The 90-Day Japanese Card Seller Roadmap

Read this first

This guide is for an individual seller who wants to source Japanese Pokemon cards and resell them through eBay, TCGplayer, Whatnot, a card show, or a small online store. It is designed for the first 90 days: the period in which you should learn whether one customer group, one sales channel, one product format, and one supplier can work together as a repeatable business.

The goal is not a large first order. The goal is a complete loop:

1. Define who you sell to.
2. Calculate the real cost before you buy.
3. Check the supplier and the exact stock.
4. Place one controlled test order.
5. Sell and record what happened.
6. Reorder, revise, or stop using written rules.

No guide can promise profit. Product demand changes, card prices move, platform fees change, exchange rates change, and import rules depend on your country and transaction. Treat every percentage and threshold as a value to verify on the date you list or order. The workbook supplied with this guide leaves those items as inputs so that you can use the current figures that apply to you.

Pokemon and related names are trademarks of their respective owners. PSA, eBay, TCGplayer, Whatnot, Wise, and PayPal are trademarks or services of their respective owners. Akina is not presented here as an affiliate or official partner of those companies.

What should you be able to decide on Day 90?

By Day 90, you should be able to finish this sentence:

I will reorder, revise, or stop this product group because the first order produced ___ contribution profit, ___ percent 30-day sell-through, ___ days of cash recovery, and ___ supplier issues.

If you cannot fill those blanks, a larger order would increase uncertainty rather than remove it.

Your first 90 days are therefore a sequence of exit gates. You advance only when the current gate is complete.

Akina product roadmap: Bundles, then PSA, then sealed boxes

The sequence below is a recommended path for a seller who still needs repeatable sales evidence. It is not a rule that every seller must follow. Stay in the current stage until its transition gate is supported by your own sales, cost, and cash records.

Do not advance because the next format appears more valuable. Advance because the current stage produced enough evidence to control the next risk.

Start today: a 30-minute setup

Do these four things before reading the full guide:

1. Choose one primary channel. Pick the channel where you can list or sell within seven days, not the channel with the largest theoretical audience.
2. Choose one product format. Use sealed boxes, graded cards, raw singles, or curated mixed cards. Do not test all four in the same first order.
3. Set a cash-loss ceiling. This is the amount you can lose without borrowing, delaying essential bills, or preventing a second test.
4. Open the workbook and complete the Business Setup tab. If a field is unknown, write UNKNOWN instead of guessing.

You now have a decision frame. The rest of the guide helps you replace each UNKNOWN with evidence.

Part I - Days 1-7: Choose a business that fits one person

1. Start with a customer, not a card

A card can be attractive, scarce, or inexpensive and still be wrong for your business. The useful question is: who will buy this from you, through which channel, at which price band, and how quickly?

For the first 90 days, choose one of four operating shapes.

The marketplace lister

You list individual items or small lots on eBay, TCGplayer, another regional marketplace, or your own store. Your advantage can come from searchable listings, accurate condition notes, reliable fulfillment, or stock that is difficult to find locally.

Your main constraints are listing time, marketplace fees, item-level price competition, returns, and the delay between paying for inventory and receiving the payout.

Use this path when you can photograph, identify, grade conservatively, list, and ship each item accurately.

The live seller or breaker

You sell through a scheduled stream. Your inventory must work in a live sequence: it needs recognizable names, visible variety, clear price points, and enough depth to keep the session moving.

Your main constraints are show cadence, audience size, per-transaction fees, preparation time, and the risk of filling a stream with stock that requires long explanations.

Use this path when you already have a show slot or can schedule one within the test window.

The card-show seller

You sell in person at a booth or table. Your stock must cover several price bands, be easy to browse, and fit the event audience. A booth may need inexpensive discovery items, recognizable mid-ticket cards, and a small number of attention anchors.

Your main constraints are event timing, table fees, travel, physical merchandising, theft control, and having cash tied up until the event.

Use this path when a real event date is already booked or available within 60 days.

The small store or community seller

You sell through a local community, social page, private group, or small web shop. Your advantage may be trust, curation, language, local pickup, or repeat service.

Your main constraints are customer acquisition, payment collection, local tax and business rules, and the temptation to buy a wide catalog before demand is visible.

