanese Empire is listed as available on the US site
> but currently out of stock on the Japanese site. The price - $95 in the US,
> \11,344 in Japan - doesn't seem to vary much, at least in this case, so if
> it's coming (as some books are) with free domestic shipping it might make
> sense to order books from the Japanese website.

If there is something I want right away, or the foreign book at the home
country site is discounted at less than 10%, which used to be a very common
discount for foreign books on the Japanese site, I simply order it from Japan
and enjoy the free shipping on orders over 1,500 yen. If I can get one of
those juicy 30% or better discounts from the US and it's not important to get
it right away, I'll order it from there with free domestic shipping and have
it waiting for me at home, where I send books to myself in Japan for about a
dollar a pound.

> For example, Sakkut's The Arabic Novel is \17,912 with free postage on the
> Japanese site, whereas it's $150 + postage on the US site. In this case,
> though, the latter would be still better if you would contemplate buying a
> copy (new or used) from another seller via Amazon (used from $90; new from
> $115).
>
> I guess, if you really want to get the best deal, you'd have to check both
> sites - and even then, there might be a better online deal at another site
> entirely!
>
> --
> John
> http://rarebooksinjapan.com