Amazon.co.jp

corblimey

I want to buy a few things from here. It gives me the option of paying by EUR or by JPY. The JPY price converted via XE seems to be a few euros cheaper (about 5% of the total cost). I'm sure there's more to it than the rate quoted by XE and I'm going to get stung when my c/c converts it anyway, right? Is there any hard and fast rule whether to purchase in the 'local' currency or not?

(I ask because there's always threads that state one price, but only if you choose for example, GBP - choosing EUR gives a different, higher price)

jor el

You'll never get the XE rate, and in general you should take about 2% off that. You could also ring your bank and ask what today's exchange rate is, as the credit card one will be similar to this.

ttm

If its not a stupid question how much is the postage from Japan?

Plus have you factored in the possible cost of VAT and Duty perhaps adding 25% to the total bill?

corblimey

Postage is quite hefty, yeah and I'd forgotten about the pigging import duty. But I need these books, and they don't appear to be available outside of Japan, so I think I'll just have to swallow the consequences.

Stokolan

I thought there was no import duty or VAT on books? as long as they dont have any media like cd's and dvds with them,

ttm

I have to agree on the VAT but it would be good to find out from the OP when his books arrive if he did have to pay and VAT.