Buying a Mirumi in France: delivery, VAT and warranty
28 July 2026 · 6 min read · By the MIRUMI
The Mirumi robot charm, made by Yukai Engineering, sells mainly in Japan. No physical retailer distributes it officially in France, so most buyers go through an online reseller. That raises three very concrete questions — where the parcel ships from, who pays the VAT, and what the warranty is actually worth. Here are the answers, plainly.
Why Mirumi is so hard to find in France
Yukai Engineering is a small Japanese studio, known for Qoobo, the cushion with a tail. Its runs are produced in limited quantities and allocated first to the Japanese domestic market and a few Asian distributors.
The direct consequence: European stock is fragmented across independent resellers. To date there is no official Yukai Engineering store in France — which explains the frequent sell-outs and the wide price gaps between websites.
The corollary is that you need to be able to judge a reseller. A price far below market on a scarce product is almost never a good deal: it signals a copy, a grey import with no warranty, or a shop that will never ship.
Delivery to France: what changes when the parcel ships from Switzerland
Switzerland is not in the European Union. A parcel sent from Switzerland to France therefore crosses a customs border, however short the journey.
Since July 2021, the VAT exemption on low-value consignments has been abolished across the EU: French VAT now applies from the first euro, whatever the parcel is worth. Customs duties, by contrast, only apply above €150 of commercial value.
The point to check before ordering, with us as anywhere: are those charges included at checkout, or claimed on delivery? A price displayed excluding import taxes produces a higher final bill than expected. Ask explicitly if the information is not given.
How to recognise a trustworthy reseller
Four checks are enough to rule out most bad surprises. First, legal identity: a serious shop publishes its registered name and business address in plain sight, not just a contact form.
Second, the returns policy: a clearly stated right of withdrawal, with a duration and a procedure. Then the payment method: favour a card or a recognised payment service, which give you recourse if the goods never arrive — never a direct bank transfer.
Finally, clarity about where the product comes from. A reseller who owns being a reseller, rather than an official distributor, is more credible than one who leaves it vague.
Price: what to expect
The price of a Mirumi in Europe reflects three things: the Japanese launch price, shipping, and how scarce it is at the time. It therefore moves, and a gap between two shops does not necessarily signal a scam.
A price half the market average, however, should alert you. On limited-run consumer electronics, that margin simply does not exist — unless what is being sold is not the original.
Our position: display the price inclusive of all taxes, in your currency, with no surprise charges on delivery.
Warranty and after-sales service: the real question
Mirumi is an electronic object: it has a battery, sensors and a motor. The statutory guarantee of conformity applies to purchases from a professional seller, including from abroad to a French consumer.
What matters in practice is the return address. Sending a faulty product back to Japan often costs more than the product itself. Always check that the reseller accepts returns within Europe.
It is also why we advise avoiding marketplaces where the seller is identified only by a nickname: if it breaks, there is nobody at the other end.
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