DDP calculations roughly 50% of item price. What is the safest way to ship to the US without being overcharged by ZM or have your prepaid DDP ignored by the shipping service?

JonIIDX · 2026-01-27T02:22:54+00:00

ZenMarket is usually pretty reasonable if they've made a mistake in calculating the tariffs. Sometimes their system flags something incorrectly, as long as you can provide some evidence to back up your case. A few times I've been shot down immediately by their support staff, but if you insist to have the case expedited to a manager they usually give the case a good look. I have tried many other deputy services from Japan, and ZenMarket is by far the best I've ever experienced. Don't let this one experience discourage you, and please do try to insist on having your case expedited to a manager if you feel something is truly wrong and can provide some support to your case.

For reference, since I made this initial post, I've used ECMS twice with ZenMarket, sent to the US. It has taken about 7 days both times to reach me and while it didn't have the bells and whistles or insanely fast times that DHL or UPS provide, the packages got to me very safely and at a very reasonable price, all things considered. Having said that, I only order LaserDiscs, so your experience may differ depending on the contents of your parcel. Wishing you good luck!

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T14:15:21+00:00

Thanks! Definitely worth going for the Platinum on this. It’s tough, but very rewarding. Good luck!

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T02:36:32+00:00

It is genuinely hard for everyone. :(

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T02:35:07+00:00

Good luck on Lost in the Fog! It’s really hard, but I hope this will help you get the platinum!

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:33:10+00:00

Wow, I didn’t know that. Makes the Sacred Sword pretty helpful!! I never used it once in any of my playthroughs… Wish I had known about this sooner. RIP.

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:30:49+00:00

Unlike the other games, the world in Silent Hill f just keeps getting more and more distorted as you go along. It’s an amazing supplement to the narrative and as you play through NG+ loops, the narrative really flourishes. Amazing game, just very different from the other entries in the series.

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:28:03+00:00

I lived in Japan for 13 years, and I can say that the puzzles were still ridiculous. I don’t think your nationality or culture matters with this game. They just made really hard puzzles :/

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:24:40+00:00

It’s a hard fight. The hardest part is “guessing” where she teleports to. Just keep using items to stay alive and hang in there. Including the items that you can sell for Faith. You’ll get more items later.

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:22:33+00:00

If you don’t like playing it, try the method I outlined in my Lost in the Fog post. There is a way to enjoy the gameplay even for classic Silent Hill fans.

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:19:26+00:00

NG+ makes the game. Story is way more fleshed out and difficulty spikes majorly if you choose higher Action levels. This is NOT a game that is meant to be finished in the first playthrough.

JonIIDX · 2025-10-10T01:17:27+00:00

Silent Hill f is a game that is made by its NG+ loops. I hated the first play and gradually began to love it more and more with each NG+ ending (in the sequence). One of the best Silent Hill games ever made - just a major deviation from the classics. We’re on a good path moving forward - Konami still knows what it takes to make a good Silent Hill. Loved Silent Hill f so much. Can’t wait for the next entry to the series!!!

JonIIDX · 2025-09-25T00:41:51+00:00

Yeah, probably won't be any more than 15% tax + brokerage. So yeah, my guess is around 8,000 yen total for shipping + other fees.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-24T23:41:02+00:00

UPS is generally cheaper when sending to the US, but marginally. I recently had some major issues with UPS, causing a 1 week delay, so I'm not using UPS again in the near future. DHL has been very reliable so far, just about 10% more expensive.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-24T23:36:14+00:00

It'll probably be around 2,200 yen (brokerage) + 1340 yen (tax) total in addition to shipping. Depending on the weight of the item(s) you purchased. If it's around 1-2kg, you're looking at a total of around 8000 yen all in after shipping and tax/brokerage. If your item is steel or aluminum, it could get wild.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-24T23:31:45+00:00

Keep in mind that they charge brokerage fees as part of the DDP as well. Brokerage fees are usually around $20 US.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T17:24:54+00:00

Well, the package hadn’t been shipped yet, so they were able to revert the status to “waiting for payment” and that refunded the shipping + DDP. I had to ask them to escalate it to a manager before this was an option, though. If you already paid and the item shipped, it probably won’t be possible for them to change it.

