How can we buy R18 VNs or VN goods?

[ririkosama]

I'm interested in VNs and I like to collect all kinds of VN goods such as nedoird, figma, pillow, silk paitings......

But I'm now living in US and I don't think I can buy them in US. So I have to buy them from amazon.jp, ask one of my friend buy for me and then send to me by FEDEX.

 

So that's the question, as a lot of VNs and VN goods are R18, can we FEDEX them to US legally?

 

If not, how could you buy VNs or VN goods?

 

Btw, ╮(╯▽╰)╭, let me post a pic of my collection.

 

[Cryptah]

Don't know that much about laws of USA, but atleast in Finland I was able to buy R18 VN and goods and it was delivered by Yokatta shopping with EMS shipping. Once I was taxed for it and goods were inspected but got no problems with that. Importing VN and VN goods shouldn't really be a problem, right? I have only heard that Canada has strict laws against loli stuff and R18 anime things.

[Steve]

Do people open the packages you order?

Like I had few things delivered from china and it just comes in a sealed package. I guess they scan it for bomb and drugs on airport but I don't think you can really see if its hentai manga or normal manga with such scanner. So nobody should really be able to even recognize its hentai as that would be breaking privacy.

 

But I don't know, maybe in the US you have some different laws allowing the post service to open and check your package.

[SieghartXx]

I have been asking myself the same question for a while, buy I don't even know the rules set by my country about shipping stuff xD I know they're a bit more expensive than being shipped to US and countries like that, though.

 

By the way, such a great collection! They're all cute goods ;u;

[Forythos]

Apparently, my country's customs could seize what they perceive as loli porn, but I've never let it trouble me.  I've imported Grisaia no Kajitsu for example, which has screenshots of naked Makina(who looks very underage) among other explicit screens on the back of the box, but they never opened any of my packages.  I seem to recall seeing people from the US with pretty extensive collections, and I think there might actualy court precedent in your favor as long as the content isn't overly degenerate, so I don't think you should have too much trouble.

 

(edit : As a side note I've heard of my country's customs(Canada) opening and trying to install eroge.  Apparently they returned it to the guy saying they couldn't get it to run due to OS compatibilty, and thus could not find objectionable content.  Not sure if that story is true though.)

[cryofrzd]

 

(edit : As a side note I've heard of my country's customs(Canada) opening and trying to install eroge.  Apparently they returned it to the guy saying they couldn't get it to run due to OS compatibilty, and thus could not find objectionable content.  Not sure if that story is true though.)

 

That's promising because most VNs with quite heavy loli focus make their releases only runnable in Japanese locale, system or time-zone and such, they probably won't bother. On the other hand I guess they'd get you for the cover art in some cases...

[Nosebleed]

In my country you can pretty much import anything aside from weapons and dangerous stuff of the sort from what i've read. You can import swords though if you're 18+.

However the place where the shipments arrive (which is the same for everything) is entitled to open your package at any time without prior notice if they feel it is needed for safety which is really crappy in my opinion. You also risk a lot of taxes which is the worst part. In some cases the tax value can literally double your payment. At least i'm glad the laws for freedom of expression in fiction don't prohibit anything in particular. They sell uncensored manga (from guro to bestiality even, i've seen some) here and loli stuff is ok as well and I've bought loli merchandise from an actual store. I've never imported a VN because it's too expensive though so I don't know how that would go. My main issue with shipping is just the shipping fee is completely unproportional and out of my budget. Often reaching half of the value of the product i'm shipping

[sanahtlig]

J-List offers all sorts of Japanese-language eroge and anime merchandise for inflated prices to US residents.  They also sell localized eroge.

 

All you need to worry about is blatant loli and highly offensive sexual content (e.g., bestiality, guro).  As long as such content is not on the cover, you should be alright.  Anything sold by J-List should be in the clear, since they have an outpost in the US.  Do note that J-List doesn't typically carry games with potentially problematic content.

[Cryptah]

J-List offers all sorts of Japanese-language eroge and anime merchandise for inflated prices to US residents.  They also sell localized eroge.

 

All you need to worry about is blatant loli and highly offensive sexual content (e.g., bestiality, guro).  As long as such content is not on the cover, you should be alright.  Anything sold by J-List should be in the clear, since they have an outpost in the US.  Do note that J-List doesn't typically carry games with potentially problematic content.

Sure they do sell stuff, but its really OVERPRICED. You can get stuff from Japan via mail proxy like 30% cheaper and also mailed to you faster.

[RusAnon]

Best shop to get this stuff is AmiAmi http://www.amiami.com/, they ship internationally and they have better prices than anyone else I know. Sadly, they have very limited amount of stuff, so if you didn't preorder, most likely item will be sold out upon release.

https://www.1999.co.jp/ ships internationally too, and has better stocks than amiami, but prices are bit higher (still light-years less than JList).

