This page talks about shipping items from my shop to your home country.  If you want to learn about domestic shipping within Japan, please see the Shipping in Japan section.  It's important to understand international shipping because it's a cost you'll have to pay and it might affect what you can or cannot buy because of size and weight limitations.  For most people the limitations won't be a problem, but if you plan on buying multiple items that you want combined into one shipping box it can be problematic for larger orders.

I've shipped out probably over a thousand packages from Japan so I know what most people want and what will work best for your item.  Below is some information on how shipping works, but it's mostly there in case you need to know more information.  Most people care about price, insurance, and tracking so I'll let you know about all of that when I send you your shipping options.

Import Taxes & Duties

I understand that countries in Europe and Canada have high import taxes so I can reduce the value on the shipping label.  Usually I write "used (item)" with a value of about $30.  If you want me to write something specific I can use your words.  One thing you have to understand is that if I write a value of $30 (or whatever) then your insurance is $30.  I can guarantee that the item will be packaged well but I can't guarantee that your post office won't lose the package or otherwise cause massive damage.  Please think about this carefully when deciding what amount you want me to use.

Sometimes packages get held up in customs and they require proof of purchase.  I can generate a PDF file with my company name that will match the description that I use on the label.  Then I can mail the pdf file to you and you can present it to customs.

Insurance

Because of the import tax issues, most people choose against insurance since they will be taxed at the insurance amount.  If you in the United States you don't have to worry about this since there are no import taxes.  You'll always get full insurance.  Some people choose to have full insurance and pay the import taxes because they want to be covered.  In the end it's your choice.  Not all countries have the same limits for insurance, for example Canada, the UK, Germany, and Brazil do not offer any insurance on AIR/SAL/SEA packages.  In that case you might as well declare the lowest value possible.  EMS always has the option of full insurance to any country.

Split Orders

I can split up shipping any way you want.  Some people buy a few console with a lot of games and want the consoles shipped via EMS and the games shipped via SEA.  Some people want one item shipped via SAL and the others via EMS.  In the end you can choose how you want your items to be shipped.

Limitations

Please see the article about Maximum Shipping Sizes to learn about size, weight, and insurance limits to your country.  Max weights are usually between 20 KG and 30 KG.  This is important for heavier items like laserdisc players and audio equipment.  Different countries also sometimes have different size limits for EMS and other services.  It might end up being cheaper to use one EMS box instead of 2 SAL boxes.

Shipping Estimates

If you know the weight of the item you will be buying I can sometimes give you international shipping estimates before you buy.  I can't really do this for combined items since it will mostly be a guess as to what the combined weight will be.

Shipping Services

There are a few different shipping options available from Japan Post.  You can break it down into 4 basic services:  EMS, AIR, SAL, and SEA.  EMS is known as Express Mail International in the United States, but it's mostly known as "EMS" everywhere else.  The difference in service is price and speed.  EMS is the fastest and most expensive.  SEA is the slowest and cheapest.  AIR and SAL are in the middle.  Japan Post offers different services for items over 2 KG (about 4.4 lbs) and under 2 KG.  If you're buying a game console or guitar and A/V item then you're going to be over 2 KG.  If you're buying something small like a comic or CD then you're going to be under 2 KG.

Packages over 2 KG

If your package is over 2 KG, then these are your shipping options:

AIR is an option, but the price is close to EMS and it's slower and less reliable, so no one ever chooses it.  All 3 shipping options have tracking and insurance and use a shipping label.  DIfferent countries have different size and weight requirements so please check the links on the left to learn about your country.

Packages under 2 KG

If your package is under 2 KG, Japan Post calls it a "small packet" for AIR and SAL.  These are your shipping options:

Only EMS has tracking and insurance.  A lot of people use AIR and SAL Small Packet service for smaller and cheaper items like CDs or collectibles.  If you have a small item that's valuable then it's best to use EMS.  The small packet also has a size limitation which is a bit small (L+W+H must be less than 90 cm).  If your package is under 2 KG it still may be too big in terms of volume to use the small packet service.