Use this path when you can name at least ten reachable prospects or have recent customer requests.

2. Define one customer in observable terms

Avoid a description such as "collectors who like Japanese cards." It cannot guide a purchase. Use behavior that you can observe:

• Buys through your selected channel.
• Has bought within the last 90 days.
• Uses a recognizable price band.
• Asks for named Pokemon, sets, rarity bands, or condition grades.
• Has a reason to prefer Japanese-language cards.
• Can be reached before or during your first sales window.

A usable statement looks like this:

I sell Japanese raw singles priced between 8 and 25 local currency units to collectors who browse my monthly card-show table and ask for named Pokemon.

This statement determines what you should not buy. A sealed box may be attractive, but it does not serve that test. A graded card may have a good market price, but it does not fill the target price band.

3. Choose one product format

Sealed boxes

Sealed product is easier to identify and often faster to list, but the economics can be dominated by freight per box, reprint risk, seal condition, and local price compression. Confirm the exact product name, set code where relevant, shrink condition, quantity, and stock date. A familiar box is not automatically a good resale item if several sellers already hold the same inventory.

Graded cards

Graded cards create an item-level condition reference, but the grade does not remove the need to inspect the exact holder, label, certification record, scratches, and market depth. Verify certification through the grading company's official service and review current sold evidence for the same language, card, set, and grade.

Raw singles

Raw singles can match specific customer requests and price bands, but they require careful identification, condition description, photography, and storage. Your margin must pay for the time spent handling each item. A raw-card model with a small spread can fail even when every card sells.

Curated mixed cards

A curated lot can serve live sellers and show tables when the composition matches what the audience buys. Ask how duplicates, condition, rarity, named characters, and unwanted cards are handled. A per-card price is incomplete when part of the lot will never sell.

Read deeper:

• Where to buy Japanese Pokemon cards for resale
• Japanese bulk lots and sorted bundles
• Sealed boxes or PSA-graded cards?

4. Write the first hypothesis

Use this structure:

If I offer [product format] to [customer] through [channel] at [price band], then I expect to sell [units or percentage] within [days], while keeping contribution profit above [amount or percentage].

This is not a forecast to defend. It is a proposition to test. Write the failure condition beside it:

I will stop or redesign the offer if sell-through is below [threshold], contribution profit is non-positive, or more than [threshold] of units have condition or identity issues.

The workbook's Business Setup tab stores both statements.

Days 1-7 exit gate

Advance only when all six boxes are complete:

• One primary customer is defined by behavior.
• One sales channel is selected.
• One product format is selected.
• One selling price band is selected.
• One cash-loss ceiling is written.
• One pass and one stop condition are written.

Akina product step 1 - Bundles: If the first test needs enough variety to learn which characters and price bands move, review Akina's Japanese card bundles. Keep the order tied to one customer, one channel, and one written sell-through test.

Part II - Days 8-14: Calculate the real cost before you buy

5. Build the cost stack in the correct order

The supplier's unit price is the first cost, not the total cost. Build the model at order level, then allocate it to units.

Order-level inbound costs

1. Inventory purchase price in the supplier's currency.
2. Domestic shipping inside Japan, if charged.
3. International freight.
4. Shipping insurance or declared-value protection, if purchased.
5. Payment method fee.
6. Foreign-exchange fee or spread.
7. Import duty, if applicable.
8. VAT, GST, sales tax, or other import tax, if applicable.
9. Customs brokerage or carrier clearance fee.
10. Local inbound transport from the carrier or warehouse.

The sum is the total landed cost of the order.

Unit-level selling costs

1. Marketplace commission.
2. Payment processing fee.
3. Fixed per-order or per-transaction fee.
4. Outbound shipping that you pay.
5. Packaging and consumables.
6. Advertising or promoted-listing fee tied to the sale.
7. Expected returns, refunds, chargebacks, or loss allowance.
8. Your handling time, if you want to test whether the model pays for labor.

Do not combine inbound freight with outbound customer shipping. They occur at different stages and respond to different decisions.

6. Use contribution profit, not markup alone

Markup compares profit with cost. Margin compares profit with revenue. Both can be useful, but neither is complete until all variable costs are included.

