In this day and age, it’s not that hard to buy anime stuff online. And when I say anime merchandise, I’m not talking about the anime merchandise for the anime that existed eons ago.

I’m talking about buying merchandise for the anime that is currently airing right now.

Want to buy anime merchandise that is only available exclusively in stores like Animate or used manga that you can buy at Yahoo! Japan?

You can use a proxy service to get the items. Here’s the blog post where I talked about the proxy service that I used to buy the special edition of Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike manga.

For many of us, Amazon Japan comes to mind when it comes to buying anime merchandise online.

And it was even better when Amazon Japan announced years ago that they can now ship video games and video game consoles overseas.

As much as I welcome the change, I don’t recommend people to buy anime stuff online through Amazon Japan.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Amazon just as much as everyone else. It’s just that Amazon Japan isn’t friendly to my wallet.

The problem with Amazon Japan

This may not be much of an issue if you only use Amazon Japan to buy the Kindle version of the manga.

But if you’re buying bulky items such as books, the shipping cost is expensive even for the regular shipping.

Another reason why I’m not a big fan of Amazon Japan? They don’t accept Paypal.

Sure, that may not be an issue if you have a credit or debit card. At the very least, they accept international credit or debit cards which is a good thing.

Even if you don’t have a credit or debit card, that’s no longer an issue anymore since you can buy Amazon Japan digital gift card at Playasia.

But still, the shipping cost is a big deal to me. And I’m sure that it’s a major concern for many of you too.

Other places to buy anime stuff online

The good news is there are other places where you can buy anime stuff online. While the shopping cost will depend on the weight of the items, at least the shipping cost isn’t through the roof like the one on Amazon Japan.

Even better? They also accept Paypal and other forms of payment methods which is a good thing for those who don’t have a credit or debit card.

While I’m sure that other places also sell anime merchandise online, I can vouch for these websites that I recommend since I have shopped there myself.

With that being said, here are the websites that you can take a look at if you’re looking for another alternative to Amazon Japan.

CDJapan

If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you probably see me recommending CDJapan a lot on my blog.

Well, what’s not to love about CDJapan?

Not only you can buy manga and light novels in Japanese. But you can buy other things such as anime merchandise, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays of your favorite Japanese artists too.

Want to buy the limited edition of anime merchandise that you can only get in stores like Animate?

CDJapan can help with that too.

As for the shipping, they also offer many different kinds of shipping services, from the cheapest SAL to expedited shipping such as FedEx, DHL, and EMS. But you may have to check this page first before placing an order since some services may have a shipping restriction to your country.

They also accept other types of payment such as Alipay in addition to the usual credit cards and Paypal.

While I don’t buy anime merchandise that often, I do buy manga from CDJapan if the manga that I want is no longer available at Kinokuniya.

CDJapan is the place where I got my visual-kei CDs as well. I should say that I bought a lot back then.

But now, the only band that I’m listening to is Plastic Tree.

Are there any Plastic Tree fans out there? Let me know in the comment below.

If you’d like to give CDJapan a try, you can take a look at the website right here:

Buy anime merchandise and other Japan-related stuff at CDJapan

Playasia

The name Playasia should be familiar to you since it’s also another place that I recommend a lot on my blog.

In a nutshell, they’re just like CDJapan where they also sell a lot of anime merchandise from Japan, even the latest ones.

Heck, they even sell merchandise that isn’t available at CDJapan.

This Final Fantasy Jigsaw Puzzle comes to mind when it comes to the merchandise that you can’t get at CDJapan.

For some strange reason, Playasia is the only place that I know that sells this jigsaw puzzle.

Remember the Amazon Japan digital gift card that I mentioned a while back? Well, you can get it at Playasia.

Of course, you can get all kinds of digital codes, not just for Amazon Japan. If you’re wondering what other digital codes they sell, you can take a look at them right here.

Just like CDJapan, they also offer many different shipping options, from economy shipping to expedited shipping such as UPS and EMS.

But they offer a lot more payment options than CDJapan. Apart from the usual credit cards and Paypal, they also accept Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, Skrill, and Western Union.

What’s more, they even accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, and Ethereum as payment too.

You have many ways to pay them, not just the usual credit cards and Paypal.

Want to pay your order later? There’s a Paypal Credit option too. Keep in mind that interest will be applied if you choose this option, though.

While I never bought any anime merchandise from Playasia, I do buy video games from them, though.

If you’re interested in buying anime merchandise from Playasia, you can take a look at the website right here:

Buy anime stuff online at Playasia

J-List

If you compare J-List with the other websites that I already mentioned before, you probably notice that J-List doesn’t offer as many products as the other websites.

While that may seem like a tradeoff, J-List tends to focus on things that you really can’t get anywhere else.

For one, the visual novels. Can’t say for sure if visual novels like Steins;Gate is available on Steam. But if you love the anime and are curious about the game, then you can buy the game right here at J-List.

Another thing that you can get at J-List is the 18+ contents.

Yes, the 18+ doujinshi, artbooks, cast-off figures, visual novels, the ero toys, and the nude photobooks and calendars. Those are the things that I think you can only get at J-List.

Heck, I won’t be surprised at all that’s what J-List is known for among the anime fans.

Sure, you can get nude photobooks at CDJapan as well. But J-List is pretty generous when it comes to the book samples.

Like CDJapan, J-List is also based in Japan. So, you can rest assured that you’re getting the authentic anime stuff.

But I won’t deny that the items are pricey compared to CDJapan, though. And when it comes to anime stuff, they only carry popular anime of the season.

Just to let you know that I did buy something from J-List once before.

And nope, I’m not buying a nude photobook at J-List. I bought a book called Onna no Ko no Hair Catalog.

It’s a book that talks about how to do hairstyles that are similar to the ones you’ve seen in the anime, in case you’re wondering

Curious about J-List? You can take a look at the website right here:

Start shopping at J-List

If you can’t stand to see all those 18+ contents, you can take a look at JBOX instead. It’s the same website but minus the 18+contents.

Start shopping at JBOX

Don’t miss these fantastic anime deals

Just to let you know that I have a dedicated blog post where I compile amazing deals that you don’t want to miss from CDJapan, Playasia, and JapanesePod101.com.

The post will be updated throughout the whole month with more new deals.

So, if you’re always looking for a bargain related to the anime merchandise, then be sure to have a look at this category right here on the deals that are available during that month.

You can also follow me on Twitter to receive a notification whenever I updated the post with new deals.

P.S While we’re at it, do you enjoy reading anime-inspired light novels, particularly in the thriller and suspense genre?

If that’s you, then please take a look at my books at the Payhip store.

These books are in digital format. So, you’ll get the book right away after completing the order.

You can take a look at the books right here:

Thriller and suspense light novels by Sekina Mayu

Don’t forget to use the coupon code SEKINAMAYUBLOG during checkout to receive 25% off on your order.