My best friend lives in Hiroshima and I want to send him a couple games. I would ask him personally, but it needs to be a surprise. Most likely I'll be sending just two discs in slim line cases, put into a padded envelope.
So is USPS the way to go? Or some other shipping service?
Best (and cheapest) way to ship games to Japan?
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Flak Beard
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onemanfilmcrew
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Re: Best (and cheapest) way to ship games to Japan?
Priority International Mail Small Flat Rate Box $13.95.
http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.asp ... &o=1&mt=13
http://ircalc.usps.gov/MailServices.asp ... &o=1&mt=13
Re: Best (and cheapest) way to ship games to Japan?
The following is probably not helpful, but just in case:Flak Beard wrote:My best friend lives in Hiroshima and I want to send him a couple games. I would ask him personally, but it needs to be a surprise. Most likely I'll be sending just two discs in slim line cases, put into a padded envelope.
So is USPS the way to go? Or some other shipping service?
If you haven't bought the games yet, you might consider attempting to buy them from amazon.co.jp. Shipping within Japan is crazy cheap.
Or, if they are available through a service like GOG or Steam, you could gift them and avoid shipping all together. I've used both Steam and GOG to give my brother who lives in Japan games for Christmas and his birthday.
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Upsidedown Fuji
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Re: Best (and cheapest) way to ship games to Japan?
You may want to consider playasia.com. If you are getting console games, they send to Japan FOR FREE. They just may not carry the games you want a cheap prices you can easily find at your local store. I use them for 80 percent of my game purchases. It takes about a week from purchase for stuff to get to my house with their free shipping option. Not bad.
Depending on the seller, Amazon may or maynot be able to send to Japan. Amazon.co.jp doesn't carry as many import (non Japanese region games) as I'd like.
If you find a killer game deal in your home town and prefer to send it yourself, the fastest and cheapest would be to stuff it in a flatrate international mail envelope provided by USPS for about 14 dollars. Or if you don't care how long it takes, you can send regular 1st cass (non EMS/Express) for under 10 dollars depending on how big your package is. I think regular 1st Class USPS (no insurance/tracking) takes up to 2 weeks, if you ship from anywhere in the US besides california. I've gotten stuff regular 1st class in about a business week from my family in California before.
As long as your handwriting is clear and the address is right, your mail should make it without any problems. The Japanese post office is very efficient and reliable.
Depending on the seller, Amazon may or maynot be able to send to Japan. Amazon.co.jp doesn't carry as many import (non Japanese region games) as I'd like.
If you find a killer game deal in your home town and prefer to send it yourself, the fastest and cheapest would be to stuff it in a flatrate international mail envelope provided by USPS for about 14 dollars. Or if you don't care how long it takes, you can send regular 1st cass (non EMS/Express) for under 10 dollars depending on how big your package is. I think regular 1st Class USPS (no insurance/tracking) takes up to 2 weeks, if you ship from anywhere in the US besides california. I've gotten stuff regular 1st class in about a business week from my family in California before.
As long as your handwriting is clear and the address is right, your mail should make it without any problems. The Japanese post office is very efficient and reliable.