Has anyone been using SMJ in the past year? I noticed that they reduced the handling fee on items but they no longer ship orders to the US for storage. So now there's not really any savings on the customer end because I still have to pay EMS/airmail Japanese shipping prices.

What are some alternatives other people use? Looking to see if there are newer more competitive services available since I've been out of the loop.

I’ve used Jauce, Buyee, FromJapan, Tenso and White Rabbit Express.  I believe all of those services store your goods in Japan only, but there is always some shipping option which is cheaper than EMS (e.g. SAL or Surface Mail).