Schnitzel

Contents:

Overview & Summary 

Finding items

Local Stores & International Sellers

Japanese Platforms 

Proxy Services

Customs (General)

Customs (important Germany / EU Info)

Unofficial Merch

Advanced Stuff

The length of this post might look overwhelming at first. I tried to cover as much as possible and that makes it a pretty long read. You don't need to read it all of course, you can pick the chapters that you need depending on the experience you already have. But there's one thing that I want to tell you first, since I noticed this with some people who asked me about Splatoon merch in the past:

If you want to get some of the more uncommon Japanese items, and for a reasonable price, you will have to invest a bit of time. You have to read a bit and you have to browse a bit and you just have to do that little bit of work.

No, I can not make it "easier". And no, I can also not make it cheaper. This post, even though it is long, will already save you a ton of time and effort if you never looked into Splatoon merch or imported anything at all. And if you still have questions after reading, I'm happy to help as much as I can. But I won't hold your hand through every Google search and neither this guide nor I can help you if you don't want to put in the effort.

Overview & Summary 

Finding items

First, you have to know what you even want. Splatoon merch intended for Japan only is not marketed to the west, so use Japanese searching terms and browse Japanese websites to get an overview.

Local Stores & International Sellers

Then we want to look for places that sell your desired items within your own region. This saves you the trouble of importing them yourself. International sellers that ship directly to you are also a good option to look into.

Japanese Platforms

If your shopping list is longer or you want something beyond the common items, move on to Japanese platforms that don't ship internationally. There are many different places to choose from. Especially pay attention to the popular secondhand platforms. You can find good deals and older releases here.

Proxy Services

Now we have to find a way to buy from the Japanese websites as international customers. This is where proxy services come in. These services will make the purchases and ship the items to you in exchange for service fees. There are many different proxy services to choose from and they have their advantages and disadvantages.

Customs (General)

You will most likely have to deal with customs when importing items. They check your packages for prohibited items and charge different fees depending on your country. Aside from the general info that I give you, you should research this for your own country.

Customs (important Germany / EU Info)

Customs have become a huge pain for me living in Germany, so I'll give you additional info and advice about German / EU customs.

Unofficial Merch

If you're in the market for unofficial merch by fan artists, I have a list of shops for you as well.

Advanced Stuff

And finally, there are some additional tips to save on fees, find Japanese searching terms, avoid geo-blocking, use helpful tools and detect common fakes. I'll also tell you about Editmode's questionable CEO and why I try to stick to secondhand Editmode products.

One more important thing, the perspective from which I'm looking at this: I live in Germany with my family and I'd consider us to be lower middle class. I was already over 18 years old when I started collecting, I work a part-time job next to uni and I've had part-time jobs for the vast majority of the time that I've been collecting Splatoon merch. 

Some of the things I'll suggest here might be either different or not accessible to you depending on your own situation.

I also want to make clear that I am, obviously, in no way responsible for any negative experiences that you may make while you shop for Splatoon merch based on my recommendations. Neither with shops nor with customs nor with anything else. I try to give advice to the best of my ability, but it is your responsibility to do your own research.

Finding Items 

If you're just starting to look into Splatoon merch and / or importing stuff from Japan, then chances are that you don't even know most of what's out there. These things aren't marketed to us in the west, so we won't know that they exist unless we know where to look.

You can start by just looking through my account, or gigi_yuumi's older posts. Some Japanese Instagram accounts that post Splatoon merch are pirosuke47, spla_looove and splatoon_love_love.

(I want to eventually make full overviews of all Splatoon merch, but this is going to take some time. I'll edit this post to link them here.)

You will find a lot more official merch if you google the Japanese term for Splatoon merch instead of the English term or any other language. If you're searching for a specific kind of item, e.g. keychains, just put it in DeepL and explore the Japanese side of the internet with the different translations that it suggests you. You can find some good searching terms in the last chapter of this post.

To stay up to date on new releases, you can look at this unofficial Splatoon blog. They also have a Twitter account, Splatoon3_goods. I'll make a post soon where I show you how I deleted my Twitter account and still receive notifications for the news accounts I don't want to miss.

For the best overview of items that are common and actually available right now, you of course just need to browse the platforms that I'll recommend you in the next chapters. My point is that it's good to get an overview and to look around for a bit first. 

Even if you already have specific things in mind that you really want, it helps to look at different offers and alternatives before making a purchase. Just take your time with it.

