Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Japanese Shopping Service

My first order from Amazon.co.jp was super exciting. Before I ordered, I wasn't even sure they would accept an American credit card. I could not believe all the titles that were available to me, all the crafting books with amazing photos. From craft swaps I know that very small packages can end up costing a lot to ship internationally, but for two books it was only $12.40. That was 5 months ago. I was ready to put in another order but NOTHING in my order could be shipped to me. I wanted a few DVDs that are only available used, and some cans of coffee. I thought about it for a couple of days. The base price for one of the DVDs was $5, and I have wanted it for a few years. I decided to use a shopping service. There are so many fees! The service fee is separate from the percentage fee and the order fee and the item fee, plus of course double shipping. As I looked at the breakdown I reminded myself that I was buying 4 things for $40 (before international shipping), so even though the fees looked ridiculous they were fine. Today they have sent me six emails. 
It feels like at this rate I should just go to Japan, but if I do that I will of course want to have the practice.