Use these formulas:

Total landed cost = purchase + Japan domestic freight + international freight
                  + insurance + payment/FX fees + duty + import tax
                  + clearance + local inbound freight

Landed cost per unit = total landed cost / saleable units received

Net revenue per unit = selling price - marketplace fees - payment fees
                     - seller-paid delivery - packaging - loss allowance

Contribution profit per unit = net revenue per unit - landed cost per unit

Contribution margin = contribution profit per unit / selling price

If some items have very different values, do not allocate all inbound cost equally. Use weight, declared value, unit count, or another documented allocation basis. Keep the method consistent so that two orders can be compared.

7. Calculate a minimum viable selling price

When platform and payment fees are percentage-based, a simple selling-price formula is:

Minimum viable price = (landed cost per unit + fixed selling costs
                       + target contribution profit)
                       / (1 - total variable fee rate)

This formula fails if the total variable fee rate is 100 percent or more. It also becomes misleading if taxes, shipping, or commissions use different calculation bases. For example, one platform may charge commission on the item price while payment processing applies to the order total including buyer-paid shipping and tax. Use the platform's current official fee definition and, where needed, model the components separately.

Official fee definitions change. Confirm them at the time of listing:

• eBay selling fees
• TCGplayer fees
• Whatnot seller fees
• Wise Business fees

The workbook does not lock in the fee rates shown on those pages. It asks you to enter the current rate and fixed fee that apply to your account, region, category, and seller status.

8. Add cash timing

Two orders can have the same profit and very different risk. Record these dates:

• Supplier payment date.
• Dispatch date.
• Import clearance date.
• Inventory available-for-sale date.
• Customer sale date.
• Marketplace payout date.
• Refund or dispute reserve release date, if applicable.

Cash conversion days run from supplier payment to usable payout. A profitable item that takes 120 days to return cash may be unsuitable for a seller who needs a 30-day reorder cycle.

Use two limits:

• Inventory exposure: maximum cash held in unsold stock.
• Reorder reserve: cash that stays untouched until the first order has produced evidence.

9. Work a hypothetical example

The following numbers are fictional and are not a quote or expected result.

Suppose a test order contains 50 saleable cards.

Landed cost per card is 1,360 in the same currency unit. If selling costs total 15 percent plus 100 fixed per transaction, and you require 400 contribution profit per card, the simplified minimum price is:

(1,360 + 100 + 400) / (1 - 0.15) = 2,188.24

Rounded pricing, customer-paid shipping, taxes, multi-item orders, and actual platform bases may change the result. The purpose of the example is to expose the cost stack before the order is paid.

10. Check your border responsibility

The importer is responsible for correct classification, valuation, admissibility, records, and payment under the rules that apply to the destination. A supplier's shipping quote does not settle those obligations.

Use official country tools before ordering:

• United States: CBP basic importing and exporting and the USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule
• United Kingdom: GOV.UK EORI guidance and the UK Trade Tariff
• Canada: CBSA commercial importing and the Canadian Customs Tariff
• Australia: Australian Border Force buying online, import declarations, and GST and other taxes

If classification or tax treatment is unclear, contact the authority or a licensed customs professional. This guide is operational education, not legal or tax advice.

Read deeper:

• Import duty, VAT, and landed cost
• How to calculate margin on Japanese boxes
• How to price from Japanese source costs
• Importing into the USA
• Importing into the UK
• Importing into Canada
• Importing into Australia

Days 8-14 exit gate

Advance only when:

• Every inbound cost line has a value or a documented verification task.
• Marketplace percentage fees and fixed fees are entered from current official terms.
• Minimum viable price fits recent comparable sold evidence.
• Contribution profit is positive under a base case.
• A downside case still stays within your cash-loss ceiling.
• Importer responsibility and customs verification route are written.

Part III - Days 15-21: Verify the supplier and the exact stock

11. Separate identity, capability, and transaction evidence

A trustworthy social profile is not enough. A low price is not enough. A previous successful parcel is not enough for the next high-value order. Check three layers.

Identity evidence

• Legal or trading name.
• Business address or verifiable operating location where appropriate.
• Consistent payment beneficiary.
• Established communication channel.
• Relevant business registration where legally required and reasonably available.
• References or transaction history that can be independently checked.

