8 replies to this topic

[Slowpoke Sloth]

I've been checking out Yahoo Japan auctions for battle beasts and laser beasts and I havn't really seen anything on there. Is there usually rare laser beast stuff on it or is just slow lately? Also my big question, I've noticed that all the auctions say "Seller will not ship internationally." Is there a way around this? How do you get your items shipped to you if they don't ship to the US. Is there a good way to translate the webpage? I just have been using www.altavista.com/babelfish to look up specific phrases and such. Lastly, whats the best way to pay for stuff on yahoo japan? Sorry for all the questions. I have been trying to figure it out for the last two weeks and it's becoming more and more clear everyday, But any help or advice would be very helpful. Thanks, Eric

[jkaris]

Alot of folks use a 3rd party service to get their items. These 3rd party places will bid, pay for and ship to the US, the auctions won. They can get expensive though, as they have high surcharges. Even still, it usually ends up for less that what you would pay for it over here.


I bid on Yahoo Japan every once in a while for BB/LB stuff. Mainly for Kinnikuman items for my store though. I have a firend in Tokyo who will hold stuff for me and then ship it here, so I have all my auctions shipped to her house. There is a rare occasion where a seller will ship to the US, but that is the exception, rather than the rule. Shipping is horribly expensive. So, I usually wait until I have a huge box full of stuff before I have my friend ship it to me.

As far as payment goes, a lot of sellers will accept cash (Yen, not dollars) so I will mail yen from my house to theirs in a USPS Global Priority Envelope. It takes about 4-5 days to get there. I have sent up to 70,000 yen at once before (roughly $700) with no problems. The big problem comes when a seller won't accept cash and requires a bank transfer. My friend helps me out with this too.

It is really a pain in the arse to bid, win, contact the seller (my friend translated some basic emails for me to use when contacting the sellers, very, very few know english), send the money, etc. etc.

I have found that there are a few that hate non-japanese. I have gotten negative feedback before for trivial things. Once, because I was from the US and I won the auction. Second because I took a little to long in leaving feedback. But oh well, this is their auction, I have to play by their rules, whether implicit or inferred.

The signup process is a bee-eye-itch too. You have to know Kanjii AND Katakana as the form requires both characters. Plus they charge you $2.50 per month just to have an account.

All in all, if you don't have a good friend there in Japan, you will have to either look for sellers who will take cash AND ship to the US (there are some out there) or use a 3rd party entity.

[jkaris]

Wow...that's pretty serious. Looks like the best way to get stuff you want is to take a lil' trip to the Land of the Rising Sun...am I correct?

Not really. A lot of people have thought that but really, most of the LB/BB and other older toys only show up on Yahoo JP. Trying to hunt down older toys in a regualr mom and pop type store can be a major chore.

I know Hydra has had some luck, but only for a few items. My friend Jason went over there, and he has a Japanese wife, and he just about blanked when he went over there looking for stuff.

[jkaris]

Well, then...two questions come to mind.
One, what programs are available for one's computer that write in both Kanjii and Katakana and allow you to translate the YahooJP web-pages;
and two, how do you meet people in Japan who will ship for you and all that jazz?
I guess those are kind of inane questions. If you are a really serious collector, you'll find a way. For those amateur collectors, like myself...I guess you just hope your luck doesn't run out.

1. I don't have a way to write eaither, other than copy and paste from Babelfish. I use Babel fish for the basic translations, but it spits out really bad broken english, and vice versa. I have had a few people tell my friend that I am very rude, when using Babelfish to translate. So now anymore, I have her translate for me.

2. I know my friend because I am nest friends with her son, who lives here. I have known him for many years, and that is how I met her. Other than that, you may meet a few people here and there on the web.

[Slowpoke Sloth]

Thanks Jkaris for the info. Sounds like you've got the better route with having a friend over there. I've found rinkya.com and signed up. After hours of reading all the surcharges and fees it seems though that if you buy something for $100 you'll be paying over that much in rinkya fees and shipping. So something $100 is really like $220. I think, unless I'm reading it wrong. Also, I don't think you get charged for anything if you bid but don't win the auction, but I'm not sure. I will investigate rinkya further and post what I find.

[Hydra]

My luck has been actually pretty good travelling to Japan. I don't think there's much in the way of BB/LB that I haven't found there, although since Japanese collectors don't value the toys very highly, they don't appear that frequently.

I'd really only recommend it if you speak Japanese, though. Or, at least do a lot of research on the locations of toy shops. Frankly, without specialized knowledge, you'll just end up running around like a chicken with its head cut off, so it's best to plan things carefully first.

-Hydra