Japanese Resellers Are Sending the Japan-Only Maxell Bluetooth Cassette Player Across the Ocean in Droves

Like vinyl records before it, cassette tapes are having a bit of a moment, a resurgence in interest from folks who either remember music back when it was analog or who, more and more, have grown up only with digital song tracks streamed off Spotify or downloaded in the old days from Limewire.

Maxell went ahead and launched a new cassette player last week. That itself would be a momentous occasion, but add the fact that it looks downright normal and packs Bluetooth 5.4 into it so that you can listen to tapes through your headphones or earbuds.

The only bummer is that Maxell is only selling it in Japan. That hasn’t stopped a stream of resellers in Japan from selling them to hungry buyers internationally on eBay.

the “they don’t sell it here” upcharge

Aside from being Bluetooth 5.4 capable, the MXCP-P100 runs up to nine hours on a charge through a wired connection or up to seven hours if you’re using the Bluetooth. Unlike old cassette players that had to be fed a steady diet of AA or AAA batteries, the Maxell’s battery is internal and rechargeable. Top it off with a USB-C cable.

Asking prices on the American eBay site at the moment run the gamut from $130 to $200, mostly. That’s a fair bit more than the ¥13,000 JPY ($90 USD) price they command in Japan, but what are you gonna do? That’s the free market for you.

I’ve been watching eBay’s listings ever since Maxell launched it early last week, and the current pricing has remained fairly steady.

If you don’t like it, your only option is to fly to Japan and buy one, and everybody knows you’re not going to do that. So take on an extra 50% to the retail price if you want one, since these are all coming from Japan.

You know what’s nice, though? Every one of the Maxells I’m looking at on eBay right now comes with free shipping. Across an ocean! I’ve bought a fair number of things from Japan (and Europe), and I hardly ever get free shipping, eBay or otherwise. So that helps justify spending good money in 2025 on a cassette player.