Capability evidence

• Can source the requested product, language, set, grade, and quantity.
• Can show the actual stock or identify when images are examples.
• Can state condition and packaging method.
• Can quote dispatch timing and carrier options.
• Can prepare an accurate commercial invoice.
• Can explain what happens when availability changes.

Transaction evidence

• Dated written quotation.
• Item description and quantity.
• Unit price and currency.
• Shipping and insurance.
• Payment method and beneficiary.
• Importer of record and duty responsibility.
• Dispatch window.
• Cancellation, shortage, damage, and discrepancy process.

The three layers solve different problems. Identity checks reduce impersonation risk. Capability checks reduce fulfillment risk. Transaction evidence reduces ambiguity about this specific order.

12. Ask for exact-stock evidence

For sealed product, request the exact product name, quantity, shrink or seal condition, visible damage, and dated photos when practical.

For graded cards, request the exact card, set, language, grade, certification number, holder condition, and front-and-back images. Verify the certification number through the grading company's official service. PSA states that certification verification does not eliminate all counterfeit-holder or label risk, so the certification record should be one part of the check.

• PSA certification verification

For raw singles, request front-and-back images, condition standard, known flaws, quantity, and how identical cards are distinguished.

For mixed cards, request the rarity range, duplicate policy, condition floor, named inclusions or exclusions, actual composition method, and whether the supplier chooses against your customer brief.

13. Compare payment methods by control, not price alone

Payment methods differ in fees, speed, evidence, chargeback exposure, and purchase protection. These features can vary by country, account, transaction type, item, and terms in effect.

Before paying, write down:

• Who receives the funds.
• Which currency is sent and received.
• The quoted fee and exchange rate.
• What records you will retain.
• Whether buyer or purchase protection applies to this transaction.
• Which deadlines and exclusions apply to a dispute.
• What happens if the supplier requests a different beneficiary at the last moment.

A lower fee can be appropriate after a relationship is proven, but a first order also has to purchase evidence and recourse. Do not describe a payment method as protected until you have read the current terms for your country and transaction.

Read deeper:

• How to check a Pokemon card supplier in Japan
• Paying a Japanese card supplier: Wise or PayPal
• Buying PSA 10 cards from Japan

14. Score the supplier

The workbook uses ten configurable checks, scored 0, 1, or 2:

1. Identity can be verified.
2. Payment beneficiary matches the stated party or has a written explanation.
3. Exact-stock photos or equivalent evidence are available.
4. The quotation is dated and itemized.
5. Availability and dispatch timing are current.
6. Shipping, insurance, and tracking terms are written.
7. Importer and duty responsibility are written.
8. The payment method and recourse are understood.
9. Shortage, damage, and discrepancy handling are written.
10. References or prior performance can be checked.

Default interpretation in the workbook:

• 16-20: eligible for a small test, subject to your judgment.
• 12-15: resolve the missing checks before payment.
• 0-11: hold.

These thresholds are an internal decision aid, not an external certification. A single critical failure can override the total. Examples include a changed payment beneficiary with no explanation, refusal to identify the exact stock, pressure to avoid written terms, or inconsistent identity evidence.

Days 15-21 exit gate

Advance only when:

• Supplier identity and payment beneficiary are consistent.
• Exact stock is evidenced.
• The written quote is dated and itemized.
• Availability and dispatch timing are current.
• Shipping, tracking, and insurance are understood.
• Import responsibility is written.
• Payment recourse is understood.
• The discrepancy process is written.
• Critical red flags are zero.

Part IV - Days 22-30: Design the first order as a test

15. Write the order brief before asking for a quote

A budget alone does not tell a supplier what should be in the parcel. Send a brief with these fields:

• Destination country and postal code.
• Primary sales channel.
• Customer and price band.
• Product format.
• Named products, sets, Pokemon, rarity, or grade.
• Quantity range.
• Condition floor.
• Duplicate policy.
• Maximum inventory budget.
• Maximum total landed budget.
• Latest acceptable delivery date.
• Required photos or verification.
• Acceptable substitutions.
• Items that must not be substituted.
• Target sell-through window.
• Pass, revise, and stop conditions.

The supplier should be able to answer the brief with an itemized quote, current availability, and questions about conflicts. If the reply only states a total price, the order is not ready.

