Shopping Guide
If you’re interested in buying some of Ayu’s music, you may be surprised to find it’s more accessible than previously thought. Thanks to digital music providers like iTunes and Avex’s own Mu-Mo Shop, her music is now available on the cheap for fans all over the world. Moreover, as she continues to actively promote her music across Asia, physical CDs and DVDs are become increasingly more widely available.
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Where To Buy Locally
If you’re in the US, you may have already searched for Ayu products on online stores like Amazon and Target and seen the horrible $60, even $100 list price. This ridiculous price is more than likely the vendor’s way of handling the cost to import it from Japan, and it is most definitely not a price you should have to pay for an Ayu CD!
However, before you jump down to the list of recommended vendors from which to import, keep in mind that there are some less expensive ways to buy Ayu music locally
In 2008, Ayu’s then-latest album GUILTY was released on all local versions of the iTunes Music Store. Additionally, the US store has almost all of her albums and a good selection of singles available.
Where to Import
Please keep in mind that although physical CDs are not issued in major European or North American markets, digital albums are available from iTunes. I understand wanting to have the physical release for the beautiful booklet (or not owning an iPod), but if you’re open to using the iTunes store, please consider buying it locally. It is significantly less expensive and will show Avex that there’s a demand in your market (i.e. incentive to release more!)
Amazon Japan
- Carries CDs, DVDs, Books, Magazines etc.
- Product information is in Japanese, but purchasing options can be displayed in English.
- “International Express Shipping” is the only option for overseas customers–fast but very expensive!
- Amazon Marketplace sellers ship independently and can therefore mail your package out for lower (slower) rates. However, re-sellers willing to ship outside of Japan at all are small in number. Even so, a little bargain hunting can get you a great deal.
- For best results search using the kana spelling 浜崎あゆみ
Yesasia.com
- Has a consistent stock of CDs and DVDs from a wide variety of regions.
- Also stocks books and backorder magazines, but my personal experience has found it unreliable for this purpose.
- As of Summer 2008, Yesasia began stocking official tour merchandise. It is the only international retailer to do so.
- Website is available in English, though some product information is only available in Japanese
- Shipping is relatively inexpensive or completely free. Unlike most retailers, Yesasia offers many comprehensive shipping options and packages its shipments very securely
- Promotional posters are rolled in a cardboard tube for shipment
- In 2009, Yesasia.com announced that all sales of “Japanese version” albums will count towards the album’s Oricon Style Ranking
CDJapan.jp
http://cdjapan.co.jp
- Carries CDs, DVDs, and some collectibles (calendars)
- Website and product information completely in English, though it is usually sparse on details. The Japanese-language descriptions are more complete.
- In 2009, CDJapan began taking pre-orders for specific magazine issues featuring popular artists like Ayu. However, magazine and book supplies are low, and they sell out quickly.
- Shipping is more expensive than Yesasia, but the list price is usually less expensive. It also has comprehensive shipment options
- Sales count towards Oricon Style Ranking
- Promotional posters are rolled in a cardboard box for shipment
HMV.co.jp
- Stocks CDs, DVDs, Games, and Books.
- Website and product information available in English
- Overseas customers can only have items shipped by EMS
- Sales do count towards Oricon Style Ranking
- Usually has substantial discounts on CDs and DVDs
- Folds promotional posters for shipment
- For best results search using the kana spelling 浜崎あゆみ
Avex’s Mu-Mo Shop allows international customers to buy digital copies of its music (it will not ship merchandise overseas–see below for middle man services). This music is in Windows format and copy-protected, so I have not tried it for my Mac-using, iPod carrying self. All product and purchasing information is in Japanese.
Where to Import Concert Goods
As was mentioned above, the official Avex Mu-Mo Shop that sells all of Ayu’s special tour goods in addition to CDs, etc does not ship merchandise overseas. Although Yesasia recently began stocking a select few tour goods, chances are you will still end up wanting to buy from Mu-Mo for the latest goods.
Shopping From Mu-Mo and other Japan-only vendors
Mail Forwarding Services — Tenso
Tenso.com is a unique, relatively new service that sets up a kind of virtual Japanese mailing address and forwards your mail for a fee. This way, you can buy Japanese goods–including subscriptions like Ayu’s official fanclub–with your own credit card, and pay a fee to Tenso whenever you’re ready for them to ship your goods.
- Allows international fans to shop on their own with their own credit card–no middle man shopping fees.
