shipping a jelly bag to asia
What it costs, how long it takes, and where you will — and won't — pay import tax.
More people find this shop from Asia than from anywhere except the US and the UK, and almost none of them get as far as checkout. We think we know why: shipping is a real number on a £42 bag, it is not the same number everywhere in Asia, and import tax is a second unknown stacked on top of it. None of that should be a surprise you meet on the last page. So here is all of it, up front, including the country where the honest answer is "yes, you'll be taxed".
The shipping, plainly
- From £28, tracked — free on orders of £150 or more. Not per item — per order. One charm costs the same to ship as three bags, so if you are buying more than one thing, buying it together is materially cheaper.
- The rate depends on the country, not the continent. We price shipping from what the carrier actually charges us to reach a destination, measured one country at a time, so "Asia" is four different prices:
- £28 — Singapore
- £38 — Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
- £48 — Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia
- £112 — Taiwan
- Dispatched the next working day. Every jelly bag and charm on the site is physically in stock. The one exception is the made-to-order Star Tote, which is cut and stitched per order and dispatched within 14 days — the transit times below are on top of that.
- 5–10 working days in transit after dispatch, on a tracked service. Customs clearance can add to that, and does more often in some countries than others.
- Prices are in GBP everywhere. Your bank converts at its own rate. We don't run per-country pricing — a converted price drifting with the exchange rate is less honest than one number everyone can see.
Import tax, country by country
Every country sets a value below which a personal import is let through untaxed — the "de minimis". Whether a jelly bag lands under or over that line is the whole question, and the answer genuinely differs. These are the published thresholds as of August 2026; they do move, and the customs authority is always the final word.
- Hong Kong — nothing to pay. A free port with no general import duty and no GST or VAT on goods like these. What you pay at checkout is what the order costs you.
- Singapore — normally nothing. GST relief applies to goods imported by air or post with a CIF value (goods + insurance + freight) of S$400 or less. A single bag plus the £28 of shipping sits well under it. GST is 9% and bites on the whole sum once the line is crossed, so a multi-bag order is the one to check.
- Philippines — normally nothing on one bag. Shipments at an FOB value of PHP 10,000 or less are exempt from both duty and VAT, and FOB counts the goods rather than the freight. One bag is under; two in an order can cross it. Worth knowing: customs combines parcels to the same address arriving the same day, and if the combined value goes over, the exemption is lost on all of it.
- South Korea — close either way. The de minimis is US$150, and a bag plus the £38 of shipping lands right against that line; a second item will push you over it. Customs may also ask for your personal customs clearance code (PCC) before releasing the parcel, so it is worth having to hand.
- Japan — expect to pay. The duty exemption stops at a total customs value of ¥10,000, and that total includes shipping, so a bag plus the £38 of freight clears it comfortably. Customs duty and consumption tax will normally be collected on delivery and are payable by you. A charm-only order is usually small enough to stay under. We would rather you knew that before you ordered than after.
- Elsewhere in Asia — Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Taiwan and the rest — shipping is in the table above, but tax thresholds vary and change often enough that we won't quote a number we can't stand behind. Search your own customs authority for "de minimis", or message us on Instagram before ordering and we'll tell you what we know.
The cheapest way to order from Asia
Because shipping is charged per order rather than per item, the per-bag cost falls sharply the more you put in one parcel — but import thresholds work the opposite way, and a bigger order is exactly what tips you over them. The two forces point in different directions, so:
- Hong Kong: no threshold to worry about, so consolidate freely. One parcel, as much as you like.
- Singapore: the S$400 line is generous — two bags plus shipping still sits inside it. Consolidating is the right call.
- Philippines and South Korea: one bag per order is the sweet spot. A second item saves one shipping fee but risks duty and VAT on the entire value, which usually costs more than it saves.
- Japan: you are over the line either way on a bag, so consolidating is simply cheaper — one shipping fee, one customs event.
Returns from Asia
The 14-day return window applies wherever you are, but be realistic about the economics: return postage from Asia is yours to pay and isn't cheap, and import tax already paid is generally not refunded by us — you would need to reclaim it from your own customs authority. Which is a long way of saying: use the size guide before you order, and if you are between two shapes, ask us. We would rather spend a message getting it right than process a return that costs you more than it returns.
Why a jelly bag travels well
One genuine advantage of the material at this distance: TPU doesn't mind the trip. It isn't leather, so humidity, monsoon season and an air-conditioned office in rotation do nothing to it — no mould, no water marks, no conditioning routine. For a lot of Asia that is the difference between a bag you baby and a bag you use. The honest limits are here, and the material case is in TPU vs PVC.
In stock, ships next working day
Thresholds current as of 2026-09-14 and quoted from each country's published customs rules. They change; your customs authority is the final word, and any import charge is payable by the buyer.