[Baltan II]

Most stores explain what these are in their shipping terms or FAQ.

First of all, Amazon's shipping methods are generalizations due to the fact that you don't select the service you use yourself, Amazon does, with delivery times ranging based on the comparable services the US Postal Service, FedEx and UPS offer.

SAL and EMS are international shipping methods. In the context most often brought up here, that would be Japan Post, which means they're handed off to the destination country's postal carrier (USPS in our case). Other countries also offer SAL and EMS, including the US.

SAL is Surface Air Lifted, a non-trackable moderately slow shipping method that can take around two weeks to be delivered, but sometimes longer.

RSAL is Registered SAL. Same shipping speed, but at least you have a tracking number to watch precisely how slow your package ships to you!

Airmail refers to a infrequently offered service with delivery speeds between that of SAL and EMS, limited to smaller packages. Its usefulness as an alternative is debatable, especially during peak mail seasons.

EMS is Express Mail Service, a much faster shipping method, typically arriving within five days of shipping, and includes a tracking number by default.

DHL is a term you usually only see brought up by Mandarake and some domestic stores. They are an express international mail service and are like UPS or FedEx in that they deliver to your door, not through postal carriers. DHL Express is notoriously fast, able to deliver packages in under 48 hours in some instances. They are amazing and worth looking into if offered as the difference from EMS is often minimal, so long as someone is there to answer the door.