- Expects users to pay initial shipping fee from vendor to Tenso, as well as shipping fee (by weight) and a flat service fee per each shipment from Tenso to you
- Can choose to consolidate shipments
- Accepts payment via Paypal
- Allows international fans to join Official Fanclub
- Acknowledged by Mu-Mo as a solution for international fans (Or: Mu-Mo has chosen to look the other way)
This is the only service acknowledged by Mu-Mo. Although it officially has a Japan-only policy–especially for fanclubs–earlier this year, Mu-Mo quietly re-directed international fans who tried to buy Team Ayu merchandise to this service. Ayu herself intervened to allow international fans to continue using Tenso as a means for participating in Team Ayu. More information on this can be found at
I have not used this service to join Team Ayu, but I have used it to purchase Ayupan from Mu-Mo Shop with success. My only advice is to make sure you notify your credit card provider before making the purchase.
Middle Man Services — Crescent Shop
- Shops and/or bids on Japanese-language auctions for the user
- Expects users to pay a service fee, initial shipping fee from vendor to middle man, as well as shipping fee (by weight) and a service fee proportionate to the item’s price per each shipment from the middle man to you
- Fees differ greatly from service to service, but they can get very expensive
- Accepts payment via Paypal
- Crescent Shop allows users to consolidate shipments
- Crescent Shop provides a unique, real-time, English interface for browsing and bidding on Yahoo! Auctions
There are many “middle man” services available online that specialize in buying Japanese goods on a request basis and ship them to international shoppers at a fee. I personally have only used Crescent Shop (multiple times to great success), and thus they are the only shop I can recommend. As a general rule, keep in mind that middle man services can be very pricey, and you should always ask around and do comprehensive research before deciding to go with a middle man service.
Shopping Second-Hand
Many of Ayu’s older singles and collectibles are out of print, so the only way to obtain a copy would be to buy them second-hand. Obviously there are many eBay sellers, though you will probably have to go to Japan-based auctions and marketplaces to find the widest selection at any given time.
The Amazon Japan Marketplace is a great way to look for out of print items because all shipping options are viewable in English, Amazon’s buyer protection isn’t as murky as eBay’s (though it may play differently in practice), and — as was mentioned in the import section — resellers will ship their goods to you at a lower cost than the Amazon standard rate. The one problem is that most Marketplace sellers do not ship to overseas fans. However, a little bargain hunting (and some luck) will take you a long way.
In Japan, Yahoo! Auctions is the premier online auction site, not eBay, and searching for Ayu (浜崎あゆみ) will give you a wide variety of results–everything from jewelry to concert pamphlets. However, Yahoo! suffers from the same limited userbase as Amazon, meaning that most sellers are not willing to ship products overseas, and there is the added hurdle of not having an English-language interface.
This leads many fans back to the middle man services discussed earlier. Taking a certain percentage of the auction price as a fee, these services take care of all of the bidding and seller communications. One of the reasons I continue to use Crescent Shop is because they have constructed a nice, English-language interface for browsing Yahoo! Auctions and bidding on items. However, be aware that this option can become expensive fairly quickly, as you will be expected to pay for the shipping from the original seller to the middle man, and then again from the middle man to you in addition to the fees for the actual transaction and middle man service. I cannot stress enough how important it is to thoroughly research the both middle man service and seller before making a commitment.
I recently came across this excellent guide to using Yahoo! Auctions: Dealing with Yahoo Japan Auctions (Daryl’s Library). In addition to an image-heavy guide to interpreting the Japanese-language interface, it also includes an extensive list of middle man services to help you win your auctions.
Buyer Beware!
One thing to really be aware of before you buy is knowing the authentic products from the fakes. There are a number of companies based in Asia that solely ship out pirated material. Although these products are considerably less expensive than the originals, the quality of both the packaging and the music itself is absolutely horrendous. To avoid purchasing pirated CDs, it’s important to be able to recognize a few of the trade’s tricks. Although it may seem like you’re getting a deal, you’re definitely getting cheated out of a quality product.
Known OFFICIAL distributors
These are official distributors of Ayu’s music. Remember to check logos if you can.
- Avex Entertainment INC (Japan and parts of Asia)
- Warner Music (China only–has the Avex logo on the packaging)
- SM Entertainment (Korea only–has the Avex logo on the packaging)
- Drizzly (European remix singles ~2000–2004; has Avex logo on the packaging)
Known Pirates
These distributors specialize in counterfeit music CDs. Please avoid products from these companies!
- EverAnime
- Miya Records
- K-O Records
- SonMay Records
For more information, SEASONS has compiled an incredible list of known bootlegs as well as tell-tale signs to help you avoid them.
Japanese or Overseas?
