As the Shaman King manga volumes are being reprinted in Japan, you might ask yourself, “I want to buy these! How can I do it!?” Since reprint volumes rarely get published outside of Japan, the only way for you to get your hands on these volumes is to import the mangas volumes. Below is some key terms you’ll need to know about when dealing with importing and following that is a breakdown of several websites you can buy your manga from.
EMS – Express Mail Service. Fastest shipping in Japan and can be insured as well as tracked.
SAL – Standard shipping. Slower, not insured or tracked. Similar to media mail.
Commission Fee – A fee a bussiness will charge you, based on the value of your good. Similar to a handling fee.
IPMO – International Postal Money Order
Exchange Rate fee – When changing currencies, your bank or credit card issuer, may charge you a fee for changing currencies. This is normally a fixed rate, varies by bank.
This article only covers some aspects of each online retailer. Please read the shipping and payment method details for each website before ordering.
beNippon:
URL: http://benippon.com/s?q=Hiroyuki+Takei+
Pros:
- Can request items (needs to be something that’s easily available and need ISBN or amazon link)
- Fast and efficient
- Decent packaging
- Reasonable pricing
- Can pre-order, if item was requested and accepted before release
Cons:
- Payment with credit card is un-professional, but usable
Nippon Export:
URL: http://www.nippon-export.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Shaman+King
Pros:
- Reasonable pricing
- EMS and PAL shipping
Cons:
- Credit Card payment requires you to go to another site for the transaction.
- No pre-orders
Amazon Japan:
URL: http://amazon.co.jp
Pros:
- Interface similar to Amazon.com
- Pricing for volumes are cheap
- Pre-orders are accepted
- Phone Help lines are in English by request
- Can pay by Credit Card
Cons:
- Shipping international is a bit expensive
- Need to create an account (within the Japanese interface, similar to English sign up page)
- When setting up shipping location, you need to set an international shipping address
- Website is in Japanese (but you can set it up so some things are in English)
Sasuga Books:
URL: http://www.sasugabooks.com
Pros:
- Long standing import website
- Based in USA
- Fast shipping, USPS or optional UPS 2day shipping
Cons:
- Slightly higher prices for volumes
- Expensive shipping
- Website slower in updating with new releases
Kinokuniya:
URL: http://www.kinokuniya.com/
Pros:
- Large selection
- No shipping cost (since there is no online ordering)
- Pricing reasonable
Cons:
- NO ONLINE SHIPPING (in-store pickup ONLY)
- Need to go to the New York City or Seattle store location
YesAsia:
URL: http://us.yesasia.com/jp/artIdxDept.aspx/section-index/code-j/version-all/aid-1243285/
Pros:
- Long standing website
- Large selection of goods (Also has Butsu Zone Drama CDs, Chinese manga, .etc)
- Credit Cards accepted
Cons:
- Very high prices
- Based out of China (so delays in getting Japanese volumes)
- Slow in shipping orders