The real cost of a parcel from Japan, itemised
Proxy buying, forwarding, shipping and customs when you order from Japan — what each step costs and where the surprises are. Every fee here is copied from the operator's own table or from an order I paid for.
- Written in Osaka, from the sending side of the parcel
- Fees come from each operator's published table, with the date they were checked
- Services I earn nothing from — including Japan Post — are compared the same way
What are you trying to figure out?
Proxy buying services, compared on total cost
A proxy service buys the item in Japan on your behalf and forwards it on. What separates them is not the headline commission but the handling fees, the storage window and how much English you get when something goes wrong.
Buyee
Most first-time buyers: it covers Yahoo! Auctions, Mercari and Rakuten from one account
about ¥300 per order · no membership fee
Check feesZenMarket
People who want one flat fee per order rather than a percentage they have to calculate
about ¥300 per order · no membership fee
Check feesNeokyo
Buyers in Europe, where its shipping options and VAT guidance are the most relevant
about ¥250 per order · no membership fee
Check feesScores convert each operator's published fee, sign-up requirements and level of English support onto the same five-point scale, including services we earn nothing from. They are not a personal ranking of which company we like, and they move when the underlying figures move.
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Services covered here
- Buyee
- ZenMarket
- Neokyo
- FROM JAPAN
- Remambo
- tenso.com
- White Rabbit Express
- Blackship
- Rakuten Global Express
- CDJapan
- Solaris Japan
- Amazon.co.jp
- Mercari Japan
- Yahoo! Auctions Japan
- tenso.com (consolidated shipping)
- Buyee (consolidated shipping)
- Japan Post — international mail
- Japan Customs — export restrictions
- Wise
- Buyee (first order walkthrough)