Local Stores & International Sellers

Importing stuff can be more expensive and it can take a bit more effort than just clicking a "buy now"-button. Additionally, buying from somewhere in your own region might be lower risk because you may have better buyer protection and if you purchase new items, you will usually be able to return them. So let's try to avoid importing for now. 

Unfortunately, this comes with a lot of limitations because the selection is relatively narrow and it might be very hard to get especially the older releases. Some stores or sellers also charge way more than it would cost you to import the item yourself. It depends on what you want to buy and how much you want to buy overall.

The first place you should take a look at is the website of the official Nintendo Store. Or, if you happen to live near one of the two physical stores in the US, visit there. Some of the items that are originally from the Nintendo Store in Japan can show up in other regions. For example, Germany has recently added some new Japanese merch. If you're in the US, you also have some very nice US-only stuff that, ironically, is more difficult and expensive for me to get than Japanese items. 

Where else can you look?

Kujumi is a store that ships from Germany, so it is especially interesting for Europeans. And of course you can also buy from eBay sellers that are located in your own country. Or you might get lucky and find a good deal on other secondhand platforms. Depending on where you're from, there could be different stores available to you that sell items from Japan, which can save you both effort and import cost. I would avoid Amazon though, especially if you're new to Splatoon merch. It is full of cheap unofficial garbage and also infested with shirts, backpacks and similar items that have stolen fanart or AI slop printed on them. If you want unofficial merch, buy from an actual artist (see below for recommendations).

Moving on to international sellers. Buying from them doesn't have to be difficult either, but you do have to deal with potentially higher shipping cost and with customs. 

If you're looking for older releases, there are many international sellers on eBay. I personally don't like eBay so I can't recommend you any specific ones, just keep in mind that Japanese Splatoon merch on eBay is often overpriced. Some better websites to buy new stuff from are Playasia and Meccha Japan. Finding international websites that sell Splatoon merch is comparatively hard, but you can find some items here and there.

Japanese Platforms

But let's say your shopping list is longer or you want something very specific. Then your best option might be to look at websites that are not made for international customers. How you, an international customer, can shop there anyway will be covered in the next chapter. These are the best places to find more rare stuff, to get good deals on older releases, to buy full sets of blind box items and to purchase things from promotional events that were never officially sold online to begin with. 

The most popular secondhand platform is Mercari Japan, but also take a look at JDirect Auctions (formerly Yahoo Auctions), Rakuten Rakuma Flea Market, and Suruga-Ya.

For new items, check out the Japanese Nintendo Store, Japanese Amazon and Rakuten. Most of what you can get at the physical Nintendo Stores in Tokyo and Osaka should also be available in the online store. But if not, there are still ways to get items directly from the physical stores. Just keep in mind that it may be cheaper and easier to wait for these things to be resold on secondhand platforms, just like with promotional items. 

Anyway, what all these places have in common is that you need a proxy service to shop there. So let's get you one.

Proxy Services

A proxy service is a service that helps you buy things in a different country. You tell them what you want to order, they make the purchases for you and then they ship your order to you. Since Japan is a pretty popular place that has pretty popular products to consume™, there are many different proxy services on the market that you can choose from.

Every proxy service has slightly different conditions. But there are mainly two types that I would recommend and that I will go into more detail about: You can either use a large capacity proxy service run by a company, or a small business run by only a few people (often even just one person). 

Big Proxy Services

With a company, an obvious advantage is the larger capacity to store items. And there will also be a dedicated team or even automated processes to secure your (online-) order more quickly than a private person with a personal life would reliably be able to. Given that the proxy you choose is a legit, reputable company, you also have a better idea of what to do if your order gets lost, damaged or you run into other issues because there will be more clear TOS and they usually have FAQs and detailed information on which types of insurance you can get, what kind of extra protective packaging you can request, how problems will be handled, etc.

And, in my experience, large proxy services are usually cheaper for simple orders. This can change for more complicated requests, depending on what their fee system is for things like bidding on auctions, combining different orders into one international shipment, adding extra packaging, storing your items for an extended period of time, etc. But generally, if you want to order multiple items online and don't need any extra services, I'd recommend you a proxy like this. The one I use is FromJapan by OneMap, which in my opinion has very good prices and offers many services without an additional fee, such as combining orders and storing items for up to 2 months. You can view the most popular Japanese shopping sites right through the FromJapan website, which is especially helpful to avoid geo-blocking. OneMap also has a version for the US called FromUSA. I haven't used it yet as shipping from the US is expensive, but if I ever decide to buy that US-exclusive merch, I'll go with FromUSA. 