[ririkosama]

Best shop to get this stuff is AmiAmi http://www.amiami.com/, they ship internationally and they have better prices than anyone else I know. Sadly, they have very limited amount of stuff, so if you didn't preorder, most likely item will be sold out upon release.

https://www.1999.co.jp/ ships internationally too, and has better stocks than amiami, but prices are bit higher (still light-years less than JList).

But they don't have so much goods as amazon.jp..... most of the nendoroids in amiami are sold out. The same as JList....

In fact I have to buy a lot of things from amazon.jp or auction.yahoo.jp, but how to send them to US is a problem. Maybe I can try to use FEDEX.....

Hope that the policemen will not knock at the door tomorrow...

[Steve]

But they don't have so much goods as amazon.jp..... most of the nendoroids in amiami are sold out. The same as JList....

In fact I have to buy a lot of things from amazon.jp or auction.yahoo.jp, but how to send them to US is a problem. Maybe I can try to use FEDEX.....

Hope that the policemen will not knock at the door tomorrow...

 

Yeah for the stuff from yahoo and amazon you need to use some proxy service, which in the end isn't that expensive if you compare to price of like JList (ridiculous). I didn't use the proxy but I know some people who did and it worked for them to Europe.

 

However if the final mailing service can or cannot open your package depends probably on the laws on your country, here you cannot just simply open some random person's package as you want, you might be able to get it open with assistance of police if you for example suspect there is a bomb or a drug or a virus inside (for which they will first scan the package and use dogs to sniff if its a drug) and only then open.

There are some other exceptions and  those are from countries outside of EU where you have to pay a tax (or a duty) if the value is larger than something, however for that you still need to call a tax (duty) officer if you suspect the package has greater value than is stated on it (for example you clearly see its a TV from china and says the value is 5$, the post office worker can probably use this right), but that means at least 2 people have to be present when opening the package and then seal the package and put a stamp on it that it has been opened, checked by duty officer and sealed back and added the correct tax (if it was found the value is actually fake) so the chance of this happening to a random package with H manga is nearly 0%, because the proxy services will clearly state the correct value on the package. And even if the package says お兄ちゃんと妹のシャワータイムのひみつ～　as the content of the package and the worker in the office happens to be able to actually read it, he has absolutely no right to look inside it and check the loli imouto images, that would be breaking law here.

[sanahtlig]

Christopher Handley got nailed by US customs for importing Japanese loli manga and other sexually offensive comics.  I don't know if the details are public knowledge, but customs officials must've opened the package.  Could've been because of the titles on the shipping list, or perhaps it was just a random inspection.  Police later raided his Iowa residence and uncovered more such manga (but no actual child porn).  He pled guilty, so the case never went to trial.

[Steve]

US is indeed dangerous country :/

[ririkosama]

Christopher Handley got nailed by US customs for importing Japanese loli manga and other sexually offensive comics.  I don't know if the details are public knowledge, but customs officials must've opened the package.  Could've been because of the titles on the shipping list, or perhaps it was just a random inspection.  Police later raided his Iowa residence and uncovered more such manga (but no actual child porn).  He pled guilty, so the case never went to trial.

I don't know if it's safe to buy sth R18 but not loli manga. You know, at least it says that they are all above 18. = =||

In fact I don't like loli very much....

 

Hmmm, for safety, I checked it again....

All the games I bought says that "They are all above 18".

[Steve]

Hmmm, for safety, I checked it again....

All the games I bought says that "They are all above 18".

 

Many loli games say that too xD

[Nosebleed]

However if the final mailing service can or cannot open your package depends probably on the laws on your country, here you cannot just simply open some random person's package as you want, you might be able to get it open with assistance of police if you for example suspect there is a bomb or a drug or a virus inside (for which they will first scan the package and use dogs to sniff if its a drug) and only then open.

There are some other exceptions and  those are from countries outside of EU where you have to pay a tax (or a duty) if the value is larger than something, however for that you still need to call a tax (duty) officer if you suspect the package has greater value than is stated on it (for example you clearly see its a TV from china and says the value is 5$, the post office worker can probably use this right), but that means at least 2 people have to be present when opening the package and then seal the package and put a stamp on it that it has been opened, checked by duty officer and sealed back and added the correct tax (if it was found the value is actually fake) so the chance of this happening to a random package with H manga is nearly 0%, because the proxy services will clearly state the correct value on the package. And even if the package says お兄ちゃんと妹のシャワータイムのひみつ～　as the content of the package and the worker in the office happens to be able to actually read it, he has absolutely no right to look inside it and check the loli imouto images, that would be breaking law here.

