Buying Japanese Crochet Books Part 3: Where to Buy Them

Today’s post is the 3rd in a series of 3 posts on buying Japanese crochet books.  The topic of Part 1 was “Why Buy Them?” and in Part 2, I discussed the format of a typical book and how to use it.  Now we will look at things to consider when purchasing a Japanese crochet book and where to shop for them .

I. Important things to consider when buying a Japanese crochet book:

1. Cost of Books & Shipping
2. Variety/Selection of Books Available
3. Viewing the Product Before You Buy It
4. Reliability of Seller

1. Cost of Books and Shipping

For most of us in the United States, Japanese craft books are more expensive than those that were published here.  Cost is often one of the main factors that determines where you will shop and if you want to compare prices, the only option you really have is Internet shopping.  When you are shopping Etsy, Ebay or other sites, you need to consider how much the book costs, what the shipping cost is, and whether the seller will combine multiple books for shipping at a discount (for example, can he/she ship multiple books for the cost of shipping a single book or slightly more?).

Free shipping vs. shipping fees: I have noticed that some Japanese craft book sellers have shops on both Etsy and Ebay.  The shop on one site will have less expensive books and charge shipping and on the other site, the shipping will be free but the book will cost more.  One way or another, the seller has to charge you for shipping or he/she will go out of business.  Just realize that the cost will be made up for in the price of the book.  I don’t mean to imply that these sellers are trying to be sneaky, because they are not: the shops will have the same name on both sites, they are just marketing a little differently between Etsy and Ebay.

Is it cheaper to buy from U.S. sellers on Etsy and Ebay than from international sellers?  Well, the shipping will cost you less but the book may cost you more.  Remember, the seller probably had to have the book shipped from Japan and will have to make that cost up.  That said, they are some very reasonably priced books from U.S. sellers on these sites.  Shipping within the U.S. will probably cost you $4-6 for a book.  If you order from a seller outside the U.S., it will likely be $7-10.

2. Variety of Books Available

If you want to have a wide selection of books to choose from, your best bet is Internet shops.  Having a large number of books to choose from means it is more likely you will find multiple books to purchase and save on shipping.  Several sellers on Etsy and Ebay, or online stores like YesAsia have a good variety of Japanese crochet books.  If you are looking for a brick and mortar store with a good selection, Kinokuniya, which I will mention later in this post, is the place to go.

3. Viewing the Product Before You Buy It

This should really be one of the most important determinants in whether you buy a book and where you buy it from.  You don’t want to spend a chunk of cash only to discover that, while the cover looked great, there were only a few projects you actually wanted to make in the book.  This concern is more relevant to Internet shopping.

Many shops in Etsy and Ebay will show you pages from a Japanese crochet book.  In Etsy, the seller is allowed to show up to 5 photos of the item.  Usually, there will be a main photo of the cover, some inside project photos and and photo of what the chart pages look like.  On Ebay, there will usually be a main photo of the cover and then you can scroll down the page to see photos of projects and an example of a chart page.  I don’t think there is a limit to the number of photos that they can post.

Here’s my two cents: If you don’t happen to already know which projects are in the book and the seller won’t take the trouble to photograph a few of them, don’t buy from them.  I don’t think it is asking too much for a seller on Etsy or Ebay to give you an idea of what is in a book that they want to sell to you.

4. Reliability of Seller

I think this is most applicable to shopping online.  Etsy and Ebay have ratings for their sellers based on buyer feedback.  Be sure to look at them.  Other large book selling sites like Amazon Japan and YesAsia are also safe.  If you see a price that seems too good to be true somewhere on the Internet, then it probably isn’t a wise place to shop.

II. Where to Buy Japanese Crochet Books

You have two options when buying Japanese crochet books in the United States, either shop at a brick and mortar store or on the Internet.

Brick & Mortar Stores:

Kinokuniya: this is one of the most obvious places to shop because it is a Japanese bookstore.  There are stores in the following cities in the U.S.: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.  The prices are comparable to what you would see generally on the Internet and from what I understand, they have an awesome selection of books.

