From October 1st, 2019, the Japanese government is raising the standard consumption tax rate from 8% to 10%.
This will affect the prices of most goods in Japan. You will notice slight price increases across the board, for example, an item that costs 10800 yen now will cost 11000 yen from October 1st.
Likely to be unaffected are those goods being sold by private citizens on second hand on app markets and (some) auctions. Professional second hand stores that operate through auctions, as well as professional online and brick and mortar stores like Closet Child, Book Off, and so on, will be affected by the rate increase, should they choose to raise their prices to offset the extra tax they have to collect and pay.
Aside from goods, this also affects services, like postage, COD, and bank transfer fees. Domestic shipping costs will rise for professional businesses and private citizens alike. This may affect those goods sold by private citizens if the new higher shipping cost is reflected in a seller’s asking price.
In the last tax increase international shipping rates did not rise, however. Hopefully that will be the case this time as well.
If you are considering a big purchase, it would be best to do it before October 1st if possible. Reservations due to release after October 1st, even if made before the rate increase, are likely to be charged under the higher rate. This depends on the shop however, and how they have chosen to deal with tax increase.