Getting stuff from Yahoo Japan...

[IcewynG]

Sorry if that was discussed before but I didn't see anything regarding it:

What is the best way for someone who doesn't speak japanese to get something from Yahoo Japan? I know there are some sites that will act as middlemen, but who was the most trustworthy? Also, how are fees when you use such a service?

Thanks

[Bighab]

I myself have a contact in taiwan who has someone in Japan who will bid on items for me. I have never tried Rinkya but hear its ok. There are some deals to be had there for sure.

[Raccoon Lad]

Ive been using Celga, and they always come through for me.

Anyway, here's their fee structure:

1 to 1000 Yen winning bid - $5 fee
1001 to infinite Yen winning bid - $10 fee
bank transfer fee (to pay the seller) - $2 fee
shipping WITHIN japan regardless of package size - $8 fee

then shipping is EMS, but you can win multiple auctions and combine them together into one package to save a little.

So, a 100 yen item (just under $1 FYI) will cost you $16, and a 2000 yen item will cost you $40, and then there's the shipping to the US on top of that.

It sounds pricey, but if you only buy items in lots, you can still get stuff at good prices.

Oh, and they require a deposit of 50% of your max bid.

And as a tip, I've been informed japanese sellers don't like funky bid amounts like 2671 yen, so keep you max bids in increments of 10 yen. Also, Japanese bidders seem to like to only bid in 500 yen incriments, so you can often win things in amounts like 2600 yen.

[Aussie2B]

I have a middleman too. He lives in the Phillipines, he's got a contact in Japan, a bank account in the US, and I think he's British but he understands Japanese very well. o_O Yes, it's fruity, but it works very well. :P Some middlemen are hard to work with because they either don't know Japanese very well or can't speak to you in English well, but this guy is good at both languages. It's also very nice to be able to pay with a normal money order thanks to the aforementioned US bank account. I suppose that wouldn't help you much since you're in Canada, though. Anyway, depending on the item, he'll charge usually 18-26 dollars to cover the bank transfer fee, shipping within Japan, packaging, and his service. Then he adds on shipping from Japan to you, and he gives you the option of cheap, slow ass mail or express shipping. He packages things really well, though, so items should be safe even with the uninsured slow shipping option. I'm poor so I take risks. I had a CD worth around $100 shipped that way. o_O But it arrived in perfect condition. :)

If you're interested, I can give you this guy's email.

[GaijinPunch]

The private guys are always going to be cheaper than the companies. The companies havemore business, and doesn't mind charging an arma and a leg, to be honest. I think they've gotten a bit greedy though.

I'm working on something that will make searching easier, but it won't be ready for a few months... won't help you buy anything either, but will be worth looking at.

[Azazel]

From what people have told me Celga is supposed to be better than Rinkya at least in terms of price. Those are the only big name companies that I remember. Also I thought that most of the private guys in Japan there prices and fees weren't that much better than the companies.

Yahoo auctions just aren't worth it for me.

[IcewynG]

Thank you all for your input.

So, from what I understand, you just state how much you want to bid and set a miximum bid on it? Just tell them what you are looking for and they will look it up for you?

Buying in lots definitly sounds like the best thing to do. I'm into the NGPC and DC and since the NPGC has so many more games over there than here, I wanted to have a way to check them out. I had heard a bit of Celga but wanted to see if there were other sites that were about the same kind.

IcewynG

[Azazel]

You also have to place some kind of deposit with them before they will place a bid for you. I think it's generally 50% of whatever you want to bid on the item.

I think you might have to give them a direct link to the auction you want them to bid on for you? I'm not sure on this. If you just say I want this game or whatever they might not bid for you. It's probably best you go to there site and see what there rules and such are for placing bids on Yahoo.