Other examples for big proxy services like this are Buyee, WorldShopping, J-Subculture, ZenMarket, Neokyo, JPFans and Japan Rabbit, but I haven't used any of these yet. Make sure to look at the reviews and the policies ot these services before you commit to any large orders with them. 

Small Proxy Services

There are some instances where I would recommend you a small service run by individuals. Firstly, it is always a good idea to support small businesses over large companies as the profits will go to regular people who can actually use the money. And keeping these businesses running helps to increase the options people can choose from and therefore keep good conditions for consumers. But many individual people also offer some services that the big companies don't. You can make personal arrangements that otherwise wouldn't be possible. For example, I let a proxy log into my own Nintendo account so they could order a personalized keychain for me that used my Splatoon save files. Just make sure to keep your online safety in mind if you do something like this, e.g. by setting a dedicated password for this period of time and using 2FA on your account. 

But the advantage most commonly associated with them is that they go to physical stores or promotional events for you to secure items that you could otherwise only hope to find secondhand. 

Additionally, there are a few shops and private sellers that either specifically block proxy services from buying their items, or that the big proxy services themselves don't let you purchase from. A small proxy service run by an individual will help you avoid these blocks because they make the purchase as just a regular Japanese person instead of being detectable as a proxy service. 

And finally, once you know a reliable one that you've purchased with a number of times, these services can provide additional security if you're ordering fragile, very expensive, or otherwise special items. Like many other small businesses, they are generally more careful with packing orders and will often pack your order extremely well without even being asked or charging any fee for it. And you know that it will always be the same person packing your order, you can ask individual questions more easily and for me personally, this feels a lot safer when ordering a special item because with a big company, even with more clear TOS and a dedicated customer service, chances are that they will just not give a damn and rather take one negative review than actually deal with the issue.

I've used three of these proxy services so far, and I actually used small proxy services for almost all of my collection. I only recently switched to FromJapan (for regular orders) for financial reasons. The first one went out of business unfortunately, but the second one, japan.kawaii.items on Instagram, still exists and would be my first recommendation for a proxy service like this. They now have an FAQ document in their bio, which will help you a lot especially if you have no prior experience with proxys. And then I also used Treasure Japan one time, which too worked very well and is the only one I know that runs through a website instead of through social media. Other examples for proxies on Instagram are omjapannn, japanesekawaiishop and sass.japan. Which, again, I haven't used any of yet.

The main downside with most proxies is that you can't know the international shipping cost before you order. They don't have your items yet, so they don't know how much it will cost to ship them to you. But there are usually estimation tools on the websites, and you can also ask small proxy services for a shipping estimate.

There are different carriers to choose from. If your item is oversized (could happen with posters or in my case it was once a skateboard deck) you may need to choose a more expensive option that goes by size. But for most smaller packages, the best shipping options are usually the ones that go by weight. So shipping for a heavy magazine or artbook will likely be more expensive than for a plushie.

Customs (General) 

Before you run to order your first item, there is one unfortunate topic we have to cover to avoid unpleasant surprises: customs. Because if you buy something in another country, your state misses out on taxes. So once you try to get these purchases home, the state wants its share. What it also wants is to make sure that you don't bring in anything dangerous or illegal, so customs may open up your packages and take a peek inside.

Every order has to go through customs and you sometimes (or always, depending on the country) have to pay a fee that is calculated by the kind of items you ordered and the amount that you paid for them (including shipping). In order for customs to know what's supposed to be inside the package and what its value is, the seller or proxy service will fill out a customs declaration that sticks to the outside of the box. 

If there is anything suspicious about your package, it can in rare instances get "stuck" in customs and you have to go pick it up. Customs only hold your package for a short period of time, so it is important to check your tracking number. Because while you should get a note in the mail that tells you that your package has gotten stuck, things can get screwed up and the note can get lost. I only had a package stuck twice in all the years that I've been collecting. It can happen at random, but mostly because some proxies and especially eBay sellers mark packages as gifts or under value on the customs declaration. This is illegal and a reputable seller will not do this, but it of course has absolutely no legal consequences for you since you're not the one who did it. The only consequence is that you have to provide the invoice or receipt of your order to prove the correct value of the package. Then you can pay the fee and take it home as usual.

There are some prohibited items that you are not allowed to import. We're talking about Splatoon merch here, so you can order literally anything ... except for one single item: the Tower Records power bank. Most countries don't allow these, including Germany. There are some people in other countries who were able to get this power bank because customs don't check every single package manually and it can slip through. But usually it is a prohibited item that you won't be able to order in a legal way. 

