Blade users thread (NO DEBATING CLUBHEADS! NO Buy Sell Trade!)

[Ger21]

1 hour ago, Excelsior75 said:

So if you see photos of say, a set of Miura irons - that look in tip-top condition - but four sellers are using the same photos, are those the irons you’re gonna get

 

 

If I did not receive the pictured items, I would return them. I expect to get what's pictured 100% of the time.

[Moarbutter]

This isn't a perfect example (deliberately looked for things that weren't the same so I didn't accidentally blow up your spot), But here is a 5-P of Miura TB Zero for $740 from Japan (before shipping) - https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/x1157892909 and here is a 5-P on ebay for $1800. 

[PedronNiall]

Nice to see that they have built in translated page option. Might have to check it out. Was looking at eBay because that + PayPal makes issues easy to sort but Buyee accepts PayPal as well. 

[nzio]

-

Edited December 11, 2024 by nzio

[nzio]

On 12/9/2024 at 5:38 PM, Excelsior75 said:

Yes.  I only ask because often Ive seen multiple eBay sellers from Japan who use / share the exact same photos when offering a set of blade irons...

Have bought from Buyee many times. Total legit.

Also the same item listed in multiple places.

 

No issues what so ever.

 

Way cheaper than on eBay where they list the item as well. 

 

Very happy with them.

 

Only thing is their standard length is shorter than European standard.

 

#5 iron is 38" in EU

#5 iron is 37.75 in JP

[mbwannab]

On 12/9/2024 at 1:22 PM, Moarbutter said:

Throwing my hat in the ring here, My suspicions are that they aren't local resellers to any one shop, but are resellers from yahoo.jp. I've seen the same thing w/ multiple ebay postings, and the original on yahoo.jp - this actually happened when I bought my Kyoeiis. Watched the posting because I was curious as to what happened, and the ebay listing was pulled a day or so later. 

 

It's definitely a bit of a pain to figure out how to navigate it (google translate is for sure your friend), but going with Yahoo.jp/buyee.jp is definitely the move IMO. They don't do a great job of showing you what shipping is going to be, but my experience is that it's roughly $100. However, w/ the price discount and strength of USD/JPY, you can still usually get a better deal going that route if you're willing to put in the work. My experience w/ buyee has been nothing short of spectacular, and I couldn't recommend it more. The other cool thing is that you get a lot more selection, and can possibly find some really cool JDM brands as well.

 

Happy to answer any questions you have about my experience

Maybe I’m missing something but wouldn’t eBay be cheaper as it’s almost always free shipping from any seller in Japan that I’ve seen, or is it buyee is just that much cheaper? 

[Ger21]

2 hours ago, mbwannab said:

Maybe I’m missing something but wouldn’t eBay be cheaper as it’s almost always free shipping from any seller in Japan that I’ve seen, or is it buyee is just that much cheaper? 

I was wondering the same thing. I got free shipping on the Bridgestone's I just bought. If shipping was $100, It's hard to believe they would have been more than $100 cheaper elsewhere.

 

And aren't there also fees for using Buyee?

[Nard_S]

5 hours ago, nzio said:

Have bought from Buyee many times. Total legit.

Also the same item listed in multiple places.

 

No issues what so ever.

 

Way cheaper than on eBay where they list the item as well. 

 

Very happy with them.

 

Only thing is their standard length is shorter than European standard.

 

#5 iron is 38" in EU

#5 iron is 37.75 in JP

Yeah, my biggest concern on JDM buys is shaft choices and setups. Rare to see a US type spec, which is not a must but generally you'll see a DG shaft is S200 (or even seen S100). So I've found myself begging off a lot just because of configurations.

 

Also, do not go JDM on golf bags. I did it once, the bag is a gaudy turquoise leather Maruman unit. It came with irons (31CX Conductor Pro's), cost was $100 and the irons were mint. But the shipping was like $275, The seller reached out and asked "do you really want the bag", I was like "yeah, it's the sole reason i made buy". Lol. It proudly sits in my office.

[Ger21]

2 hours ago, Nard_S said:

Yeah, my biggest concern on JDM buys is shaft choices and setups.

I usually go in knowing I'll be changing shafts.

[Nard_S]

2 hours ago, Ger21 said:

I usually go in knowing I'll be changing shafts.

I've done that but now i attach a dollar and desirability quotient to it. Many times it does not pass both.

[Jraallen]

When buying from vendors in japan do you have to deal with any additional import fees/customs duties? 

[Nard_S]

19 minutes ago, Jraallen said:

When buying from vendors in japan do you have to deal with any additional import fees/customs duties? 

I've never had that issue.

[Nard_S]

Funny the guy who started this thread probably has more JDM buys under belt than all of us put together.

