Half the Shipping Time, Twice the Reach: MJ Market’s Michael Jackson Memorabilia Goes Global

Long before MJ Market, Jonathan Downie was a kid with a stack of Michael Jackson CDs and a best friend who loved them just as much. They listened together, watched the videos online, and made memories he’s carried ever since.

Downie always kept a little collection on the side. Over the years, it grew into MJ Market, which he’s been told is the largest online Michael Jackson memorabilia shop. He runs it himself, and he ships it all over the world.

Don’t stop ‘til you get enough

This year, the world caught up. A new movie and a new trading card line sent orders up two to three times, with as many as 200 to 300 a month. MJ Market grew from 15,000 social followers in January to more than 60,000, with no ad spend.

Many of those orders went overseas. About half of Downie’s orders now go international, and last year he shipped to more than 40 countries. His biggest spenders are collectors in France, Germany, England, and Japan.

That’s a lot of packages for one person.

From post office lines to one dashboard

Shipping wasn’t always this simple. Before MJ Market, Downie sold on eBay and printed labels one at a time. The occasional Facebook Marketplace sale meant a trip to the post office.

“I’d have to go through the post office and wait in line. No one wants to do that anymore, and especially in Philadelphia,” he said.

When he launched his own site four years ago, he knew he’d need a better system. He kept seeing ShipStation ads on TV, and the brand stuck.

“I kept seeing the commercials and the brand just kept sticking in my head,” Downie said.

He told his developer to add it to MJ Market, and ShipStation has been part of the business ever since. It’s shipping software that pulls orders from every place a merchant sells into one dashboard, prints labels, and sends tracking to buyers. For Downie, that means his eBay and online orders side by side.

The old routine is long gone. He prints labels at home, and a daily pickup takes the packages away.

“I haven’t been to the post office in two years,” he said.

A morning with ShipStation

Now, Downie’s routine takes about 30 minutes in the morning, printing labels for both channels at once. Then he spends a few hours boxing orders, with a goal of shipping everything within 48 hours.

ShipStation tracking is built in. When he prints a label, tracking goes to the buyer automatically.

“I just log in to ShipStation, print all my eBay orders, and print all my MJ Market orders in one spot. No uploading tracking numbers or copying and pasting—none of that annoying stuff that people hate doing,” Downie said.

With packages crossing borders, that visibility counts even more.

“Tracking is extremely important to me,” he said. “It keeps everyone on the same page about where the package is.”

Rate shopping helps him save, too. ShipStation’s Rate Shopper compares carriers on one screen.

“Sometimes, the option I expected to be the cheapest isn’t, so having that comparison helps me save money,” Downie said. “I love when it pops up and says another carrier is cheaper. I love that little pop-up.”

Taking it global with GlobalPost

About half of Downie’s orders go overseas, and he ships them from the same screen as everything else.

His international customers used to get hit with customs fees when a package arrived. Now, he can prepay duties and taxes with GlobalPost, an international carrier available inside ShipStation. No surprise bill, no unpleasant doorstep moment.

He shared the news on Instagram and in his newsletter: “Hey guys, don’t worry. I got you now.” Customs forms are easier, too. He used to copy and paste codes from Google. 

“What’s the code for a vinyl record? What’s the code for a t-shirt? Now there’s a button that looks it up for you. That’s one less manual step,” Downie said.

The next big thing

Downie’s next move is more trading cards. He expects them to bring in about a third of his revenue this year, and more card series are expected alongside the movie.

His latest sale was a $2,000 Michael Jackson relic card, one of only 87 that contain a piece of his glove, shipped to a buyer in Italy. Downie packed it up and sent it out through ShipStation.

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