That basically sums up how I felt when I read the article. However, i will be in japan from march 24-april 15 so im going to see if i can get some kondo gear from the landfill :-) |
Not just yet! According to the rest of the article Update: Well, it looks like you can relax a little. Thanks to Roy at Mutant Frog, we've learned a little more about the intricacies of Japanese law. Turns out that sellers of certain kinds of old gear will have to get a government seal certifying that the items adhere to modern safely standards if they want to sell the stuff after April 1. Sellers are crying foul, saying that in certain cases, it'll be too hard to get certification, and they may end up dumping their gear -- or exporting it, since it turns out exports are exempt from the new law. So, for the best deals on unsafe old Japanese electrical products, start checking the second-hand markets of Shanghai and Hanoi. Just don't mention our name. Just as in the US, where TV broadcasting should have been only in the digital format by now, forces in the marketplace [pissed off consumers and trade groups] can sometimes alter or abort the "best laid plans" of Government Agency weasels! |
they also have a law requiring car owners to replace their vehicles engines after 30,000 miles, to keep air polutions low...while I can sort of see that logic,....this is pretty extreme!
I guess I will be the first to offer to take all that old AirTight and Wavac gear off those sellers! |
Have safety standards improved that much over the last five years? I don't think so. What an interesting excuse to eliminate competition for new gear. I hope it doesn't catch on in other countries! |
there's actually a quite widespread aversion to buying used over there to begin with. friends of mine speak of people basically putting perfectly good possessions on the the curb for the taking. lightly used japanese car engines are often exported, much to the benefit of US consumers. |
