I complied a list of suggestions I got for my enquiry at a few BL Drama forums ^^ as well as from my own buying experiences. Posting here the results! Hope it helps others as much as it did for me. :)
Most ship internationally and accept payment methods such as credit card, paypal, international money order, etc.
I’ll update the page as and when I get new info or discover new shops.
*** indicates shops/proxy buyer that I’ve patronised before.
Disclaimer: By writing this article as well as providing the links in this blog, it does not mean that I endorse the shops or the items they sell, etc. Generally, I try to buy items from Japan sources unless they have already sold out and I’m desperate to have them ^^” Anyway, so far no issues has come up yet but please use this information at your own discretion. Thanks!
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A) Proxy Buyers:
1. FromJapan *** (Click this link to register and receive bonus 300 points :D)
Services: Online buying service, Real-time bidding Yahoo auctions, rakuten, etc
Shipping: SAL small packet, Airmail, registered, Fedex, etc
Points System: Yes. You earn points that can be redeemed for future orders.
Payment: Accepts Paypal, credit card
Note: Can combine shipping of items purchased separately. Bank fees and paypal fees chargeable but generally still reasonable.
B) Shops:
1. Amazon Japan (English + Japanese) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: Fedex/DHL only ( T-T expensive!)
Points System: Yes. You earn points that can be redeemed for future orders.
Comparison of Amazon Japan, CDJapan and HMV Japan Points Systems
Note: Search under Japanese for better results. I’m not sure if they ship character goods and software. The last time I tried, they refused to proceed with my checkout.
2. Amazon USA (English) ***
Items: Region 1 DVDs, US Licensed Books, Character goods, etc
Shipping:USPS, etc (See the FAQ for more info)
Note: There are some sellers on Amazon USA who sell bootleg items, so please do your research before buying anything from them.
3. Amiami (English) ***
Items: Figures, games, Books, DVDs, Character goods, etc
Shipping: EMS, SAL, SAL Registered
Points System: No.
Note: Payment via Paypal.
Currently having 15% shipping discount on purchases over 5,000 yen and 30% shipping discount on purchases over 10,000 yen.
4. Animaxis (English) *** (CLOSED)
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, Character goods, etc
Shipping: EMS, SEA, SAL, Airmail
Points System: Yes. You earn points that can be redeemed for specific items listed in the shop.
Note: Good selection of new and rare character goods at original Japanese prices ^^ But do note that they charge 5% tax but no extra handling fees like Mandarake. If you want to use credit card for payment, you have to send in a verification form before they’ll process your order. However, the staff is very flexible and friendly. they changed my payment method to paypal (it was not an available option during checkout) for my first order. So if you rather pay with paypal than submit your credit card and ID, just check out normally and then email them to indicate your preference in the comments box so that they can arrange it for you accordingly. Otherwise your order will be stuck in limbo :P Update 6 Jan 2010: You can now select Paypal at checkout ^^
Currently having 15% shipping discount on purchases over 5,000 yen and 30% shipping discount on purchases over 10,000 yen.
3. Hobby Link Japan (English) ***
Items: Books, Character goods, figures etc
Shipping: EMS, SAL
Note: Nice place to shop for a variety of items. Stock availability is clearly labeled and helpful. They will also backorder out-of-stock items (not discontinued) for you if they have it listed on their site.
3. Hobby Link Japan (English) ***
Items: Books, Character goods, figures etc
Shipping: EMS, SAL
Note: Nice place to shop for a variety of items. Stock availability is clearly labeled and helpful. They will also backorder out-of-stock items (not discontinued) for you if they have it listed on their site.
4. J-List (English)
Items: Books, Character goods, figures, games etc (Adult items as well)
Shipping: EMS, SAL
Note: Has some BL items like English version of Enzai and Absolute Obedience.
5. CDJapan (English) ***
Items: Figures, BLCD, DVDs, Character goods, Magazines etc
Shipping: EMS, Registered Air mail, Air mail, SAL, Parcel Post, Domestic Japan
Points System: Yes. You earn points that can be redeemed for future orders.
Comparison of Amazon Japan, CDJapan and HMV Japan Points Systems
Note: First press editions info about the items are clearly labeled. The BLCD lists are hidden among the Anime Listings, sorted under the publisher names such as “Ruby CD“, “BE X BOY CD“, “Chara CD“, “Dramatic CD“, “HCD Series“, “LYNX CD“, “Lebeau Sound“, “Sneaker CD” . If you have the catalog number of the CD you are looking for, just key into the search and see if they have it.
