Japanese shopping terms you will actually run into
You do not need to read Japanese to shop in Japan, but a couple of dozen recurring words decide whether a listing is a good deal. These are the ones that appear constantly on Japanese shopping sites.
How to use this
Machine translation handles Japanese product pages reasonably well, but it consistently mangles exactly these terms — the short, conventional phrases that carry the commercial meaning. 即決 rendered as "immediate decision" is not wrong, but it does not tell you it means Buy It Now.
If a listing uses a term you cannot find here, send us the link and ask. Reading the page is part of what we do.
| Japanese | Reading | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 送料無料 | sōryō muryō | Free domestic shipping, often above a spend threshold. |
| 即決 | sokketsu | Buy It Now on an auction — secures the item without waiting for it to end. |
| 値下げ交渉 | nesage kōshō | Price negotiation. Widely accepted on Mercari and Rakuma. |
| 予約 | yoyaku | Preorder. Charged when the item ships, often months later. |
| 特典 | tokuten | A store-exclusive bonus included with a purchase, in limited numbers. |
| 限定 | gentei | Limited — by quantity, by period, or to one particular store. |
| 在庫あり / 在庫切れ | zaiko ari / zaiko gire | In stock / out of stock. |
| 入荷待ち | nyūka machi | Awaiting restock — orderable, but not yet available to ship. |
| 中古 | chūko | Secondhand. |
| 新品 | shinpin | Brand new. |
| 税込 / 税抜 | zeikomi / zeinuki | Tax included / tax excluded. Check which price you are reading. |
| 福袋 | fukubukuro | New Year lucky bag — a sealed assortment sold well below retail. |
| まとめ買い | matome gai | Buying several items together, often at a discount. |
| 発送元 | hassō moto | Where the item ships from — relevant to domestic delivery time. |
| ネコポス / ゆうパケット | nekoposu / yū paketto | Cheap domestic small-parcel services used by most sellers. |
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