Depending on the merchandise, there are different ways to place an order:

iStore Catalog orders
Our iStore Catalogs (see menu box on left) contain goods and services that we sell directly to customers. They are directly integrated with our shopping cart and payment systems. All you do is put the desired item into your shopping cart and checkout. All our book prices are in US dollars and they include SAL shipping from Japan to overseas. If you want faster shipping, you can select a faster shipping option such as priority air mail or EMS. You can pay with PayPal, credit card, or money order.

PhotoReviews orders
Our PhotoReviews catalog contains older books, and some of them are still available new. You can order available books by clicking on the iStore Add to Cart button (shown on the right) which will take you to the book's iStore page. Then click on the Add to Cart button and proceed to checkout with iStore. If you don't see the iStore Add to Cart button, it means the book is not available or out of print. You can contact us to search for the book at auction sites.

ProxyShop orders
We offer a proxy auction bidding and shopping service for auctions and third-party goods that we do not sell or stock in our iStore Catalogs. When you want to bid on Japanese auctions or buy anything that we do not stock or sell in the iStore Catalogs, follow the steps below:

1. Browse the auctions, shopping sites, etc., to find what you want. You can use the convenient links in the ProxyShop menu box to browse auctions and goods at Yahoo! Japan, Rakuten Ichiba, PhotoReviews, etc. Or you can browse any other online shopping site in Japan.
2. Submit our secure order form and request a price quote.

   For example, if you want to bid on an auction at Yahoo! Japan Auctions, give us the full URL of the auction item page, a brief description, and your maximum bid including the shipping cost. You can write it like this:

   http://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/74681798
   Tree Leaves by Tanaka Taro, $55

   If you do not mention a maximum bid, then we will quote you the minimum amount (which includes shipping) we require to place a bid.
3. We will then reply with a price quote for the item you want. Send payment with our Proxy Payment Form, then we will place the bid or order. (For auction items, we accept only PayPal payments.) If you are not a registered customer at iStore, you will need to register.
4. After we receive the merchandise from the seller, we will ship it to you. (If we lose the auction, you will receive a full refund or credit within 10 days or so.)

For more information about our proxy service, see ProxyShop.

Ordering FAQ

How do I use the Proxy Payment Form?

A normal shopping site has an online catalog where you choose the items you want and put them into a shopping cart and then check out. We cannot do this for auction items and third-party items because they are not our products and they are too transient. They come and go within days and prices always vary.

So we provide this flexible and generic Proxy Payment Form which can be used to order and pay for any auction or third-party item you want. After we give you a price quote, use this form to set the amount you need to pay, choose the desired shipping method, and in the Remarks box, copy and paste the URL of the auction or third-party item(s) you want to buy. (You can enter multiple items or URLs in the same form.) When your payment is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email.

I already submitted the order form, but I want to add or delete an item in my order. Can I do this?

Yes. Just send us e-mail and tell us which item(s) you want to add or delete. (Or you can resubmit the online order form and say that you want to cancel your previous order.) You can do this before or after we send you a price quote.

Your order will then be corrected accordingly and a new price quote will be given to you. As long as you have not paid yet, you can modify or cancel your order at any time.

I submitted the order form, but I want to cancel my order. How do I do this?

You can cancel your order automatically by not sending payment within 2 weeks after we send you a price quote. So to cancel your order, don't do anything. There is no order cancellation fee.

Before buying the book, I want to see a few sample photos from the book. Can you scan a few pictures and send them to me?

No, we will not send you any sample images. However, we provide sample images for some of the books or links to sample images.

What happened to the PayPal shopping cart button at PhotoReviews?

We have phased out the PayPal shopping cart button. We now use an iStore Add to Cart button which will take you to the iStore page. Use iStore's checkout process instead of going directly to PayPal to pay.

I am Japan, can I order from you?

Yes, you can order from us and pay in yen to our bank account in Tokyo.