Help me buy awesome Japanese stuff from Japan.
October 5, 2008 3:07 AM   Subscribe

I am looking for someone to help me purchase goods from a Japanese website.

I am a huge fan of the Japanese melodic metal band Galneryus. I want to purchase merchandise from their website, however it is entirely in Japanese with no English option. All transactions are in Yen, and I can't tell how things are bought (PayPal, something else?).

I am looking for price information, shipping, can they even ship international? Sizing information too, if available. For example, is a Japanese large smaller then an American large? I assume so.

I realize this will be an intensive task for whomever is willing to help me, but it would be GREATLY appreciated. Because of the somewhat complicated nature of this, some of this may need to be handled via MeMail. But if anyone here can tell me basic things like will they ship internationally and how payments are recevied it would still be amazing.

A million thanks in advance!
posted by mediocre to Society & Culture (6 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
There are sites that help with Japanese shopping, for a fee -- for example:
http://www.shoppingmalljapan.com/. They'll buy the items and send them to you, even if the shop doesn't ship internationally.
posted by martinrebas at 3:36 AM on October 5, 2008 [1 favorite]


The link at the bottom of the page seems to have price and other information. Unfortunately they also say in English near the bottom of that page "(Sorry but we do not accept international orders)", so you'll probably have to use sites such as the one martinrebas linked.
posted by Arasithil at 3:46 AM on October 5, 2008


Buying things internationally without the support of the first seller can be a little complex. Be prepared to pay >10% more for a site such as the one martinrebas listed. In most cases an intermediary is the only way to get things done, because frequently items will be domestic-only or sellers will not ship outside their own area.

FWIW, I've only had positive experience through intermediaries buying things like a Hello Kitty Wacom tablet.
posted by Phyltre at 5:56 AM on October 5, 2008


They accept payment via postal transfer or C.O.D. via Yamato. Domestic orders only.

Here's popjisho's translaton of the site. Hover over the Japanese to see a translation of stuff.
posted by troy at 7:38 AM on October 5, 2008


Another site you can use to buy from Japan is Rinkya. I've never used them but I've had several friends have good experiences there.
posted by you zombitch at 10:52 AM on October 5, 2008


Among American kimono collectors, the most highly-regarded Japanese shopping service is Crescent Shops. Most people use it for Yahoo Auctions Japan, but I think you can use it for regular Japanese commerce websites as well.
posted by bristolcat at 12:10 PM on October 5, 2008 [1 favorite]


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