How To Buy From Melonbooks Japan? [Step-by-step Guide]

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Doujinshi products are enormously popular among anime and manga lovers all around the world. Melonbooks is the industry’s largest general bookshop, with locations all over Japan. One of Japan’s major bookshop chains, specializing in doujinshi merchandise. For those who are fans of the perfect items from Melonbooks, this article will help you. Let’s find out how to buy from Melonbooks step by step with Janbox!

1. What is Melonbooks? 

Melonbooks, which was established in 1998, is regarded as one of Japan’s largest doujin-related retailers. It has 31 stores in Japan and the largest stores are in Akihabara, the Otaku Mecca. Melonbooks for men and Fromagee for women are the two stores in this chain. All products from both lines are available for purchase on the Melonbooks Online Shop.

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2. What items can you buy from Melonbooks?

Manga, dakimakura, anime CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, magazines, figures, and even eroge games are among the merchandise available at Melonbooks’s 31 locations in Japan and online store. It also sells used things, making it a gold mine for fans looking for older series’ content.

Doujinshi products 

Doujinshi products are self-published Japanese writings created by a group of creators known as “circles” or “doujin.” When people think of doujinshi, manga is probably the first thing that springs to mind, although doujinshi can refer to a wide range of items. Light novels, magazines, soundtracks, video games, and more are examples of unofficial fan-made works inspired by popular manga, anime, or video games. Doujinshi are popular because they offer readers to experience a different side of their favorite characters in locations and situations not found in official media.

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Dakimakura covers

Dakimakura are life-size Japanese body pillows that come with a cover. A sleeping anime or video game character is frequently shown on the pillowcase. While the majority of dakimakura pillowcases depict female characters, there is a growing market for male dakimakura covers as well.

These pillows, with the words “daki” and “makura” meaning “to cling” and “pillow” respectively, are frequently used by Japanese youth during bedtime to provide a sense of comfort and security. Many individuals nowadays collect dakimakura covers and hang them up in their rooms like tapestries.

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3. How to buy from Melonbooks – Step by step Guide

Melonbooks can be intimidating to buy from, but Janbox is here to guide you through the process. What you need to do is just follow the simple steps below.

Step 1. Go to the Melonbooks website

Please make sure you’re on Melonbooks.co.jp, not Melonbooks.com, their digital content online store. As of late 2018, all non-Japanese IPs appear to be restricted from visiting the Melonbooks.com URL, while the Melonbooks physical media storefront appears to be unaffected. If you try to access Melonbooks.com, you may be blocked – but it’s not your fault; a large number of non-Japanese IP addresses have been restricted recently.

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Melonbooks’ website currently lacks English-language support, although using Google Translate to navigate the site would suffice. Janbox’s multilingual service can assist you with more specific questions, as well as any Japanese language difficulties you may have.

Step 2. Search your favorite items

On Melonbooks, you can search for doujin content in a variety of ways. If you have a specific title or series in mind, you can use the site’s search bar to find it. If you need assistance with Japanese, you may also send a message to our Customer Service staff.

You can search within a variety of useful categories on the left-hand side of the site, including:

  • 人気キーワードで探す – Use popular keywords to narrow your search. The majority of the search phrases are names of well-known doujinshi events.
  • ジャンルで探す – Use the term “genre” to find what you’re looking for. This section, on the other hand, lists popular titles alongside original character fanworks.
  • サークルで探す – Doujin circles are made up of groups or individuals who publish doujin. Melonbooks has compiled a list of popular circles to get you started!

Here’s a glossary of doujin terms to aid you in your search for the greatest products:

  • 一般同人誌 (Ippan Doujinshi) – Doujinshi that is appropriate for a general readership.
  • R18 – The categorization for adult content is “Rated 18.”
  • BL (Boys’ Love) – This is a type of doujinshi that has male couplings and is usually targeted at a female audience. “Bara” or “Men’s Love” content is directed at a gay male audience.
  • 男性向け (Dansei Muke) – Doujin was created with a male audience in mind. Although this phrase is frequently confused with hentai, certain titles in this genre are suitable for a general audience. However, the majority of doujin in this category are sexually explicit.
  • 女性向け (Josei Muke) – Doujin was created with a female audience in mind. This mainly refers to genres with male protagonists, such as yaoi and BL.
  • ノベル/小説 (Novel/Shosetsu) – Doujin writes novels and fanfiction.
  • サークル (Circle) – Doujinshi is created and published by “circles,” which are groups or individuals. At doujin conventions like Comiket, they frequently sell doujinshi.

If you’re looking for something specific and can’t seem to find it on either Melonbooks’ or Janbox’s pages, Janbox customer service is pleased to assist!

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Step 3. Check the item’s details

Take a look at the details of your selected item before placing an order with Janbox.

Here’s what you should be on the lookout for:

  • 発売 (Release Date): Make sure you’re not pre-ordering anything by checking the release date. 
  • 一般 (Intended for All Audiences): This indicates that the item you’re purchasing is appropriate for all audiences. It’s explicit stuff if it’s rated R18.
  • 価格 (Price): The whole price, including taxes. All of Melonbooks’ prices include the 8% consumption tax, so there will be no unpleasant surprises when you place your order!
  • 在庫 (Stock): Whether or not the item you desire is in stock.