16. Keep the test internally coherent

A good first order tests one business hypothesis. Examples:

• Fifty raw singles in one defined price band for one card show.
• A small group of graded cards for eBay listings with a 60-day sale window.
• One sealed-product family with enough units to test freight allocation and local price competition.
• One curated mixed-card set for two Whatnot sessions.

A poor first order mixes sealed boxes, slabs, low-priced singles, speculative products, and customer requests. If it fails, you will not know whether the problem was the supplier, freight, demand, product, price, or channel.

17. Preserve the ability to run a second test

Set the first-order budget from the downside case. After paying the supplier, freight, border costs, and setup costs, you should still retain:

• Essential personal and business cash.
• Expected import and clearance charges.
• Refund or return reserve.
• One reorder reserve or one alternative-test reserve.

Do not use credit to hide a model that cannot return cash before payment is due. Financing may be appropriate in an established business with predictable cash flows, but it is a poor substitute for first-order evidence.

18. Define pass, revise, and stop before payment

Example rules, to be replaced with your own:

Pass

• At least 60 percent of saleable units sell within 30 days.
• Contribution profit remains positive after actual fees and losses.
• Supplier discrepancies affect no more than 2 percent of units.
• Recovered cash can fund the proposed reorder without using essential reserves.

Revise

• Demand exists but price, product mix, listing quality, or timing is wrong.
• Contribution profit is positive but cash recovery is slower than planned.
• Supplier performance is acceptable but one written process needs correction.

Stop

• Contribution profit is negative under actual results.
• Condition, authenticity, identity, or quantity discrepancies are material.
• The supplier does not resolve documented problems.
• A legal, tax, platform, or trademark issue prevents compliant resale.
• The next order would require cash outside the agreed exposure limit.

Read deeper:

• First order checklist for Japanese Pokémon cards
• How to buy Pokemon cards directly from Japan
• How to read a Japanese sealed-box list

Days 22-30 exit gate

Place the order only when:

• The brief and quote describe the same products and quantities.
• Actual photos or verification evidence have been reviewed.
• Total landed downside stays within the cash-loss ceiling.
• Delivery timing fits the sales event or listing plan.
• Substitutions are controlled.
• Pass, revise, and stop conditions are written.
• Evidence is stored with the payment and shipment records.

Part V - Days 31-60: Receive, list, sell, and record

19. Receive the parcel as an evidence event

Do not move items directly from the parcel into listings. Create a receiving record.

1. Photograph the unopened parcel and shipping label while protecting personal information from public use.
2. Record arrival date and visible damage.
3. Count each item against the invoice and brief.
4. Check identity, language, set, number, grade, condition, seal, and quantity.
5. Record saleable units, hold units, and discrepancy units separately.
6. Photograph any shortage or damage before changing the packaging.
7. Notify the supplier within the written deadline.
8. Update actual freight, duty, tax, and clearance amounts.
9. Recalculate landed cost using saleable units received.

The last step matters. If 50 units were ordered and 48 are saleable, dividing by 50 understates the cost of the stock you can actually sell.

20. Create listings from a condition standard

Each listing should let a buyer identify exactly what is being sold. Depending on the product, include:

• English product name and Japanese set or product identifier where useful.
• Language.
• Card number or set number.
• Rarity.
• Grade and grading company for slabs.
• Clear condition statement for raw cards.
• Exact quantity.
• Whether photos show the actual item.
• Shipping method, handling time, return terms, and any import notice required by the platform.

Do not use a grade, condition word, scarcity claim, or authenticity statement you cannot support. Do not imply official Pokemon, PSA, marketplace, or supplier affiliation.

21. Match the offer to the channel

eBay and searchable marketplaces

The listing has to match buyer search behavior and comparable sold items. Keep titles factual. Use exact card, set, language, grade, and condition. Compare sold records that match those attributes. An active listing is an asking price, not proof of demand.

Record views, watchers where available, offers, sale price, fees, return reason, and days to sale.

TCGplayer or catalog-based marketplaces

Confirm the catalog entry matches the Japanese-language version and exact printing. Use the current seller fee structure, shipping settings, condition guide, and eligibility rules. Catalog convenience does not remove product-identity risk.

