# Buying from Online Stores in Japan



## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

A couple of titles which have piqued my interest are only available Japan.
Has anyone had any good/bad experiences when ordering from the following online stores?
I am particularly interested in items being (i) *factory sealed* and (ii) shipped in *good quality packaging* for overseas shipping.


Amazon.co.jp
HMV.co.jp
Tower.jp
KingEShop.jp (direct from King International Records)

I've heard good things about HMV.co.jp from DarkAngel (thank you!), and would be interested to hear any other views - good or bad - on the above stores.


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## ledzepp (Mar 19, 2020)

I’ve had good experiences with Amazon.co.jp and HMV. It helps that their website has an English version.


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## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

What sort of packaging do they use?

(The best I've ever come from in the UK is Presto Classical - they ship in sturdy boxes with plenty of bubble wrap.)


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## ledzepp (Mar 19, 2020)

The packages from Japan are sturdy boxes, even when it’s only 1 or 2 CDs. Actually better than Presto from the UK.


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

I've used CDJapan a few times without a problem, packaging or otherwise.


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## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

ledzepp said:


> The packages from Japan are sturdy boxes, even when it's only 1 or 2 CDs. Actually better than Presto from the UK.


Thanks for the info. Is that for Amazon, HMV, or both?


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## ledzepp (Mar 19, 2020)

bluto32 said:


> Thanks for the info. Is that for Amazon, HMV, or both?


Yes, for both. Typically they both ship by EMS International From Japan - which gets delivered to the US address often by DHL.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Horrible, always have to pay taxes and shipping is expensive, besides that ,people are fooled by "special"editions, just a smart way selling the top 100.


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## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

Just ordered for the first time from Amazon.co.jp. Although it arrived quickly (only 5 days to be delivered to the UK), I am very unimpressed with the packaging and won't order from them again. My order was for a single CD which was sent by Amazon in a flimsy envelope via DHL. Not even a jiffy - no padding, no bubblewrap, no stiff cardboard - nothing. The CD case looks undamaged, luckily.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

bluto32 said:


> My order was for a single CD which was sent by Amazon in a flimsy envelope via DHL. Not even a jiffy - no padding, no bubblewrap, no stiff cardboard - nothing. The CD case looks undamaged, luckily.


Amazing how the items arrive undamaged. Maybe due to the fact that Amazon is such a gigantic customer for post and courier companies that they go out of their way to handle the stuff with care?


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

bluto32 said:


> Just ordered for the first time from Amazon.co.jp. Although it arrived quickly (only 5 days to be delivered to the UK), I am very unimpressed with the packaging and won't order from them again. My order was for a single CD which was sent by Amazon in a flimsy envelope via DHL. Not even a jiffy - no padding, no bubblewrap, no stiff cardboard - nothing. The CD case looks undamaged, luckily.


Sorry to hear that. To be honest I'm very surprised. I purchased books, CDs/BDs and even ceramic tableware from Amazon JP a lot, and they were always well packaged. With books and CDs, they were always secured to a flat board like the one in the picture and then put in a carton box. Third party sellers may package differently, but in general their 2nd hand sellers are also very good in their packaging.

Perhaps the flimsy envelope was used to cut down on the shipping cost to the UK via DHL? Just a guess.


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## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

I'm not sure of the reason. Maybe they regard the UK as having a smaller and thus less important customer base than the USA and skimp on packaging to the former?

I'll try CDJapan or HMV.jp if I ever need to order from Japan again. Earlier posters in this thread have had good experiences with them.


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## Jayeff22 (Mar 30, 2021)

I buy often from HMV Japan... they mail to me in NZ with no problem... dealing with Tower is much harder.


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