How to Buy

Proxy Services

Here's a list of online proxy services I personally use to purchase my Sailor Moon merchandise. You can buy most of the items this way (please note that anything I write below are from my own experiences).

  • FROM JAPAN - This is the site I use the most often. You can buy from any Japanese online shop through them, including Premium Bandai (which releases a lot of Sailor Moon merchandise) or Yahoo! Japan Auctions.
    1. Sign up for an account.
    2. In the search bar, enter the URL of the item you want to purchase. Then enter the specifics such as: quantity, colors, size, comments and etc.
    3. Once the item is in your "Shopping List", wait for From Japan to process the request.
    4. An email notification will be sent to you once the request is processed, then you proceed to make the payment.
    5. After you make the payment, From Japan will purchase the item on your behalf. Please note that some Sailor Moon products has quantity restrictions. Once From Japan has reach the limit, then they may not be able to process the order for you. If that happens, they will refund you the money.
    6. When your items gets processed, just sit back and wait for the goods to arrive at the From Japan warehouse.
    7. Once the merchandise arrives, you will get an email notification.
    8. Then proceed to select the shipping method. From Japan can ship via various shipping companies such as USPS, DHL, Fedex, and etc. This all depends on your location and the actual weight of the package.
    9. From Japan can store your goodies at their warehouse free of charge for up to 45 days. That means you can buy as much as you want within 45 days to combine and save on shipping! They do not charge a "combining" fee (they used to).
    10. Lastly, you can also use From Japan to bid on Yahoo! Japan Auctions. The fees are slightly different from purchasing from a normal website since there's a bank transfer fee (which is about $2, so not overly expensive).
  • Tenso - This site provides you with an address and phone number in Japan. The rest is completely self-service. I use this only for sites that accepts foreign credit cards.
    1. Sign up for an account.
    2. With your own "Japanese address and phone number", go register on the site you wish to purchase from. Since I do not have a credit card from Japan, I can only buy from sites that does accept foreign credit cards, such as Uniqlo.
    3. Now go buy all the stuff you want, and have it sent to the address provided by Tenso.
    4. Once all of your goodies arrive, Tenso will notify you through email.
    5. Tenso can keep your items free of charge for up to 30 days. You can buy from multiple stores within that timeframe, and then set instructions to have the items shipped.
    6. Similar to From Japan, Tenso will provide you with a list of shipping options, and you choose the method/speed you want.
    7. Please note that Tenso does charge a "combining" fee to combine all of your packages from different stores. If you purchased only from one shop, then there's no charge. There is, however, a handling fee (I assume this is to check your items, and then pack it).
  • Buyee - Buyee is mainly good for Yahoo! Japan Auctions since the fees are lower than From Japan (up to a certain amount). This means the fees are lower than From Japan IF the value of the item you are buying is lower than $30 or so. If it's more, then the fee is a percentage of the winning bid, which makes it cost more than From Japan. Buyee is not as flexible as From Japan when it comes to other shopping sites, because they only allow you to purchase from certain Japanese online retailers.
    1. Sign up for an account.
    2. Search for your products by using keywords and select the site you want to buy from.
    3. Follow the instructions on screen to complete the transaction. You will see all of the associated fees listed and make the payment once you are ready. Periodically, Buyee sends out coupons such as "free service fee".
    4. Wait for your items to arrive at the Buyee warehouse. You will receive an email notification.
    5. Buyee will store your items free of charge for up to 30 days.
    6. Once you are ready, choose your shipping method and speed to have all of your goodies shipped.

Shopping Sites

While I use proxy services for Sailor Moon merchandise that does not ship outside of Japan, I also buy from online shops that ships directly to me. Some Japanese online retailers such as AmiAmi or CD Japan ships internationally, and they do carry some Sailor Moon products. The sites listed below are shops I've personally purchased from.