Buying from Japan to United Kingdom

Which service is cheapest for United Kingdom

The same order through all five. The postage is identical; the differences are each company's fees and whether it collects the tax at checkout. Choosing ZenMarket instead of Doorzo costs ¥1,077 more on this order.

Local-currency figures are approximate, converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2026-10-01 (1 £ = ¥209.1). Your card or the proxy will use its own rate on the day.

Head-to-head for United Kingdom: FROM JAPAN vs Buyee, FROM JAPAN vs ZenMarket, FROM JAPAN vs Neokyo, FROM JAPAN vs Doorzo, Buyee vs ZenMarket, Buyee vs Neokyo, Buyee vs Doorzo, ZenMarket vs Neokyo, ZenMarket vs Doorzo, Neokyo vs Doorzo.

Import tax in United Kingdom

Import tax is set by United Kingdom, not by the proxy service you choose. All the proxy decides is whether it takes the money at checkout or leaves you to settle with the courier at the door. The amount owed is the same either way. That is why the totals on this site are split into what you pay now and what you pay on arrival, rather than merged into one figure that would make the companies who collect honestly look dearer.

The numbers

• Import VAT / GST: 20% on goods plus shipping
• Duty-free threshold: £135

Which proxies collect this tax up front

ZenMarket (on orders up to GBP 135) collects it at checkout. The others leave you to pay on delivery, where the courier normally adds a handling charge on top.

What that means in money

Two orders to United Kingdom, both from Mercari Japan, both about 1 kg packed and both with ¥700 of domestic postage inside Japan, priced through the cheapest service available for each:

Couriers usually add their own customs handling fee on top. Paying tax up front often avoids it.

Tax at six different prices

Tax applies from the first yen at 20%, and it is charged on the goods plus the international postage, so on a cheap item it comes to well over 20% of the item price. On ¥3,000 it is 49.3% of the item; on ¥200,000 it is 20.4%. ZenMarket stops collecting it at checkout between ¥20,000 and ¥50,000, because its up-front collection only covers orders below a set value. Above that, the parcel goes through customs as a formal import and you settle with the courier.

A Mercari Japan item, 1 kg packed, EMS. Tax is shown for the cheapest service; the last five columns show when each service takes it.

The limits that matter, in yen

• United Kingdom's duty-free limit is £135. It covers customs duty only: VAT is due on every parcel regardless.
• ZenMarket collects VAT up front only on orders up to GBP 135, about ¥28,225 at 2026-10-01 rates.

Exchange-rate conversions are approximate. Near a limit, a move in the rate can put an order either side of it, and the calculator warns you when that is the case.

How United Kingdom compares

Of the 7 countries where the tax can be calculated, United Kingdom is the 6th cheapest place to receive the same ¥10,000, 1 kg order, at ¥18,280. ¥2,880 of that is tax. The postage differs too, since EMS prices by zone.

The handling fee nobody quotes

Where tax is not collected up front, the courier or postal operator pays it for you at the border and then charges a fee for having done so. It is not part of the tax itself. None of the five services publish it and it varies by carrier, so it is deliberately left out of the totals here rather than guessed at. It is still a real reason to prefer a service that collects at checkout where you have the choice.

EMS postage to United Kingdom

Japan Post puts United Kingdom in EMS zone 3, together with Canada, Australia, Germany and France, which pay the same prices. EMS is charged by weight band, so a parcel pays for the whole band it falls in (the first band ends at 500 g, then 100 g steps up to 1 kg, 250 g steps up to 2 kg, 500 g steps up to 6 kg, 1 kg steps up to 30 kg). Some of the bands:

For the same 1 kg order, other Japan Post methods: Sent by airmail small packet instead of EMS, the same order comes to ¥15,756 through Buyee, ¥2,524 less. The trade-off is time: EMS is Japan Post's fastest service and surface parcels its slowest.

Japan Post's published rates. A service is only counted where its own site lists the method; the shipping methods guide shows which do. SAL (economy air) is not shown because Japan Post has suspended it.

The first band costs ¥6,300 per kg; at 30 kg it is ¥2,183 per kg. That is why sending several purchases together in one box saves money. The EMS guide compares all nine countries.

What cannot be sent to United Kingdom

All five refuse model paint and thinner; spray cans and topcoat; items with lithium batteries; lighters; perfume; and plants and seeds on this route. For replica swords and knives, no service says it will ship to United Kingdom: some refuse, and the rest publish no rule, which means the decision is made at the warehouse after you have paid. None of these is blocked by a Japan Post rule specific to United Kingdom; where something is refused, it is the company's own policy, and another service may accept it.

Company rules and Japan Post's rules for United Kingdom combined. See what you cannot ship for each company's own wording.

By what you are buying

Typical orders for different kinds of item, each through the cheapest service that will take it to United Kingdom. Weights and prices are assumptions; the guides explain each one.

More for United Kingdom

• Cheapest proxy to United Kingdom, by marketplace
• Shipping by weight to United Kingdom: a manga volume, a boxed figure, a 2 kg parcel, a 3 kg parcel
• Paying import tax up front or on delivery
• Import tax in all nine countries