ZenMarket Reviews 9,178

This was my second order using zenmarket and everything went great! The fees are always annoying but can be kind of calculated so that you know what you are dealing with. Honestly probably gonna get most of my Japan import stuff here instead of sites like ichiba Japan and mecha japan

I live in the U.K. and have used Zenmarket for many years. I was previously happy with the service, until they recently changed their policy to mandatory VAT payments for parcels under £135. When challenged, Zenmarket had clearly confused the EU changes, thinking this applied to the U.K. when I corrected them, and provided evidence that their was no change, they said that they has made a mistake and that this was a policy change, rather than a legal change. However, they have not amended any of their communications, and are still communicating to people that this change is a legal requirement. Zenmarket are knowingly lying to U.K. customers, and possibly committing fraud! Everyone in the U.K. is now having to pay 20% higher tax on items than they would otherwise need to.

Time of package to sent overseas shall be 1 day

Absolutely killer bass guitar! Wasn't too hard to navigate the process.

Japan gets all the sweet stuff. Now we can too and Zenmarket made it easy.

First time user. Great experience!

Have been buying stuff though zen market for a couple of years and found them to be cheaper ( freight cost and better exchange rate ) as well as better customer service than the other two proxy services I have used previously

I used ZenMarket for the first time to import a specific item that is heavily marked up in my country. Even after international shipping and VAT, the final cost through ZenMarket was 64% cheaper than the local option.

The process was easy and transparent, there were no surprise fees at the door, and the consolidation/packing was handled professionally. If you are looking at a Japanese product with a 175%+ local markup, using this proxy service is a no-brainer. Highly recommended!

Great easy to understand shopping service. Friendly, polite and helpful.

It all works much better than eBay 💕

THe idea is the same: to be an intermediary between those who want to sell something and those who want to but it. eBay is the most famous example of this sort of business. But my experience with eBay was always catastrophic. I pay, the money is gone, nothing is shipped, a few months of trying to get the money back.

Of course, Japanese people tried to do it all properly. You may say that ZenMarket is the eBay of a healthy man. They control the process tightly at every stage, and make you pay only when the stage is completed. I guess it's not simple, but they manage.

The parcel arrived quite quickly, and everything was packed perfectly! There was a slight mistake with the weight of the parcel, but it was sorted out quickly. Box Head origami, which ZenMarket had thoughtfully included, really touched my heart! I’ll definitely be ordering more items from Japan through this service ^-^

The experience was one of the best. From all the stuff I've purchased from overseas, zenmarket was the most convenient. Everything was supersmooth and super quick. I'll definitely be using it regularly.
Thanks alot

THE BEST SERVICE EVER I GOT THE PIKACHU PLUSH AND THEY TOOK CARE OF MY PLUSH WITH SO MUCH CARE. Would definitely use their service again

Everything was made easy to actually buy. It is a good third party for people who don't have ways or purchasing goods that Japan doesn't sell outside of their country. The Fees ones the one thing that surprised me. Since this is my first time purchasing from them, I did not expect them to be as much as they were. Other than that, I enjoyed that I was able to get an Item I was not able to get otherwise.

First time purchase using Zenmarket and what a good experience.
I was able to find Goddess of Victory: Nikke - Cinderella - 1/4 - Deluxe Edition (Hobby Sakura)
The website was easy to use and was able to find what I was looking for with easy.
Purchasing the item payment was a breeze.
They give you steps of every process to start to finish.
They packaged my item extremely good.
I will use ZenMarket again in the near future.

The process took too long and is not user friendly. When I paid for merch it should include shipping. It took months to figure where my package was and thought it was a scam. Won't recommend or use again. I need to know how to get by balance I have back.

The whole process has been very smooth and responsible. Despite the distant shipping destination, the package arrived on time, wasn't damaged, and the goods were correct, too.
If I ever cannot buy something the normal way, I'll definitely come back to using ZenMarkets' service!

I had a very disappointing experience using ZenMarket as a proxy shopping service.

I purchased a Japanese RF beauty device and shipped it to Germany using DHL, following the shipping options provided on the ZenMarket platform. There was no warning on the website that this type of product could face import issues in the EU. As a company specializing in international proxy shopping, ZenMarket clearly has extensive experience with shipping restrictions, yet customers are not informed of potential risks before purchasing.

The parcel was refused by German customs and returned to Japan. After the return, I was charged multiple additional fees: return shipping, documentation related to the Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act, and a storage fee of 10,800 JPY.

What is particularly concerning is the storage fee. According to ZenMarket, the fee was 1,800 JPY per day and accumulated over about six days while the parcel was waiting for documentation required for re-import into Japan. As a customer outside Japan, I had no ability to prepare or submit this documentation, and the process was handled entirely between ZenMarket and the shipping carrier. Nevertheless, the full cost of this delay was transferred to the customer.

In other words, when a parcel is rejected by customs, all costs—including those generated during the return handling process—are placed entirely on the customer, even when the customer has no control over the logistics procedures causing the delay.

The overall impression is that ZenMarket collects its service fee regardless of whether the shipment ultimately succeeds, while customers bear all risks and unexpected costs.

I hope ZenMarket will improve transparency about shipping risks and reconsider how these situations are handled, especially when additional costs arise from internal logistics procedures rather than customer actions.

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--- Update (April 2026, after further communication) ---
After prolonged discussions, I was offered the option to forward the parcel domestically within Japan—but only with an additional 10% handling fee based on the item value, with domestic shipping costs charged separately and not specified in advance. This means the total cost cannot be reasonably estimated beforehand, which is highly concerning.

At this point, it felt less like customer support and more like being left with no real choice. The parcel was already under ZenMarket’s control, and in order to recover it, I was expected to accept a disproportionately high fee that was never clearly disclosed in advance.

The justification given—that the fee reflects “handling complexity”—does not hold up. Forwarding a 5,000 JPY item requires essentially the same effort as forwarding an 80,000 JPY item, yet the fee increases dramatically based on price alone. This pricing model appears arbitrary and disconnected from actual service costs.

More importantly, there was no meaningful consideration for the losses already incurred after the failed international shipment. Instead, additional charges continued to accumulate, leaving the customer to bear the full financial burden of a process they could not control.

Overall, this experience gave the impression of a system where, once a shipment fails, the customer is placed in a difficult position: either accept significant additional costs or risk losing the item entirely.

I strongly believe that greater transparency and fairness are needed in how such situations are handled.

I desperately wanted to purchase a coat from an online store in Japan, but they do not ship to the US. I thought I was out of luck until a search led me to ZenMarket. I was a bit hesitant as it seemed risky. I am happy that I gave this company a chance as I received the coat yesterday and it is perfect! The entire process took a little less than two weeks. Yes, there are costs involved and shipping is not inexpensive but if you really want something, ZenMarket makes it easy. As the import/tariff situation is questionable right now for packages arriving in the US, I chose to prepay the duty fees. I had my coat within two days after it arrived in Los Angeles. I chose DHL as the carrier.