Buying online and shipment to the UK?

J

Jaerin

Hikikomori
Buying anime in the UK is pretty hard for me.

I mean, the really good items I want are usually in cons. I would like to find a better solution to this, I can't keep over spending...
I have only bought 3 times online, however they usually take a month to ship to me when other people get it shipped in 2 weeks or so...am I buying from the wrong seller on EBay? Are there better websites?

Also, I would really like to have a wall scroll from a oldish anime. Yet, even if I know its there in the world...
I for sure know its no where near me TT-TT
Anyone also know where to get good wall scrolls? The really good fabric ones?

If anyone else has also tips of how and where to buy online(including with shipping experience) , please reply too!
Thanks! :D :D
 
I may not have an idea about wall scrolls but I might be able to help with the anime shopping part.

These lot are great:
Amazon UK/US/JP - UK store
Amazon can be a hit or miss with prices but every now and then they will be reduced at the right price.

Amazon US and JP are also good options if you ever wanted to get a Japanese anime set from JP, or North America anime set or game from US, the Amazon Global shipping option will also offer the VAT during the checkout so you'll be able to avoid the handling fee.

Shipping is pretty good for Amazon UK while US & JP will differ depending on the type of set you buy.

Anime On Line - store
MVM Entertainment's main store. Each week they have a Deal of the Week with a DVD set reduced to £9.99. They will even dispatch pre-order titles early if they have them in stock, but that's mainly MVM titles.

United Publications - UK store, US store (exactly the same as the UK but with $ pricing)
They sell a lot of anime and manga at pretty good prices. Shipping is first class so they'll arrive within a few days after dispatch. If you have a multi-regional player they also sell anime imports from America and Australia with no worries about customs/tax.

As a bonus, The Book Depository is great for manga. They ship items individually but there's free shipping and the prices are often the cheapest compared to Amazon and United Publications.
 
It depends what you're looking for. If you're wanting standard DVDs and Blu Rays then you're best bet is either Amazon, Zavvi or Base.com. I've never had any eBay issues myself and it's very seller dependent. If you're wanting US imports then UP1.com would be your best best. They ship from the UK despite having the prices in dollars and as such you get them fast and with no ridiculous handling or import costs. As for Australian imports, it's best to go to the Madman Store direct. The shipping isn't ridiculous and you rarely get charged import fees.
 
Are we talking UK releases or imports here? Normanic's covered most of the basics (though I'd also add Zavvi, they're my go-to now rather than Amazon in the UK due to price but some people seem to have had experiences with poor customer service). For similar reasons when importing Japanese stuff I'd go YesAsia rather than Amazon JP.
 
Not sure about wallscrolls, but as far as anime DVDs and BR's go, it depends what you're wanting to buy.

For US releases, I either use UP1/UP1USA (USA is usually chepaer even after taking into account currency exchange charges). They ship everything from the UK, so once they have stock, when they dispatch it will usually be with you the next day with no customs fees. Sometimes however they don't have stock, or are a bit more expensive, on these occassions, I usually check Amazon UK where there is quite often a copy or two being sold by either SupermartUSA or All the Music. These guys will take a lot longer to get an item to you, but they are cheaper and I've never been hit with any customs charges from them as they ship the item to the UK and then forward it on to you via Royal Mail.

For Korean releases, Kimchi DVD are awesome. You can choose what price to declare on the packaging and it will arrive really quickly if you choose K Packet as the shipping option.

I don't buy much from Japan, but as I understand it, most just use Amazon jp.
 
Jaerin said:
I would like to find a better solution to this, I can't keep over spending...
I have only bought 3 times online, however they usually take a month to ship to me when other people get it shipped in 2 weeks or so...am I buying from the wrong seller on EBay? Are there better websites?
Click to expand...

For buying anime? Yes. Almost EVERYWHERE is better than Ebay - the great online skip where all bootlegs go to die.

Other regulars here have got you covered with websites.If it's taking that long for your goods to reach you, I'd be very suspicious indeed.

Might be worth checking the 'how to spot a bootleg' thread here to maake sure the products you've bought are even legit. My first anime DVD purchase was through Ebay and turned out to be counterfeit. So much of the anime on there isn't legit that it's simply not worth considering as a serious marketplace.
 
antonusklesk said:
Not sure about wallscrolls, but as far as anime DVDs and BR's go, it depends what you're wanting to buy.

