Home / Business support / Book and printed material handling support in Tokyo
Contracted task support

Book and printed material handling support in Tokyo

Boxes of books, catalogues and printed matter are heavy in the aggregate but simple in the detail: we sort, check, bundle and pack them by the batch.

Fixed pricesTax included
Travel included23 wards of Tokyo
English & JapaneseEmail, LINE, WhatsApp
Reply within 1 hourOpen 24 hours for requests
Quick answerA small publisher gets four hundred copies back from a distributor, some with bent corners, some perfect, some of an older edition. A university department wants three hundred conference packs inserted with a programme and a map. A second-hand bookshop has a back room where the stock outgrew the shelves. Paper is patient but unforgiving: a crushed corner cannot be undone. eStreet! handles books and printed material as a contracted task in Tokyo and Kanto, with our supervisor-led team, a fixed price and a reply within 1 hour.
Illustration of a clean, bright Tokyo interior

Why paper needs its own way of working

Books and printed matter look sturdy but are easily damaged in handling: corners bend, dust jackets scuff, cartons that are slightly too large let a stack slide and rub. Weight is the other factor. A carton of paperbacks is heavier than it appears, so our team keeps cartons of books within a weight that two hands can carry and uses smaller cartons when the contents are dense. Jackets are handled by the edges, stacks are kept square and clean hands and a clean table are the rule. Rain is the enemy of paper, so cartons are never left on the floor near an entrance, and any carton that arrives damp is opened, photographed and set apart before it can affect the rest of the batch.

Spraying and wiping a desk

Returns checking: grading copies against your criteria

When copies come back from distributors, shops or customers, someone has to sort them by condition and edition. You give us the grades, for example resellable, cosmetic damage, damaged, older edition, and examples of each. Our team checks every copy by eye, sorts it into the group, and stacks the groups on labelled pallets or shelves. A copy that falls between grades goes to a set-aside group with a photo, and you decide. We do not repair books or decide on pricing.

Sorting, counting and re-shelving stock

Titles are sorted by ISBN, title, author or any order you prefer, counted and recorded on your sheet. For a shop or a storeroom, the team re-shelves the stock in the order of your layout, aligns spines and adds shelf labels. Counting stock also reveals duplicates, and we group these for you. Differences between the count and your records are reported by message with photos, and we do not alter the figures ourselves.

Building entrance and plaza at dusk

Inserts, bundling and mailing preparation

Conference packs, newsletters, catalogues and customer mailings all share the same pattern: several printed pieces must be gathered in the right order, inserted into an envelope, folder or wrapper, and closed. Our team follows a sample pack that you approve, checks each pack for completeness and applies address labels that you supply. Band bundling of magazines and tied bundles for bulk distribution are included. Postage and delivery stay with you or your carrier, as we do not drive or deliver.

Packing for shipment, protecting corners

Cartons for shipping are packed tightly enough to prevent slipping but not so tightly that spines are crushed, with corner protection or filler where your plan calls for it. Single orders can be wrapped individually. Cartons are labelled with the destination or the count and stacked as you indicate. We keep a carton list so the number of copies leaving matches the order form you sent. Where a shipment is split across several cartons, each carton is numbered in the form one of four, two of four, so the receiver can tell at once whether everything has arrived.

Facade cleaning from ropes

Handling a back catalogue or a closing stockroom

Sometimes a publisher closes a series, an office moves or an estate of books has to be sorted. This is an inventory task as much as a handling one: we separate the books into the groups you define, such as keep, sell, donate-candidate and doubtful, count each group and prepare cartons per group. The decision on each group stays with you. We do not appraise books or value them, and we do not dispose of anything without your instruction.

The contracted task model for printed material

You define what the batch is, the quantity, the deadline and the quality standard. Our own supervisor directs our team on site and is accountable for the result, so you do not give instructions to individual team members and no one is placed under your direction. The supervisor briefs the team on your site’s safety rules before the first carton is opened. The work is carried out with our operations partner Global Access Co., Ltd., and questions go to the supervisor, not to you, until something genuinely needs your decision.

One fixed price, from counts and photos

Send the approximate number of titles and copies, the steps required, photos of the stock and the storage area, and the deadline. We reply with a single fixed price for the batch, confirmed by message before starting. If the real quantity or the condition of the stock differs from your description, the supervisor tells you before continuing and the change is agreed by message.

Scope, areas and putting it right

Heavy pallets, forklift work, driving, hazardous materials, regulated goods and technical building maintenance are outside what we do. Night or heavy-manual shifts are possible only when agreed in advance, and we claim no licences or certifications. We work across Tokyo’s 23 wards and in Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma, with travel cost stated before confirmation outside the 23 wards. If something was not done to the agreed standard and you report it within 24 hours, we put it right at no extra cost.

How it works

  1. Tell us the task

    Describe the work, the quantity, the place and the deadline. Photos help.

  2. We confirm by message

    We reply within 1 hour with whether we can take it on and a fixed price.

  3. Our supervisor leads the team

    The team arrives with a supervisor who directs the work and is accountable for the result.

  4. Check and report

    We report when the work is complete, and put right anything reported within 24 hours.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can you repair damaged books?

No. We grade copies and set damaged ones aside. We do not repair, appraise or price books.

Can you insert materials into envelopes and add address labels?

Yes. We follow your approved sample pack and apply the address labels you supply. Posting stays with you or your carrier.

What if some returned copies fall between grades?

They go into a set-aside group with a photo, and you decide how they are treated.

How do I get a price for a book batch?

Send the approximate copies, steps and photos. We reply within 1 hour with a fixed price, confirmed by message before work starts.

Price shown upfront. Book in 2 minutes, reply within 1 hour

Fixed priceTeam + supervisorEnglish and Japanese

Ready to book? Check availability

Inquiries and reservations are accepted 24 hours a day. When you submit, we check availability, assign a cleaner and contact you within 1 hour.

Prefer to talk? LINE · WhatsApp · hello@estreet.jp