Review: Sutocorp Proxy Service

Hmm.... a new post after a looooong hiatus?? This year I cannot find a time to blogging, still do some song translation though.

Anyway, today I'm writing a review for the proxy I used. Around three years ago I've write a review here but delete it when I renew this blog, so you can say this review is an update of previous review.

According to their web (http://www.sutocorp.com/) they offer proxy and auction bid to Japan, China, Korea, USA, Australia, Singapore and several other countries. So far I've used their proxy service about twice a year, all to buy from Japan. The reasons I've use them are:


1. Payment via bank transfer --> main reason, coz I don't have credit card :P
2. Special shipping methods: there are total 4 shipping methods, but I've only use shipping A (normal EMS) and shipping B (collective EMS). By using shipping B, basically they doing a bulk shipping via EMS, and also dealing with the custom for a fee of IDR 250,000/kg (around 2200 Yen). Very important for me cause I afraid dealing with Indonesian custom......

So far I've ordered only books (manga, novel, artbook), vita games and a doujin cd music. All arrived safely, in good condition. The website I used are usually amazon jp, surugaya (VERY cheap) and book off (usually I buy secondhand if available).

Now, move to price. Total payment if you use Sutocorp: item price + wire transfer fee (@300 yen/shop) + local shipping fee (from shop to Sutocorp japan agent) + shipping fee from japan to indonesia + sutocorp fee 8% (minimum 1000 yen). Quite pricey, but it's normal for a complete proxy. You can save some money by buying from less shop, buying from shop that offer free shipping (amazon or surugaya) and bulk buying (to save in shipping and sutocorp fee).

I've talked about shipping method, usually I use shipping A if  I buy a bulk of used books (cheap but heavy) cause EMS shipping cost less the heavier your packets, and basically books is safer in custom than expensive game, to say. Using normal EMS it took about 3-5 days for the item to arrive after I got tracking number.

To buy more expensive, but lightier, items, I use shipping B. With a flat 2200 yen fee I can sleep well knowing the custom won't demand me a sudden high custom fee for my games...... But it's obviously pricier than shipping A, so I always do bulk shopping, buy 6-8 vita games at once for a total a bit below 1 kg, so the individual price will be cheaper..... Using this method I can expect 2-3 weeks for my items to arrive cause Sutocorp has to wait for a certain kuota before they ship.

Basically my advice is: books (heavy, cheap items) -> use shipping A and for games (light, expensive) --> use shipping B, and always calculate your shopping expense beforehand so you won't be left with empty wallet......

To order, it's pretty easy, just send email with the link of the items you want to buy, and the staff will respond with price quote. Just to note, I'm pretty impressed with the mailing response time. It seems they always have staff available for 24 hours because I usually only wait no more than 1-5 hours for a response, whether it midnight or midday.

Last words, I'm quite satisfied with this proxy, they are pricey, mainly because EMS shipping, but you can save some money by doing a calculation before shopping. With fast email response and easy payment/ordering, I'm happy using them for my japan shopping twice a year.