[Ca3l]

51 minutes ago, Jraallen said:

When buying from vendors in japan do you have to deal with any additional import fees/customs duties? 

I just recently looked into this. My understanding (from reading, not personal experience) is that you are responsible for duties in the US if you purchase something from Japan with a declared value over $800. For golf clubs, I believe it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 5%. I also read that people who had their stuff shipped through certain carriers got it without ever paying fees, while fedex will send a bill a couple of weeks later.

[Moarbutter]

I'm in the same boat as @Ger21, both times I've gone into the process under the assumption that I was going to rip the shafts out. @Jraallen There is definitely a threshold over which you are going to be potentially responsible for paying customs duties, depending on carrier. Buyee says things get dicey over 200,000 yen (currently $1,313). The $800 number is also one I've seen floating around as well. Re: Shipping fees, here's the calculator on their website that asks for the mass in grams and the total linear cms of the package. From past experience, I would do 120cm x 30cm x 30cm (4'x1'x1').

 

All of this is what I was trying to make earlier. Buying straight from Japan is absolutely the high variance option. It will unquestionably be more of an adventure than buying from ebay, which at this point is pretty much like buying from Amazon. It's up to the person buying it to determine if the added hassle/unknown is worth it to be able to get either significantly cheaper clubs and/or JDM clubs you just cannot find in the U.S. I have yet to hear of anyone not having a good experience w/ Buyee, though. I would do the same due diligence you would on ebay, though in terms of visual inspection and only buying from sellers over a certain number of purchases/reviews.

 

If it helps the decision - next time I'm in the market for a set of Japanese blades, I am absolutely going to use buyee.jp again without question. At some point in the future I have a date with a set of Epon Personal 2s. Those Naboo Shuttles are coming home with me FOR SURE.

Edited December 12, 2024 by Moarbutter

[Christen_The_Sloop]

18 hours ago, Nard_S said:

Yeah, my biggest concern on JDM buys is shaft choices and setups. Rare to see a US type spec, which is not a must but generally you'll see a DG shaft is S200 (or even seen S100). So I've found myself begging off a lot just because of configurations.

 

Also, do not go JDM on golf bags. I did it once, the bag is a gaudy turquoise leather Maruman unit. It came with irons (31CX Conductor Pro's), cost was $100 and the irons were mint. But the shipping was like $275, The seller reached out and asked "do you really want the bag", I was like "yeah, it's the sole reason i made buy". Lol. It proudly sits in my office.

 

I remember that.

[ARL67]

I gotta chime in how much I like my Tourstage X-Blade 705-M  ( aka J40CB )-> a beautiful hunk of forged metal and no tech'y features.  I left my main set in Florida and am back to snowy Canada for a couple months, and have these Tourstage with Steelfiber i110cw X-Stiff (SSx2) to hit in my Sim (GC3).   For an old club these have a stock modern'ish 7i loft of 32* , and a 46* PW.   These had been lying dormant for a while but are now seeing a lot of use in my Sim -> the feel of this combo is superb !  I was thinking of moving these on and grabbing MP-4 or MP-5 to fool around with in the backup-bag, but think I'll stay put with these.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2024 by ARL67

[JungleJimbo]

 

Saw these on twitter today

 

 

 

[infinii]

Stumbled upon a set of Miura TB Zero for a steal and couldn't help myself.

 

Seriously though, this is absolutely last set of blades for me! Still have MP-32 and MP-4 (gamers) that I don't intend on selling. Only bought these on a whim b/c I've always wanted a set of Miura MB.

 

Thoughts...

Stock, these are about 1* weaker than my MP4 but the previous owner had them bent 1* stronger so they are effectively the same. Seems about right as I'm getting same distance. Feel wise, they are softer than the mizzy. I think the sole/leading-edge is the biggest difference. I'm normally a picker of the ball and I've noticed that these are definitely digging more than I'm used to. Came with Modus 120s which are a flex softer than my mp4s and I can really feel the softer flex at the end of my swing. I doubt I'll spend the money to reshaft these, opting to probably save these for when I'll inevitably need to go to softer clubs as I get older.

[subrew]

Just a few more comments about the ebay purchases, as I've had a few more arrive.

 

-Someone asked if a set of irons is listed by multiple vendors using the same photos, if you are receiving those exact irons in the photos, or something similar.  I've received the exact items shown in the photos.  Because I'm buying a cheaper price point, a lot of my stuff is in good to very good condition, but has typical bag chatter and nicks/scrapes.  They often zoom in on those nicks in the photos, and I get exactly those irons.

 

-When I've purchased irons that are listed on multiple ebay vendor sites:  When I've purchased them from vendor A, I will go back to the listing for vendor B occasionally, and usually within a couple hours those listings are marked "item out of inventory."

