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Japanese Nintendo 3DS Import Thread | Brand New 3D, Same Old Region Lock

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
Has anyone's white 3DS gotten discoloration from finger oils/usage? I remember hearing about this being somewhat common on white DS Lites.

Really want to go for that white new3DS but this is the only thing holding me back.
 

Josephl64

Member
Has anyone's white 3DS gotten discoloration from finger oils/usage? I remember hearing about this being somewhat common on white DS Lites.

Really want to go for that white new3DS but this is the only thing holding me back.

My Love Plus LL is white and I haven't had any issues, but that may not be related
 
Heads up: PlayAsia has just reopened preorders for the New 3DS/LL. Still no sign of the MH4G LL Bundle yet which is what I'm holding out for....
 
This is an awesome thread. Now I really am inspired to finish my New Love Plus+ 3DS LL unboxing video that I've been putting off for MONTHS.

Thanks to Kubus for his awesome work!
 

xSL4INx

Member
Has anyone's white 3DS gotten discoloration from finger oils/usage? I remember hearing about this being somewhat common on white DS Lites.

Really want to go for that white new3DS but this is the only thing holding me back.

I have a white Monster Hunter 4 LL and my buttons have discolored some over the year that I've had it. They aren't completely yellow, but they aren't as white as the rest of the 3DS.
 

ramus

Neo Member
So, tl;dr, get the code, join the GAF band.

Anyways, here are my codes, and I'm sure that other GAFfers with codes will post more soon. If you take one, quote the one you take so I can remove it from the list.
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)
Code (Quote)

Grabbed the second to last one, thanks.
 

kubus

Member
AAAH it's 6 AM here, couldn't sleep, decided to check amazon and ITS BACK IN STOCK

mobile site is japanese only and I forgot to add a credit card yesterday

Praying that i dont fuck this order up. Anyone know if you can add more items later and it will combine orders? Still need to decide which plate I want.

Edit: yay got my order in! Saved 40 euros by not shopping at Play-Asia lol. Aand back to sleep... I'll update the thread in the morning!
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
Don't forget to grab a screen protector if you're into that kind of thing since the screens are differently sized now. Looks like the only available ones on Amazon JP right now are the Cyber brand ones.

And no Amazon won't combine separate orders later.

I have a white Monster Hunter 4 LL and my buttons have discolored some over the year that I've had it. They aren't completely yellow, but they aren't as white as the rest of the 3DS.
Thanks for the info. Now I'm not sure if I want the regular model or the LL since the color of the white regular model was a big part of the appeal.
 

Netto-kun

Member
New 3DS & LL are up on Nippon-yasan. 17800 yen for the normal and 20980 yen for the LL. The Monster Hunter 4G one will probably be added later.

New 3DS LL Metallic Blue
New 3DS LL Metallic Black
New 3DS Black
New 3DS White

I'd also like to point out that the New 3DS & New 3DS LL prices mentioned in the OP are slightly incorrect since those don't include taxes. So the prices are actually a little bit more when you check websites such as Amazon JP.

Edit: ...I shouldn't post on GAF early in the morning.
 

kubus

Member
Don't forget to grab a screen protector if you're into that kind of thing since the screens are differently sized now. Looks like the only available ones on Amazon JP right now are the Cyber brand ones.

And no Amazon won't combine separate orders later.
Good point, might need to add one of those too.

Ermm well I could just place seperate orders and hope they all have free shipping I guess. I'll see tomorrow what other things I want. If the White 3DS is still in stock by then I'll cancel my old order and make a new one with everything.

Edit: wait holy shit, nippon-yasan is basically the same price as amazon O_O think I'll go with them instead
 

zeromcd73

Member
Which option did you choose?

Went with EMS express (3-4 days). Hope it slips by customs. Nippon-yasan usually marks items as gift right?
I choose the same option. You should be fine, this is the third 3DS I've ordered from them and it was all good.
 

bigmac996

Member
Are you guys 100% sure Amazon.jp would be capable of shipping the 3ds to North America? I know Japan has weird shipping laws regarding Lithium Ion batteries, I've experienced it all before. Just a heads up.
 

kubus

Member
Are you guys 100% sure Amazon.jp would be capable of shipping the 3ds to North America? I know Japan has weird shipping laws regarding Lithium Ion batteries, I've experienced it all before. Just a heads up.
Amazon.jp doesn't ship games or hardware outside Japan, but it's possible with the use of a forwarding service.

The lithium ion battery law has been changed recently, it's allowed now.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
New 3DS & LL are up on Nippon-yasan. 17800 yen for the normal and 20980 yen for the LL. The Monster Hunter 4G one will probably be added later.

New 3DS LL Metallic Blue
New 3DS LL Metallic Black
New 3DS Black
New 3DS White

I'd also like to point out that the New 3DS & New 3DS LL prices mentioned in the OP are slightly incorrect since those don't include taxes. So the prices are actually a little bit more when you check websites such as Amazon JP.

Edit: ...I shouldn't post on GAF early in the morning.

How does Nippon Yasan work? I usually just buy off Amazon and use Tenso.com to forward it, but this might be cheaper? Are they pretty reliable?

Play Asia's $50 surcharge is nuts.
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
How does Nippon Yasan work? I usually just buy off Amazon and use Tenso.com to forward it, but this might be cheaper? Are they pretty reliable?

Play Asia's $50 surcharge is nuts.
They're pretty reliable but their customer service is not the best. Sometimes their processing times can exceed a week from the date of availability, even for preorders.

