Buying from Japan to United States

Which service is cheapest for United States

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 ¥1,109 more on this order.

Local-currency figures are approximate, converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2026-10-01 (1 US$ = ¥158.0). Your card or the proxy will use its own rate on the day.

Head-to-head for United States: 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 States

Import tax is set by United States, 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: none; the US has no import VAT or GST, and state sales tax is not collected at the border
• Duty-free threshold: suspended, so duty applies to every parcel

Which proxies collect this tax up front

None of the five services says it collects United States duty at checkout on a Japan Post parcel. Who does collect it, and what they charge, we could not confirm; the likely amount is under how much US duty to expect.

What that means in money

Two orders to United States, 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:

The US $800 de minimis exemption was suspended on 29 Aug 2025 and made indefinite on 24 Jun 2026. Every parcel needs formal entry and duty, regardless of value. The exact rate depends on the item's HS code, so the totals here leave it out; the estimate shown with them is a guide by type of item.

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

How much US duty to expect

The totals on this site leave US duty out, because the exact rate depends on the tariff code of the item. The rules for goods made in Japan are simple enough to give a guide, though. Since 24 July 2026, a product of Japan pays a combined 12.5% where its normal US duty is below 12.5%, and its normal duty alone where that is 12.5% or more. Publications, films, posters, records, photographs, tapes, CDs, CD-ROMs and artworks are exempt.

For figures, model kits, trading cards and game consoles, the normal duty is zero, so the 12.5% is the whole of it. Manga, doujinshi, CDs and Blu-rays fall under the exemption for informational materials. Mixed merchandise is shown as "at least" because some of it, clothing and bags in particular, has a normal duty above 12.5%.

The normal US duty on some common items, from the US tariff schedule:

What this estimate does not cover

• The rate is applied to the item price. US customs value goods at the price paid, without the international postage.
• Goods made in China, as many figures are, have their own line in the tariff: 12.5% on top of the normal duty, which also comes to 12.5% where the normal duty is zero. Older China-specific duties apply to some products.
• The notice that set the 12.5% also lists specific products that are excluded. That list is published as images and we have not checked it line by line; a product on it pays less than shown here.
• Who collects the duty on a Japan Post parcel, and what they charge for doing it, we could not confirm for any of the services on this site. Ask your service before you buy.

Sources, checked 5 October 2026: US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, headings 9903.05.48, 9903.05.49 and 9903.05.92 (USITC); USTR notice of actions in the Section 301 forced-labor investigations, Federal Register, 28 July 2026; CBP rule ending the de minimis exemption for mail, Federal Register, 24 June 2026.

Tax at six different prices

United States's charge on arrival depends on the item or on where you live (none; the US has no import VAT or GST, and state sales tax is not collected at the border), so the totals leave it out rather than guess. The timing columns still apply: they show which services take it at checkout.

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

• The former US$800 duty-free limit has been suspended since 2025-08-29, so every parcel goes through formal entry.

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 States compares

The tax for United States cannot be calculated in advance, so it is left out of this comparison. For the other countries, here is the same ¥10,000, 1 kg order:

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 States

Japan Post puts United States in EMS zone 4. 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 surface (sea) parcel instead of EMS, the same order comes to ¥13,800 through Buyee, ¥2,500 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 ¥7,800 per kg; at 30 kg it is ¥2,503 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 States

All five refuse model paint and thinner; spray cans and topcoat; lighters; perfume; and plants and seeds on this route. For replica swords and knives, no service says it will ship to United States: 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 States; 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 States 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 States. Weights and prices are assumptions; the guides explain each one.

More for United States

• Cheapest proxy to United States, by marketplace
• Shipping by weight to United States: 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