Record listing match, price position, quantity, order composition, fee basis, and days to sale.

Whatnot and live selling

Build a run of show. Group inventory by price band or theme. Decide which cards open the session, which create depth, and which should be held back. Track each sale by item rather than evaluating only total show revenue.

Record live viewers, units shown, units sold, average selling price, fees, unsold inventory, preparation time, and post-show claims.

Card shows

Map the table by price band. Use visible pricing and accurate condition labels. Record sales during the event so that the best-selling bands and named requests are not lost at the end of a long day.

Record table cost, travel cost, units displayed, units sold, customer requests, price concessions, and remaining stock.

Read deeper:

• Listing Japanese Pokemon cards on eBay and TCGplayer
• Stocking Japanese Pokemon cards for a Whatnot show
• Stocking Japanese cards for a card show

22. Review weekly using five numbers

Sell-through rate

Sell-through rate = units sold / saleable units received

Use a fixed window such as 7, 30, and 60 days. A percentage without a time window is incomplete.

Contribution profit

Use actual selling fees, shipping, discounts, refunds, and losses. Keep gross sale value separate.

Average days to sale

Track the days from available-for-sale to paid sale. For unsold items, track current age.

Inventory exposure

Inventory exposure = landed cost of saleable units still held

Supplier discrepancy rate

Discrepancy rate = affected units / units received

Add a written observation beside the numbers. Examples:

• Named Pokemon sold; generic rarity did not.
• Price was competitive, but listings lacked exact set identifiers.
• A live show sold lower price bands and left high-ticket cards.
• Freight allocation was too high because the order was small.
• The supplier delivered accurately but two days after the event deadline.

Days 31-60 exit gate

Advance when:

• Receiving checks and actual landed cost are complete.
• Every saleable unit has a listing or scheduled sales use.
• Sales are recorded by item or coherent product group.
• Actual fees and delivery costs are captured.
• 7-day and 30-day sell-through are calculated.
• Supplier discrepancies are documented and resolved or escalated.
• Remaining inventory is aged and valued.

Akina product step 2 - PSA: Move to PSA-graded cards sourced on request only when named demand is visible and you can verify the certification record, holder, current sold evidence, item-level contribution, and cash reserve.

Part VI - Days 61-90: Decide what deserves another dollar

23. Diagnose the constraint before changing the order

When results are weak, identify the first broken link.

Demand problem

Evidence: low views, few inquiries, weak live engagement, no customer requests, or comparable sold evidence below your planned price.

Action: change the customer, channel, product, price band, or test timing. Do not reorder the same stock because the supplier offers a discount.

Offer problem

Evidence: buyer interest exists, but listings do not convert; questions reveal unclear condition, wrong bundles, poor photos, or price mismatch.

Action: improve identification, presentation, grouping, shipping terms, or price. Retest without adding large inventory.

Economics problem

Evidence: sales occur, but platform fees, freight, border costs, discounts, or labor erase contribution.

Action: change order size, shipping allocation, channel, selling price, or product format. If no plausible configuration produces positive contribution, stop.

Supplier problem

Evidence: stock differs from the quote, condition is weak, dispatch is late, invoices are incomplete, or discrepancies remain unresolved.

Action: correct the process in writing, reduce exposure, or change supplier. A lower quote does not compensate for recurring evidence failures.

Cash-timing problem

Evidence: the order is profitable but payout arrives too late to fund the next cycle.

Action: reduce quantity, move to faster-selling items, stagger orders, improve payment terms only after trust is established, or maintain a larger reserve. Do not label a cash-timing failure as a demand success.

24. Use a reorder point only after demand exists

A basic reorder point is:

Reorder point = average weekly units sold x lead time in weeks + safety stock

This formula assumes that recent sales are a useful guide. It should not be used after one unusual event without judgment. For a card show or promotional stream, separate event demand from normal weekly demand.

Calculate the proposed reorder quantity from three constraints:

• Demand need before the next arrival.
• Cash available after required reserves.
• Maximum exposure by product group.

Use the lowest allowable quantity, not the highest number produced by one formula.

