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--- visualnovel:buying [2025/04/25 08:07] – [What is a Forwarding Service?] Rephrase last sentence for better grammar yesvnsonlinux
+++ visualnovel:buying [2025/06/04 04:26] (current) – Link to archive.org page for Witch Hunt letter, since the site is now owned by a betting company :( yesvnsonlinux
@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 ===== Fan Translation Patches =====
-Unofficial English fan translations exist for some Japanese visual novels, and sometimes the creators respond positively. In the late 2000s, Witch Hunt provided their fan translations as patches for Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and [[https://witch-hunt.com/letter.html|Ryukishi07, the creator of these games, officially endorsed this project]], going so far as to work the name of the translation team into the games.
+Unofficial English fan translations exist for some Japanese visual novels, and sometimes the creators respond positively. In the late 2000s, Witch Hunt provided their fan translations as patches for Umineko no Naku Koro ni, and [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181225055725/http://witch-hunt.com/letter.html|Ryukishi07, the creator of these games, officially endorsed this project]], going so far as to work the name of the translation team into the games.
 While we don’t officially endorse fan translation projects, it’s hard to ignore how many people over the past 20 years were only able to become fans of the medium because of a passionate fan. They helped pave the way for the localization industry we have today. Mainstream game marketplaces like Steam now carry an impressive catalog of visual novels in English, though fan translation projects remain common for less popular games.
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 |**TRADER / TRADER AKIBA** \\ [[http://www.trader.co.jp/shopbrand/a_top/|New Games]] \\ [[http://www.chuko-tsuhan.com/shopbrand/a_top|Second-hand Games]]|Sells both new and second-hand games. TRADER doesn't ship internationally, but they accept foreign credit cards, so you can use a forwarding service or proxy shipping service.|
 |[[http://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/|Mandarake]]                                                                                                                         |Large chain of stores for second-hand goods, like visual novels. All products are sold directly from Mandarake, rather than going through a third-party seller. Ships internationally (make sure to select the English language option to enable international shipping). Does not support undervaluing shipments.                                                                                                                      |
-|[[https://shop.lashinbang.com/products/list?cat=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0&subcat=PC%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0|Lashinbang]]|Popular chain of stores that sell second-hand products, such as PC games. Accepts foreign credit cards, so you can ship internationally with a forwarding service or proxy shipping service.|
+|[[https://shop.lashinbang.com/products/list?cat=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0&subcat=PC%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0|Lashinbang]]|Popular chain of stores that sell second-hand products, such as PC games. Only accepts orders made from a proxy shipping service if you are outside of Japan.|
 |[[https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/|Yahoo! Auctions]]                                                                                                                         |Marketplace for second-hand goods. **All products are sold from a third-party seller who lists their items on the site.** This site is similar to eBay in concept and popularity for Japanese customers. Requires a proxy service to ship internationally.                                                                                                                                                                              |
 |[[https://jp.mercari.com/|Mercari]]                                                                                                                                       |Marketplace for second-hand goods. **All products are sold from a third-party seller who lists their items on the site.** Requires a proxy service to ship internationally; some proxy shipping services will refuse to buy from this site due to a larger risk of scams as compared to Yahoo! Auctions.                                                                                                                                |
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 |**Surugaya** \\ [[https://www.suruga-ya.com/en/category/2|English Site]] \\ [[https://www.suruga-ya.jp/game.html|Japanese Site]]  |Chain of stores for new and second-hand games and other products. All products are sold directly from Surugaya, rather than going through a third-party seller. The English site carries only all-ages releases and ships to a [[https://www.suruga-ya.com/en/qa-detail/45|limited number of countries]]. If the English site doesn’t ship to your country, you may need to buy from the Japanese site with a proxy shipping service.((Surugaya only officially deals with credit cards issued in Japan, but their system //does// allow you to use a foreign credit card. There is a risk they may cancel your order, so bear this in mind.))((See [[https://www.suruga-ya.jp/man/customer_guide/shiharai.html#shiharai2|this section]] on what payment methods Surugaya JP accepts.)) If you want to buy from Surugaya's English site, consider waiting for Surugaya to launch a free shipping campaign, as it does this frequently.|
 |**TRADER / TRADER AKIBA** \\ [[http://www.trader.co.jp/shopbrand/trader_tvgame/|New Games]] \\ [[http://www.chuko-tsuhan.com/|Second-hand Games]]|Sells both new and second-hand games. TRADER doesn't ship internationally, but they accept foreign credit cards, so you can use a forwarding service or proxy shipping service.|
-|[[https://shop.lashinbang.com/products/list?cat=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0&subcat=TV%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%82%BD%E3%83%95%E3%83%88|Lashinbang]]|Popular chain of stores that sell second-hand products, such as console games. Accepts foreign credit cards, so you can ship internationally with a forwarding service or proxy shipping service.|
+|[[https://shop.lashinbang.com/products/list?cat=%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0&subcat=TV%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%82%BD%E3%83%95%E3%83%88|Lashinbang]]|Popular chain of stores that sell second-hand products, such as console games. Only accepts orders made from a proxy shipping service if you are outside of Japan.|
 |[[https://a.sofmap.com/product_list.aspx?gid=002110|Akiba Sofmap]]|Sells new and second-hand games, anime, and hobby projects. Does not ship internationally but accepts foreign credit cards. You can use a forwarding service’s address or buy through a proxy shipping service to ship internationally. ((Sofmap provides information about shipping internationally with their site [[https://www.sofmap.com/contents/?id=crossb&sid=translation_e|here]]. Any forwarding/proxy service should work with Sofmap, but they recommend WorldShipping and directly integrate with it.)).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
 |[[https://ec.geo-online.co.jp/shop/c/c11|GEO]]                           |Sells both new and second hand games. Requires a proxy shipping service.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |