Buying Guide

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 Booth since they usually only get your orders about 1-2 weeks after Booth does. However, considering the amount of time needed for your order to reach a forwarder warehouse and then shipped to you, this slight delay may not end up meaning much.

Shipping restrictions are also still an issue in many parts of the world, and it can affect when they’ll ship out your order since they only offer shipping via EMS and more recently ECMS.

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 don’t plan to get anything else and is not affected by shipping restrictions

Cons:

• Shipping are calculated per order, so no combined shipping if you make multiple orders separately.
• Slower than other options (depends on your location)
• Bad option if your region is affected by EMS shipping restrictions

Booth

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

Buying from Booth and using Buyee or any other parcel forwarding service such as Tenso is a popular option for those living in countries still affected by EMS restrictions, as there are more shipping options available.

Keep in mind that Booth charges a 730 yen shipping fee for addresses in Japan if you plan to use a forwarding service. This is not inclusive of the final shipping fee you’ll need to pay to have the goods shipped to you.

Pros:

• First to have new goods listed
• Fast shipping
• Works directly with Buyee (a forwarding service)
• Best for those who wants their orders fast and/or is affected by EMS restrictions

Cons:

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

Hololive Production Official Shop

New goods have started to show up on the new Hololive Production Official Shop, and so far it appears that goods listed here would not be listed on Booth. However, International shipping is still not supported, so these goods are still being listed on Geek Jack for overseas fans.

Shipping cost within Japan seems to be a little higher compared to Booth, but could depend on location. No goods listed here has been shipped out yet since it’s still new. It can be expected that the pros and cons would be similar to buying through Booth.

Pros:

• First to have new goods listed
• Hololive Official Shop

Cons:

• Does not ship Internationally (requires a forwarder)

Forwarders

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.

Buyee

Buyee is directly integrated with Booth, meaning you can buy through Buyee directly from the Booth page. This makes it really convenient to buy, but be warned… If you’re looking to grab a limited edition set that usually comes with an autograph, it’s best to avoid Buyee as you will most likely fail even if your order seemingly got accepted.

This is because of how Buyee works – they actually help you place an order after you’ve given them the money, which is obviously too late for those limited goods that sells out within seconds and minutes.

Buyee is also not recommended when buying voice packs, or any sets that includes voices. This is because you’ll need to contact Buyee again in order to get them.

In many cases, it’s always a better idea to use a proxy or forwarding service to buy from Booth rather than using Buyee.

Tenso

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.

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 option is BuyAndShip. They are a Hong Kong based forwarder that ships to Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Australia, UK, UAE and India.

Which option to choose?

You’ll actually need to do a little research and compare the shipping cost between using Geek Jack and your preferred forwarder. 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.

In most cases, if you’re just planning to get Hololive goods, don’t really mind waiting just a little longer and you’re not affected by EMS restrictions, go with Geek Jack.

If you want your goods as soon as possible, you plan to buy more stuff (especially from other sites), are affected by EMS restrictions, go with buying through Booth or Hololive Production Official shop using a proxy or forwarding service like Tenso.

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!