Paro is currently on sale on eBay (1 Viewer)

[Althani]

Paro is considered one of the most fascinating companion robots ever made. Originally developed in Japan through years of medical and robotic research for real use in hospitals, dementia care, and emotional therapy. Its extremely advanced touch sensors, lifelike reactions, calming sounds, and realistic emotional interaction were designed specifically to reduce stress, loneliness, and anxiety and to provide emotional support.

PARO was even classified in both Japan and the United States as a medical therapeutic device and was mainly used in hospitals, care centers, and healthcare environments and was not sold as a consumer robot. That’s why I was surprised when I saw an unused one on eBay.

I didn’t buy it, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.

 

[Chris]

These are super cute in grey. They remind me of the Familiar robots from Familiar Machines.

I’ve seen a few come up for sale from time to time also. You might be able to find them cheaper on Japanese auction sites.

It’s probably safer to purchase directly from the manufacturer if you decide to pay full price as I’m unsure if these eBay sellers can guarantee the warranty.

 

[Althani]

These are super cute in grey. They remind me of the Familiar robots from Familiar Machines.

I’ve seen a few come up for sale from time to time also. You might be able to find them cheaper on Japanese auction sites.

It’s probably safer to purchase directly from the manufacturer if you decide to pay full price as I’m unsure if these eBay sellers can guarantee the warranty.

I honestly don’t think I’ll buy one right now. I feel like Moflin already follows a very similar philosophy and emotional companion concept, just in a much smaller and more home-friendly form. It’s easier to carry around, more practical for daily life, costs only a fraction of PARO’s price, and in some ways its AI may even feel more advanced, especially regarding personality development and attachment to the owner.

 

[Chris]

I honestly don’t think I’ll buy one right now. I feel like Moflin already follows a very similar philosophy and emotional companion concept, just in a much smaller and more home-friendly form. It’s easier to carry around, more practical for daily life, costs only a fraction of PARO’s price, and in some ways its AI may even feel more advanced, especially regarding personality development and attachment to the owner.

True. Fair point.

There is actually a Paro on Mercari going for cheaper, it’s linked below. But I still feel it’s overpriced even at this significant discount when compared to robots available today that have onboard AI. Still definitely an interesting robot. Can’t believe it’s been around for over 20 years now and that the company who manufactures it still exists.

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2Fm98183191461/13_1/

 

[Althani]

True. Fair point.

There is actually a Paro on Mercari going for cheaper, it’s linked below. But I still feel it’s overpriced even at this significant discount when compared to robots available today that have onboard AI. Still definitely an interesting robot. Can’t believe it’s been around for over 20 years now and that the company who manufactures it still exists.

https://www.fromjapan.co.jp/japan/en/special/order/confirm/https%3A%2F%2Fjp.mercari.com%2Fitem%2Fm98183191461/13_1/

Yes Chris, thank you for sharing this link. I think this price is much more reasonable. However, when I checked the link, it appeared that the item was already sold out. It would definitely be fascinating to add such a historically important robot to my collection one day.

 

[Chris]

Yes Chris, thank you for sharing this link. I think this price is much more reasonable. However, when I checked the link, it appeared that the item was already sold out. It would definitely be fascinating to add such a historically important robot to my collection one day.

Oh it’s been sold! It was still available for sale when I shared it. Guess someone must have read this thread and purchased it. Which is crazy to think about. Keep an eye out for one, sometimes they are listed for a couple of hundred dollars and come up for sale cheaply every now and again.

 

[Althani]

Oh it’s been sold! It was still available for sale when I shared it. Guess someone must have read this thread and purchased it. Which is crazy to think about. Keep an eye out for one, sometimes they are listed for a couple of hundred dollars and come up for sale cheaply every now and again.

Thank you! I’ll keep an eye out for one and hopefully one will come up soon.