Yahoo Japan question

[something]

Searched for "Yahoo" in the thread title and everything was 3+ years old. Didn't want to clutter the CD Japan Shipping thread in Retail any more than it is (it's pretty off topic by this point) either. But move this wherever if needed.

I'm taking another look at grabbing the Clannad Mabinogi CD and it seems Yahoo Japan is my only real option. And as far as I can tell, that means having to deal with deputy services.

Previous threads seemed to suggest Shopping Mall Japan, but as mentioned those are all very old threads. Are they still on top, or has someone overtaken them? And can anyone give a (very general) ballpark of what final cost would be if I won an auction at around, say, 2000 yen (small purchase, one CD, S&H to USA)?

Thanks.

[Draneor]

I'm taking another look at grabbing the Clannad Mabinogi CD and it seems Yahoo Japan is my only real option. And as far as I can tell, that means having to deal with deputy services.

I lucked out and bought the CD on eBay for $6 + shipping (Magical Girl's Anime Shoppe). However, since it was never released separately, it is rare.

And can anyone give a (very general) ballpark of what final cost would be if I won an auction at around, say, 2000 yen (small purchase, one CD, S&H to USA)?

It depends on which deputy service you use, but I'd budget at least 100% of the final bid price. In my experience, pretty much all of them rape you in the arse in fees (domestic shipping, international shipping, bank transfer fee, service fee, PayPal withdraw fees, currency conversion fees, etc). You could also try to find it used and use a re-shipping service (http://www.reikon.org/2009/10/02/shopping-guide-where-and-how-to-buy-things-from-japan/). If you have a contact in Japan, it would be best to see if you can use him/her.

[Draneor]

One other thing to consider is that it should be included in the first edition LE version of Clannad "CLANNAD－クラナド－ 初回限定版," which may be easier to find than the CD separately (see ID: 10001043 at rakuten (auction.rakuten.co.jp/) for an example). There's also a slightly damaged one (ID: w42588697) going at YAJ for 1,980 yen.

The original Clannad was unvoiced and drawn at 640x480. On the other hand, CLANNAD FULL VOICE was drawn at 800x600 and is voiced. It's probably not worth it, but that's why it's so rare--someone would need to sell the CD and game separately.

[Buster Darkwings]

My friend recently used Rinkya just a couple weeks ago when the exchange rate was about the same as it is now to win a figure that ended at 3500 yen (I normally get stuff for him but wasn't able to get in a bid in time). So that became $40. The Rinkya "commission" ($20) and then "handling" ($15, probably way more than the actual in-Japan shipping) were added, for a total of about $75, BEFORE shipping to the US (he didn't tell me how much that was). If he was an AZ resident, he also would have had to have paid sales tax.

So yeah. Other places might not be as big of a ripoff, but probably not by much. If it's just one item I wouldn't mind bidding on it for you and charge you cost + shipping + PayPal fees, gimme a PM if interested. You're pretty much the person on AoD I respect the most so I wouldn't mind doing a small favor for you.

[something]

I lucked out and bought the CD on eBay for $6 + shipping (Magical Girl's Anime Shoppe).
Oh, wow... I didn't think to check ebay this time because it's never been up the other times I looked. But there is one now, albeit at $62 shipped. Yikes.

As for the deputy services and such, yeah, those are certainly some interesting fees. I was looking at SMJ and the fees page just kept going on and on... :sd: I do sort of have a contact in Japan, but it's a friend of a friend, nobody I actually know personally. And they basically just have an Amazon Japan import mini-business eBay thing going on that I occasionally piggyback onto (which is how I got my other KSL discs). Don't think I could get them to do Yahoo Japan for me though.

Buster, I totally appreciate the offer and it looks like I may well take you up on it (there's a reasonably priced auction ending soon), but yeah, off to PMs for that.

So I guess the general answer about deputy services is to be ready to pay a very significant fee... and it's probably not worth it for a single small item. Unless there's no alternative of course. I did run into a Yahoo Japan English beta site that unfortunately looks like it was shut down just a couple months ago. Kinda wonder how that worked. Or didn't, judging by its disappearance. :sd:

[Roujin0308]

Previous threads seemed to suggest Shopping Mall Japan, but as mentioned those are all very old threads. Are they still on top, or has someone overtaken them? And can anyone give a (very general) ballpark of what final cost would be if I won an auction at around, say, 2000 yen (small purchase, one CD, S&H to USA)?

I still use SMJ - most recently in October - and they haven't given me any reason to look elsewhere, so I don't know whether other services have surpassed them.

Gah! the exchange rate's down to 88~89 yen/$ :depressed:.

So, an auction for one CD that ends at 2000 yen would run you $24 (cd) + $5 (commish) + $2.50 (SMJ paying the seller) and on the order of $7.50 ("internal" shipping to their US storage site - cost is estimated based on what I paid for CDs back in Feb.) or around $40. Add a couple more bucks for media mail shipping from them to you ...