They also mark package value down whether you ask them or not, which is nice if your country charges import tax, but you'll be SOL insurance-wise if your package gets lost.

Other than that overall reliable and recommended.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
They're pretty reliable but their customer service is not the best. Sometimes their processing times can exceed a week from the date of availability, even for preorders.

They also mark package value down whether you ask them or not, which is nice if your country charges import tax, but you'll be SOL insurance-wise if your package gets lost.

Other than that overall reliable and recommended.

Where do they make their money?

It seems like they are charging MSRP, and the shipping rate doesn't seem particularly high.

I think I'll give them a try with the New 3DS.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
No idea haha. They definitely hands down have the lowest prices for new releases across direct import shops, sometimes even beating out Amazon JP.

Good prices on download codes for point cards, too. These guys sound all right.
 

Pangya

Member
They're pretty reliable but their customer service is not the best. Sometimes their processing times can exceed a week from the date of availability, even for preorders.

They also mark package value down whether you ask them or not, which is nice if your country charges import tax, but you'll be SOL insurance-wise if your package gets lost.

Other than that overall reliable and recommended.

I emailed their customer service about the IA/VT Colorful Crystal Box asking if they would stock it on their site since it wasn't there but was sold out on play asia. Got an email like 10 minutes later saying they'll check if they were gonna stock it, and literally 2 hours later replied back saying it was now available for preorder on the site.

Also bought the MH4 3DS LL there through Fedex and it came like 2 business days later.

Really happy with nippon yasan and would have probably imported the new 3DS LL if I didn't already import the regular LL.
 

Ken

Member
Has anyone's white 3DS gotten discoloration from finger oils/usage? I remember hearing about this being somewhat common on white DS Lites.

Really want to go for that white new3DS but this is the only thing holding me back.

My White 3DS hasn't suffered from it. Owned it for about a year.
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
I emailed their customer service about the IA/VT Colorful Crystal Box asking if they would stock it on their site since it wasn't there but was sold out on play asia. Got an email like 10 minutes later saying they'll check if they were gonna stock it, and literally 2 hours later replied back saying it was now available for preorder on the site.

Also bought the MH4 3DS LL there through Fedex and it came like 2 business days later.

Really happy with nippon yasan and would have probably imported the new 3DS LL if I didn't already import the regular LL.
Yeah Fedex always takes about 2 business days for me but that's unrelated to Nippon Yasan's service. Most of my transactions with them are fine but the average processing from time of order for me is about 2-3 days on business days when it really should be 24 hours like everywhere else. One time I had an order take 8 days to ship, contacted them multiple times via their old chat system/email about a status update and only got a response on the final try saying they'll ship it that day (rep was quite rude too). They ended up shipping it another 2 business days later.

That said I still use them because their prices can't be beat, but never for anything I'm not willing to wait a couple of extra days for.
 

ramparter

Banned
Damn you Nintendo with your region locking and stuff, did a hypothetical order from Nippon-Yasan, it would cost me 140 euros to get it imported, while it most probably cost 170 euros the least when it eventually comes maybe six months later?
 

KemoSabe

Member
Shit. Only 130€ for the small one...
Can you preorder and pay with PayPal at nippon yasan?
My creditcard is currently charged to its max.
Thats tempting...
 

Netto-kun

Member
Shit. Only 130€ for the small one...
Can you preorder and pay with PayPal at nippon yasan?
My creditcard is currently charged to its max.
Thats tempting...
You can pre-order now and pay later with credit card/PayPal. That's what I did with my Monster Hunter 4G bundle pre-order just in case cheaper alternatives show up later.
 

Dagon

Member
Ordered at Nippon-Yasan. Now to find a couple games to go along with it.

I went with FedEx Priority Express to the UK. Now wondering if there's perhaps a better shipping option. I see Transi-Logistic includes prepayment of VAT. I don't want this thing being held in customs for ages.
 

mrback

Member
Many thanks to the creator of this thread, really good & subscribed. You've been pretty instrumental in me buying a japanese import!!!
 

kubus

Member
Nippon-Yasan now also lists Charging Docks, Faceplates, a 32GB MicroSD card, and various amounts of Nintendo Pre-Paid Cards

Time to go crazy!!

Just cancelled my amazon.co.jp order. I did some math, I'll post it here in case others are in a similar position.

New 3DS White/Black + Charging Dock + 1x Faceplate (mid price tier) =

19,980 yen total at amazon.co.jp (excluding shipping)
21,230 yen total at nippon-yasan (excluding shipping)

= difference of 1250 yen, or ~€9 / ~$12

For amazon you have to use Tenso or some other forwarding service, and you'd pay more in service costs than that (on top of having to wait extra for your package to arrive). So if you're outside Japan, nippon-yasan is the way to go!
 

Mask

Member
I'm a dingus. I accidentally ordered the New LL instead of the Regular New.

You can cancel orders on Nippon-Yasan, right? I haven't paid for it yet..
 

kubus

Member
So I made Google Spreadsheet to keep track of all the products and corresponding prices at different stores.

Figured this would be easier to edit and maintain than the list in the OP. I've disabled editing to prevent funny people from messing up everything, but leave a comment if I missed something or made a mistake.

Also I'm a complete newbie to spreadsheet formatting so if anyone wants to make it prettier or something send me a PM and I'll give you editing powerz.

The Ultimate New Nintendo 3DS Import Shopping Guide
 
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