News for importers: Japan Post parcel restrictions

[layzee]

18th May Update: EMS will resume to USA and maybe Oceania and Europe. An additional 20% to 70% charge applies on all EMS parcels.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 18_01.html

30th June Update: EMS and air mail has resumed for Italy and New Zealand. All other restrictions remain in effect and the usual shipping delays apply.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 01_en.html

18th June Update: EMS and air mail has resumed for various European countries including Sweden, Spain, and Norway etc. All other restrictions remain in effect and the usual shipping delays apply.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 01_en.html

23rd April Update: USA joins the "parcel restrictions" list. Spain and other minor countries also join the list.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 03_en.html

10th April Update: Several countries join the "heavy restriction of parcels" list: Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, amongst others.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 01_en.html

As of the 2nd of April, Japan Post has implemented temporary restrictions on parcels going into and out of Japan.
https://www.post.japanpost.jp/int/infor ... 02_en.html

The main takeaways are:

1) Severe restrictions on more than a hundred countries, including a handful like New Zealand which is basically blacklisted.
2) Economy SAL is no longer available so buying cheap Japanese stuff got that little bit more expensive.
3) Apart from the point 2 restriction above, most first world countries (USA, UK, etc) can still continue to trade parcels with Japan. The unlucky exceptions include Ireland, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, etc.

These changes are already reflected in most of the Japanese sellers on eBay (that I've seen) as well as proxy/intermediary websites.

For specific details about your particular country, see the .pdf in the links above.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Saw this while browsing solaris and was gonna post. Good looking out op.

[GaijinPunch]

Good post. Was talking to a friend of mine recently who sent something. Every parcel going abroad results in the teller whipping out the list and finding out the restrictions. Fun!

[Steamflogger Boss]

Worth noting there are big delays too. I got an ems package today that was sent 9 days ago. Shit usually takes like three days.

[layzee]

The bad news continues. The newest updates to the restrictions are that several countries join the "heavily restriction of parcels" list: Australia (goddamnit, that's me), Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, amongst others. See link in first post for more details.

My own country seems to be starting to implementing these restrictions too. I went to the post office today to ship some stuff, and just as GaijinPunch said, the staff whips out the "ship or don't ship" list.

[ZellSF]

I guess I see the point not sending non-essential packages during such a time, but why specific countries? Are those countries not accepting packages?

[GaijinPunch]

My guess is it's mostly about the drastically cut number of flights.

[Dochartaigh]

I have a vendor saying they can't ship to me. Another that said that although a package says it's 'returned to sender', that it actually isn't and is just delayed with being sent out (which is was like 10 days ago... and never moved)...

[Steamflogger Boss]

I have a vendor saying they can't ship to me. Another that said that although a package says it's 'returned to sender', that it actually isn't and is just delayed with being sent out (which is was like 10 days ago... and never moved)...

From Japan or elsewhere?

I've been wanting some more stuff from Japan but was thinking about waiting a month or two.

[Dochartaigh]

I have a vendor saying they can't ship to me. Another that said that although a package says it's 'returned to sender', that it actually isn't and is just delayed with being sent out (which is was like 10 days ago... and never moved)...

From Japan or elsewhere?

I've been wanting some more stuff from Japan but was thinking about waiting a month or two.

From Japan. One guy thinks he might be able to ship with DHL. The other one said there's no DHL near him to drop off... (think that was the guy who was using their regular postal service).

[GaijinPunch]

From Japan. One guy thinks he might be able to ship with DHL. The other one said there's no DHL near him to drop off... (think that was the guy who was using their regular postal service).

Keep in mind everything other than JP Network is prohibitively expensive unless they do mass volume. If it's a 500,000 yen PCB maybe no big deal. 5,000 yen game? Not so much.

[EmperorIng]

I myself have a package according to the post has not left Japan since March 30... I can only imagine in the meantime they have put a stop on sending it out. Or maybe not; a guy can dream?

[Steamflogger Boss]

From Japan. One guy thinks he might be able to ship with DHL. The other one said there's no DHL near him to drop off... (think that was the guy who was using their regular postal service).

Keep in mind everything other than JP Network is prohibitively expensive unless they do mass volume. If it's a 500,000 yen PCB maybe no big deal. 5,000 yen game? Not so much.

DHL scales weirdly too. I've had it be cheaper than EMS for a single 1/8 figure before. Though obviously that is from a big seller that likely gets volume discounts as you mentioned.

I myself have a package according to the post has not left Japan since March 30... I can only imagine in the meantime they have put a stop on sending it out. Or maybe not; a guy can dream?

I had one leave Japan not too long before this on the 27th of March. It was EMS though, and took about 9 days to get to me instead of the usual 3-ish.

[layzee]

"In every crisis, there is opportunity" - I wonder if this will affect game etc prices. I recently won a $150-$200 USD PS1 game for about $60 shortly after the restrictions started.

