News about Japanese anime often comes with merchandise: an early-reservation bonus at Animate, a Premium Bandai exclusive, a figure from Good Smile Company. If you live outside Japan, the first question is whether you can buy it at all. This guide sets out which official shops ship overseas, which do not, and how fans abroad usually get around that. Every shop policy below was checked against the shop’s own pages on October 6, 2026; policies change, so follow the links before you order.
The short version
- Most official Japanese shops ship within Japan only.
- Some run a separate overseas store (animate International, the regional PREMIUM BANDAI sites) or ship worldwide themselves (Good Smile Company).
- For everything else, there are two kinds of help: a proxy service buys the item for you, and a forwarding service lends you a Japanese address.
- Customs duties and import taxes are usually extra and are paid by you.
Three ways to buy
1. Shops that ship to you directly
This is the simplest route when it exists. Good Smile Company’s global shop ships to many regions directly. Animate’s Japanese online shop points overseas customers to animate International, an English-language store that ships worldwide. Premium Bandai Japan directs residents of Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and North America to its regional PREMIUM BANDAI stores. The overseas stores do not always carry the same items or bonuses as the Japanese ones.
2. Proxy services
A proxy service such as Buyee or ZenMarket places the order in Japan on your behalf, receives the item at its warehouse and ships it to you. Because the proxy pays the shop, this route works even when a shop refuses overseas cards. Some Japanese shops, including the KADOKAWA Store, build a proxy cart (WorldShopping) into their own pages.
3. Forwarding services
A forwarding service such as Tenso gives you a Japanese address. You order from the shop yourself, the package arrives at the forwarder’s warehouse, and you pay to have it sent on. The catch is that you still have to pay the shop yourself, so forwarding does not help at a shop that refuses overseas-issued cards, such as Premium Bandai Japan.
Official shops at a glance
| Shop | Ships outside Japan? | What the shop says | Practical route |
|---|---|---|---|
| animate Online Shop (Japan) | No | Ships within Japan only. Anyone with a Japanese address, “such as that of a friend or service,” may order. Accepts Visa, Mastercard, JCB and PayPal (not for every item). Hotels and inns cannot be used as the address. | animate International for worldwide shipping, or a forwarding or proxy service |
| Premium Bandai (Japan) | No | A Japan-only service: no overseas shipping and no membership with an overseas address. Overseas-issued cards and debit cards are not accepted. | PREMIUM BANDAI regional stores (North America, Asia & Oceania), or a proxy service |
| Aniplex Online (Aniplex+) | No | Delivers within Japan only. No pickup at courier offices or convenience stores. | A proxy or forwarding service |
| Movic | No | Does not accept orders from overseas and ships within Japan only. Addresses registered in English are rewritten in Japanese. | A proxy service that buys in Japan on your behalf |
| Good Smile Company (global shop) | Yes | Ships to South Korea, Hong Kong, Europe, Oceania, Southeast Asia, the Americas, India, the Middle East, Africa and other regions. Pre-orders are charged shipping per item type; customs duties and import taxes are paid by the customer. | Order directly |
| KADOKAWA Store | Through WorldShopping | Visitors from overseas see a WorldShopping cart, which buys and ships on your behalf for a 10% fee on the item price plus Japanese shipping. International shipping is billed separately. Orders cannot be cancelled or returned once placed. | Use the WorldShopping cart on the product page |
About Premium Bandai’s partnership with Buyee: according to Premium Bandai’s own FAQ, it is a service for visitors in Japan, who scan a code at a service point and shop from a Japanese Wi-Fi connection. It is not a way to order from home abroad.
How proxy services charge
Fees change often, so check each service’s own page rather than relying on figures quoted elsewhere. The structure is broadly similar:
- When you order: the item price (including Japanese consumption tax) plus the proxy’s service fee. Buyee charges a flat fee per order and an optional protection plan; ZenMarket charges a fee per item and a payment fee.
- When the item reaches the warehouse: shipping within Japan, international shipping and any optional services such as consolidating several packages into one.
- When it reaches you: customs duties and import taxes in your country, if any.
Common stumbling blocks
- Deadlines are in Japan time. Pre-order windows and early-reservation bonuses close on Japan Standard Time.
- “While supplies last” means it. Shop bonuses and campaign posters are limited and are not restocked.
- When you are charged. Animate, for example, charges pre-orders when stock reaches its store, usually a day or two before release, not when you place the order.
- Cards and verification. Japanese shops use 3-D Secure, and some accept only particular card brands. Premium Bandai Japan cannot verify overseas phone numbers by SMS.
- Addresses. Shops generally refuse hotels, inns and other temporary addresses.
Customs and import taxes
Shops and proxies do not include your country’s duties or import taxes in the price, and they cannot tell you the amount. Good Smile Company and Buyee both state that these charges are paid by the customer. Rules differ by country and change, so check the official source where you live:
- United States: U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Internet Purchases
- Canada: Canada Border Services Agency – Postal imports
- United Kingdom: GOV.UK – Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad
- European Union: European Commission – Buying goods online from a non-EU country
- Australia: Australian Border Force – Buying online
What you cannot buy new
Some items are never sold at all. Theater visitor gifts are handed to people who attend a screening, not to ticket buyers, and event-venue exclusives and lottery prizes are limited to those who were there or won. They sometimes appear later on Japanese secondhand marketplaces, which proxy services such as ZenMarket can buy from, and secondhand chains such as Mandarake run online stores in English.
Before you order: a checklist
- Does the item have an official overseas store or ship from Japan directly?
- If not, will the shop accept your card? If not, use a proxy rather than a forwarder.
- Is there a deadline or a limited bonus? Convert the Japan time to your own.
- Have you estimated international shipping and your country’s import charges?
- Have you read the proxy’s or forwarder’s list of items it cannot ship?
Shop policies in this guide were checked against official pages on October 6, 2026. Anime On Record has no affiliate or business relationship with any shop or service mentioned.