[Serift]

It depends on which deputy service you use, but I'd budget at least 100% of the final bid price. In my experience, pretty much all of them rape you in the arse in fees (domestic shipping, international shipping, bank transfer fee, service fee, PayPal withdraw fees, currency conversion fees, etc). You could also try to find it used and use a re-shipping service (http://www.reikon.org/2009/10/02/shopping-guide-where-and-how-to-buy-things-from-japan/). If you have a contact in Japan, it would be best to see if you can use him/her.

Wow, my site somehow made it here. I haven't even been around for a while. :sweat:

I haven't done much of an in-depth comparison of Yahoo Auctions. I don't ever use it, so I only listed services for regular shopping on my site.

Goody-japan's fees don't seem that bad. 600 yen commission for an auction under 3000 yen plus a 300 yen bank transfer fee (I don't get why people in Japan don't just use cards...) If you use SAL small packet, you can probably get away with paying about 500 yen shipping. Total: 1400 yen extra. It seems to be around the same as SMJ.

Edit: And apparently this Mania switching thing wiped out my old username. I want Reikon back. :depressed: I feel lied to. It said it was going to preserve my history.

[something]

Edit: And apparently this Mania switching thing wiped out my old username. I want Reikon back. :depressed: I feel lied to. It said it was going to preserve my history.
Yeah it was a big mess but post here (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?t=95586) and (if it's still being checked), someone ought to be able to restore the account. Although it's been awhile since the switch.

[Draneor]

and it's probably not worth it for a single small item. Unless there's no alternative of course.

You have to really want it or find a great deal. I picked up a couple of visual novels and the D.C. boxsets that way. The prices were so cheap I saved quite a bit compared to buying them new. But I mostly use it for comiket goods --like the two upcoming Little Busters C77 character CDs I absolutely must try to acquire once they're posted.

Wow, my site somehow made it here. I haven't even been around for a while. :sweat:

Always happy to link to a fellow Rin fan. <3 It's also a useful guide for new importers.

[Skywise]

Goody-japan's fees don't seem that bad. 600 yen commission for an auction under 3000 yen plus a 300 yen bank transfer fee (I don't get why people in Japan don't just use cards...)

Because cards cost not only quite a bit in usage fees but also monthly setup. It's only worth it if you have a business going, not private sales, and even then the seller is going to be paying out of the nose, not the buyer.

Paypal does work, but they have their own crazy fees.

[Buster Darkwings]

I rather doubt they're actually paying a bank transfer fee in most cases. It's free for transfers between accounts at the same bank, and it's fairly easy for these places to set up bank accounts at all the major banks. They just use the bank transfer fee as an excuse to pad on more charges. Even when there is a fee, it's usually only around 100 yen, not 300.

[HitokiriShadow]

So I guess the general answer about deputy services is to be ready to pay a very significant fee... and it's probably not worth it for a single small item.

Yeah, I used Shopping Mall Japan earlier this year and ended up paying more in the various fees as I payed for the actual items. I think I paid about $110 in the end for items that valued about $45. The process was a pain in the ass too. You probably won't save much if any money by doing more items at once but you would at least save yourself the trouble.

I was also annoyed because I was charged a fee for every item that should have been only charged to one or two, because it wasn't supposed to be charged for multiple items from the same store. I'll have to want something pretty damn bad and have no other way to get it to go through a deputy service again.

[Shiroi Hane]

Here's the details of a recent Yahoo Auctions transaction I made using Shopping Mall Japan (not including shipping to me).

Below are the details of this invoice:
Winning Bid: 5000
Yen Rate: 83
Internal Ship: 870
Commission: $12.00
Wire Fee: $2.50
Total Item Cost: $85.25

[Serift]

Because cards cost not only quite a bit in usage fees but also monthly setup. It's only worth it if you have a business going, not private sales, and even then the seller is going to be paying out of the nose, not the buyer.

Paypal does work, but they have their own crazy fees.

I mean credit cards for them to buy things. Lots of companies in Japan accept cards, but those proxy places all pay with bank transfers. If they just used a company card it would make it cheaper.

And the services I list on my site use Paypal for payment, so I don't see your point. To get foreigners to pay them, they pretty much have to accept credit cards.

Yeah, I used Shopping Mall Japan earlier this year and ended up paying more in the various fees as I payed for the actual items. I think I paid about $110 in the end for items that valued about $45. The process was a pain in the ass too. You probably won't save much if any money by doing more items at once but you would at least save yourself the trouble.

I was also annoyed because I was charged a fee for every item that should have been only charged to one or two, because it wasn't supposed to be charged for multiple items from the same store. I'll have to want something pretty damn bad and have no other way to get it to go through a deputy service again.

I don't know if you mean for auctions or for shopping, but if you buy something off a normal website, you can save quite a bit in fees if you buy lots of stuff together if you use re-shipping services since they just charge flat rates depending on the weight of the package.

[Skywise]

Okay I see what you mean now. It is a bit weird that they won't use CCs for sellers that do accept them, I agree. My point was that a lot of sellers don't even take CCs to begin with.