I guess I see the point not sending non-essential packages during such a time, but why specific countries? Are those countries not accepting packages?

Initially, I thought it was linked to number of COVID cases so if a country starts reporting cases or if a country reports a major outbreak Italy-style. But now I'm not so sure.

Or maybe location. So even though New Zealand has been completely blocked by Japan, there are little to no restrictions between New Zealand and Australia (e.g. they are neighbours). And even though there doesn't seem to be any restrictions between Japan and South Korea (e.g. they are neighbours), Australia has completely blocked South Korea. The number of flights available would be related to this (e.g. obviously flights are more frequent between "local" countries (Japan and other Asian countries) compared to Japan and Europe etc.

Or maybe it takes into account both factors: e.g. Japan has completely blocked China (physically close country but origin of virus).

[GaijinPunch]

Initially, I thought it was linked to number of COVID cases so if a country starts reporting cases or if a country reports a major outbreak Italy-style. But now I'm not so sure.

With JP Post, it's most likely something serious -- not just some conjecture. I stick by my flights comment earlier. With everyone else, all bets are off. A friend just sent me a photo from a restaurant in his hood that says (of course in a very polite way) "Sorry that we cannot service any foreigners at this time". Ironically westerners around the globe (and local expats) are looking at Japan as the most irresponsible shit head in the group. I swear the "it's not us, it's you" of that place is next level.

[layzee]

I'm expecting a bunch of parcels and there's also a bunch that haven't shipped yet. Not a very good time to be an importer.

Ironically westerners around the globe (and local expats) are looking at Japan as the most irresponsible shit head in the group. I swear the "it's not us, it's you" of that place is next level.

Is that a critique of Westerners? Or Japan? Or perhaps even both?

If nothing else, we learned some interesting lessons from this virus event:

1) China (despite its various faults and flaws) can use its totalitarian/authoritarian muscles to make things happen quickly, compared to us bumbling democracies and our freedumbs that prevent us from doing anything until its too late.
2) Racially homogeneous nations like Japan can bluntly state "no foreigners allowed" without being accused of being racist (although they're trying) and without much pushback.

[GaijinPunch]

Japan has never not been accused of being racist... this is just an extension of that. And TBH that's very small potatoes right now. Not sure if it's widespread (doubtful?) but it was a phone snap sent by a mate... not some meme on Facebook.

The revelations the virus is giving Japan are far more noteworthy:
- Local governments can't do shit until the PM declares state of emergency
- The kaisha still remains supreme, and lower level workers are expected to stay in the office and play freecell until the boss goes home (for the most part).
- On the whole, Japan considers itself an outlier to basically anything that happens elsewhere in the world. Abe made a very bold move by asking schools to cancel for the month very early on. It was a massive curve ball, and as it turns out quite progressive. Since then, nothing.

If you want to get an idea of what's going on by someone there on a more personal level check out /r/japanlife

[Bratwurst]

Recent conversation between myself and an acquaintance:

Moi: so no surprise but shipping from china's gotten really slow
Moi: I had an aliexpress vendor give me a 60 day extension without me even saying anything, so I had more time for the item to arrive before any dispute resolution would be closed off

Friendo: Yeah, I had 3 japan packages which are being returned to sender

Moi: as far as I know, Japan is still shipping to and processing packages to and from the usa

Friendo: If thats the case, I dont get it
Friendo: Two different sellers, 3 packages, all sat in tracking number entered for 3 weeks
Friendo: J4U emailed me that it's coming back to them and they are refunding
Friendo: I asked if they can spit it back out under DHL
Friendo: J4U said they have 120 packages coming back

[Steamflogger Boss]

Recent conversation between myself and an acquaintance:

Moi: so no surprise but shipping from china's gotten really slow
Moi: I had an aliexpress vendor give me a 60 day extension without me even saying anything, so I had more time for the item to arrive before any dispute resolution would be closed off

Friendo: Yeah, I had 3 japan packages which are being returned to sender

Moi: as far as I know, Japan is still shipping to and processing packages to and from the usa

Friendo: If thats the case, I dont get it
Friendo: Two different sellers, 3 packages, all sat in tracking number entered for 3 weeks
Friendo: J4U emailed me that it's coming back to them and they are refunding
Friendo: I asked if they can spit it back out under DHL
Friendo: J4U said they have 120 packages coming back

Japan is getting brutalized right now so sadly this doesn't surprise me. I held off on ordering for this reason but this is good to know, I'll go with DHL if I decide to buy something.

[FinalBaton]

Happy that I imported my turntable just before restrictions got in place. Shipped it via DHL and it got here freaking fast, in like 2days (if even).