25. Make the three-way decision

Reorder

Choose reorder when all of these are true:

• Contribution profit is positive using actual data.
• Sell-through meets the written window.
• Remaining inventory is within the planned age.
• Supplier discrepancies are within tolerance and resolved.
• Cash can fund the reorder while preserving reserves.
• The next order still serves the same customer and channel.

Revise

Choose revise when demand is visible but one controllable link is weak. Change one or two variables, not the entire model. Examples include product mix, price band, quantity, listing standard, event timing, or shipping allocation.

Write what stays constant so that the second test remains comparable.

Stop

Choose stop when actual contribution is negative with no credible correction, identity or authenticity is uncertain, legal or platform requirements cannot be met, supplier failures are material, or the next order breaches your cash limit.

Stopping one product-supplier-channel combination is a valid result. It preserves capital and produces a record that makes the next test better.

26. Build the next 30-day plan

The workbook turns the decision into six actions:

1. Product and quantity to reorder or retest.
2. Maximum purchase and landed-cost ceiling.
3. Supplier evidence to reconfirm.
4. Sales dates and listing deadlines.
5. Weekly metrics and owner.
6. Stop condition and review date.

Read deeper:

• A weekly restock check for Japanese cards
• How to price from Japanese source costs
• How to calculate margin on Japanese boxes

Days 61-90 exit gate

Finish the 90-day cycle when:

• Actual contribution profit is calculated.
• 30-day and 60-day sell-through are calculated.
• Cash conversion days are known or bounded.
• Supplier issues are closed or carried as an explicit risk.
• Remaining stock has an action and price.
• Reorder, revise, or stop is selected.
• The next review date and stop condition are written.

Akina product step 3 - Sealed boxes: Use the current Japanese sealed-box list after repeat demand, landed cost per box, shrink condition, freight allocation, cash timing, and the planned stop condition are written. A listed box is not a reservation or a profit signal.

Part VII - Scaling without losing control

27. Scale one proven unit, not the whole catalog

Once one combination works, growth can come from increasing the frequency, quantity, or adjacent selection while preserving the evidence trail.

Use this order:

1. Repeat the same product-supplier-channel combination once.
2. Confirm that contribution and sell-through remain within range.
3. Increase quantity within the exposure limit.
4. Add one adjacent product group requested by the same customer.
5. Add a second channel only when stock identity and unit economics can still be tracked.

Do not expand product, supplier, channel, and order size at the same time. You would lose the ability to explain the result.

28. Protect the operating records

Maintain one evidence folder or system per order containing:

• Order brief.
• Dated quote and revisions.
• Exact-stock photos.
• Supplier identity and beneficiary checks.
• Invoice and payment proof.
• Tracking and carrier records.
• Customs declaration, tax, duty, and clearance evidence.
• Receiving record and discrepancy communication.
• Listings and sale records.
• Fee and payout records.
• Reorder decision.

Keep personal information, customer details, private prices, and payment records out of public marketing. A case study should use customer permission, remove unnecessary identifiers, and state whether numbers are actual, ranged, or hypothetical.

29. Know when to seek professional help

Consult a qualified professional when:

• Customs classification or valuation is uncertain.
• Your country requires a business, tax, importer, or resale registration.
• You are handling high-value goods, repeated commercial imports, or controlled products.
• Tax registration, VAT/GST collection, sales tax, or permanent establishment may apply.
• You need legal advice on trademarks, consumer rights, returns, privacy, or platform terms.
• A dispute, suspected counterfeit, chargeback, or loss exceeds your ordinary operating tolerance.

Your Akina sourcing brief

Complete this after the workbook. A concise brief produces a more useful first conversation than a general request for prices.

Destination country and postal code:
Primary sales channel:
Customer and selling price band:
Product format:
Named products / sets / Pokemon / rarity / grade:
Quantity range:
Condition floor:
Duplicate policy:
Inventory budget:
Maximum landed budget:
Required delivery date:
Required photos or verification:
Allowed substitutions:
Current customs assumption and official source checked:
Target sell-through window:
Pass condition:
Stop condition:

When every field has an answer, send the completed sourcing brief to Akina. Akina can then respond to a defined request rather than asking you to reconstruct the plan inside a message thread.

20-article deep-dive library

Use the roadmap to decide what you need. Use the article library for the detail.

