cheapest and best deputy services?

[roastedpekingduck]

I tried Japan Auction Agency, as they initially appeared cheap. Unfortunately, while they were pretty fast, I found out soon that there were quite a few fees that I somehow skimmed over while looking through their FAQ, so the end result was that it turned out to be quite expensive. What are the cheapest, yet still reliable, services out there?

[slerch666]

I've used a few.

Masato (m-world service) kicks ass. The service is top notch. They'll go to brick and mortar stores if they have to. The only problem is shipping tends to be EMS only so it can be expensive. He also requires payment upfront via PayPal, which includes his fees AND another fee added on to negate PayPal taking their percentage. Probably one of the more expensive services to use, and you can't win items directly from Yahoo Auctions Japan with them, unlike Rinkya and Shopping Mall Japan.

Shopping Mall Japan kicks ass as well, though the service can be spotty at times. What I mean is sometimes it takes a while to get responses. I have over 200 purchases with them and have never had a real problem. Their fees tend to be the least expensive of the bunch, and they bulk ship from Japan to the US, so you save on shipping charges as you pay only a percentage of what you'd pay if you went EMS direct.

Rinkya has some amazing service... but they also charge you a lot for it. You get what you pay for. If you want to ensure you get an item and get it with great service and price is no object, definitely go Rinkya. I don't usually care enough to spend the money for Rinkya's service so I tend to use Shopping Mall Japan.

Celga... holy shit. Avoid this "service" like the plague. Uncommunicative. When you finally get help, you pay up front and when your item gets fucked in the mail, thanks to an absolute SHIT packing job, they ignore your emails or drag their feet, never doing anything to help you collect the insurance money you've rightly paid for when you pay for EMS shipping AND the added insurance they require. Why added insurance is required, when they won't help you collect it when the item you bought is fucked, I will never know. My guess is they charge extra for their "insurance;" they pocket the extra they charge you over the actual insurance cost.


Those are the services I use. SMJ is by far the easiest to use if you've used deputy services before. Rinkya's English search is top notch (though not all inclusive). Celga is the bleeding hemorrhoid of the deputy service world.


EDIT - this thread can be your friend as well.

[Sweeped]

I've never used anyone other than Shopping Mall Japan and I've never had any problems with them whatsoever and their rates seemed the most reasonable when I was first researching which Deputy Service to use...

[drown]

Wow, your experience with Celga is completely different from mine. I've ordered stuff through them around 5 times or so and never had any issues, and all my questions to them have been answered within a day. In fact, they were recommended to me by a friend who used them a whole lot more than me and he never complained about them. It's been a while since I used them last though, but if I recall correctly, all my dvd's came in bubble wrap and without a scratch or a dent on them. I haven't used any of the other services so I don't know how Celga compares to them, but judging from my own experience, I have a hard time believing they're the worst.

[meganly_chan]

I've had almost 100 transactions with SMJ and experienced very little problems. Once, an item I paid for was never received, so I got a refund Any emails I send them are usually quickly responded to.

In the past I have also dealt with Akibado, but I'd like to avoid using them again, as everything was too slow.

[Nork22]

While I never had a horror story like yours when I was using Celga (this was back 4-5 years ago), I opted to go with SMJ because they have an automated bidding system in place for YHJ. With that I don't have to constantly email Celga to increase my bid 30 mins before an auction ends. Not to mention driving up bidding with SMJ when going at a bidding war I know I won't win. Feel that Japanese bidders! :D

[slerch666]

Originally Posted by drown

Wow, your experience with Celga is completely different from mine. I've ordered stuff through them around 5 times or so and never had any issues, and all my questions to them have been answered within a day. In fact, they were recommended to me by a friend who used them a whole lot more than me and he never complained about them. It's been a while since I used them last though, but if I recall correctly, all my dvd's came in bubble wrap and without a scratch or a dent on them. I haven't used any of the other services so I don't know how Celga compares to them, but judging from my own experience, I have a hard time believing they're the worst.

Had I bought just DVDs or CDs or similar, they probably would have been fine. Instead I purchased, for more than $600 after fees and so on, a replica of Shinguji Sakura's sword. It was about 4 feet long. They put it in a single toilet paper roll box (it was more than long enough) and the box was roughed up in shipping. No real surprise considering the size of the box, lack of packing material and so on.

However, when I took pics and contacted Celga to show them that the hand guard was demolished, they couldn't have given a fuck less. They wrongfully told me I had to file the paperwork with the post office, which I did, then proceeded to blame me for not getting the insurance costs. I spoke to my post office and they said that w/ international shipping the shipper has to go to their post office and provide proof of damage, then it filters back to the local office who collects the item for insurance purposes and authorizes a check for the item. My guess? Celga took the paper work which I had to mail to them in Japan (extra $15), filed it, then when the check came, kept it.

Or even worse, sat on their asses and did NOTHING which is why the sword was never confiscated and likely, no check was ever forthcoming to either me or them.

For me, Celga is a shit service run by incompetents. For you, perhaps not. I can only relay MY experiences with these services, and based on my usage of these services, Celga IS the worst.

Rinkya blows the shit out of Celga. Masato kicks everyone's ass, and honestly, is likely cheaper than Celga in terms of total costs, or on par, which would be "go to Masato" for me. Celga is bottom of the barrel.

SMJ is the least expensive of all the services. The website isn't the most professional looking, but it's serviceable. Nick and the gang are generally nice people and are quick to respond to email inquiries. I'd use Masato first, but if cost/fees are an issue, SMJ it tops.

[slerch666]

Originally Posted by roastedpekingduck

Hmmm...while Japan Auction Agency is kinda expensive, they are lightning fast and incredibly responsive, so it looks like I might just stick with them. Doesn't look like there's anything that blows them out of the water.

SMJ is the least expensive service out there. They are also pretty quick as well. If there is an item you HAVE to have right away, they will ship direct from Japan if you so desire, rather than using the slower bulk shipping to the US then ship to you method.

[DocWatson]

Two related threads in Retail: "Japanese Dropshippers to US??" and "Proxy service recommendations".

What about:

• A&M Pesan
• CCmelon
• Crescent Shop
• Goody Japan
• M-world

Does anyone have any experience with any of those services?

[TheFly]

Originally Posted by DocWatson

Does anyone have any experience with any of those services?

I've used Crescent. I don't really have a base for comparison as I've only had need to use a proxy service once (for a couple of items), but I have no complaints about Crescent. Their website is excellent - fully automated real-time Yahoo Auction bidding, and a decent search engine to find the items you want. They offer multiple shipping options which saved me money (EMS is hideously expensive for UK residents as it attracts a higher handling fee if caught by customs). The items were packed very well and the turnaround from them receiving the items to reshipping them out to me was fairly quick.

They do require you to make a deposit before you can bid on anything, but this is refunded after you pay for the items.