Good questions. Don't have clear answers for either. I know that I've traded in old Macs for newer Macs through Japan Apple store, but don't remember clearly where those older Macs were purchased. Maybe you should contact Apple Japan and see if they can help.

https://getsupport.apple.com/?caller=kbase

Apple financing in Japan is done through Paidy. All you need to apply with them is a Japanese phone number, so if you can get one from a service that will offer voice/text enabled numbers to non-residents (Mobal or Hanacell) then you can apply for Paidy. Most people who apply with only a phone number get approved for 210k in Apple-specific financing credit, AFAIK. The main sticking point will instead be the fact that without a Japanese bank account in your own name, there's no way to make payments on a Paidy financing plan without incurring fees (the only method they don't charge fees on is bank transfer, but the sending bank generally will, and paying in cash at a conbini incurs a 300-ish yen fee per payment).

If they refuse my US trade in, I'll likely buy it there anyway. And, the camera shutter sound doesn't bother me and I'd like to check out the feature where it'll stop once I leave Japan--kind'a cool, if you ask me!

That's fine, but in store, there was no US keyboard available. Trust me, I had them check several times.

you seem to be missing that the tax free scheme doesn't exist at apple anymore. there is no "refund later". if you buy a product at the apple store, you pay tax.

Apple Japan hit with $98m in back taxes for missing duty-free abuses

This should not affect me walking down the street to a tax refund kiosk with my laptop and receipt and getting the tax back in cash. I did this when I bought my kitchen knives. I didn’t see anything in the article or online elsewhere that states the tax refund kiosk will refuse to refund the tax if your receipt is from the Apple Store.

Let us know how it goes.

Do you have personal experience or can you reference other content that indicates standalone tax refund shops will refuse to refund sales tax on any Apple Store purchase? I'm not saying that you're incorrect, I want to clarify this point to understand for sure. I know that all in-store purchases at the Apple Store include sales tax and they won't waive it on presentation of a passport as they did in the past, but absent a specific rule affecting Apple Stores, I don't understand why a tax refund kiosk located away from the store would refuse to refund the tax paid just because a product was bought at the Apple Store.

​​​​​I don't follow. Are you saying that you can just take any item for a tax refund in Japan regardless of where it was purchased?

The merchant needs to participate in the tax free scheme. In the few cases where the tax is not taken off the purchase price, they issue a specific type of receipt which you can then redeem for cash for example at Ginza Six or department stores. The item also needs to be sealed correctly at the time of purchase. If Apple does not seal the product or issue that receipt I don't see how one can get a refund.

I would be happy to be incorrect since what you are saying implies millions of yen in additional refunds.

indeed since ios15 at least and unless you have airplane mode on… but between that caveat and the fact I’m in Japan much of the time I haven’t been tempted despite the weak yen :)

It's been awhile so my memory was probably cloudy - I don't remember the special receipt or sealing of the bag by the knife store, I just walked up the street to the tax refund office and they took my receipt and looked at the bag, and gave me a substantial amount of cash, which is how I accidently discovered I had miscalculated and spent $700 on two knives instead of $70.

So if it's a special process and Apple no longer participates, that's good to know - now I just need to find an English keyboard model elsewhere which seems unlikely based on the prior posts, or just factor in the tax and pay it.

Usually, they only use a sealing bag for consumables. I guess there might be stores that sell both consumables and non-consumables and train employees to seal everything. Only things I've had sealed for tax free were medicine and snacks/food.

Was the knife store part of a shopping plaza? I don't think I've seen the European Global Blue type of setup in Japan but I have seen a duty free refund area shared by various stores in a mall/complex. I think it was a Montbell? store in a mall which used the duty free desk vs the standalone Montbell in Kyobashi which used to (still might) offer tax back refunds in house.

I, too, would be happy to be incorrect.

There are a few ways to get discounts on Apple Products in the US, if that's also an option of interest for some reading this thread:
Direct -

• Apple Employee friends and family discount varies on the product line but sometimes around 10-15% off and can be ordered for in-store pickup in a sales tax free state. Yes, this isn't available to the general public and there is a quota, but possibly worth asking around if you have a large social circle. I find most people in Silicon Valley are open to sharing/trading corporate perks and not offended if people ask (the tech industry tends to view perks as cachet and retention method). I'm not sure if they changed the policy of which credit card is charged (employee now vs purchaser before) so that's something to think about if you want to use CC warranty benefits. ETA: It was also possible for an employee to place an Apple JP order in 2017. My F&F Apple Watch order was shipped to hotel, not in-store pickup, and wasn't eligible for a sales tax refund.
• Edu discount and some states run a sales tax free weekend during the same season.
• You can typically also buy digital iTunes gift cards at a small discount from Target, Amazon, and Best Buy around Thanksgiving which can be added to Apple iTunes account and used to pay for Apple hardware (vs only digital goods before).
• Some companies offer employees an Apple discount via portal click through but discount is usually small.

Third Party -

• Put a watch on slickdeals for desired product if you don't need a custom build. https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php...isUserSearch=1
• Costco sometimes includes additional warranty and AppleCare price might be a little less https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comm...e_products_at/

The knife store was an independent shop near the Asaksua district where most of the cookware shops are located.

Wow! You got a tax refund on a purchase from Kappabashi? I am impressed! :tu: