Shipping

• Difference between EMS, Airmail and SAL
• Free Shipping
• Customs Duties
• EU Customers
• US Military Addresses
• Returns/Exchange Policy

Shipping costs are not included in the cost of an item unless stated otherwise. Shipping options, if available, will be provided to you before completing your checkout.

Japan Store ships to virtually any address in the world, using the reliable and efficient services of Japan Post. For international orders we offer three options: Express Mail Service (EMS), Airmail and SAL (Surface/Air/Land). Japan Post also offer Parcel Post and Surface Mail and if you would prefer to use one of those services, please contact us and we will be happy to process your order "manually."

We highly recommend using EMS, which includes insurance against damage or loss, particularly if you need delivery quickly or by a certain date. All EMS orders have a "track and trace" number so you can where your package is at any time. Delivery times are normally 2-4 business days for EMS, 3-7 days for Airmail, and 6-14 days for SAL, though this may vary according to the country shipped to, Japanese national holidays, and local customs delays. Shipments by SAL in particular are more often subject to delays within the delivery country. See the Japan Post page for the current EMS, Airmail and SAL rates to various countries and regions.

Japan Store will not be responsible for delays, damages, open/broken or lost packages shipped by regular airmail or SAL. We can cooperate with a claim only in the case of orders shipped by EMS or Parcel Post.

Almost every order and every combination of products requires different packaging. We aim to keep the final packed weight as low as possible while providing protection for your items. We endeavor to ensure that our automated shipping calculations are as accurate as possible, but if there is a significant difference between your estimated shipping cost and the the final cost based on the packed weight, we will be happy to refund the difference.

Many companies have a policy of not shipping to a Post Office Box, for a variety of reasons including avoiding fraud and the fact that PO boxes can lead to a lot of complicated hassle. Japan Store will ship to a PO box but we do not take responsibility for any packages lost or delayed as a result.

For larger orders, we can arrange shipping by DHL or FedEx.

What's the difference between EMS, Airmail and SAL?

Basically SAL is the cheapest but slowest, Airmail offers a faster delivery, and EMS is the fastest service and the only one that includes insurance and online package tracking. Occasionally a package sent by SAL or Airmail will be delayed or even, on very rare occasions, go missing. We have never seen this happen with packages sent by EMS.

• SAL
  • Cheapest for smaller packages up to 2kg.
  • Slow (6-14 days to the U.S. plus local delivery time)
  • No tracking number. If your package is delayed, we can't tell you where it is. Sorry.

• Airmail
  • Cheaper for smaller packages up to 2kg.
  • Fast (3-6 days to the U.S.)
  • No tracking number. If your package is delayed, we can't tell you where it is. Sorry.

• Express Mail Service (EMS)
  • Fastest (2-4 days to the U.S.)
  • Cheaper for orders of 2kg or more. For less than 2kg, about 25-40% more expensive than Airmail.
  • Includes a track & trace number, which can be used on the Japan Post, USPS and many other websites.
  • Includes full insurance against damage or loss. Japan Store will follow up any such claims on request (though we've never actually had to!).

Free Shipping

Some of our products qualify for free shipping. There is usually a minimum order amount, though this amount may vary, and free shipping is available only to our most popular destination countries. Free shipping orders are sent using the SAL service from Japan Post.

Customs Duties

All international orders are subject to any applicable Customs duties and associated assessments and fees. This remains entirely the responsibility of the purchaser. Japan Store is NOT responsible for packages held or denied by Customs in any destination country. The customer is responsible for the full order price and shipping costs should any package be held or denied by Customs. Should you refuse the package because of duty fees that may be associated with it, or for any other reason, you are responsible for the full order price and shipping costs for the order. Please contact your customs office for information about additional fees.

Update for EU Customers

We have been advised by several customers in the EU of stiff duty charges being applied on orders shipped by EMS. These charges often exceed the value of the items shipped. We will do what we can to help you avoid these excessive charges, such as marking items as gifts or at lower than actual value. But this does not in any way overrule our policy on customs duties as described above.

U.S. Military Addresses

Japan Store has tried ship to U.S. military addresses (eg. APO, FPO, etc) outside Japan but the Japanese post office a) wouldn't allow us to send them by regular EMS; b) caused a huge fuss every time. If you are in the U.S. military, we recomend that you ship to a regular U.S. postal address and have it forwarded to you from there. It's more hassle and cost but far less risk.

Returns/Exchange Policy

If for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase due to error on our part, or if the item is damaged or faulty, please return it to us in its original condition within 30 days of the date on the postmark. We will issue a replacement where possible and refund your shipping cost. If a replacement is not possible, we will give a full refund of the price you paid for the item.

In the event of your having to return an item for reasons other than damage, please contact us first for clarification. If we agree to accept the item, please pack it securely with the original invoice or add a slip of paper with your name and contact details. Note: in the event of such a return, the item must be returned in the same condition that it was when it was originally sent.

If the item has been damaged, a refund will not be made under any circumstances. If the item is in the same condition as when shipped but the packaging is damaged, there will be a minimum $15 re-stocking fee. If an item is sold with batteries included, the cost of replacing them will be deducted from any refund.

Return shipping costs are the responsibility of the customer. When we receive the returned item(s) we will let you know the return shipping cost and ask you to pay this amount to our PayPal account (store -at- japan-zone.com). We can issue an invoice via PayPal if required. Once the payment has cleared we will ship the exchange item(s) to you.

Please send return or exchange items to this address:

Japan-Zone.com
SunMate 5A, Uchikoshi 109
Nagakute-shi
Aichi-ken 480-1152
Japan
Tel/Fax: (+81) 0561-63-0399

If an item is returned to us due to the fact that the shipping address supplied at the time of purchase was incorrect or no longer valid or no one was home at the time of delivery, we will resend the item but all further shipping costs are the responsibility of the customer. The same policy holds true in the event of a clothing or footwear item, etc., that does not fit but was shipped as ordered by the customer. Always double-check the sizes as noted on the site. For information on choosing a Japanese footwear size, see our size comparison charts.

For further information on our Returns Policy please use our contact form.