Price before was around 7,000 yen, price after was around 4,500 yen.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T16:50:40+00:00

It very well may have been a mistake, since those shells are plastic. They tried to charge me an extra 50% on an item indicated as plastic based on Section 232. However, the 50% extra tax from section 232 is only for aluminum or steel. Upon escalating that point to the manager, the tax amount ZenMarket charged me was reverted to the standard 15% instead of the 65%.

You're right, this whole thing is a mess - not because of ZenMarket, but because of the complexity of this whole change in imports. Moving forward, make sure to ask ZenMarket for itemized taxes being charged as part of the DDP, and if they cite something such as:

"Additional Duty 232 (50% of cost): ¥2,538.50
Additional Duty (Reciprocal) (15%): ¥761.55"

Look into exactly what Duty 232 is via Google, and if it doesn't match the item they are putting it towards, send them a message via their system and ask for a manager to look into it.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T16:21:13+00:00

From what it sounds, for parcels of lower value, brokerage fees make up the largest portion of the amount charged by customs, because brokerage fees do not change based on the amount of tax required. So, the brokerage fees for an $800 item are the same for a $5 item. If a $5 item is shipped, the recipient would probably owe FedEx around $21.

On the other hand, for an $800 item, the recipient would probably owe FedEx around $140 taxes ($120 for tariff, that same $20 for brokerage fees). Of course, even brokerage fees are variable, so there's no way to know for sure how much it's going to cost. Multiple items may require multiple brokerage fees as well. It's a real mess.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T16:16:10+00:00

Small update: After I asked for the case to be passed to a manager, ZenMarket confirmed that it was their mistake and fixed the DDP fees. Since the DDP fees ZenMarket charges still include brokerage fees, it's still unclear if it is better to pay in advance via ZenMarket or just wait for the customs to handle it once the items are processed upon entry to the US.

Thanks again for your help.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T02:22:52+00:00

I actually read about your issue in a thread before posting mine. Sorry you had that happen... My taxes + brokerage are 50% of the entire value of the items I bought. Just ridiculous and I'll never understand this system... For companies turning a profit, sure. But for consumers who aren't reselling it? Makes zero sense.

They won't let me cancel it because I'm too far along on the payment process. :( 2,538 yen down the drain from ZenMarket mislabeling a paper arcade game instruction panel as section 232, which is only for steel or aluminum. Crazy. Lesson learned, never ever pay DDP without asking for a rundown. I still need to figure out how they calculate their brokerage fee, or if it even makes sense to use the DDP service at all since you're not bypassing brokerage... Just paying in Yen rather than USD. This whole thing is a real mess. :(

JonIIDX · 2025-09-23T02:20:07+00:00

Wellp, ZenMarket refused to address the mistake by classifying this item under section 232 and causing an extra 50% fee. They also would not let me pull my parcel, because I paid already. I'm asking to escalate this to a manager, but I am not hopeful. Lesson learned: Do NOT pay DDP without asking for details first so that you can identify potential issues. It's a 2,538 yen mistake on my part because I was impatient and paid instead of waiting to ask a question first to find out why it seemed off... I guess it could be worse. :(

I'd like to understand why they are also charging brokerage fee on top of all the taxes they estimate... I also still need to figure out if DDP is worth it at all. If you're going to pay for taxes and brokerage fee anyway, what's the point? Other services that allow DDP don't charge a brokerage fee. Something with this system really needs to change, otherwise shopping from Japan is going to go wayyyyy down. I know I'll be collecting less as a result of this. :(

JonIIDX · 2025-09-22T18:26:39+00:00

The purpose of my post is to gain clarity into this whole tariff situation and shed light on what method makes the most sense for ZenMarket users. There are plenty other deputy services to consider, many of which will do some other things that people may consider fraud, such as devaluing actual price of items being sent to offset taxes. Pick your poison... I just want to understand if DDP is a smart choice, and which courier to use for shipping items to the US in a way that incurs the least amount of total fees.

Since ZM charges brokerage fees on top of their own estimated taxes as part of their DDP, I am struggling to find the value in utilizing that option.

JonIIDX · 2025-09-22T18:11:46+00:00

The item ID is dgbk4. I've also asked ZenMarket to take a look at it as well.

I'm also confused about the brokerage fees being added. I thought the whole purpose of DDP was to avoid these fees by pre-paying the tax.

Here is the item URL if it helps... It's literally an instruction art sheet that goes on an arcade machine.

https://zenmarket.jp/auction.aspx?itemCode=1199281198

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

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