Due to Ayu’s massive popularity throughout Asia, vendors like Yesasia list multiple versions of her music CDs and DVDs: “Korean version,” “Hong Kong version,” or sometimes just the blanket label of “Overseas version”. They are virtually the same as the Japanese editions except the overseas versions are considerably less expensive and are often released a few weeks after the Japanese version (Yesasia usually makes them available for pre-order within days of the Japanese release). They usually come with the same first press bonuses and will have an extra lyric slip with the phonetics transcribed in the local script. By now I probably own an equal number of Japanese and various overseas albums; I don’t believe there’s a reason to pay more for the Japanese version if you don’t mind waiting the extra few weeks between releases.
The only time a difference in quality is really apparent is in the DVDs. All Japan version DVDs are region 2 (meaning you must have a DVD player from that region to watch it), while some overseas counterparts are actually VCDs (Yesasia will clearly label it as a VCD if that’s the case). While the VCDs don’t require a specific region of DVD player–thus making them more accessible to most international fans–the quality of the the video and packaging isn’t as high as those of the DVD. The exception to this rule is the CD+DVD album and single releases. If you order the Overseas version of a CD+DVD, you will receive a region 3 DVD instead of a VCD.
What’s up with these prices?
If you’ve already looked through your options and have compared prices, you are probably wondering just why her music–or any CD from that region, for that matter–is so expensive. Although the shipping to you is usually figured in later, it also costs for the original source to ship the product to them before they can send it to you; therefore, a lot of it’s paying the middle man. However, it’s also notable that, as a rule, CDs just cost more in Japan. According to the RIA of Japan, the average, full-length CD can cost anywhere between between $23 and $28. I hope that doesn’t scare you off, though. Ayu’s albums are of the best quality and worth the price.
However, if the Japanese price is too scary, there is always the overseas version to consider.
Ayu on a Budget
The biggest complaint among international fans is just how expensive Ayu’s work is. Although overseas versions have helped ebb the pain a little ($17 for a CD is certainly better than $30), it still costs notably more than Domestic Artist X’s latest release for $9. I consider my Ayu albums to be well-loved and worth every penny, and I would certainly encourage anyone to invest in her discography (at least the main albums), but I’ve been building my collection for the past decade; there’s no way I could have gone out and purchased everything at once. Therefore, I hope this will help fans support Ayu while still being able to afford food. Some of these points may seem self-explanatory, but I hope you take the time to consider them, anyway.
Knowing what you want
Ayu is constantly re-inventing herself as an artist, and her sound has evolved since her 1998 debut. Therefore, even if some songs wander from the formula, each album has an overall distinct style. If you’re buying an album without knowing which “Ayu” you prefer, you run the risk of paying for something very different than what you fell in love with; if that’s the case, you’re going to be disappointed no matter how great the album is.
Ayu’s official site hosted at Avex has included an in-browser media player to sample any song from her official discography (english mirror). Just click any album or single cover to sample it before you buy.
Singles versus Albums
Many fans’ first Ayu purchase–mine included–was a CD single rather than a full-length album. CD singles are less expensive than full albums for obvious reasons, and many of her earlier singles came with dozens of remix tracks, so you weren’t paying for just the title song.
Having said that, I’d recommend saving for an album before buying a single. With 15–17 original songs–not to mention the pretty booklet–you get a lot more for the money, though it really comes down to personal preference. If you just can’t live without having an Ayu CD right now, then at least look into the “initial” singles (A, H, and &), as these have four original songs in addition to the remixes and/or instrumental tracks.
It should also be noted that most recent singles have scaled back on additional audio tracks in favor of a DVD. The DVD only plays in the region of the intended audience (2 for Japan releases, 3 for other East Asian releases), so you will need a DVD player from this region to play them. This is certainly something to consider when purchasing her newer singles (not to mention the CD+DVD albums). A CD-only edition is less expensive than the CD+DVD version of the same album.
“Overseas” really isn’t bad
A lot of people claim that the overseas releases are grossly inferior to their original Japan counterparts. This just is not the case for Ayu’s audio CDs. You aren’t missing anything by choosing to pay $19 for an album instead of $29; I promise. The First Press editions of the overseas albums are even available with the same bonus material most of the time.
Get a digital album!
After the European “AYU” remixes were removed from iTunes Music Stores outside of Germany, select Japanese albums and singles were added to the US iTunes Music Store! Songs cost $0.99 cents a pop, while albums vary from $7.92 to $19.98 depending on the number of tracks. In addition, the album GUILTY has been added to 21 international iTunes Music Stores. A sign of things to come? Only if people will buy them!
Similarly, although the official Avex store Mu-Mo Shop will not ship merchandise overseas, it does allow overseas fans to buy digital music.
