Neither wins outright. Of the 24 orders we priced, ZenMarket is cheaper on 1 and Neokyo on 23.
- Item
- Service fee
- Packing
- Payment / deposit fee
- Postage inside Japan
- International postage
- Import tax
The bars are one order: a ¥10,000 item from Mercari Japan, 1 kg packed, ¥700 postage inside Japan, EMS to Singapore.
Neokyo does not publish a payment fee, so it is counted as ¥0. At 3.5%, the highest payment fee any service here publishes, this order would come to ¥16,365 with ZenMarket and ¥16,417 with Neokyo, and ZenMarket would be the cheaper of the two.
| # | Service | Pay the proxy | Pay on delivery | Total | Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neokyo | ¥14,700 | ¥1,184 | ¥15,884 ≈ S$129 |
On delivery |
| 2 | ZenMarket | ¥16,365 | ¥0 | ¥16,365 ≈ S$133 |
Prepaid |
Local-currency figures are approximate, converted at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2026-10-01 (1 S$ = ¥123.4). Your card or the proxy will use its own rate on the day.
Totals include the proxy's service fee, packing, domestic shipping inside Japan, international postage, any deposit or payment fee, and import tax. Where a service collects tax up front it appears in the “pay the proxy” column instead of “pay on delivery”. The tax is the same either way.
Where the ¥481 actually goes
The whole difference comes from payment / deposit fee (ZenMarket pays ¥531 more), packing (Neokyo pays ¥500 more) and service fee (ZenMarket pays ¥450 more). The largest of these is the payment / deposit fee. The import tax is the same ¥1,184 for both. One collects it at checkout and the other leaves it to the courier, which changes when you pay but not how much.
| Line | Neokyo | ZenMarket | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | ¥10,000 | ¥10,000 | same |
| Service fee | ¥350 | ¥800 | +¥450 |
| Packing | ¥500 | ¥0 | −¥500 |
| Payment / deposit fee | ¥0 | ¥531 | +¥531 |
| Postage inside Japan | ¥700 | ¥700 | same |
| International postage | ¥3,150 | ¥3,150 | same |
| Import tax | ¥1,184 | ¥1,184 | same |
| Final total | ¥15,884 | ¥16,365 | +¥481 |
Does it hold for your order?
One example order proves little, so we priced the same pair on 24 orders: four parcel weights, three item prices, and one item against three separate items, all from Mercari Japan to Singapore.
| ¥3,000 1 item | ¥3,000 3 items | ¥10,000 1 item | ¥10,000 3 items | ¥50,000 1 item | ¥50,000 3 items | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 g | ¥182 | ¥1,140 | ¥436 | ¥1,394 | ¥1,887 | ¥2,845 |
| 1 kg | ¥227 | ¥1,185 | ¥481 | ¥1,439 | ¥1,932 | ¥2,890 |
| 2 kg | ¥278 | ¥1,236 | ¥532 | ¥1,490 | ¥1,983 | ¥2,941 |
| 5 kg | ¥41 | ¥917 | ¥213 | ¥1,171 | ¥1,663 | ¥2,622 |
- ZenMarket cheaper
- Neokyo cheaper
- Darker means a bigger gap. Each cell is the difference in the final total.
The gap moves most with the price of the item: going from ¥3,000 to ¥50,000 shifts it by about ¥1,705 towards Neokyo. After that, going from one item to three shifts it by about ¥958 towards Neokyo, and going from 500 g to 5 kg shifts it by about ¥223 towards ZenMarket. Because the lead changes hands inside this table, check your own order in the calculator below rather than relying on the headline.
Depending on where you buy
Where you buy changes the answer: ZenMarket wins on ZenMarket recommended stores; Neokyo wins on Yahoo! Auctions, Mercari Japan, Rakuten Rakuma, Amazon.co.jp, Rakuten Ichiba and Other Japanese shops. ZenMarket's moves by up to ¥518 depending on where it buys, while Neokyo's total is the same whatever the marketplace. All rows are the same ¥10,000, 1 kg order.
| Buying from | ZenMarket | Neokyo | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yahoo! Auctions | ¥16,365 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥481 |
| Mercari Japan | ¥16,365 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥481 |
| Rakuten Rakuma | ¥16,054 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥170 |
| Amazon.co.jp | ¥16,054 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥170 |
| Rakuten Ichiba | ¥16,054 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥170 |
| ZenMarket recommended stores | ¥15,847 | ¥15,884 | ZenMarket by ¥37 |
| Other Japanese shops | ¥16,054 | ¥15,884 | Neokyo by ¥170 |
What each will ship to Singapore
They disagree on 6 categories: airsoft and model guns (ZenMarket: with conditions, Neokyo: refused); snacks and food (ZenMarket: not stated, Neokyo: ships); adult doujinshi (ZenMarket: with conditions, Neokyo: ships); replica swords and knives (ZenMarket: not stated, Neokyo: refused); skincare and cosmetics (ZenMarket: not stated, Neokyo: with conditions); and medicine (ZenMarket: not stated, Neokyo: refused). If your item falls into one of those, that matters more than the price gap above. Both refuse model paint and thinner; spray cans and topcoat; lighters; perfume; and plants and seeds on this route. Japan Post itself restricts items with lithium batteries on parcels to Singapore, so switching service does not get around it.
| If the parcel contains | ZenMarket | Neokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Flammable liquid | Refused | Refused |
| Aerosol / pressurised can | Refused | Refused |
| Contains a lithium battery | With conditions | With conditions |
| Airsoft / model gun | With conditions | Refused |
| Lighter | Refused | Refused |
| Food or drink | Not stated | Ships |
| Adult (R18) material | With conditions | Ships |
| Blade / replica sword | Not stated | Refused |
| Perfume or fragrance | Refused | Refused |
| Skincare or make-up | Not stated | With conditions |
| Medicine (over the counter) | Not stated | Refused |
| Plants or seeds | Refused | Refused |
Highlighted rows are where the two differ. "Not stated" means the company publishes no rule, so the decision is made at the warehouse after you have paid. Each company's own wording is quoted on the what you cannot ship page.
When you pay the import tax
ZenMarket collects GST at 9% at checkout on orders up to SGD 400. Neokyo does not collect it up front on EMS parcels to Singapore, so it is paid to the courier when the parcel lands. The amount of GST is set by Singapore, not by either company, so it is the same whichever you use. Where it is paid on arrival, the courier usually adds its own customs handling charge on top, which neither company publishes and which is not in the totals here.
| Order | ZenMarket | Neokyo |
|---|---|---|
| ¥10,000 item | Collected at checkout | Paid on arrival |
| ¥150,000 item | On arrival, not estimated | Paid on arrival |
Storage, packing and payment terms
| ZenMarket | Neokyo | |
|---|---|---|
| Service fee charged | per item | per item |
| Packing and consolidation | included | ¥500 up to 2 kg, then ¥150 per extra kg |
| Payment / deposit fee | 3.5% of the whole transaction | not published |
| Storage at the warehouse | 60 days free, then ¥50 per item per day, disposed of after 90 days | 45 days free, then from ¥210 a week by size |
ZenMarket holds purchases free for longer (60 days against 45). That window is what lets you collect several purchases over a few weeks and send them in one box, which usually saves more in postage than the difference in service fees.
What each includes for the money
Neokyo: no extras bundled at this plan level. ZenMarket: no extras bundled at this plan level. A cheaper total with no inspection and no insurance is not the same product as a dearer one that includes both. On a second-hand auction item, where the seller's description is the only thing you have to go on, that difference is worth more than the gap above.
What we could not confirm
Neokyo: payment fee is not published; treated as ¥0