 

-When I've purchased sets that come with shafts, they tend to come with S200, or NSPro 950 something or other shafts.  Occasionally I get some of the blades with a Modus3 120 X-Flex, but that is rare.  I always reshaft anyways, so I tend to give away shafts to a local small golf shop, or sell them on FB marketplace for cheap, like $10/shaft.  Especially the X-flex stuff.  

 

-I have looked at the yahoo listings a few times.  Again, because I'm shopping in the $100-$200 price range, I don't find the yahoo listings to be less expensive.  I've seen the exact set of irons go for like $20-40 less on the yahoo listing than a ebay vendors has them listed for.  But 9 out of 10 times the ebay is free shipping, and the yahoo listing will have freight prices all over the place, often for as much as $100.  I think if you are looking at stuff in the higher price point, like mint condition Miuras, that is where the yahoo listings can save money.  

 

 

My latest build was this set of Maruman Conductor Pro-X Milled blades, 6-PW.  These were $161 with free shipping, and these came with a set of Modus3 120 X-flex shafts (that I'll sell for $50 locally.)  I built them up over last weekend, and have two days playing them so far.  Absolutely love the feel of Maruman irons.

 

 

[Jraallen]

59 minutes ago, subrew said:

Just a few more comments about the ebay purchases, as I've had a few more arrive.

 

-Someone asked if a set of irons is listed by multiple vendors using the same photos, if you are receiving those exact irons in the photos, or something similar.  I've received the exact items shown in the photos.  Because I'm buying a cheaper price point, a lot of my stuff is in good to very good condition, but has typical bag chatter and nicks/scrapes.  They often zoom in on those nicks in the photos, and I get exactly those irons.

 

-When I've purchased irons that are listed on multiple ebay vendor sites:  When I've purchased them from vendor A, I will go back to the listing for vendor B occasionally, and usually within a couple hours those listings are marked "item out of inventory."

 

-When I've purchased sets that come with shafts, they tend to come with S200, or NSPro 950 something or other shafts.  Occasionally I get some of the blades with a Modus3 120 X-Flex, but that is rare.  I always reshaft anyways, so I tend to give away shafts to a local small golf shop, or sell them on FB marketplace for cheap, like $10/shaft.  Especially the X-flex stuff.  

 

-I have looked at the yahoo listings a few times.  Again, because I'm shopping in the $100-$200 price range, I don't find the yahoo listings to be less expensive.  I've seen the exact set of irons go for like $20-40 less on the yahoo listing than a ebay vendors has them listed for.  But 9 out of 10 times the ebay is free shipping, and the yahoo listing will have freight prices all over the place, often for as much as $100.  I think if you are looking at stuff in the higher price point, like mint condition Miuras, that is where the yahoo listings can save money.  

 

 

My latest build was this set of Maruman Conductor Pro-X Milled blades, 6-PW.  These were $161 with free shipping, and these came with a set of Modus3 120 X-flex shafts (that I'll sell for $50 locally.)  I built them up over last weekend, and have two days playing them so far.  Absolutely love the feel of Maruman irons.

 

 

Have you hit the maruman 31cxii’s or m210’s?

stumbled on a set on eBay that’s beat up enough for me to use them to learn about stripping/re finishing and cheap enough that if I mess up it wouldn’t be a big deal, but figure if I’m going to put in the effort I’d like to have something at least half nice in the end if successful. 

Edited December 27, 2024 by Jraallen

[subrew]

1 hour ago, Jraallen said:

Have you hit the maruman 31cxii’s or m210’s?

stumbled on a set on eBay that’s beat up enough for me to use them to learn about stripping/re finishing and cheap enough that if I mess up it wouldn’t be a big deal, but figure if I’m going to put in the effort I’d like to have something at least half nice in the end if successful. 

 

No to both.  I've been intrigued by the 31CX11s as you can see sets for under $100 sometimes.  I've been trying to focus on 2010-2020 circa stuff recently.  Usually I research a set, and see them for $300-400.  Then occasionally someone posts a set in slightly less good condition for under $200, take advantage of offers/discounts and get them for $150-175 or so.  Everything I build I play, and usually at a small local muni-style course with not pristine tee boxes and fairways.  So I'm not looking for anything mint that will get scratches the first time I hit off a sandy tee box.

 

I got a bit crazy two months ago and picked up multiple sets of Tourstage heads.  One shop seemed to list them for ~$100 less than others, and I picked up some 701, 705 Type M, and 705 Type S for $99 to $119 shipped.  It was a weird combo of getting a % discount offer from the vendor, then some ebay codes etc.  

 

Sometimes shops will misspell key words too, and nobody bids on them.  I got a 5-9 set of Mizuno MP54 heads in excellent condition for $31 shipped.  I was the only bidder.  Mizuno was spelled wrong, and the description was pretty sparse.  But the photos were good, so I took a gamble.  

