Yahoo Auction Proxy Bidding Service

[Japan-Games.com]

Hey Guys

I'm starting my own Yahoo Auctions proxy service. If you want more info, please go here:

http://www.japan-games.com/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Information.YahooProxyBidding

Thanks!

[PingvinBlueJeans]

Quite a few items I'd like to bid on at Yahoo JP, but at $15 commission (minimum) per auction it's hardly worth it, unfortunately.

[Japan-Games.com]

For the right items it's more than a steal.....for the wrong items it's not cost effective....

[IcBlUsCrN]

you price scale is screwed ,did not have a calculator handy? for the right items ? yea buy a car then its worth it

by the way there are plenty other yahoo auctions bidding service's you have to search for the best prices. i have used a few myself.

[LuxKiller65]

Poor wallet...

^^;

[Japan-Games.com]

I think the prices are more than fair for the service you get. :)

[StealthLurker]

Commission Up to:

$15 (1,500 yen) 5,000 yen
$25 (2,500 yen) 15,000 yen
$30 (3,000 yen) 20,000 yen
$35 (3,500 yen) 25,000 yen
$40 (4,000 yen) 30,000 yen
$45 (4,500 yen) 35,000 yen
$50 (5,000 yen) 40,000 yen
$55 (5,500 yen) 45,000 yen
$60 (6,000 yen) 50,000 yen

A total amount for an item would be as follows:

Auction Price + Japan Shipping + Bank Fee + PayPal Fee + International Shipping = TOTAL


So where does comission fit in on your "TOTAL" equation? I'm assuming "Auction Price" pertains to your values listed as 5k yen, 15k yen, 20k yen, etc.

15 USD for an auction up to only 5k yen? Plus I have to pay the bank wire fee and you charge a paypal 4% fee? That's pretty steep. First the base comission is higher than normal. At least you could try to absorb the 1-3 USD bank wire fee with that. Next, I don't know about most, but the middleman service I use frequently doesn't charge me a paypal 4% if I use that payment method.

I'm assuming you're a 1-3 man operation with very little to no "automation" in bidding, etc... therefore more demand of your personal time... hence the high price vs. other middleman services.

Also, how fast do you pay the seller? Do you pay within one 1 day or less of auction end or until your customer pays you? I believe that one of the main reasons some YJ sellers refuse to deal with deputy/middleman services is because of long wait times before payment (due to flakey western customers). Do you have some kind of system in place to be able to pay the YJ seller ASAP and still be able to protect yourself from deadbeats?

I'm just concerned that if more deputy services show up and don't rub YJ sellers off the right way, there is going to be a proliferation of sellers that refuse to sell to deputy/middlemen/westerners. How many auctions I've wanted to bid on but they refused. Can't just go off making new accounts everytime. Once they catch on, that pisses them off even more.

.

[Japan-Games.com]

Hey there

Thanks for your questions.

The base fee is higher than normal, but it all depends on what you're buying. If you want to buy a lot of $5 and $10 items then my site doesn't make sense, because it's not supposed to make sense. It's not really made for that. The larger shops like Rinkya and Shopping Mall Japan can do that for you since it's mostly a standardized task. The prices are set up to discourage a lot of inexpensive bidding.

My site is partially automated. You'll be able to bid live. I create an account and password for you and you bid through my site. You don't have to send emails or request bids, you can do that yourself.

I get a deposit so I pay when the auction ends. I have someone who does that for me daily.

Now back to the main hot point.....

Usually I work with a small number of buyers who want to buy a lot of items. The commissions make sense for the right people. There are a lot of moving parts. If you live outside of the US then you're going to get hit with customs fees because the larger shops won't lower the value of the package like I will. That's a big savings right there.

Places like Rinkya also charge actual +25% for shipping. You're going to pay more through that end.

They also sometimes charge a minimum fee which covers the bank transfer and shipping. But if you buy a smaller item you're overpaying because shipping can sometimes only be $3 and the bank transfer fee is usually just $2. With me you get actual costs.