Customs really aren't much of a problem in many countries, and you often won't have to pay anything at all. But in Germany they have become a huge pain in the ass. I will tell you about fees, regulations and other things to consider regarding German customs in the next chapter. To some extent this applies to the rest of the EU as well. 

But if you live anywhere else, this is information that you have to research for yourself a bit if you want to make sure. As far as I know, the US also increased import taxes in recent years. But in general, this will not be any big issue if you just order a little keychain or something. Definitely read the next chapter if you live in Germany though, because customs here have gone nuts.

Customs (important Germany / EU Info)

There are estimation tools online for the import fees that you will likely have to pay. Definitely use these before you order if you're in Germany because fees have gone absolutely crazy since the EU added a 19% tax called VAT on all items on top of regular customs fees. I'm glad that I got most of my collection before this went so out of control.

I use a tool by a website called Paketda. 

For example, for a 20€ order you have to pay 3,80€ on top in fees (nothing in regular customs fees, but still the 19% VAT). Which may not be all that much in the grand scheme of things, but for a 200€ order you already pay 54,66€ on top in fees (customs fee for orders over 150€, in this example 14€, + 19% VAT). Again, your fee will most likely be way lower if you're outside the EU, more like around 14€ only, because your country probably won't do the ridiculous 19% tax. And on small orders it will usually be free, but it really depends on your country. The EU completely screwed us over with this tax.

And then you will also notice that Germany has one more very, very stupid problem. You should just be able to pay the fee online and get your package delivered, right?

Well, no. German bureaucracy doesn't do digital stuff, we're stuck in the stone age. You have to do this in person and they do not care how incredibly impractical that is. But you don't go to the customs office to pick up your order either. The fee will either be collected at your doorstep by the person delivering your package to you. Or, if you're not home, at your local post office. This will happen by default without you being asked. While it sounds great, it comes with an additional service fee that the shipping company charges you for picking up your item from customs and for prepaying the fee for you. As of right now, this is 7,50€(!) per package for DHL, other carriers are only higher. And since you pay the 19% tax on all items no matter what, you have to pay on basically every single package, even if it's just a very small amount. This means that you pay at least 7,50€ for every international order in addition to the fees that I showed you above. A few stores do add customs fees and taxes at checkout and prepay them for you, avoiding this. But a proxy service will not do this. So customs could only be charging you the 3,80€ VAT from the earlier example of a 20€ order, but you will still pay over 10€ total in fees because the shipping company automatically charges you as well. 

If you still want to order internationally as a Germany person, I'm impressed by your dedication first of all. But also, there is finally some good news because a workaround exists at least for this. You have to register as a "Selbstverzoller". This is explained in more detail on the Paketda website that I talked about earlier. What it means is that your international packages will not be delivered to your doorstep but instead stay at your local customs office (usually in the next larger city). You receive a notification in the mail, go to the customs office yourself, pick up your order and skip the DHL service fee. The Paketda website gives you some additional tips and tells you everything you need to do in order to register. But one thing that I'll tell you before we finally wrap up German customs: If you are given the opportunity to leave any additional notes or requests on your order, make the proxy or seller write "Selbstverzoller" big on your package (only if you've registered as one ofc). Because apparently the shipping company will often get it wrong or just not give a damn, deliver your package to you even though they're not supposed to, and then collect the fee anyway. You can get your fee back as they have no right to do this, but it can be a hassle. 

I hope that something improves about this system soon. Importing things has become ridiculous in the last few years. I'll update this guide if anything changes about German customs.

Unofficial Merch

Splatoon merch doesn't need to be official though. There are many great artists and sellers out there who create products that can even be better than what Nintendo does. You likely know a few already if you're active in the Splatoon community.

