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If there’s one thing there’s no shortage of in Japan, it’s goodies from anime, manga, and other derivatives of Japanese popular culture. All these items are designed by various companies of varying degrees of renown, such as Good Smile Company, to name but one of the biggest.
But there’s another market in Japan, and one that’s exclusive to the archipelago: that of artists who draw inspiration from what they love to create! These creators come together on the country’s largest community, Pixiv, to share their creations.
ZenMarket introduces you to a new world of derivative products with its Booth Japan shopping guide!
What is Booth Japan?
While Pixiv is the community platform for small Japanese designers, Booth Japan is their online store. Founded in 2005, the site describes itself as “The sales platform where designers come together”.
Japanese artists offer their creations for sale on Booth Japan, and can set up store there, in the same way as the Etsy platform does in France and Belgium. Each creator then offers whatever they wish: short stories and novels adapted from their favorite titles, cosplays, dolls, illustrations, other types of personalized creations, etc….
Booth Japan is therefore a platform for connecting small Japanese creators and their fans who want to buy products that are different from what they’re used to finding in official Japanese stores.
Everything is done to establish the most direct possible connection between the designer and the consumer: you can support an artist by voluntarily offering a higher purchase price than the one indicated, follow a specific store to be informed of its new products, communicate directly with the sellers or take part in online exhibitions (in Japanese).
Booth Japan is a platform in a class of its own in the world of merchandising, because each store means a multitude of new products to hunt out!
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What products can I find on Booth Japan?
Booth Japan offers no fewer than 17 product categories, from figurines, plush toys and dolls to music and videos, illustrations, comics, novels and fashion items.
Games include video games, role-playing games and board games. As for illustrations, there are just as many dematerialized products, such as wallpapers and posters to hang on walls. And this, too, is what makes the Booth Japan site so special: the products sold can be physical or dematerialized.
The most extensive category is of course that of goodies, particularly from manga and anime. You’ll find countless key rings, badges, stickers, blankets, phone covers, pillow cases, coasters, glasses and pen cases, mirrors and calendars, towels and clocks… everything you need to keep fans happy!
The diversity of items offered by Booth Japan’s designers is very broad, and not limited to creations from Japanese pop culture. The “Photography”, “Music” and “Fashion” categories are perfect examples: many artists offer their original creations, born of their own imaginations and inspirations.
Step 1: Understand how the site works!
The Booth Japan home page is pretty straightforward to understand: at the very top, before the categories, are the sections dedicated to featured links. These are the categories most visited by consumers, but also links specific to exclusive Japanese events, such as the famous Comiket, during which certain artists offer products for limited periods.
This is followed by a menu for easy navigation from one category to another. Finally, the home page closes with a selection of flagship products from the Illustration, Novels & Books, Merchandise, Music and Games categories.
To search for a product, you can use one of these options, or enter the keyword of your choice in the search bar at the top left of the screen.
Step 2: Choose product(s)
When you find an item you like, click on it to access the product page. This page lists all product features, shipping times and rates, as well as other products offered by the artist. Be sure to read all the product specifications to ensure that it meets your expectations.
Also, beware of non-physical products such as audio, video, or games: these are generally purchasable via our ZenMarket intermediary system, but some of them may not offer a file for download. It is then impossible to order. Please pay close attention to the specifications of the product you are interested in.
Last but not least, some items are created on request: this increases delivery times by up to 2 weeks. You’ll find this information on the product page.
Step 3: Browse the designer’s store
To discover a designer’s entire catalog, simply click on their name, accessible from the category page or the product page.
You’ll then have access to all the products the designer offers. It can be particularly interesting to buy several products from the same Japanese store, in order to make the most of shipping costs. Indeed, while some products are shipped from Booth Japan’s warehouse, others are shipped directly from the artist’s home.
You can see the delivery method in the “Physical (ship to Japan)” section, where it says “Ships by” followed by the name, meaning “Sent by”.
Step 4: Ordering
Like Surugaya, E-Capcom, Toranoana or Jump Character Store, Booth Japan does not offer international delivery.
To buy from Japanese artists, you’ll need to use a shopping service such as ZenMarket. When you have found the product you would like to order, simply copy the product’s URL…
…paste it into the ZenMarket search bar, and follow the prompts.
From this point on, you will need to have a ZenMarket account.
If you have not signed up for ZenMarket yet, you will not be able to proceed further in this tutorial. Registration for ZenMarket is free, and there are no account maintenance fees. You will also get 500 ZenPoints added to your ZenMarket account, which can be used to get 500 yen off the international shipping fee.
No ZenMarket account? Sign up for free & get 500 ZenPoints
Step 5: Paying for your items
Once you have added your Booth items to your ZenMarket cart, our support staff will check the item’s availability, price, and cost of shipping, then make it available for purchase from your account.
Once you have paid for your items, the ZenMarket team will work to purchase your item(s). Once purchased, your Booth item(s) will be shipped to the ZenMarket warehouse where you can organize international shipping. You can store your items at the ZenMarket warehouse for up to 60 days for free, giving you time to purchase other items.
You can then consolidate these items into one parcel for free so you can ship them all together. This will help you save on International Shipping.
Have you signed up for ZenMarket yet?
ZenMarket is the place to get your hands on goods directly from Japan!
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