Great experience using Paul Martin to buy from Japanese Site

I stumbled across Paul Martin's website (http://www.thejapanesesword.com/art-swords) and his webpage offering to act as an agent for anyone wanting to purchase items from several different Japanese nihonto website. I had been eyeing a piece at one of the stores listed, Tsuruginomiya. It wasn't an extraordinarily expensive or rare piece; it was one of the relatively affordable items, so I wasn't sure if it would be worth his time (he doesn't charge any commissions) as I wanted to negotiate the price. Still, I sent him a PM.

Paul emailed me back quickly for the details and my offer and also handled my request very quickly Then he put me into direct contact with the seller to workout payment. Long story short, the deal went off without a hitch and I'm the happy owner of another lovely tsuba! Ultimately he was able to work out what amounts to about a 5% discount from the price, which was great.

I will definitely be using him again when the occasion arises and I hope this endorsement empowers others who may have longed for pieces on Japanese dealer sites but didn't know where to turn too, to pursue those items through Paul.

Thanks Paul! :D

PS: Tsuruginomiya also deserves props, as they did THE BEST packing job I've ever seen for a tsuba, or any package for that matter, even considering they typical Japanese packing job done. Huge over sized box, put tsuba into a nice silk bag and cardboard box, separately wrapped the wooden box, and send certificate in a plastic folder. Lots of bubble wrap and paper padding. Really says a lot to me about the company.