Well, the cel prices that're in Yahoo Japan auction are
generally not cheap anyway, the final bids for the popular
cels are almost ending up as expensive as the foreign
dealers.
And here are some facts that I would like to add...
Most people who're selling at Yahoo's Japan auction
don't prefer to sell them to foreigners because of the
hassles. First, they usually freak out when they hear
you live outside of Japan. They have never sent a package
or even a letter to overseas before, so they don't know
how to send airmail and they never heard EMS before
because they never used it.
Secondly, there're some foreign bidders who won
the Yahoo Japan auctions, and replying the emails in
English, of course the sellers don't know what the heck
the buyers are talking about because they don't know
English well at all. Lastly, the payment method is another
headache for them because they don't know what the heck is
the International Postal Money Order. If you pay as
bank transfer, that'll be okay though, but then, they'll
have to go through the trouble to find out the exact info
how to let you to deposit the foreign fund into their
accounts. Not all banks in Japan have user-friendly
transactions when accepting foreign funds.
Overall, yes, it will be a lot better to have a friend in
Japan to deal with the sellers directly. It simply makes
the deal more easier on both sides. Otherwise, you will
have to send a lot of emails (writing in Japanese) back
and forth to explain all the issues like payment method,
how to send the package to overseas...etc. Because most
sellers there are total newbies when it comes as dealing
with foreigners. For many of us, we know the method because
some of you may have experiences dealing with Taro or
Pocket, but for the sellers in Yahoo Japan Auction, that's
a totally different situation.
Anyway, like the first poster has said, bid responsibly
please. |
