Shipping Japanese Collectibles to UK: Customs, VAT & Deliver
If you collect Japanese figures, trading cards or games, the part that usually stops people is not finding the item — it is not knowing what happens once the parcel leaves Japan. This guide explains exactly how we ship to the United Kingdom, what you pay, and who handles customs.
How the parcel actually travels
Every order leaves Tokyo as a single tracked parcel, primarily via FedEx, and the shipping rate is set at checkout by the FedEx zone of your address.
Orders are prepared within 1–10 business days, and most leave within 3–5. You receive the tracking number when the parcel is handed over, so the first scan you see is the one from the carrier in Japan.
What shipping costs
Shipping is charged per parcel, not per item: the rate comes from your address's FedEx zone and the chargeable weight of the order (the greater of actual and volumetric weight). That is why adding everything to one cart before checking out is almost always cheaper than placing separate orders.
| Total chargeable weight | Standard tracked shipping |
|---|---|
| Up to 500 g | USD 23 |
| 500 g – 1 kg | USD 26 |
| 1 kg – 2 kg | USD 34 |
| 2 kg – 3 kg | USD 43 |
| 3 kg – 5 kg | USD 60 |
| 5 kg – 7.5 kg | USD 83 |
| 7.5 kg – 10 kg | USD 107 |
| 10 kg – 15 kg | USD 143 |
| 15 kg – 20 kg | USD 183 |
| 20 kg – 30 kg | USD 282 |
| 30 kg – 32.5 kg | USD 306 |
Rates above are the the United Kingdom FedEx-zone rates as of October 2026. The exact amount for your address is always shown at checkout before you pay.
One combined parcel also means one customs entry for the United Kingdom instead of several, and a single tracking number to follow. See the consolidation guide for how we recalculate and refund the difference when orders can be combined.
Customs, duties and taxes
Import duties, taxes and any customs processing fee are the buyer’s responsibility. They are not included in the item price or the shipping you pay us. The carrier collects them from you at delivery, or asks you to pay before releasing the parcel.
We declare the accurate paid value on every international shipment, as required by our carrier and Japanese export regulations. We cannot mark a parcel as a gift or declare a lower value, and any seller who offers to do so is putting your parcel at risk of seizure.
The authority for what you will owe is HM Revenue & Customs (via GOV.UK), not us. GOV.UK explains when import VAT and duty apply to goods sent from outside the UK, and when the courier may add a handling fee. The thresholds change, so read the current guidance there rather than a number quoted in a blog post.
If something goes wrong
Items are described as they are, and what the listing says is what you receive. If a tracked parcel shows no movement for 30 days or more, or arrives damaged, contact us and we will resend or refund. You are not left carrying the loss for a parcel that never arrived.
Buying direct instead of through a proxy service
Proxy and forwarding services add their own fee on top of the item, then ship it to you as a second leg. Buying direct from a Japanese seller removes that layer: one price, one parcel, one customs entry, and one party to talk to if anything needs sorting out.
Browse what we currently have from Japan, or tell us what you are hunting for through the sourcing request catalog if it is not listed yet.
Related buying guides
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