Now I've ordered some other trinket from japan, I had kinda forgot the shipping restriction thing. The item is not yet arrived at the proxy's warehouse so we'll see what they do about it. They always offer to hold packages up to 45 days, so worst case maybe they'll offer that? I'd prefer that to a refund for sure, t'was kind of a rare item I won via auction.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Happy that I imported my turntable just before restrictions got in place. Shipped it via DHL and it got here freaking fast, in like 2days (if even).

Now I've ordered some other trinket from japan, I had kinda forgot the shipping restriction thing. The item is not yet arrived at the proxy's warehouse so we'll see what they do about it. They always offer to hold packages up to 45 days, so worst case maybe they'll offer that? I'd prefer that to a refund for sure, t'was kind of a rare item I won via auction.

Not sure who you are using but ZenMarket added another 45 days of bonus time for storage.

[FinalBaton]

Not sure who you are using but ZenMarket added another 45 days of bonus time for storage.

Good to know. I'm guessing they'll follow suite, if they haven't already.

I use FromJapan

[BrianC]

I got the makaimura collection for PS1 just in time, but one of my packages got sent back and I have two others sitting at the airport. I'll just wait and see. Glad I went with US sellers on a couple games.

Are non-SAL packages being shipped back to the sender now? A couple of my packages have been stuck in the airport since a couple weeks ago. I don't mind waiting a bit, but I don't want the packages to be returned to sender without being shipped out.

One seller rose the prices on some of the cheaper games and another seller is charging 200 dollars in shipping for some games.

[BrianC]

Any more news on this?

I ended up buying the US version of Bust a Move 2 (found it has the same content as the JP versions and that the JP version has Japanese menus, usually not a huge issue, but it might be one with the edit mode). (and it's not an expensive game, so I don't mind the double dip)

[FinalBaton]

My package hasn't arrived at the proxy service center yet (they do state that domestic shipping will take a bit longer), and I noticed that for the countries blacklisted, they lifted the 45 day limit of keeping your stuff there, and insted offer unlimited time.

I don't see Canada written anywhere on their list tho, we'll see.

I did see that the restrictions seemed different depending on which service you chose. SAL has it's own restrictions (more severe), EMS has some, and there's a bit of FedEx ones too. I didn't see anything mentionning DHL tho?

[layzee]

Bah, a few of my parcels were returned to sender. This is troublesome.

In other somewhat related news, also getting a few too many "Item Not Received" cases from my international buyers on eBay in too short a period.

Are non-SAL packages being shipped back to the sender now? A couple of my packages have been stuck in the airport since a couple weeks ago. I don't mind waiting a bit, but I don't want the packages to be returned to sender without being shipped out.

I don't see Canada written anywhere on their list tho, we'll see.

Any more news on this?

No new news at the moment but USA and Canada are not on the list, so theoretically, parcels should still be coming in, albeit delayed by potentially weeks.

"In every crisis, there is opportunity" - I wonder if this will affect game etc prices. I recently won a $150-$200 USD PS1 game for about $60 shortly after the restrictions started.

Forgot to say knock-on-wood: seller cancelled the transaction.

[Bratwurst]

In other somewhat related news, also getting a few too many "Item Not Received" cases from my international buyers on eBay in too short a period.

Everything I've shipped out international since the beginning of April has yet to track as delivered, so I'm expecting a bunch of those cases any day now. They're all having to go through New York and it's all languishing over there. I'm about ready to close up shop and cease even domestic shipping because a few associations of mine have recently complained of packages getting routed improperly with extended delays within the USA.

[layzee]

In other somewhat related news, also getting a few too many "Item Not Received" cases from my international buyers on eBay in too short a period.

Everything I've shipped out international since the beginning of April has yet to track as delivered, so I'm expecting a bunch of those cases any day now. They're all having to go through New York and it's all languishing over there. I'm about ready to close up shop and cease even domestic shipping because a few associations of mine have recently complained of packages getting routed improperly with extended delays within the USA.

Same story here. I can confirm that the international parcels I shipped very late March were delivered as normal. Anything shipped after April the 1st was destined to parcel purgatory. In fact, it took 2 weeks after shipping for my parcels to even get on the plane to leave the country.

Locally speaking, it's not as bad but delivery delays are still significant enough.

I basically can't buy anything or sell anything. Well I can but the potential refunds and eBay seller defects (2 and you're below standard)... What to do?

[BrianC]

I found out only one of the games I ordered from one seller was shipped back (Puyo Puyo Sun and Dead or Alive for the Saturn were the games I ordered). Both games I ordered started shipping in mid-March, but Dead or Alive shipped out later. Puyo Puyo Sun hasn't shipped back to the seller. I'll see what happens. At least I have the N64 version of Puyo Puyo Sun to tide me over in the mean time. The game that shipped back was Dead or Alive for Saturn, so I have to wait a bit longer on that one. I also have Gussun Oyoyo S for a puzzle game fix.

[Steamflogger Boss]

No more shipments to the US starting tomorrow.