To tie off the thread...my final international shipping cost after disposing of the domestic packaging and re-consolidating was ¥5452 (~$41), a HUGE difference from the $130 they were originally charging. Again, big thanks to everyone here and to Buyee's Discord team for help in sorting this out. And my boys got here safe and sound!
Amazing, and actually - to me anyways, based on UK shipping by EMS - that is incredibly cheap! So happy you were able to sort out this issue, and what a great lot of fellas to land on your shores. Well done!
I just got my first package via FromJapan and I must say I'm impressed. Reasonable service fees (comparable to Buyee) with free consolidation. I didn't have to pay or ask for them to repackage and protect the 4 items I ordered, they just did so, and very effectively I might add—just enough to keep things safe while keeping the size of the box to a minimum). Would definitely recommend. They may become my go-to proxy. Side note, after keeping an eye on offers promoted by both Buyee and FromJapan the latter seems to provide better coupons for marketplaces like Rakuten (10% vs. the common 5% Buyee has to offer).
Thanks, @HBCoffin! Definitely going to check out FromJapan. With next year being the 50th for Godzilla vs Megalon I get the feeling my wallet is gonna need all the help it can get...
I had my worst case of shipping sticker shock with my last Buyee shipment (~$130). I'll be checking out FromJapan in the near future.
They are great. The only minor thing is that their shipping schedule seems a little less frequent during the week than others. FJ will also buy from vendors who require an email as part of the transaction, or some kind of reaching out.
Appreciate all the research from folks here - have been looking for a Buyee alternate myself. Definitely going to give FromJapan a try, does anyone know if there is a way to save searches/email alerts like Buyee?
My buyee box showed up today. While I did grab a Charactics Hedorah, it was mostly xmas presents for the kiddos. The box is 22.5"x18"x11.5" and everything could have probably fit in a box half the size.
I think it's all browser based for now. I haven't seen that feature, but I'm still new to navigating their website so I may have overlooked the option. I still bookmark all of my searches like a dinosaur.
Just chiming in to say I received my first package from FromJapan and also pleased. I like that they just shrink wrapped the items instead of adding lots of bubble wrap. Seems economical (as long as they don't use too much heat ). Spoiler: Shrink Wrapping
Chiming in again to say BOOOO to FromJapan for failing to carefully pack my most recent box. I don't think anything got dinged, but loose toys just in plastic bags = paint rubs! BOOOO!! Spoiler: BAD PACKAGING
That looks like a fraction of what is usually shipped to me! I'm looking at the above post, and it's more like that for me!
This is the case when you don’t opt for their packaging when condensing. What little packing material that is in there, as well as the shrink wrap from your previous box, is from the sellers when they shipped to the warehouse, not the warehouse to you. Opting out of Buyee’s packaging alleviates them of all responsibility for your items during transit. Apologies if that’s already been stated here and I’m bein’ redundant!
I didn't take a picture, but can't recommend Zen Market enough. I recently got a box of 11 items (Maxtoy Ultramen!) and everyone was individually bubble wapped and taped. Every transaction with them has been super smooth.
I chose Buyee Economy Air for my last package. It was shipped ten days ago and now it's in... Hong Kong?!? How is that economical? ;p
What's other fees! Product total amount 22,000 Japan Domestic Shipping Charge (Within Japan) 0 Purchase Agency fee 2,200 International shipping fee(EMS) 3,900 Overseas shipment handling fee 500 International shipping insurance 50 Other fees 2,299 Detail of other fees Sales and Use tax of your region The Sales and Use tax is that applied to people living in your region. From the request by the government, the above taxes may need to be paid together with the international shipping fee.
To be honest, @blakewest @xSuicide Squadx I think this thread covers all middlemen/buying services, and find the firsthand reports of experiences had, both bad and good, extremely helpful and worthy of sharing here. I think that that example of the box you posted Blake is unfortunate, but much as I would prefer otherwise, have definitely also received some very poorly wrapped packages from Mandarake. But I sincerely appreciate these shares because there are a lot of services to choose from, most of which carry with them advantages and disadvantages, so I am always trying to compare against each other for when I am trying to use one.
Oh, that is dumb. They couldn't have cut the corners, lengthening the flaps to make it a shorter package?
last time i ordered a small thickness, larger sized boxed item it was sent the same way. i imagine they are concerned with preserving the box condition as it was sold, minimizing corner damage/crush/etc etc. come to think of it a lot of the boxed items ive gotten came super wrapped- and arrived perfectly. ive had some USA people send boxed stuff that got demolished in smaller boxes
Yeah, on one hand I don't blame an hourly worker who's already stressed enough to want to deal with all of that, but on the other... this doesn't seem like a great customer service policy. This box is supposedly smaller than what they were originally going to use, until I asked what was going on with the shipping rate.