Reshipping from Japan to Los Angeles
August 8, 2020 6:25 PM   Subscribe

I want to buy some rubber stamps from this Japanese company in Kyoto, but they currently do not ship to the U.S. Can anyone recommend reshipping companies who will take delivery in Japan and send onward to me in Los Angeles? Another option is to post it on MeFi jobs - in that case, what is the shipping method (Japan post office? UPS? FedEx?) that ensures the package gets to me in these times (TM)?
posted by Atrahasis to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
The last three items I've ordered from Japan came via DHL, including one that I received yesterday.

I use a browser extension called Buyee, which lets me buy things from Japanese websites and ship them to the US. However, it tells me that the website you're looking at isn't available for their service. So, no help there, sorry.
posted by ralan at 6:39 PM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


i've used white rabbit several times for records over the past few years... it hasn't been terribly expensive but i wanna say it cost me like $15 to buy/ship one item...

i should add, that the shipment is completely separate from the buying quote and varied from $7-15 for my three shipments.
posted by noloveforned at 7:08 PM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thank you, noloveformed. Unfortunately, white rabbit's prices are prohibitive if I want to buy about 20 stamps. This is before they charge me for international shipping.
posted by Atrahasis at 8:44 PM on August 8, 2020


Buyee's original service is called Tenso, which is basically a virtual address in Japan. You order stuff to the virtual address and they receive it, reship, and charge you fees. They usually have a range of shipping options, but right now everything except surface mail is greyed out?

I ordered via Buyee at the end of March and my stuff was stuck in Japan for at least a month (airmail).
posted by Standard Orange at 12:08 AM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


Before you do all that, check with Books Kinokuniya downtown... I think they actually carry those. If you've never been, they have a really awesome collection of Japanese stationery.
posted by sexyrobot at 2:52 AM on August 9, 2020 [4 favorites]


Seconding asking Kinokuniya. The stationary department has wonderful customer service, and if they don't have these stamps, they may be able to get them.
posted by Scram at 4:35 PM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]


You might also want to check with Nico Neco Zakkaya in NYC. They carry a lot of Japanese stamps and might be able to help.
posted by elphaba at 7:29 AM on August 10, 2020


Thirding Kinokuniya. They ordered books for me in the past and just gave me a call when they came in for me to pick up. If they don't stock it, they may be able to order it for you.
posted by Julnyes at 12:30 PM on August 11, 2020


Response by poster: Update: I stopped by the Little Tokyo Kinokuniya today; they have approximately a 2x2 ft. stamp display of normal commercial rubber stamps, some, but not all, Japanese. Many of the stamps were out of stock, but I assume that is due to shipping issues from Japan to US right now. The Kyoto store has over 3000 stamps, all handmade by the store owner and staff, and none are carried elsewhere. The good news is that the Kyoto shop owner wrote to let me know they will be restarting U.S. shipping soon.
posted by Atrahasis at 3:54 PM on August 14, 2020 [2 favorites]


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