Japanese cards, figures, snacks and fashion bought in Japan and resold in the UK. Landed cost decides your margin.
The kit our builder picks for a typical Japanese imports seller. Change the answers to fit yours.
Storage
Holds tubs or boxes floor to ceiling in a small footprint.
Lighting
Large, soft light for clothing and full-body shots.
Microphone
Keeps your voice clear when you turn away from the phone.
Each step in the order you'll need it.
Add up the price in yen converted at your card's rate, the Japanese seller's postage, the proxy fee, your share of international shipping, import VAT, any duty and the courier's charge. Divide by the number of items in the parcel.
Compare that figure with UK sold prices, minus platform fees and UK postage. If the gap is thin, a delayed parcel or weak pound turns it into a loss.
A proxy buys from Japanese sites for you, holds the items in a warehouse and ships them on together. Compare fees per item, storage time and shipping methods before you pick one.
Read listing photos closely and use a translator on the description. Japanese sellers grade condition carefully, so a note about a small mark usually means a small mark.
Open every parcel on camera or with photos, in case something is broken in transit and you need to claim. Check each item against your order list.
Inspect print, holograms and box seals before you list anything. Set aside anything that doesn't look right and don't sell it.
Japanese booster boxes and blind box figures suit Whatnot breaks and openings. Explain on camera that the cards are Japanese text, and show the box seal before you open it.
For eBay, Vinted and Depop, put Japanese edition in the title and photograph the language on the card or box. Clothing needs measurements, because Japanese sizes run smaller than UK labels suggest.
Keep original Japanese boxes in good shape: collectors pay more for clean packaging. Wrap boxed figures in bubble wrap and send them in a small box, never a bag.
Single cards go in a sleeve and toploader inside a rigid mailer. Weigh each order and match it to the cheapest Royal Mail or InPost service it fits.
Keep every import invoice, proxy receipt and customs charge. They are your costs when you work out profit for Self Assessment, once you pass the £1,000 trading allowance.
Reselling imports for profit makes you a trader, with the same consumer duties as any UK shop. Your listing has to match the item, including its language and edition.
Each one costs you money or reviews, and each has a fix.
Complete kits for one kind of seller, costed and laid out.
What most orders like these go by, at today’s published prices. Prices checked 6 October 2026.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Large LetterUsual£2.90
Higher-value cards and flat items up to 1 kg that need tracking and a delivery photo.
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Small Parcel£3.75
Clothing and small boxed items up to 2 kg, with tracking for less than untracked 2nd Class.
InPost locker to locker, small£1.99
Flat parcels up to 8 cm deep, such as folded clothes, dropped at a locker and collected from one.
Don't send boxed figures in mailing bags: a dented box gets the figure returned.
One roll covers a few hundred small parcels.
Light boxes for boxed toys and beauty sets.
UK buyers pay a premium for things that only ship in Japan: Japanese language trading card sets, prize figures, limited trainers and stationery. You buy through a proxy service, a Japanese marketplace or on a trip, and sell here on Whatnot, eBay, Vinted or Depop.
Your margin depends on the landed cost: the item, Japanese domestic postage, proxy fees, international shipping, then import VAT, any customs duty and the courier's handling charge. Work it out per item before you order.
Counterfeits are common in popular lines. Buy from sellers with a long record and check every piece when it lands.
Yes. On parcels worth £135 or less, VAT is usually charged at checkout by the seller or marketplace. Above £135, you pay import VAT and any customs duty when the parcel arrives, often with a handling fee from the courier. Check GOV.UK for the current rules.
It depends on the commodity code and value, and a UK and Japan trade agreement cuts duty on many goods that qualify as Japanese origin. Look up the item on the UK Trade Tariff on GOV.UK rather than guessing.
Combining through a proxy saves on international shipping, but a bigger parcel is more likely to pass £135 and attract duty and handling fees at the border. Run the numbers both ways.
Fakes show blurry print, wrong colours, flimsy boxes and missing holograms or official stickers. Compare against photos from a trusted shop. Selling fakes breaks UK law and platform rules.
Yes. Put Japanese or JP in the title and say the text is in Japanese, so buyers know what they are getting and don't return it as not as described.
Japan uses a different plug and voltage, and Japanese electricals don't carry UK safety marking. Selling mains electricals into the UK puts safety duties on you, so the simpler route is cards, figures, clothing and other non electrical items.