It is possible to order from Kinokuniya online but the site is a bit difficult to navigate.  The search results for “crochet” were limited (see photo below).  The titles do have an English translation but if you click on one of the books, you cannot see the cover or interior.  I would only buy online from them if I already knew which book I wanted and they had it available.

Lacis: is a brick and mortar store/museum in Berkley, California.  They carry a selection of Japanese crochet books which are available in store and online.  The online catalog shows the book cover and price; however, you cannot browse the book itself to see which projects/stitches are in it.

You can use their search bar (upper left corner of photo above) to look up a specific book or if you want to browse, go to the catalog and in the left-hand sidebar, under “Books” click on “Needlework techniques”.  The Needlework techniques page lists “Crochet” at the top and you can choose from three categories: Reference, Thread Crochet and Yarn Crochet.  The Japanese books will be farther down the page in each of these categories.  Interestingly, Lacis charges a handling fee of $4.50 per order but does not charge a shipping fee.  This would be especially ideal for you if you wanted to buy several books at once.

Yarn Shops: some yarn shops now carry Japanese crochet books!  Last year, I was at Loop in Philadelphia and found some lovely books there (note: although they have an online store, the Japanese books are not listed on their site).  If your local yarn shop (LYS) does not carry Japanese crochet books, they may be able to order them for you.  Don’t be afraid to ask about it.

This is not by any means an exhaustive list of brick and mortar stores that carry Japanese crochet books; however, I hope it will help you get started in your search.

Internet Stores

Etsy and Ebay: These sites are where most people shop for Japanese craft books.  Again, look for shops with good feedback and photos of projects in the book.  On Etsy, search “Supplies” (as opposed to “handmade”) for “Japanese Crochet Book” if you want to browse.  On Ebay, just try a search for “Japanese Crochet Book”.  You’ll see both “Buy it now” options and some opportunities to bid on books.

I have bought from Etsy seller: Pomadour24 and Ebay seller: Meg’s Favorites and had good experiences with both of them.

Yesasia.com: This is potentially the least expensive option of all the places to buy Japanese crochet books.  It’s sort of like the Amazon.com of Asian books and is located in Hong Kong.  Seeing what projects are in the books is hit or miss.  Some books have previews and some don’t.  You just have to click on them to find out.

Shipping is free on orders of $39 (U.S.) or more for books.  There is a small fee for currency conversion (my fee was about $1.50) when you order.  The books were packaged very nicely with bubble wrap and a plastic envelope protecting each one.

Yes Asia can be a bit challenging to navigate so I am going to give you some tips on how to browse Japanese crochet books on their site.  First, you can enter the term “crochet” in the search bar on the upper left. (see arrow on image below)

Note that the “crochet” search term will sometimes exclude books you might want to see.  That’s one reason to try other terms as well, like “lace” or “amigurumi”.

ETA: I decided to add an additional explanation of a way to search on YesAsia because using the search term “crochet” seems to eliminate a larger number of books about crochet than I had thought.  Here is a method that allows you to browse all Japanese craft books and then you will be able to tell from titles/covers which are crochet-related.

On the homepage, click on Japanese (where the arrow is at the top of the photo above) and a drop down menu will appear.  Click “books”.

Now you are taken to the category “Genres”.  On the left sidebar, click “Lifestyle” (see photo above).

On the left hand sidebar is the Departments section.  Click “homearts” (see photo above).  Now you will see all Japanese craft books and can browse for crochet books.

To view projects from a book on YesAsia: Click on the book or book title. If the book has photos of projects it contains, they will be in one of two places.  On the information page, (1) there will be thumbnails directly under the cover image (click to enlarge)

or (2) farther down, beneath “Write a Review” there is a section called YesAsia Editorial Description.  Click on the link, Browse Sample Pages, to virtually page through some pages of the book.

I haven’t really mentioned Amazon Japan because the last time I checked, the shipping to the U.S. was really expensive.

I hope you enjoyed this series on Japanese crochet books!  Please leave a comment if you have any additional questions or if you’ve had a good experience with a seller or web site you’d like to share.