Laox store at Akihabara

Hello all,

On the internet, I found that Laox sells duty free products. My question is:
"Does any Laox stores sell duty free products (for example laptops)? Is it possible to benefit from the tax reduction if I buy a laptop and bring my passport?"

Thank you for your answers

While not directly answering your question, I would like to point out a few things.

Depending on the make of laptop, it may be that you will not have a worldwide guarantee.

Depending on the price paid (and other goods purchased that you will bring home), you may be liable for both import duty and VAT when clearing customs in your own country.

I have never found electronic goods to be particularly cheap in Japan and would think you would be better off finding something in Europe.

Actually, the prices in Japan are always cheaper than the prices in Europe. For duty free and VAT, they are not considered for the personal electronics. The only problem can be global warranty. Anyway, thank you for your reply. I will continue to check the prices and duty free chances.

Actually, the prices in Japan are always cheaper than the prices in Europe.
Actually, no they are not. Part of this will depend on exchange rate and also country of manufacture.
For duty free and VAT, they are not considered for the personal electronics.
Actually, yes they are if you are buying new abroad. For For example for France duty is payable for non-commercial items imported from outside EU over 430 euro value. For this reason, some people will discard the packaging before smuggling the items in and pretending it is their old personal electronics. The personal item exception would only apply if you have be resident outside France for more than 12 month and have certificate of change of residence. Other EU countries rules are broadly similar - but the duty rate, VAT and personal allowance will vary.

Some prices are cheaper in Japan than Europe, and some are not.
If you buy goods at shops that focus on duty free, they will often be export models, and therefore, not cheap or even VERY expensive.

In regular chain shops such as Bic Camera or Yodobashi, they are not the cheapest, but you can get duty free on goods there. For laptops, in this case, because they are not export models, they will have Japanese keyboard, and the mapping for punctuation keys is different and confusing. Some of the low end cameras have great deals, however, cheaper than Europe.(mainly old models with huge discounts) Check warranty conditions in this case. For example, all DSLR cameras (except Olympus) have Japanese warranty only, but the lenses that come with them (even as a kit) generally have world wide warranty.

The cheapest prices can be found on Kakaku.com, in smaller discount shops and these are often cheaper than Europe, but not always.

There are certain products that are consistently cheaper in Japan, but you need to be aware of your prices.

I would suggest you don't buy a laptop in Japan, unless it is a VERY cheap old model.

When shopping, I think you need to spend over 10000yen for tax free, before making a purchase ask for discount and is the item tax free, I remember last time in akihabara i got a headphone around 15000yen after 1000 yen discount and 10% tax, they never advertised they had tax free shopping.