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The Beginner's Guide to Buying BAPE from Japan

53K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  PoeMeUp 
#1 · (Edited)
#9 · (Edited)
Questions from the community:


Q:

Do you know any proxy services that let you place the order yourself and give you an address to get your items sent to?​

A:
No, because you'd have no way of paying for it. Japanese stores require a Japanese bank account / credit card for purchases. Ordering through a proxy is a must. You can pay them in your own currency and they'll handle the rest.​


Q:
Is there any possibility to deal with a proxy that can set low value on the customs label?​

A:
The proxies recommended in this guide - FromJapan and Remambo - both give you the option to change the parcel's value and mark as a gift.​
EDIT: FromJapan no longer permits the value to be changed. Items will be marked at their full purchased price.​
Your experience with other proxies may vary.​


Q:
I live in the USA. How much will I be paying in customs tax?​

A:
Parcels valued under $800 USD are tax exempt.​


Q:
Anyone know if there are duty-fees when ordering from Japan to Europe? I'm new to this whole thing and don't know what to expect.​

A:
You can check with your nation's import agency.​


Q:
A lot of the items I want to buy on Zozo are "temporarily not available in my country (USA)", so it doesn't work when I copy & paste the link into the proxy order form. Is this a common issue?​

A:
"Temporary unavailable" only applies if you're using Zozo's affiliate proxy service, Buyee.​
This should not have any impact on ordering with FromJapan or Remambo.​


Cancelled Orders?...


Q:

I've been trying to purchase from the bape.com website but the order seems to always keep getting cancelled. They say they have met the limit to purchase on that website.​
[The proxy] has sent me emails saying:​

We weren't able to purchase your item because:

The seller/store has set a limit on the number of units that a single customer can purchase for this item and FROM JAPAN has already reached it.
or...​

The store has set a purchase restriction. As a consequence, we can't order the item you requested.
A:
Bape.com and Zozo have implemented some restrictions to prevent resellers from purchasing multiples of the same items.​
Buyers are limited to one color per style.​
This means that someone already ordered the item you're trying to purchase, and [the proxy] is not able to purchase any more of that item.​
Unfortunately, there is no fix or workaround other than using a different proxy.​
Ultimately, this is a "First come, first serve" situation.​
If you see something you want, don't wait. Get your order in before someone else does.​


Not satisfied?


The author's recommended proxies were chosen based on cost of service fees, ease of use and buyer incentive (rewards program, promotionals, etc.). Have you placed an order with a recommended proxy, but were not satisfied with your experience or their service? There are plenty of alternatives to choose from. Some of the more reputable Japan buying services include Buyee, Juno, Sharp Service, Stylistics Japan and Zenmarket to name a few. Your results may vary.​
 
#17 · (Edited)
Q:
Do you know any proxy services that let you place the order yourself and give you an address to get your items sent to?
A:
No, because you'd have no way of paying for it. Japanese stores require a Japanese bank account / credit card for purchases. Ordering through a proxy is a must. You can pay them in your own currency and they'll handle the rest.
This is not absolutely true. We have thousands customers who buy from Japanese shops directly, including individual customers in the US who spend millions buying BAPE from the official store in Japan and from zozotown on their own, and then forwarding via Blackship.com

Let me know if you need any additional details!
 
#11 ·
I do remember FromJapan offering in-store purchasing, but I don't see any mention of it in their FAQ. You should contact them and ask if this service is still available.

Another Tokyo based proxy is Sharp Service. Contact at info[at}sharpservice.jp
 
#12 ·
What is the best way of calculating the total price for everything? This is my first time using a proxy like this and I'm trying to use the calculator that FromJapan provides but I'm kind of confused as I don't know the exact measurements/weight of the package and I'm worried I'm going to end up with a huge charge that I can't afford.
 
#13 ·
If you click on the "Look up weight and size from previous similar products" button, you can search for the item you're ordering, like "hoodie" and find items that other people have ordered.

It will then auto-fill the calculator with weight and measurements.

Using "hoodie" as an example, somebody recently ordered a Bape hoodie that weighed 1.2 kg. EMS shipping for that order was 3,300 yen.

For reference, 1 kg = 2.2 lbs
 
#15 ·
Checkout the shipping calculator over at Blackship.com, a Japan-based package forwarding service for BAPE.
Blackship

You'll need to estimate the weight and size, but then just select your country and it will return Blackship's rates for Japan Post, FedEx, and DHL options.

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Pricing include their service fee, which is usually just a few dollars (depending on the size and weight of your package.)
There are additional fees like Receiving Fee ($1.00) and Consolidation Fee ($3.00 per package).

Blackship's pricing page is here:
Blackship | Package Forwarding from Japan

learn more on their home page
 
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