There are three stock alternatives when it comes to 在庫 (Stock):

  • 在庫あり: In Stock
  • 好評受付中: Taking Orders
  • 売り切れ: Sold Out

Step 4. Create the Janbox account

Create a Janbox account and fill out the needed elements, such as your email address and password, or use your Google or Facebook account to register.

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Step 5. Copy and paste the URL of the product on Janbox

It’s time to include it in your order with Janbox! All you have to do is copy and paste the item’s page URL into the Janbox search bar. You’ll need to have the product page open in front of you to achieve this. To select the complete URL, move the mouse cursor to the address bar and press Ctrl+A. To copy it, press Ctrl+C. Go to Janbox’s website now. Place your mouse over the “Item URL” area and hit Ctrl+V to paste the product page’s URL.

buy traditional japanese ring via Janbox

Step 6. Complete the order form

You’ll need to jot down the item’s name as well as the required quantity. Simply add the item to your cart after filling out all of the fields, and repeat the process for any other things you want to purchase. Besides, when completing your order, you must fill in information such as nation, zip code, state/province/region, city, street address, full name, and phone number to choose your order address. 

Step 7. Pay your order

Then you pay for Charge 1 using one of three different payment methods: Paypal, International credit/debit card, and Janbox wallet. On the Janbox website, you can learn more about the Janbox wallet by going to Payment Methods.

After your order has been delivered to the Janbox warehouse, you will receive an email. You must now notify us of any optional services, such as consolidation, checking, repacking, and so on. Then you select an international shipping option, and your order will arrive ahead of time. After that, you select additional services (Lite Plan, Combo, and Combo Plus) as well as foreign shipping (EMS, Janbox Express, DHL, and ECMS).

Janbox wallet

After you’ve completed your Janbox payment. Your order will be delivered to the address you choose. Each mode of transportation has a unique tracking number. You’ll be given a tracking number, and you can track your order’s progress on the Janbox website. The delivery time is estimated to be 7-10 days. It is dependent on the method of delivery you select. You only need to pay for overseas shipping and wait for your items to arrive.

>> Read more: How to buy anime accessories on Animate shop?

4. Try Janbox Shopping Proxy Service for buying from Melonbooks

Janbox is one of the most popular shopping proxy services around the world. We help our customers get genuine Japanese goods from Melonbooks no matter where they are in the world. When ordering from Melonbooks, you can use Janbox as a proxy buyer for the following reasons:

4.1. Simple purchases

You don’t need a received address, phone number, or any other information in Japan. You may shop on Janbox as if you were living and experiencing Japan with just a few mouse clicks. 

Apart from that, you may estimate and calculate international shipping prices without the help of our experts. Let’s go shopping with Janbox to make the most of our time together.

4.2. Extensive and precise logistics and fulfillment

Conveyor technology, electronic scales, and sound waves used by Cubiscan to measure package measurements are all incredibly precise.

4.3. Financial management

The service cost for each order at Janbox is merely 300 yen. The service fee is only charged once, even if you buy a lot of products from the same merchant. Janbox will help you save money by lowering costs and making customs and tax procedures easier. All that’s left for you to do now is place your order and wait for your items to arrive.

4.4. Complete and clear invoices 

Customers can use Janbox’s global shopping service to buy things that arrive with complete and accurate invoices and documentation. When items are returned home, professional invoices accompany them, ensuring prestige and displaying the company’s commitment to customers.

4.5. Excellent customer service

Janbox is a welcoming and knowledgeable customer service center that assists and advises consumers in selecting high-quality items and providers. All of your questions will be answered by our passionate and knowledgeable customer care team.

Thanks to our dedicated customer care personnel, consulting and support services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, outside of office hours in a variety of languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean are just a few of the languages available.

If there is a possibility of counterfeit, imitation, inaccurate, or missing items, Janbox can assist clients in filing a complaint with the provider. Based on the seller’s complaint and return procedures, the consumer will be treated positively. We also have a system in place to automate operations. As a result, you can independently check the prices of your purchases, learn more about them, and calculate delivery costs.

4.6. Professional warehouse services

Consolidating orders and storing them are both free. Package photography, package protection, unique packaging, and providing visual notices of packages are among the other services available.

5. Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Does Melonbooks ship internationally?

  1. The Melonbooks store does not ship internationally from Japan. So you’ll need to use a proxy service like Janbox if you want to buy anything mentioned there.

Q. Does Melonbooks ship to the US?

  1. Because Melonbooks international shipping is not available so if you are in the US, you can use a proxy-buying service to get your favorite products. 

Q. How to shop on Melonbooks in English?

  1. To buy the ideal products from Melonbooks in English, you can use Google Translate. However, if you buy from Melonbooks through Janbox, you can choose your English language at the top of the left of the Janbox website. 

Conclusion

Melonbooks will pleasantly surprise you with the wide range of goods and items available from well-known works. If you buy through a proxy-buying service like Janbox, you will get the best price as well as high-quality goods. Follow the instructions above on how to buy from Melonbooks to get the right items at a reasonable price.