Proxy-buying from JP?

[Hrodgar]

Hello.

Since I am a Japanaholic, I always crawl around the web for different and funny things to buy.

I also have two hobbies (Kendo and Airsoft) which originate from Japan and sometimes I find interesting things I would like to buy from Japanese websites.

Most often though, the websites have no tolerance for Gaijin like me so they dont have an english site and even if I can autotranslate so I can navigate the site, they dont ship internationally.

I have found some proxy-buying sites with various credibility so I was wondering how you lot do it, if you do it?

Is it easy to find a "real life" person that can help you instead of a company specializing in it, or do you have great references from some site thats easy to go through without having to pay like 100% extra and paying everything in advance?

[MMM]

Proxy means you have to pay money. They provide a service that you cannot do on your own.

I don't think it is the websites have "no tolerance" for foreigners as much as they are not intended for overseas buyers. That is why proxy buying services exist.

[Hrodgar]

Well yes. I was a bit scetchy in my choice of words.

Of course a proxyservice will cost me extra money compared to buying it directly, but I have found a wide variety within these services of costs and how to buy it.

What I was hoping was some good advice of which services to be aware of (scammers or overpricers) and which to use. :-)

Would it be okay otherwise to ask for someone to help me buy stuff, to be my helpful proxybuyer, through the looking for friends-forum?