For US releases, I either use UP1/UP1USA (USA is usually chepaer even after taking into account currency exchange charges). They ship everything from the UK, so once they have stock, when they dispatch it will usually be with you the next day with no customs fees. Sometimes however they don't have stock, or are a bit more expensive, on these occassions, I usually check Amazon UK where there is quite often a copy or two being sold by either SupermartUSA or All the Music. These guys will take a lot longer to get an item to you, but they are cheaper and I've never been hit with any customs charges from them as they ship the item to the UK and then forward it on to you via Royal Mail.

For Korean releases, Kimchi DVD are awesome. You can choose what price to declare on the packaging and it will arrive really quickly if you choose K Packet as the shipping option.

I don't buy much from Japan, but as I understand it, most just use Amazon jp.
Click to expand...
Unless they have changed their shipping policy, both SuparmartUSA and ALL the Music purchases can result in import duty charges. I have been charged buying from them both in the past but not recently as I have been waiting for the items to dip below the import limit or bought from other places to avoid this problem.
 
mangaman74 said:
Unless they have changed their shipping policy, both SuparmartUSA and ALL the Music purchases can result in import duty charges. I have been charged buying from them both in the past but not recently as I have been waiting for the items to dip below the import limit or bought from other places to avoid this problem.
Click to expand...

Bought loads from both over the last year and been charged customs on none of them. In all cases packages were re-sent from a UK address. Having said that some people on this forum have been hit with charges buying off these two sellers - but only if they are outside the UK (Europe). In those cases packages appear to be sent direct from the US and can incur customs.

Tentatively, I would also state the following Amazon Marketplace sellers re-ship from the UK.

MovieMars
Rarewaves

For MovieMars I've only "experimented" with one order - it was re-shipped from the UK.

For Rarewaves I had about 40 orders - they were all re-shipped from the UK but as they were only spread over 3 days I won't for now consider this definitive for now.
 
I can vouch for MovieMars being a great seller - they dispatch about as quickly as All Your Music or Supermart. however, I HAVE been hit with customs charges when using them, so proceed with caution.
 
I think those sellers use similar methods, shipping from Europe where possible but sometimes shipping from the USA if they don't have stock. They'd probably be more willing to ship higher cost items from outside the EU if they have to since it's more likely their postage costs would be covered but that'd actually be worse for customers if they get hit by customs. Funny how these things work.
 
Quick question about UP1:

I haven't used these guys nearly as much as I evidently should have. When ordering from the US site, are you still assured there'll be no hassle with customs charges?
 
HdE said:
Quick question about UP1:

I haven't used these guys nearly as much as I evidently should have. When ordering from the US site, are you still assured there'll be no hassle with customs charges?
Click to expand...

No hassle, same way the UK site is handled. No charges, no issues.
 
with UP1, it's the same stock regardless of if you use the US or UK site since it's just the currency that the order is charged in that is different (if you look at the basket before you checkout it shows the shipping cost for the US, and it's way higher then shipping to the UK since everything is stocked in the UK), but your banks fraud department might throw a hissy fit and block the transaction which is what happened with me even though I'd used the US site the month previous.
 
Ah. Dang and blast. This is all moot anyway, as I can't pay for the goods I wanted to order via PayPal. That's a dealbreaker for me. So I've actually just sourced them from Otaku.co.uk instead.

It' my first time using them, and I've actually saved a bit of money going through them. I've heard good things, so let's see how they perform.
 
Shiroi Hane said:
I haven't used Otaku.co.uk in years, but they were good people.
Click to expand...

They were very friendly at Comic Con. I was planning on using their site but the prices were too high for my taste.
 
I can see myself using them again provided my order turns up in timely fashion. One of the items I've ordered was a clear £7.00 cheaper than anywhere else I looked for it - plus, free shipping!
 
So I'm currently mulling over making my first Amazon JP order, and I was wondering if other than having to make a new account, the process is exactly the same as if I were ordering from Amazon US? There is still the option of pre-paying VAT, right?

I'm looking to order the Steins;Gate movie.
 
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