Importing LN raws in 2026: what used TO Books volumes actually cost (¥300 Tearmoon, Bookworm Part 1 set for ¥2,577) and how they get to the US
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The old "Do you import Japanese light novels?" thread is from 2019 and most of it is Kinokuniya vs Amazon JP, so here is a 2026 update from someone who reads the JNC translations first and then buys the raws used to practise. Numbers below are live listings as of 21 September 2026, all in stock when I posted; I only quote prices I checked that day.
Recent volumes barely drop. Suruga-ya (the big used-media chain - the closest US analogy is a Half Price Books that also sells new) has Hannelore's Fifth Year at the Royal Academy vol. 3 (the Bookworm spin-off, April 2026 release, cover ¥1,320) used for ¥1,200 (about $8.28), two copies. Tearmoon vol. 19, which came out on 10 September, is on the same site new at cover price, ¥1,399 (about $9.65). So for anything from the last year or two, used saves you 10% and that is it - buy new and stop feeling clever.
Anything older than about two years falls off a cliff. Tearmoon vol. 15 (Dec 2023, same ¥1,399 cover) is ¥490 (about $3.38) used on Suruga-ya. On Mercari Japan private sellers are lower still: Tearmoon vol. 1 for ¥380 (about $2.62), vol. 4 for ¥320 (about $2.21) ("passed through two owners"), vol. 5 for ¥300 (about $2.07) (a shop seller, "very good, no writing"). ¥300-380 for a B6 softcover TO Books novel (the big format, not bunko) is where the JP used market actually sits once the anime bump has passed.
Sets. Bookworm Part 1 (兵士の娘 1-3, the Kazuki Miya novels, not the Suzuka manga - check the author name because Mercari search mixes them) is listed twice: ¥2,577 (about $17.78) for a copy that the seller openly describes as scuffed, with a dented corner on vol. 3 and "arched" from having something heavy on top, pages fine; and ¥2,700 (about $18.63) for a "used, reads without problems" copy that ships in a waterproof sleeve. That's under ¥900 a volume either way. The honest-to-a-fault condition notes are the thing to get used to: Japanese sellers itemise ヤケ (yellowing), スレ (scuffs) and 折れ (creases) because their buyers care, and the tired-looking listing is usually the bargain.
Learner tip. TO Books also reissues Bookworm under its children's imprint, TO Junior Bunko - Part 3 vol. 9 is on Suruga-ya new at cover, ¥660 (about $4.55). Those are the 総ルビ editions - furigana on every kanji, aimed at primary-school readers - and at ¥660 they are the cheapest legal way to read Myne in Japanese with training wheels.
Getting them to the US. Neither Suruga-ya nor Mercari ships abroad (Mercari won't even let you register without a Japanese phone number), so you go through a proxy: they buy, receive at a Japanese warehouse, consolidate, and ship one box. For a 1 kg box (three TO Books novels) to a US address the quotes I got today were $20.99 by ECMS (economy air, 10-20 days) or $33.12 by DHL (3-7 days); Japan Post EMS/airmail/seamail simply isn't offered on the US lane right now, which surprised me. I wrote up how Suruga-ya's condition grades, 管理番号 stock codes and shop-vs-marketplace listings work here: how to buy from Suruga-ya from abroad. If you want to see what the raw listings look like, this is the Japanese-language search for TO Books light novels I was browsing.
Is anyone else pairing the JNC translation with the raw? I'd be curious whether people bother with paper at all or just buy the Kindle JP edition.
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Qualifies for "Interesting information I'd no idea I needed to know."
Well presented.
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I've had a lot of luck importing used books (which I only do if it's out of print, the new prices are already fairly affordable even for tankobon) from Buyee, which I only leaned recently has a feature on their site that will search multiple stores. (They do charge separate fees if you're ordering from multiple stories, then you can have them bundle that into a single package to send to you.)
Since I'm mostly doing this for older stuff by authors I'm catching up on, I'll add that early volumes are often only 100 yen, but last volumes can be double or triple the cover price. There just weren't as many copies printed in the first place, and since the series ended, no reprints; at least one took several tries to even find a copy that hadn't been sold out from under the listing. (I assume, since the seller cancelled after the order was placed.)