The biggest difference is that you're working with a guy who has bought and sold thousands of items on eBay and Yahoo. With the larger shops you're getting an hourly worker who doesn't know jack about video games. In the beginning I can walk you through a lot of the auctions, give you some advice, let you know about the seller, even find the same item for a cheaper price. I have a set of online videos that talk about understanding the listing, what to look for, etc.

I can give you an estimated shipping cost on a lot of items. Will Rinkya do that? Can you shoot them an email and ask about how much it will be to ship a Sega MageJet to your country? Knowing that cost beforehand will help a lot.

I got one customer because they bought a new item on Yahoo still in the Nintendo shipping box. The seller put the shipping label right on the box and shipped it out to the proxy. The proxy got it, opened up the box, and threw it away. Then they sent the item. With me I understand that things like a shipping box are extremely rare and probably the reason why you're buying it in the first place. I can also shoot an email to the Seller and ask them to wrap the shipping box or put it in another box so they don't much up the original shipping box with another label.

I can split up auctions and items. If you buy a lot of 50 games and know that 20 of them are worthless weight that adds to the shipping price I can remove them for you.

I can send part of the order by EMS and part of it by SEA.

I can tell you if an item is too large to ship to your country before you buy. I can tell you that certain items can only be shipped certain ways so you're not stuck paying EMS because it's too large for SAL or SEA.

I know pretty much everything there is to know about buying, selling, and shipping video games from Japan. And I'm the guy you'll be working with.

So like I said....if you just want $5 Famicom carts or $10 PS2 games then no, it's not worth the price because the above is meaningless to you. But if you want something that's a bit more, like a Sega Dreamcast CLAIRE, or a Panasonic Q GameCube, or a PC Engine LT, then I think you'll find that the extra service is more than worth an extra $10.

[smork]

Panasonic Q GameCube

Not to be a pedantic shit :) but that's not an expensive item these days - I see them all the time for relative peanuts.

Good response, Eric - and good luck!

[StealthLurker]

post edited

[Japan-Games.com]

Hey there

I'll send you a PM. Yeah, there are special things I can do...

[Mimi Nakamura]

Not to be a pedantic shit :) but that's not an expensive item these days - I see them all the time for relative peanuts.

Good response, Eric - and good luck!

Scratched up ones are fairly cheap cos nobody wants them. Mint, Boxed Q's are still in demand and sell for a fair amount.

[Japan-Games.com]

The Q's have 2 problems nowadays..... The top panel that goes around the LED display often fades in color and starts to turn transparent. The other issue is that the clasp they used to hold the tray in place is really weak and over time and enough shipping that clasp will break. About half the Q's on Yahoo now are junk items. Finding a good one takes some hunting.

[Mimi Nakamura]

The Q's have 2 problems nowadays..... The top panel that goes around the LED display often fades in color and starts to turn transparent. The other issue is that the clasp they used to hold the tray in place is really weak and over time and enough shipping that clasp will break. About half the Q's on Yahoo now are junk items. Finding a good one takes some hunting.

Word.

Speaking of which, my Q's disc tray often sticks, which requires me having to press the open button a couple of times before it opens. Is this a common problem? Do you know of any way to fix the problem? It's not a major problem, just a little irritating at times.

[smork]

The Q's have 2 problems nowadays..... The top panel that goes around the LED display often fades in color and starts to turn transparent. The other issue is that the clasp they used to hold the tray in place is really weak and over time and enough shipping that clasp will break. About half the Q's on Yahoo now are junk items. Finding a good one takes some hunting.

Indeed. I almost bought one last year but when I checked the box before buying it was covered in all sorts of goopy crap. What a waste.

I do seem to run into loose ones all the time these days for some reason.

[Japan-Games.com]

Word.

Speaking of which, my Q's disc tray often sticks, which requires me having to press the open button a couple of times before it opens. Is this a common problem? Do you know of any way to fix the problem? It's not a major problem, just a little irritating at times.


You have to open up the console and probably adjust the tray again. It might not be perfectly aligned. If you pick the console up and turn it on its side, do you hear anything rattling around?

[The 1 2 P]

Yahoo Japan does have a lot of good stuff listed there. If only I lived in Japan:(