Here are some that I found. I'll add to this list as I find new artists:

PurplepumaPrints

tori.png

CastingStudio (CastingStudio on Etsy)

Artsy Raimuu

Arumikat

3DROD

Cephalorock

HAZstitches

NuiNuiLand

Siluetto

SkipDraws

Saltyboos (Saltyboos on Etsy)

RainCoCrafts

UnreasonablyAdorable

NurseJoyCrafts

GKYEngine

LittleParadeShop

splatonion

NovaPrints3DCrafts

SquidPrincessCrafts

Droseattack

sumemodude

Andromedia

Cybersoda

luckysoupe

momoiiroo

NekoCafeTime

TriforceKnights

Boxerbun

GlazedewArt

Bugslap

TearsoftheNorthPole

SquidInkies

sweetoctoshop

tokkibada

You will find most fan artists either on Etsy or on social media selling via their own stores. Redbubble is a good place to look for stickers or posters of official art (though I wouldn't buy anything else there since product quality is kinda meh and fanart can sometimes be stolen). Of course international shipping and payment methods can be more limited with small artists. Also keep in mind that, if these artists don't happen to ship from your own country, everything related to customs still applies. And Etsy is pretty infested with dropshippers as most platforms nowadays. Apparently there is some Splatoon dropshipping going on there as well, so pay attention who you're buying from.

There are of course mass produced unofficial products as well. You can find these in the usual places like Amazon. Some common ones are shown later in this post. You can of course buy these things as well, but be aware that they usually are lower quality than any official or fanmade merch.

Advanced 

Do you have experience with collecting already? Or do you just want to know everything I can give you about this topic? Either way, here are some advanced tips and tricks:

Saving on Fees

The item price itself is only one part of the price you pay until your stuff arrives at your doorstep. So aside from finding cheap listings, there are other things you can do to save money. Firstly, compare proxy services carefully. You shouldn't only look for cheap rates of course, but this is one important factor in choosing your service. Do they charge for combining orders? Do their handling fees go by item price or do they stay the same for every purchase? Usually, it makes sense to buy items in full sets or lots instead of making many small purchases. This saves on handling fees and is worth it most of the time, even if buying individual offers looks like the cheaper option at first. You should also try different combinations when calculating shipping cost and customs fees before you select your items for international shipping. It can sometimes make sense to ship multiple small packages instead of one large one, depending on weight limits on shipping methods or thresholds after which import fees increase. But at least for Germany after VAT changes, one large package is usually the way to go.

Japanese Searching Terms 

Both Google and Japanese websites will find a lot more if you use Japanese searching terms for Splatoon merch. So here are some that I use: Splatoon: スプラトゥーン Tower Records: スプラトゥーン タワーレコード (or just use English "tower") Set: スプラトゥーン セット Stickers: スプラトゥーン シール

Avoiding Geo-Blocking

Some Japanese websites (most annoyingly JDirect Auctions if you're from the EU or UK, but also Bandai) will completely block you from viewing them based on the region that you're browsing from. This can of course be avoided by using a VPN service (Proton VPN is free). But if you don't have a VPN, you can also use the websites of proxy services like FromJapan or Buyee to browse some of these places, even if you use another proxy for actually buying your things. And as long as you can provide a link, your proxy will usually still be able to place the order, even if you can't open the link yourself. Just send them the link and provide additional info like size or color if needed, and ask them what they can do.

Useful Tools

When looking for Splatoon merch, I often need to look for items based on pictures or translate Japanese text to English. Some quick tips if this is not something you do usually: You can use image reverse search / Google Lens to find websites that use a specific image or similar images. DeepL is great for translating search terms to Japanese as it gives you multiple alternatives for the word you're translating. The Japanese Mercari can be displayed in English without having to return to the start page if you just put "/en" in the link behind "merchari.com". If you have a Google Pixel phone, you can do translating and image reverse searching of the contents of your screen by simply long pressing the Home button. Other phone brands might have similar functions.

Common Fakes

As mentioned earlier, there are some common unofficial Splatoon items and not all sellers disclose that these are not official. I'll show you some, especially the ones that look close to official merch, so you don't confuse them while shopping. Keep in mind that, especially on eBay, Temu, Amazon, AliExpress and similar platforms, sellers will sometimes use official images to sell fake products.

Editmode's Questionable CEO 

If you're looking for real-life versions of Splatoon gear, you could order on the website of Editmode, the company that makes almost all of the official Splatoon gear recreations, by using their suggested proxy service. But be aware that their CEO Masaaki Konan (JP: 江南匡晃, there are different English translations of the name) posted on his Instagram story (kog_74) about being a Republican supporter and a 2020 election denier during the 2024 election in the US. Here are the screenshots I took at the time. What you do with this info is up to you, but I try to avoid buying directly from the company, so I pretty much only buy Editmode items secondhand. It's often cheaper anyway.

I hope that this helps you get the Splatoon merch that you want. This guide may seem overwhelming at first, because I tried to cover as much as possible. But once you found your preferred method to importing items, it becomes pretty easy.

If you have any questions, drop them in the comments or DM me.