Howdy reader, how is your Christmas shopping 2016 🎄🎁 coming along so far? Got everything together for the year-end🎉🎈 ? Or are you helplessly behind and struggle for ideas😥?

If you belong to the first group that is great, if you are part of the latter half then I might have some remedy for you. In another post I have already introduced the amazon.co.jp Otaku Store (hobby & pop-culture goods) and today, I like to introduce two other interesting features of the marketplace with the amazon.co.jp Annual Ranking and the Amazon Used Goods Store. Don’t despair just yet, you might still make it in time and best of all, you can do it conveniently from your screen at home. Let’s see what we got here for you:

Firstly, I’m going to talk about the Amazon Ranking Big Awards 2016 or Amazonランキング大賞2016 🏆, as it is called in Japanese. On a yearly basis Amazon Japan tallies up the sales data of the more than 200’000’000 (two hundred million) – what an insane number 😵! – product types it handles through the inventory, evaluates it through a time period starting from November 16th, 2015 to November 13th, 2016 and presents it in a ranking system by category. 1⃣, 2⃣, 3⃣ … the best-selling products at a glance as you go by category, how convenient is that !? Shop everything from:

• Books & Magazines📚: Japanese literature, manga
• Music🎶: J-Pop, Anime Soundtracks, analog records, classics
• Films: DVD & Blu-ray 💿(incl. Anime, Japanese Drama & Comedy)
• Video Games 👾 🎮
• Hobby Goods: action & collection figure, model kits, R/C (remote control)
• Stationery & Office Supplies 📎📏
• Toys
• Beauty & Cosmetics 💄
• Photo & Video Camera 📹(incl. accessory)
• Kitchen & Home 🍴🔨
• Music Equipment 🎷& Audio Devices 🎧
• Snacks & Sweets 🍩🍭(if eligible for shipping to abroad even Japanese sake…yum) ⇒ see also my article on Popin’ Cookin’ DIY candy kits
• Drug & Pharmacy Products (incl. dietary supplements, collagen, nutrition & vitamins)
• Shoes & Bags 👟👜
• Baby Goods
• Fashion 👔
• Jewelry
• Wrist Watches (i.e. Japanese brands like Casio and Seiko)
• Tools & DIY

All the top-selling items orderly summarized and at your fingertips. This should make for plenty of selection and you are bound to find something. There is the idea 💡!

Amazon Japan offers foreign language operation features in English and Chinese or you can work around the language barrier, with Google Translate. If you order from abroad, in particular if you are a first time user with Amazon, please make sure you read through the Amazon Global pages. For questions, what can be shipped abroad or what the product conditions are, I recommend to get in touch with the competent and friendly Amazon Client Help Desk. You may also find a couple tips in the buyer guide over at MyLittle Shopping Street side page.

Then, the second feature you might want to check out is the Amazon Used Store (secondhand goods). I recently discovered it for myself and reminds me a bit of Book OFF. Like in the ‘recycle shops’ of Book OFF, also with Amazon you will not only find books, but you may tap a whole lot of goods with watches, designer bags 👜👝 (i.e. Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Yves Sain Laurent, Louis Vuitton), music instruments, clothing, computer goods, cameras 📷(i.e. Canon, Pentax) and much more at reduced prices. And ‘used’ condition in Japan is considered in most countries ‘like new’. Knowing it first hand, Japanese people tend and use their goods with utmost of care – it’s not a cliche. So if you or the person you give it to don’t care, if somebody else used the item before, you will be in for good quality at great value💰.

Not available for the global program, but another interesting aspect I found of the used goods store, are the the so-called Fukubukuro (福袋・ふくぶくろ; lucky-dip bags), for some of the categories like comics and video games. Often times the goods in the bag total higher than what you will actually pay for. In other words, the bags are a bargain, plus they make for fun, too. Don’t you like surprises as much as I do 😊? If you are based within Japan, why not try it out once?

The Amazon Used Store as a 2016 Product Ranking, too, visit HERE.

Well, that’s it already for this post and another article out of my amazon.co.jp series. Many thanks for reading this. I hope the above will give you some alternatives for your Christmas shopping or shopping routine in general. Once you know the ropes, you will become to appreciate the marketplace for its many amenities. If you have any feedback for the article or like to share some of your own experiences on shopping in Japan, please feel free to leave a line 💬 in the comment box below or start following my blog 👥. See you around.

You might also be interested in the following article(s):

Amazon.co.jp rolls out Otaku and Popular Character Stores

Disclaimer: MyLittle Dejima is not a seller and products are not sold via this blog. It’s not guaranteed that the above stated information is accurate or complete. The information merely serve the purpose of introducing an online shopping site and related services that are not connected  in any way to this blog. Responsibility of any nature pointed towards MyLittle Dejima will be strictly refused. MyLittle Dejima will not hold any liability for any financial damages or losses suffered by using the mentioned services. 

Article Guide:

• Words in grayish blue color link to other articles/pages on MyLittle Dejima
• Words in plum color link to external references/pages
• Words in simple bold, titles and article relevant information without external reference/page
• For Japanese related words Hiragana (ひらがな), Katakana (カタカナ) and Kanji (漢字) are added for those interested in Japanese terminology

Edition: First release: December 8th, 2016

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