Guide to Purchasing Merchandise

Below is a guide (originally on the Merchandising page) that'll walk you through finding, buying, and shipping merchandise to your home from overseas. This guide is intended for Popee the Performer merchandise, but extends to anything you can think of, really. 
==Where do I purchase merchandise?==
If you're looking for legitimate Popee merch, here are some ways to find it. You may need to use a forwarding or proxy service to import the goods to your country if they're from Japan, because except for eBay (which is in English) they'll only ship within Japan.
=== A Warning ===
Please read the websites for the services below thoroughly before you use them. You must be aware that these services are not free. There is a list of potential fees you may have to pay for these services.
There will be fees you will have to pay, usually per item, for re-packing, or consolidation, or etc. Read the website for the service thoroughly before making a purchase, as most will list their fees and what they're for so you can get an idea of what you'll be spending. The Popee the Performer wiki is not responsible for mishandling these services. There's a list of what you might be able to expect at the end of the page.
All links pasted below, if applicable, have a "Popee the Performer" search already linked (including proxies, where applicable).
===Stores that may have merchandise for purchase===
*Amazon (JP)
*Rakuten (JP)
*Suruga-ya (JP)
*eBay
*Mandarake (JP)
*Mercari (JP)
*Yahoo! Auctions Japan (JP)
===Forwarding services===
When you're working with an item that's Japan only, a forwarding service gives you an address and information to use to purchase an item(s) as you would if you were the person living at that address. From there, they take the package that's been sent to them and re-send it to you in the country you're in.
Tenso
===Proxy services===
A proxy service is a service that buys the items for you and then ships it to you. You can usually have them repackage items and consolidate packages if necessary.
Some proxies give you the ability to search for items on other sites through their own website. (If applicable, links should link out directly to a "Popee the Performer" search.)
*DeJapan
*Buyee (Buyee guide available here)
*ZenMarket
*FromJapan
*Neokyo
*Sendico
*White Rabbit Express
=== Other things to know before ordering ===
Whatever you choose, the service will have fees to pay. Shipping is one example.
Some of the fees you may have to pay include:
* Domestic shipping within Japan from where you purchased to the warehouse
* International shipping (from Japan to your door; sometimes based on size, sometimes based on weight, sometimes based on volume.)
* Service fees (a handling fee, a fee per item...)
* Taxes
* Customs/VAT/GST/etc (a fee you may have to pay for the import of your goods into your country, depending on where you live. You can read more about customs tax here)
* International bank fees (from doing an international transaction)
There are also some optional services you may want to pay for, such as:
* Photo service (on request, some proxies will take a photo of your item once it's arrived and send it to you)
* Consolidation (for when you've bought more than one item and want them to be sent together as one package)
* Shipping insurance
* A fee for repacking items (giving packages more protection, if you choose, or changing an order that has already been packed)
Category:Merchandise
Category:Guides