Choose the source and product

1. Where to buy Japanese Pokemon cards for resale
2. Japanese bulk lots and sorted bundles
3. How to buy Pokemon cards directly from Japan
4. Sealed boxes or PSA-graded cards?
5. Buying PSA 10 cards from Japan
6. How to read a Japanese sealed-box list

Check the supplier and first order

7. How to check a Pokemon card supplier in Japan
8. Paying a Japanese card supplier: Wise or PayPal
9. First order checklist for Japanese Pokémon cards

Calculate and import

10. Import duty, VAT, and landed cost
11. How to calculate margin on Japanese boxes
12. How to price from Japanese source costs
13. Importing Japanese Pokemon cards into the USA
14. Importing Japanese Pokemon cards into the UK
15. Importing Japanese Pokemon cards into Canada
16. Importing Japanese Pokemon cards into Australia

Sell and restock

17. Listing Japanese Pokemon cards on eBay and TCGplayer
18. Stocking Japanese Pokemon cards for a Whatnot show
19. Stocking Japanese cards for a card show
20. A weekly restock check for Japanese cards

Source register and update discipline

This guide uses official pages for rules and fees that may change:

• eBay selling fees: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling-fees/selling/selling-fees?id=4822
• TCGplayer fees: https://help.tcgplayer.com/hc/en-us/articles/201357836-TCGplayer-Fees
• Whatnot seller fees: https://help.whatnot.com/hc/en-us/articles/4847069165965-Whatnot-seller-fees
• Wise Business fees: https://wise.com/help/articles/2977969/fees-for-using-wise-business
• PSA certification verification: https://www.psacard.com/cert
• US CBP: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export
• USITC tariff schedule: https://hts.usitc.gov/
• UK EORI: https://www.gov.uk/eori
• UK Trade Tariff: https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff
• Canada CBSA commercial imports: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/menu-eng.html
• Canada Customs Tariff: https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/menu-eng.html
• Australian Border Force buying online: https://www.abf.gov.au/buying-online/buying-online
• Australian Border Force import declarations: https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/importing/how-to-import/import-declaration
• Australian Border Force GST and other taxes: https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/importing/cost-of-importing-goods/gst-and-other-taxes

Before using this guide for a real order, recheck the official pages that apply to the destination, sales platform, payment method, product, and transaction date. Record the URL and date checked in the workbook's Sources tab.

Final 90-day checklist

Business

• One customer, channel, product format, price band, and budget ceiling.
• Written hypothesis, pass condition, and stop condition.

Economics

• Total landed cost and saleable-unit cost.
• Current platform and payment fees.
• Minimum viable selling price.
• Positive base-case contribution.
• Downside within the cash-loss ceiling.

Supplier

• Identity and beneficiary verified.
• Exact stock evidenced.
• Written quote, availability, delivery, import responsibility, and discrepancy process.
• Payment recourse understood.

Order

• Coherent first-order brief.
• Controlled substitutions.
• Evidence retained.
• Reorder reserve preserved.

Sales

• Receiving check complete.
• Listings or sales events executed.
• Actual fees, refunds, and losses recorded.
• 7-day, 30-day, and 60-day sell-through tracked.

Decision

• Actual contribution and cash timing calculated.
• Remaining inventory aged.
• Supplier issues closed or carried.
• Reorder, revise, or stop selected.
• Next review date and withdrawal condition written.

The first order does not prove that you have a business. A measured first order gives you the evidence to design the second one.

Important disclaimer

This guide and the Bundles-to-PSA-to-Boxes path provide general educational and business-planning information. They are not legal, tax, customs, accounting, investment, grading, valuation, or resale advice. Consult qualified advisers when the law, tax treatment, import responsibility, or contractual risk is unclear.

Akina does not guarantee product availability, price, authenticity outcomes, grade, market value, sales, profit, sell-through, delivery date, or future restocking. Fees, exchange rates, taxes, import rules, platform terms, customer demand, and card prices can change after publication. Verify the current official sources and the exact item evidence before you order or list.

Links to Akina's bundle, PSA, and sealed-box pages let you review a product format or request a quote. They do not reserve stock or create a sale. The dated written quote and order-specific terms govern any transaction. Read the full Akina disclaimer before relying on this guide or sending payment.