- Buying & Importing Zoids
There are unnumerable Zoids products out there in the world, and the greatest selection of products is, of course, located in the country of origin. Unfortunately, many sellers in Japan don't ship their products overseas, which can leave you out of luck. So in this article we'll walk you through where to purchase Zoids, and how to get through the import process!
International Stores - New Items
All stores listed in this section have options for shipping outside of Japan. We'll cover some pros and cons about each one, so be sure to read the full paragraph when considering a store!
AmiAmi Go To Website
Located In: Japan
AmiAmi is one of the most recommended international stores, as it has the cheapest prices around. They pack items well, often give thank you notes, etc. In addition, since AmiAmi is an actual store in Japan, you'll sometimes get bonus parts if you buy Zoids Wild items during a Japan-based purchase campaign. They're one of the only international stores to take part in these.
Item Stock: They're great at getting in new HMMs, but Wild kits often don't get added at all, or go straight to backorder.
Item Loss Procedure: It's worth noting that AmiAmi has no form of item loss compensation. Even if the tracking confirms that the item is lost, they will deny fault, refuse to contact Japan Post to file for an insurance claim, and will not refund the item unless it arrives back at their store. If it does arrive back, you'll be paying shipping a second time. That aside, they sell items with great prices and excellent shipping, and such incidents of item loss are very rare.
Hobby Link Japan Go To Website
Located In: Japan
HLJ is a Japan-based store that ships worldwide, and often gets Zoids in at a good discount. Their biggest benefit is the "Private Warehouse" feature. During purchase you can select to have an item shipped when it is released, or sent to your private warehouse. Sending it to your private warehouse allows you to have HLJ store the item for up to 60 days. This means you can maximize on shipping cost savings by combining items. Especially usefull for smaller items! They do however only ship twice a week, which means waiting up to 6 days sometimes. This is annoying when you pay for fast shipping.
Item Stock: HLJ gets almost all model-kit related Zoids items in stock. In addition, they have a higher order limit than most other stores, so if you buy in bulk, this is the store for you!
CD Japan Go To Website
Located In: Japan
CD Japan (also known as Neo Wing in Japan) is best noticed for its stock of CDs and other auxillery items in the franchise. They also carry kits for a nice discount. Don't forget that EMS has a minimum charge, so order a few smaller items or combine your order with a model kit to make your shipping worth while!
Item Stock: CD Japan gets almost all items in quickly, but they sell out quick and don't often restock.
Amazon JP Go To Website
Located In: Japan
Amazon Japan is one of the biggest stores for buying Zoids. Although their prices aren't very competitive, they get a ton of items in stock. All manner of Zoids items, too, not just model kits. Since they use DHL, this is the best store choice for small items like books and CDs. An average manga book costs $8 to ship overseas.
Additional Links: By default we linked to the model kits section because this allows us to select ONLY items sold and shipped by Amazon. This ensures that you're getting new, good condition items, and aren't being extorted by resalers. Here are some other category links, though! Books (not Amazon specific), Music, DVDs & Blu-Rays.
International Buyer Notes: You don't need a Japanese payment method (you can use your normal credit/debit card, though they don't accept Paypal), but you will need a AmazonJP-specific account. You can't use your Amazon US, etc. account. Prime membership will not transfer to AmazonJP, and you cannot get the free 2-Day shipping on overseas orders.
Item Stock: They get almost all new items in right away.
Gundam Planet Go To Website
Located In: USA (NJ)
Gundam Planet is a USA-based store focused on HMM Zoids. If you're really uncomfortable with using overseas stores, this may be a good alternative. Their prices are considerably more expensive, but because they're locally based, you'll save a lot on shipping. Usually it's still cheaper to order direct from Japan, but we understand this is a big step for many fans.
Item Stock: They stock exclusively HMM Model Kits, but aren't very fast to get new ones in stock.
- International Stores - Used Items
Mandarake Go To Website
Located In: Japan
Mandarake is a second hand store in Japan. It has numerous locations, and often lists older Zoids that have been out of production for a while. While some items are overpriced, you can get a great deal since you forego deputy services (and their associated fees). They also get some pretty rare items on occasion. Please note it contains a lot of NSFW doujin material.
Please note that shipping usually is not combined, since items may be at different stores. Sometimes, if items are purchased from the same store, they may combine shipping. You can check this by viewing the individual item pages. The top column on the right side table is the store (for example, SAHRA). Also note that they usually list box damage as a precaution. Please evaluate the box condition from the photos.
Ebay Go To Website
Located In: Multiple Countries
If you're from the United States, Ebay is the website you're most familiar with. Be warned, though! Ebay is well known for its insanely bad prices. It's full of scalpers, and recently overseas sellers have started selling their items on Ebay for way more inflated prices than they list the exact same items on sites like Yahoo Japan. Even taking shipping into account, these items are over inflated. That's not to say that there aren't deals to be had, there are! But please, please price compare. Way too many people are taken advantage of by sellers across the world, who rely on Ebay's scalper environment to overcharge customers.
Rakuten Global Go To Website
Located In: Japan
Rakuten offers a global site. While it contains a lot of used items, Rakuten also has a particularly high concentration of stores who exhibit brand new items for sale. You'll find a lot of oddities here, like the keychains that don't usually make it to other websites.
- Japanese Only Markets
All of the stores in this category are Japan-only, meaning they don't ship outside of Japan. Please check out our Services page to price compare and pick out a service that works best for you. Because these sites require a third party service, also be sure that you fully understand the cost of importing before making a purchase.
Yahoo Japan Go To Website
Yahoo Japan is the biggest hub for used Zoids products! You can find amazing deals here, and the biggest selection of Zoids items anywhere on the internet. The site only ships to Japan, but is partnered with Buyee, so check out our services page for more information! This is where most of the really rare Zoids will pop up.
Mercari Go To Website
Mercari is a flea market site where sellers can list their Zoids goods for a flat sale price. You'll find a different selection than Yahoo Japan, and Mercari is usually more reliable for finding some of those really obscure items, like cards, CDs, sticker sheets, etc.
Suruga-ya Go To Website
Suruga-ya is better known for its media and doujinshi than other websites. You'll find a decent amount of fan content here. Anything rated 18+ (which, unfortunately, is almost all Zoids doujin material-) has the image blocked, so you don't get spammed with inappropriate covers like you might on other sites. They also often have very cheap prices for media.
Rakuten Japan Go To Website
This is Rakuten's Japan-only site. It has a much wider variety of Zoids than their Global site, and a strong concentration of actual stores in Japan. So check it out, and see what you can find!