[Jraallen]

11 minutes ago, subrew said:

 

No to both.  I've been intrigued by the 31CX11s as you can see sets for under $100 sometimes.  I've been trying to focus on 2010-2020 circa stuff recently.  Usually I research a set, and see them for $300-400.  Then occasionally someone posts a set in slightly less good condition for under $200, take advantage of offers/discounts and get them for $150-175 or so.  Everything I build I play, and usually at a small local muni-style course with not pristine tee boxes and fairways.  So I'm not looking for anything mint that will get scratches the first time I hit off a sandy tee box.

 

I got a bit crazy two months ago and picked up multiple sets of Tourstage heads.  One shop seemed to list them for ~$100 less than others, and I picked up some 701, 705 Type M, and 705 Type S for $99 to $119 shipped.  It was a weird combo of getting a % discount offer from the vendor, then some ebay codes etc.  

 

Sometimes shops will misspell key words too, and nobody bids on them.  I got a 5-9 set of Mizuno MP54 heads in excellent condition for $31 shipped.  I was the only bidder.  Mizuno was spelled wrong, and the description was pretty sparse.  But the photos were good, so I took a gamble.  

Yea the set I’m eyeing of 31mc11’s is basically 100 shipped, seems like a decent set to learn/practice building/refinishing on. 1-pw but no 8 iron so I’ll either look for an 8 (not keeping my hopes up) or use it as an opportunity to learn about adjusting lofts.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

32 minutes ago, Jraallen said:

Yea the set I’m eyeing of 31mc11’s is basically 100 shipped, seems like a decent set to learn/practice building/refinishing on. 1-pw but no 8 iron so I’ll either look for an 8 (not keeping my hopes up) or use it as an opportunity to learn about adjusting lofts.

 

I would choose a different set of irons to strip than the conductors. They are Miura forged and they have a layer of copper (thus conductor) under the chrome. One of the reasons they feel so damn good. I have around 5 sets of them, just from wanting to see them in my hand. But, they do feel really nice. The entire product is right there with TN-87s for best feeling iron of all time, in my opinion.

[Jraallen]

13 minutes ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

 

I would choose a different set of irons to strip than the conductors. They are Miura forged and they have a layer of copper (thus conductor) under the chrome. One of the reasons they feel so damn good. I have around 5 sets of them, just from wanting to see them in my hand. But, they do feel really nice. The entire product is right there with TN-87s for best feeling iron of all time, in my opinion.

Do you know if it’s copper->nickel->chrome or just copper->chrome?

Would love to learn more about them and figure out how to best give them some new life without messing up what makes them great.

 

 

[subrew]

Sorry for the non blade content, but this was rather timely given today’s discussion. Two deliveries arrived today, both ordered on the 24th. 
 

The Maruman cavities that go with my previously posted Pro-X milled blades, and some PRGR TR500. 

 

[Jraallen]

21 minutes ago, subrew said:

Sorry for the non blade content, but this was rather timely given today’s discussion. Two deliveries arrived today, both ordered on the 24th. 
 

The Maruman cavities that go with my previously posted Pro-X milled blades, and some PRGR TR500. 

 

Well your prior post led me to buy both the maruman m210’s and the 31CXII’s, so we can say my double purchase makes up for the one non blade comment lol 

[uglande]

Posted about this earlier, but now the build is complete (still need to turn down ferrules): Mint set of MP-33s (3i-Pw), BB&F White Lightening ferrules, Tour Issue X100 shafts, MCC 4+ Midsize grips, stock loft/lie (for now), +.50 (3i-8i), +.75 (9i), +1.00 (Pw). Removed the paint fill. The paint was flaking away (like with most Mizunos from this era), but I like them "naked."

 

(BTW, the gold Vokey the background is just an SM9 raw that I torched for a few minutes).

[Excelsior75]

How much do you guys usually have in mind as a ´target price´ for these older blade sets?
On eBay, unless you´re extremely lucky - and I have been, twice on eBay - a lot of Good-to-Very-Good condition iron sets seem to cost around $375 - $630

[Nard_S]

17 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

 

I would choose a different set of irons to strip than the conductors. They are Miura forged and they have a layer of copper (thus conductor) under the chrome. One of the reasons they feel so damn good. I have around 5 sets of them, just from wanting to see them in my hand. But, they do feel really nice. The entire product is right there with TN-87s for best feeling iron of all time, in my opinion.

I'll 2nd this sentiment. Also, a huge issue of redo on heads is weight will get subtracted by as much as 4 grams. That's a lot to me. Irons with patina and knocks can be beautiful, my 40 SX's are beat to all hell but the shots are still lovely.