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Buying from Japan

Japanese labels rarely ship internationally, and when they do the markup is steep. The reliable route is to buy from the official Japanese store (or a Japanese marketplace) and use a proxy-buy / forwarding service to consolidate and reship.

Brands worth buying

VisvimKapitalWTAPSNeighborhoodNeedlesEngineered GarmentsnanamicaHuman Made

Where to buy

  • 品牌 .jp 官网 — Some (UNIQLO, BEAMS) ship to China directly; many niche brand sites are domestic-only and need a proxy.
  • ZOZOTOWN ↗ — Japan's largest fashion mall; domestic delivery only, mostly JP cards/konbini — needs a proxy.
  • Rakuten 乐天 ↗ — Huge marketplace; most sellers ship domestic only, usually bought via proxy.
  • Mercari 煤炉 ↗ — C2C secondhand; domestic-only, foreign cards declined. Buyee is the official overseas proxy partner.

Tax · payment · proxy or direct

Tax / VAT

Consumption tax is 10%. Items shipped abroad by international parcel are NOT tax-exempt (since Apr 2025), so a proxy normally pays the 10% on your behalf. In-store tourist tax-free moves to a refund-at-airport model from Nov 2026.

Payment

Most JP-only sites (ZOZOTOWN, Mercari, many Rakuten sellers) reject non-Japanese cards. Proxies accept international Visa/Mastercard, PayPal and Alipay.

Direct / proxy

Proxy-buy is the default — ZOZOTOWN, Mercari, Yahoo Auctions, most Rakuten and niche brand sites are domestic-only. A few big brand sites (UNIQLO, BEAMS) ship to China directly.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Pick a proxy or forwarder

    Proxy-buy = they order for you (needed for Mercari/sites blocking foreign cards). Forwarding = you order to a JP warehouse, they reship.

  2. 2

    Order to the JP warehouse

    Use the warehouse address as shipping address. Domestic JP shipping is usually free or cheap.

  3. 3

    Consolidate + reship

    Wait for parcels to arrive, consolidate into one box to save per-kg international rates. Buyee's DDP option prepays duty for instant clearance.

  4. 4

    Declare honestly for customs

    China duty applies above the de-minimis. Ask the forwarder about tax-inclusive lines.

Forwarding / proxy-buy services

Third-party services; fees per their own terms.

Superbuy ↗jp · us · cn

Large China-based proxy-buy + forwarding service. Buys from Japanese/US sites on your behalf, consolidates, reships internationally.

Sugargoo ↗jp · cn

Proxy-buy agent popular for Japanese fashion and Mercari/Yahoo Auctions sniping.

Tips

  • ·Use Buyee for Mercari (official partner); ZenMarket/Neokyo for broad coverage + consolidation.
  • ·JP sizing runs small — see our size guide before ordering.

→ International size guide