Buying Guide

Hololive Production Official Shop

All new goods will be available through Hololive Production Official Shop instead of Booth. Whether shipping directly to you or to a proxy service, this is the best option if you want your items as fast as possible.

As of 27th April 2022, the official shop ships directly to the following countries (in alphabetical order): Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States.

It also appears that the official shop would fulfill orders within Japan first before handling International addresses, meaning there could be 1-2 weeks delay before they ship to addresses outside of Japan. You can bypass this by using a proxy service since you would be using a Japan address instead. This would most probably be the fastest way to get your goods if used with a proxy that has DHL as a shipping option.

Hololive Production Official Shop uses DHL as their shipping partner.

Pros:

• First to have new goods listed
• Hololive Production’s Official Shop
• Reasonable shipping cost (customs duties and taxes included so no surprise charges later)
• Uses DHL – quick and reliable!

Cons:

• Limited International shipping (list of countries above and is expected to expand over time) (other countries still requires use of a proxy/forwarder)
• Delayed International shipping

Geek Jack

Geek Jack is the most obvious choice for many overseas fan when it comes to buying Hololive goods. They’re set up in English and specializes in shipping Internationally.

Geek Jack does take a longer time compared to direct shipping from the official shop since they usually only get your orders about 1-2 weeks later and there have been cases where it took even longer than that. However, for those using a proxy service, considering the amount of time needed for your order to reach the proxy warehouse and then shipped to you, this delay may not end up meaning much.

Pros:

• Shipping is calculated and paid right away (no guessing shipping cost)
• Usually have reasonable shipping cost compared to other options
• Good option for those who are not planning on buying more goods for consolidated shipping

Cons:

• Shipping are calculated per order, so no combined shipping if you make multiple orders separately.
• Can be slower than other options

Booth

Booth had been the main platform for Hololive goods until the launch of Hololive Production Official Shop page. Booth works directly with Buyee, a parcel forwarder service that ships Internationally.

Even though new merch are no longer listed on Booth, older merchandize are still found exclusively here.

Pros:

• Fast shipping
• Works directly with Buyee (a proxy/forwarding service)

Cons:

• Does not ship Internationally (requires a forwarder)
• Unknown shipping cost if using a proxy/forwarder

 

 

Proxy/Forwarders

Proxy or forwarders are basically services that provides you with an address in Japan where you can have your goods sent, and they will then ship all your items to you. Some services ship almost anywhere in the world, but there are also forwarders that only ship to a few specific countries and these can be cheaper to those that ships worldwide.

The biggest benefit of using a proxy service or forwarders is that you can wait and combine parcels to save shipping cost. Most forwarders keeps your parcels for free up to 3 weeks, giving you a window of time to wait for other goods or any other items you’re buying from other places such as Amazon JP. They offer multiple shipping options, so it can be a good option for those living in places with EMS restrictions.

The biggest drawback is the unknown cost of shipping until your items are actually with your forwarder.

 

Blackship (Recommended)

Blackship is also a trusted proxy and works similarly to Tenso. They offer a variety of shipping options and ships worldwide.

 

 

 

Tenso (Recommended)

Tenso is a popular service used by many buying Hololive goods, among other things. They have proven themselves to be reliable and offers multiple shipping choices.

Although they are actually linked with Buyee, this is a proper forwarder/proxy service so buying limited goods works well with Tenso.

 

Japan Rabbit

Japan Rabbit is formerly known as White Rabbit Express, and is a sister site of Blackship. The main difference is while Blackship provides you with an address you can use to ship your order to, Japan Rabbit buys the items on your behalf. This is particularly useful if you find it difficult to navigate the sites you want to buy from.

You just need to provide them with the links for the items you want to buy and they’ll let you know how much it costs and then you pay them the full amount so they can handle the purchase for you. And once the items arrives at their warehouse, they’ll send you another notification so you can consolidate and pay for the shipping from their warehouse to you.

They do charge a fee for buying the items, but it will save you a lot of trouble if you’re unfamiliar with shopping on Japanese sites, and is especially useful when the sites you want to shop from are locked behind a Japanese phone number verification.

 

Buyee

Similar to Japan Rabbit, Buyee is a proxy service that buys on your behalf and also helps handle the shipping directly to your doorstep.

Buyee is also directly integrated with Booth, meaning you can buy through Buyee directly from Booth pages if you’re looking to get your hands on older goods that are only available there.

 

Proxy services such as Japan Rabbit & Buyee are not recommended when trying to buy limited quantity items, voice packs, or any sets that includes voice packs.

 

This is because you have to wait for them to confirm your order before they send you the payment request, and then they’ll only buy the items after you’ve made the payment. This will take some time and considering most limited quantity item gets snatched up within minutes, you’re also guaranteed to miss out. You’ll also need to contact them to get your voice packs (or any other downloadable goods).

They are great on certain sites where you’re required to register with a Japanese phone number, or sites that are confusing to navigate even with translation tools, or when you just don’t want to have to deal with the hassle of buying off Japanese sites yourself.

In most cases, however,  you’re better off buying directly and have your goods shipped to an address proxy/forwarding services like Tenso or Blackship. They usually cheaper since you do not need to pay for “buying” fee, and you also get direct access to whatever downloadable files directly since you’ll be using your own store account and email address.

 

 

Other Regional Forwarders

You can also look for other regional proxy/forwarders that only ships to a specific country or region. These can actually be a cheaper option compared to those who ship worldwide like Tenso does.

One such recommended option is BuyAndShip. They are a Hong Kong based forwarder that ships to Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, UK, UAE and India. BuyAndShip is a trusted proxy with very compelling fees, although they do take a bit longer to get to you. BuyAndShip also provides buy-for-you services similar to Japan Rabbit, again with lower fees.

 

Which option to choose?

In most cases, if the official store ships to your country, that would be your best choice. There may be goods that ship only within Japan – you’ll want to use a proxy service for these (see Tenso, Blackship, BuyAndShip).

Otherwise you’ll actually need to do a little research and compare the shipping costs and shipping method between Geek Jack and your proxy/forwarder of choice. They can vary between each set of merchandize, so it’s not something as simple as saying one option is always the cheaper or better choice.

 

If you’re buying from third party stores such as Animate, Gamers, etc, you may want to consider using services such as Japan Rabbit just for simplicity’s sake. If BuyAndShip is available in your country, you can also consider them if you don’t mind waiting a bit longer to get your goods. (Also, for some doujins, Japan Rabbit would be a better choice.)

 

 

What about LIMITED goods?

It’s really difficult to get your hands on these since they usually sell out within minutes if not seconds. But the answer to which service you should be using for this is surprisingly a simple one.

Try your luck on Booth first with a forwarding service address (NOT BUYEE), and if you fail to get it, try again on Geek Jack the next day!

NOTE: Goods released through Hololive Official Shop is now also getting listed on Geek Jack on the same day, so for those aiming for limited goods will just need to be quick and try your luck with either one of them.