When you talk about buying from Rakuten, do you mean actually buying stuff from Japan or am I missing something? I routinely buy fountain pens and stationery, but I've never bought something which had a value over the tax exempt limit. I'm looking at a light mauve mini puzzle that's ¥252,900, which is about $1851 USD. I know shipping will be at least $60, but that's still a great deal compared to the $2500 USD MSRP. Will I get killed on taxes, especially in a high sales tax state? Will customs even let me import it?