Here it states in the law that the tax officers are entitled to open your package without prior notice to verify it (mostly to check if the value that came with it is the actual value of the product like you mentioned) and then seal it again. But i had cases where they completely destroyed the package without  a care in the world (which could have resulted in damaged property) and then sealed it back in a really sloppy way. I was seriously mad at that and I'm always afraid to import stuff because of it. So basically i'm not afraid to buy loli stuff (heck they sell uncensored bestiality manga here) but i'm afraid they'll damage it once it arrives. 

When you say you need to use a proxy does it mean that amazon.co.jp doesn't work for residents outside Japan? I live in the EU by the way.

[SieghartXx]

Here it states in the law that the tax officers are entitled to open your package without prior notice to verify it (mostly to check if the value that came with it is the actual value of the product like you mentioned) and then seal it again. But i had cases where they completely destroyed the package without  a care in the world (which could have resulted in damaged property) and then sealed it back in a really sloppy way. I was seriously mad at that and I'm always afraid to import stuff because of it. So basically i'm not afraid to buy loli stuff (heck they sell uncensored bestiality manga here) but i'm afraid they'll damage it once it arrives. 

When you say you need to use a proxy does it mean that amazon.co.jp doesn't work for residents outside Japan? I live in the EU by the way.

That too is one of my fears, to get damaged goods. Although most of the anime-selling pages say that they'll replace the damaged goods or reimburse you, it's still really awful to get them destroyed beacause of the mail service; also, in my case it could take months to get the package, and then I get a damaged good and I have to wait even more to get my items. 

I wonder if I have to go to Japan every time I want to buy something (well, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't mind at all though xD)

[Steve]

When you say you need to use a proxy does it mean that amazon.co.jp doesn't work for residents outside Japan? I live in the EU by the way.

 

No I mean you need proxy shipping service because amazon.co.jp only ships to Japan so this proxy service will accept your order and then send it in a new package to you. Since often times you get free shipping to JP from amazon you basically only pay extra what the proxy service charges for repacking the package and resending it to you and the delivery costs. It is still a lot for my standards but it is still less than buying from JList and such.

 

Proxy there does not mean proxy server.

[ririkosama]

Spent several hours learning US laws, it seems that it's very safe in US to buy VNs.

 

It's illegal if you meet all the 3 things:

 

1, it's a apparent child. (The heroines in VNs are all above 18)

2, it has apparent sexual description (So if you can just see the boob of Elina in a picture, it's ok)

3, It doesn't has art, politics, science value. (For this I think it's ok to buy VNs in US)

 

If you have any troubles about this, you can ask Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) for help. It's free.

[cryofrzd]

Concerning amazon.co.jp sellers that have this: 海外向け ships overseas (as it says), however, there aren't that many sellers that do that.

[sanahtlig]

Spent several hours learning US laws, it seems that it's very safe in US to buy VNs.

 

It's illegal if you meet all the 3 things:

 

1, it's a apparent child. (The heroines in VNs are all above 18)

2, it has apparent sexual description (So if you can just see the boob of Elina in a picture, it's ok)

3, It doesn't has art, politics, science value. (For this I think it's ok to buy VNs in US)

 

If you have any troubles about this, you can ask Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) for help. It's free.

You're paraphrasing the Miller Test.  A true loli-ge (e.g., http://vndb.org/v1620) would fail the first two criteria.  Many eroge would likely pass the third criterium, but some nukige might not.  Even assuming whatever you're trying to import was illegal, you have to factor in the chances of actually being prosecuted--nearly zero since I know of no cases where someone was prosecuted in the US for eroge since the Protect Act of 2003 was passed.

 

However, in the unfortunate case that you DID end up getting prosecuted, you have to put yourself in that person's shoes.  If you appeal to one of these special interests to defend you, you're going to become a national spectacle and paraded in front of the media as a pedophile.  That's life-altering.  Most people would sooner plead guilty and quietly go to jail.

[Nosebleed]

However, in the unfortunate case that you DID end up getting prosecuted, you have to put yourself in that person's shoes.  If you appeal to one of these special interests to defend you, you're going to become a national spectacle and paraded in front of the media as a pedophile.  That's life-altering.  Most people would sooner plead guilty and quietly go to jail.

But even jail hates pedophiles. I remember seeing a documentary on how these types of criminals are looked down upon even in jail. So you can safely assume your life would be pretty much doomed.

But yeah it would be bad being procecuted for loli stuff but i highly doubt it'll go that far. It's a videogame for god sake. You don't see people going to jail for GTA which has all sorts of crimes you can imagine.

[Steve]

You don't see people going to jail for GTA which has all sorts of crimes you can imagine.

 

Only in Japan

http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2014/01/09/man-arrested-for-forcing-9-year-old-to-play-gta/