How do I get english magazines sent to a friend in Japan inexpensively?
My friend moved to Japan with her husband about 5 months ago for his job. She’s happy, but misses the comforts she’s grown to know. Mostly, entertainment, like magazines. Cosmo, Elle, People, etc.. The problem is, they sell for about $20 per magazine over there. I would love to send her a subscription, but can’t find a way to send it to her address in Japan.
You have some choices. We had our mail forwarded to us monthly. You can have your friend setup a PO Box at a Mailboxes Etc or similar business. Subscribe to the magazines and have them sent to the PO Box. The people who run the store would compile all of our mail and magazines and send them to us in Tokyo twice a month. We prepaid the PO box for 1 year and also left them a balance of $50 for forwarding our mail. When the balance became low, they would send us a note with the mail and then we send them more money via electronic check. The magazines will arrive a little later, but she will be happy. We did the same for books and also Amazon.com sends books, but not DVDs to Japan.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
The USPS has a special lower rate for books and magazines. Also, you may be able to contact the publisher and see what they would charge for overseas delivery. They do bulk mailings, which is cheaper, and may be a better way to go.
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October 26th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
since magazines usually publish issues a few months before the cover date. why dont you send her your older issues. its a great way to stay in touch and a way to recycle your older issues.
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October 27th, 2009 at 12:03 am
You have some choices. We had our mail forwarded to us monthly. You can have your friend setup a PO Box at a Mailboxes Etc or similar business. Subscribe to the magazines and have them sent to the PO Box. The people who run the store would compile all of our mail and magazines and send them to us in Tokyo twice a month. We prepaid the PO box for 1 year and also left them a balance of $50 for forwarding our mail. When the balance became low, they would send us a note with the mail and then we send them more money via electronic check. The magazines will arrive a little later, but she will be happy. We did the same for books and also Amazon.com sends books, but not DVDs to Japan.
References :
October 27th, 2009 at 12:33 am
I don’t think they have a special rate for printed matter any longer. It’s sent as "flat rate", and that’s 94 cents an ounce. I recently sent a calender to my GF in Osaka,and it cost me a little over $5 ! If someone can post a link for a special magazine rate, I’d like to see it.
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