Buying from Japan : coupon / promo / discount strategies

[TartuWolf]

I've been buying stuff from JP for a while now.
Sometimes using FromJapan, sometimes Buyee, sometimes Juno.
But I've heard folks like @Canuck Panda mention getting better deals using promo codes or coupons.
Where do you get or follow these?
What's your method / strategy?
As we're not competing for any specific items in this case I'm hoping that you can enlighten me and other members.

 

[TartuWolf]

Related question : Some proxies max out at asking a 10% discount from a seller. Some others (like Juno) are okay with asking 20%. Do you know any more proxies that are okay with making lower offers than 90% of listed price?

 

[Guppy]

Sites like buyee.jp will have a Coupons page where you can see current promotions. It's more convoluted than it should be, but basically you can browse a list of offers, and if you want to buy one of them, you have to first activate the coupon, then apply the coupon during checkout. Some coupons will be very specific for a certain seller or store, or for a certain category. It's always good to take advantage if you can.

I've never tried to negotaite for a lower price on an item, and I don't know how to do it. I guess there must be a way to ask the buying service to relay a message on your behalf to the merchant, and then they can accept or decline. I expect maybe they can also relate other questions as well, if you need more details. I am not sure how to do any of that, but would like to know.

 

[cbez]

fromjapan does frequent promo periods with 5-10% baked in discounts on certain sites (mercari, yahoo auctions, rakuten etc)

those stack with their promo codes they send out monthly and the ability to negotiate down on some markets

you can also find shipping discounts at times

someone posted a guide on how they break down the codes and guess the new months codes but I can't remember the details

 

[TartuWolf]

Recently I found Doorzo as well, they have a flat -8% discount for new members which is nice. Seems to work well. And they do seem to have a pretty clear system of claiming and using the coupons. You can even see in real time how your price changes based on what you pick. But you can only use one at a time.

In terms of negotiating FromJapan states that they can negotiate up to 10% down for you.
Here's also an interesting model:
Seems like this one allows you to freely make offers (at least in terms of Mercari..) and you pay a flat fee added to your order if the offer is accepted.

This means that this website might be very good to fish for very nice deals, especially if a listing has been up for a long time and the seller might be willing to simply get rid of the item.

 

[TartuWolf]

Playing my cards right I managed to get a total of -25% off the item and -20% off shipping for my last order including campaigns, coupons and negotiations via FromJapan. As it was by far the most expensive order up to date for me the discount was greatly appreciated and helped out a lot! Tried to play around with currency conversion tricks to avoid PayPal conversion fees but still managed to screw up. Otherwise that would have saved another 2-3%.

 

[TartuWolf]

Here's a nice reddit post that keeps getting constantly updated - it gathers up to date FromJapan discount codes. I contribute there as well.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FromJapanCodes/comments/1khqef4 Including discount codes for charge 2 or shipping.
For example there's a -15% off yahoo auctions discount code coming up for two days.

 

[twistdh]

Ti save up some conversion fees I use virtual card in the local currency…I’ve paid this way for my recent order from Areo.

Maybe you already know, but it allowed me to save over €35. Not many but they don't ****

In the future i would like to order something from Japan, but the various difficulties at the moment block me. This post will definitely be useful, thanks

 

[TartuWolf]

Yeah I calculated that I could save around 50eur on currency conversion if I'd order something for 200'000yen.
If anyone needs more info on that I can explain how to do it.

 

[jchance]

I haven’t done it myself but I heard that fromjapan and Juno are willing to declare gift and low value. Buyee doesn’t.

 

[TartuWolf]

FromJapan won't do that. Juno will but he takes a ~11% cut if using pp f&f or ~15% if using regular pp.
I have found a different way to get around this issue here locally.

 

[Pliksoff]

Some Japanese shops offer overseas shipping, though you usually have to contact them directly via email. I usually find their sites/contact info by searching their names from other platforms like Rakuten.
There aren't any coupons compared to proxy services but you get 10% off since there's no sales tax for foreign buyers (this might change next year since I heard the Japanese government was reforming the tax-free system for tourists). The smaller businesses are usually willing to work with you and undervalue the items.

For used goods, the best method I've found so far is to use a proxy, wait for a discount promotion, and then try negotiating with sellers on Mercari/PayPay/Rakuma. I've had better luck when I try requesting a specific percent/number (e.g., 8% off or 23800 yen) instead of a generic amount (e.g., 10% or 25000 yen).

 

[TartuWolf]

Rakuten Rakuma:

10% OFF campaign
2025/09/02 00:00 - 23:59 (JST)

+

10% as points back campaign
2025/09/01 00:00 - 2025/09/07 23:59 (JST)

+

In theory means you can get 30% off if you play your cards right at the right time.

Also something new I found:

That + the rather frequent 10-12% JDirectItems Auction campaigns.. 40% discount possible?

 

[Matsumoto]

Yeah I calculated that I could save around 50eur on currency conversion if I'd order something for 200'000yen.
If anyone needs more info on that I can explain how to do it.

Hi Tartu, would you mind explaining this?

 

[TartuWolf]

Hi Tartu, would you mind explaining this?

Long story short FJP+PayPal conversion rates are a lot worse than, for example, Revolut.
Ideally when buying using FJP chose JP as currency and pay with a PayPal account/card that already has the sum in JPY currency.
I have two Revolut accounts - one for EUR and one for JPY. I just do the Revolut currency conversion to convert EUR to JPY. Then in PayPal I add that specific JPY revolut digital credit card and mark it as the default in the Automatic Payments part related to FJP payments in the PayPal settings. And then make sure I have JPY selected when actually paying charge 1 or 2.
Failing any of these steps will result in FJP/PayPal using much higher currency exchange rates.

 

[Matsumoto]

Long story short FJP+PayPal conversion rates are a lot worse than, for example, Revolut.
Ideally when buying using FJP chose JP as currency and pay with a PayPal account/card that already has the sum in JPY currency.
I have two Revolut accounts - one for EUR and one for JPY. I just do the Revolut currency conversion to convert EUR to JPY. Then in PayPal I add that specific JPY revolut digital credit card and mark it as the default in the Automatic Payments part related to FJP payments in the PayPal settings. And then make sure I have JPY selected when actually paying charge 1 or 2.
Failing any of these steps will result in FJP/PayPal using much higher currency exchange rates.

Right thank you very much. I've just bought a RMC type 1 with Juno from Bidservice using a bank transfer. My bank offers a card with an excellent exchange rate and no foreign transfer fees, so I was able to avoid the problems you've described. Just waiting on Juno to confirm he's received the payment which is the downside of bank transfers I suppose!

 

[TartuWolf]

Right thank you very much. I've just bought a RMC type 1 with Juno from Bidservice using a bank transfer. My bank offers a card with an excellent exchange rate and no foreign transfer fees, so I was able to avoid the problems you've described. Just waiting on Juno to confirm he's received the payment which is the downside of bank transfers I suppose!

Juno is great, especially if you can't buy it through FJP. I used to use him before I learned how to dodge import taxes using FJP. I think Juno's 10% is rather reasonable, especially considering import here is ~30%.

 

[Matsumoto]

I think 10% is incredibly reasonable yes. How do you dodge taxes with FJP? I've been burned with them before.

 

[TartuWolf]

I think 10% is incredibly reasonable yes. How do you dodge taxes with FJP? I've been burned with them before.

It's import country specific so it won't help you most likely.

 

[afrokobe]

I think 10% is incredibly reasonable yes. How do you dodge taxes with FJP? I've been burned with them before.

you can't they declare at whatever the item value is, you can try something like blackship if you want to fill out the forms yourself. But they charge a percentage of the item...