japanese online shopping aggregators

i've just used these people:

https://www.jp-stores.com

where apparently the idea is that they buy the thing from a local shop, the local shop delivers it to them, and then they ship it to you wherever you are in the world. so it's a two-step process: you place your order and pay the cost of the item. then once the item's ready to be shipped, you pay the shipping costs.

their web site interface is atrocious and i frankly feel that i'm throwing my money down a black hole. does anyone else have experience with this kind of thing?

zannen desu ga...

...tsugou ga warui desu.

I think eBay might be a safer bet, though you pay a bit of a premium

lol ok this going to the store for someone in another country thing is perfectly insanely japanese

btw what u buyin tracer

if you know someone who can read japanese, you may be able to avoid any fees and get a better price on rakuten (provided the seller ships internationally, if not i guess these shippers may be a better service).

oh look, they have an english language site now:

http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/index_en.html

i'm getting a tea kettle for my parents, i hope.. this one: http://designshop.jp-stores.com/goods.cgi?act=goods_view&shop_id=we60134&goods_id=3351&cn=4&p

http://www.jp-stores.com/welt/shop/we60134/images/FzejEs1218343051.jpg

apparently this is actually working.. at least i received a shipping number from them that i can punch into the USPS website and i get:

Foreign International Dispatch, December 11, 2009, 6:39 am, TOKYO INT CONTAINER 1, JAPAN

Foreign Arrival at Outward Office, December 11, 2009, 5:54 am, TOKYO INT CONTAINER 1, JAPAN

even with shipping this is like a good 30 quid less than anywhere i could find it in the western world

Oh man, maybe I can buy a piece of clothing that fits

I found it for about $20US cheaper (before shipping) on rakuten:

http://en.item.rakuten.com/all-zakka/311125/

My gf uses this site (for clothes) and reports that it is legitimate and definitely does work although the time it takes depends on the particular retailer so if they're slow you might have to wait a while.

no direct linking, hold on a sec.