Okay, there's a rant that'll be familiar in the second half of this, but there's a core question I hope those familiar with Japan can answer.

Since I've gotten into music I've received albums (CD) from all sorts of places, but why is it when I order a second hand album from Japan it doesn't seem like I have to worry about the condition? I honestly can't remember getting an album from a seller in Japan I was unhappy with... hell, they all seemed like new or close to new to me.

Are sellers cherry picking the best copies they can find to sell on the internet, or (and I hope this is the reason) do the Japanese just take better care of their property? If I would go into a second hand store in Japan would I have to worry about condition like I do over here in the states where next to no one takes care of anything?

Anyway, I'm not trying to make this a loaded question... but I just have to say I really like dealing with Japanese sellers and it's just so nice to know there's a great chance the item is going to be up to my standards.

... but it is?  There's nothing really different except the US has more volume...?  I don't know why you think Japanese items are somehow better, if you look in any used Japanese cd store they' run the gamut.  I've bought many CDs with obis stickered to the cases, broken cases, broken insert tabs, broken CD holder things.  Most people aren't going to bother trying to sell cds in shit condition on a 3rd party auction website but if you go to any used CD store you'll find tons.  The objective of putting it up for auction is getting the best price, why bother with something that's inherently less value?

Jesus christ... I never said Japanese good were automatically better. I asked a question based on my own personal observations, nothing more.

Can't believe you can say this with a straight face considering some of the crap people try and flip on ebay.

I think I see where the OP is coming from. If I buy second hand from a Japanese seller/store and they advertised the item as mint condition, clean disc etc, then 99% of the time that is exactly what I get. I buy from them with more confidence. Buying from just about anywhere else, that success rate goes down dramatically and many things that are listed as 'like new' aren't even close. I feel I've had to return a lot more stuff in recent years due to nonsense grading, but never anything from Japan.

Most of the shit you buy online from places like here or vgmdb is from collectors, so you can typically count on a higher quality specimen.

Otherwise, just like jb said, you'll get conditions of varying quality if you go to a record store or something.

That is exactly what you said, just in more words.  "why is it when I order a second hand album from Japan it doesn't seem like I have to worry about the condition?"  You outright asked if Japanese people take better care of their stuff (laughable) and implied that Americans somehow do not (equally laughable).  There are many differences in the culture and lifestyle of Eastern vs. Western but "taking care of things" isn't really one of them. You're simply looking for justifications to support your limited perspective, nothing more.  This isn't a question or a discussion it's just a bait thread.

Of course I can say it with a straight face, because there's nothing out of the ordinary with items on ebay vs. items from secondary markets in Japan.  I'm sure if you look hard enough you can find enough garbage to support your claim.  I'm sure if I cared enough I could find enough not-garbage to support my claim.  There's no real difference other than what has already been pointed out -- this is a collectors market and as such tends to have higher quality items, plus if it's a secondary market, an item needs to be in salable condition if your intent is to get money for it.

I have noticed this too. When I order from a site like gohastings or Amazon, I'm taking a serious chance the CD isn't scratched to hell. Even in a used CD store, I have to ask to inspect each disc and half the time, the scratches are too much (hard to get a good rip with them). I've NEVER had this issue buying used Japanese CD's. The disc is usually pristine and scratch-free.

Oh, wow, jb has a problem with something I said. That's new.

*scratches head*

Speaking from experience, building a near-mint-in-box Super Famicom game library (or any other system, for that matter) in Japan is *so* much easier than trying to do the same thing with Super Nintendo games in America.  Ignore jb's moaning, your observation is absolutely true.