"Graham Bell" <grabelly@netscape.net.dumb.spam> wrote in message
news:rwI2b.18$7B5.1434@newsall.dti.ne.jp...
> Ryan Ginstrom wrote:
> > So that is a markup of over $10. Since shipping from the US only costs
> > ~$5.00, you are still paying an extra 5 bucks in Japan.
>
> $5 for shipping on a book? How do you manage that? According to their
> site, expedited shipping to Japan is $8.99 per shipment plus $6.99 *per
> book*

I got that figure from my last order -- I ordered 5 books (ATL Internals
being one of the lightest of them), and shipping was $29.44. OK wait, that's
$6.00. My bad. But it's still cheaper. And no, I am not getting them shipped
to an APO. FWIW, I opted for "International Shipping," which is one step
below the top-class shipping option (I think they call it "expedited").

And actually, I have found similar markups on a lot of the technical books
I've checked.

Here is another example:
Com+ Programming: A Practical Guide Using Visual C++ and Atl
Japan site: =Y=5,253 (USD $44.6695)
US site: $$34.99
(Just under $10 difference)

And another:
The C++ Programming Language
Japan site: =Y=7,760 (USD $65.9946)
US site: $54.99
($11 !)

True, for some books the markup is minimal, but there is usually enough of a
markup to warrant buying them overseas. Of course, of the two above, "The
C++ Programming Language" is a popular title, and they have it in stock in
Japan ("Com+..." is 8 to 9 days). So if you wanted it right away and were
prepared to pay $5 extra to get it...

> Aha! So there *is* a downside to living in Okinawa..

Yep, it's one of the few I've found. On the mainland, they even have
same-day shipping. Here, you send a takkyuubin from Tokyo in the morning, it
might get here the night of the next day, otherwise the morning/early
afternoon of the next. Things are even slower on the smaller islands.

Luckily, my clients hardly ever need to mail me stuff, and I have a fax
number in Tokyo.

-- 
Regards,
Ryan Ginstrom