7. Club Japan (Japanese + Chinese) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: SAL, Free shipping for CD/DVD to Region 1 locations
Note: More selections on the Japanese site. Customer accounts on each site are kept on separate databases, so this means if you registered on the Chinese site, you’ll still have to register on the Japanese site if you’re buying any items there.
8. ComiComi Studio (Japanese) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: EMS
Note: THE place for all your BL needs and they ship internationally! I love their ComiComi exclusive specials that come with ordering items from their store, such as free postcards, drama tokuten (Freetalk CDs, etc), phone cards, manga papers… Only drawback is that they only ship EMS and it can be really expensive when you order heavy book items. Drama CDs are ok tho since they are quite light.
9. HMV Japan (English + Japanese) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, Character goods etc
Shipping: EMS
Points System: Yes. You earn points that can be redeemed for future orders.
Comparison of Amazon Japan, CDJapan and HMV Japan Points Systems
Note: Search under Japanese for better results. You earn points that can be redeemed for future orders. They have promotions from time to time and you can get your CDs and DVD at up to 20~25% off. They also have bungee prices (10~15% off) for selected products.
10. JPQueen (English) *** (CLOSED)
Items: BLCD, Doujinshi, Books, Character goods, Magazines etc
Shipping: EMS, Registered Air mail, Air mail, SAL, Parcel Post, Domestic Japan
Note: Good place to look for potential bargains as well as hard to find items because they sell used stuff. When on discount, you can get really good prices! However, they tend to mark-up their prices for new items which can be even higher than other shops, so do compare before you buy.
11. Mandrake (English + Japanese) ***
Items: Books, Doujinshi, Anime Cels, etc
Shipping: EMS, Negotiable (Leave a note during checkout and indicate SAL Small Packet shipping, depending on which store the item is located in, they may allow for it, otherwise, it is EMS only.)
Note: You can request for items listed on its Japanese site to be shipped internationally. They took about 4 ~5 days before they replied to my email ^^” I thought I was ignored LOL~ And they’ll take some more days to check their stock and get back to you. So you got to be quite patient. We’re all too used to fast replies on the internet…
They have a nice collection of rare items. They also have an interesting auctions section where you can bid for rare items like original genga (artwork), anime cels, scripts, anime original settings guides used during production, etc. But the price can go really high for popular and cool items such as a 120+ page Bleach or Gundam 00 settings guide, genga… (41000Yen anyone?) If you win a bid, they’ll arrange payment options for you and then ship the item to you via EMS after payment.
For normal orders, there is a handling fee of 500 Yen. Also, if you don’t want to use EMS, put your request for alternative shipping methods in the comments box during checkout. They’ll calculate the charges for you and if you are agreeable to it, then you pay for your orders using the link in the email that they send you after order processing.
12. Mangaoh (Japanese)
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: EMS
13. Playasia (English) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, Character goods, Games, etc
Shipping: Standard, Express (check their Help sections)
Note: They offer free shipping to selected regions, but the cost is sometimes added to the product price for certain products, especially artbooks so compare before you buy. I’ve done some comparison and think it is quite a good place to buy BLCDs and Figures.
14. Rightstuf (English) ***
Items: Region 1 DVDs, US Licensed Books, Character goods, etc
Shipping: Per item shipping (See the FAQ for more info)
Note: Great place to buy US Licensed items. Very good promotions offered from time to time, up to 40% off. If you purchase their membership, you may also get additional 10% off the discounted price too. Look out for all the good Christmas deals during the end of the year :D
15. Yahoo Japan Auctions (Japanese)
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: Negotiable
Note: It seems that generally Japanese sellers don’t like to deal with international bidders due to language barrier and payment issues. It is still possible to bid for items by engaging Japan Deputy Services, middlemen merchants who will charge you a service fee and help you complete your transactions on your auction bids.
16. Yesasia (English) ***
Items: BLCD, Books, DVDs, etc
Shipping: Standard, Express (check their Help sections)
Note: They offer free shipping to selected regions, but the cost is usually added to the product price, so compare before you buy.
17. Hobby Search Japan (English) ***
Items: Books, Character goods, figures etc
Shipping: EMS, SAL
Note: Nice place to shop for a variety of items. Stock availability is clearly labeled and helpful. They will also backorder out-of-stock items (not discontinued) for you if they have it listed on their site.
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Some information about buying character goods, figures and DVD: