Originally Posted by
bocastephen
The tax amount leaves no realistic margin to resell these products. Anyone who thinks they can run a hardgoods resale business on 10% margins is in for an unhappy surprise unless they are reselling very expensive goods. If a new phone is JPY250,000 and their margin is JPY25000, they need to sell almost as many phones as that Apple Store in order to make it worthwhile.
Don't some people run an infrequent side hustle doing "group buys" with pre-order among their social media circles? I could see how the margin for a few of the more expensive Apple products would cover a plane ticket from elsewhere in SE Asia. A few products have staggered region launch cycles, too. Some luxury skincare & cosmetic items are limited release as well. Probably not the situations they're trying to crack down on.
I've ordered online for domestic delivery and pay the tax to save/shift time skipping certain congested stores/tax free lines. The shipping to US or import markups are more than the tax for me.