Buyer Protection on Yahoo Auctions

General
21

Can I ask how Buyee works? All new to buying

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22

Big risk, big reward. If it was easy everyone would be doing it, just finding a middleman for a high value transaction is already a big enough barrier for most people.

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24

Is that a giggity?

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25

gamble my man

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26

@kemost You just shop on Yahoo Auctions/Mercari etc. through their website and when you buy something they actually purchase it on their Yahoo/Mercari account and you have to pay a service fee. Then they will receive the item at their warehouse and you can choose what delivery method you want to use, pay them, and they ship it to you. Basically a middleman service.

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27

Thanks for all the help guys, but when I look at the risk to reward.

I might be able to get this item for a 30% discount. At the same time I could get 0 back. It’s too much risk for me, I can’t do it lol! But thank you! God how I wish there was a way around this!

28

Does anyone know if there are middleman services you can top up after you win the auction? Using paypal to topup your account means a 3.5% fee loss + crappy conversion rates and you probably lose another 3% just to convert your currency to yen!!!

29

So basicly a little bit safer

30

No. They don’t offer protection, they just make the transaction easy for non Japanese users who can’t buy direct

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31

It depends on what you’re buying but Buyee do offer protection of their own though their 300 JPY ‘Inspection Plan’: buyee.jp/help/yahoo/guide/plans?lang=en. I’ve had a couple of purchases refunded in full before when the seller has sent the wrong card or wrong variant of a card, however none of those have been more than $50. You can make use of this even after you’ve received the item.

Presumably this must mean that YJA has some form of buyer protection, as I doubt they’d offer such a service otherwise.

One thing they don’t cover though is authentication. If you’re making a high-end purchase it’s probably best to stick with a trusted seller and ignore questionable listings (trophies without cases, etc).

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32

@kemost, you can’t buy directly from Mercari or YA if you don’t have a Japanese address. So your only option is to go through one of these Middle man services. And as others have said they offer very little to no buyer protection.

You could try using a private individual in Japan who offers a middle man service to lower the risk as they will most likely better communicate with the seller and ask questions (request further photos), However I have been quoted 20% of the total item price as their fee and there is still no definite protection.

You have to be aware of the risk of using these middle man services when purchasing from Japan.

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34

What do the middleman, check the item, or only reship the items?
(will that check that the item is not just newspaper)

Does feedback count anything?
The card i would like to buy cost me 5k, and would cost me 80k here home, so i can live with loosing the 5k, but was hoping to recive the card (even if the condition is bad), but do i risk not reciveing anything mot likly? Seller has 130 positive feedbacks

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35

Feedback is worth just as much there as it is on ebay. I’d weigh 130 positive feedback the same as I would anywhere else

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36

@kemost, it depends what middle man service you use and the type of plan/service level you select. As an example and as @pichufan, mentioned Buyee do offer protection through their 300 JPY ‘Inspection Plan’: buyee.jp/help/yahoo/guide/plans?lang=en. In this scenario buyee would inspect the item for you and send photos to you if you pay addition fees. However this has limits to what can be refunded, as others have mentioned YA does not cover buyers like ebay does and therefore Buyee can not afford to protect you either. You would have to do more research on your own in to each company and their services.

feedback does give you an indication, but just like on ebay only so far.

If the difference is 75k between Japan and your country I would be a little suspicious. The card could be a counterfeit or fake. If the item is at such a value I would look at using a private individual middle man who might be better able to help you. I know @japanime use to offer the service, however I am unsure if they still do (i hope you don’t mind me putting your name out there japanime).

All I can say is you have to be aware of the risk from buying from JA! and at the same time the options you can take to minimize your risk.

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37

Buyee specifically tells sellers that the transaction ends when the items hit their warehouse. Before they pay they also state that if you are uncomfortable with selling to overseas sellers you can ask for the transaction to be canceled.

Some Japanese sellers won’t even sell to non-Japanese even with a Japanese address (rare). Many others won’t sell to middleman services. Japanese are very risk adverse and don’t want confrontation.

Japanese system is no claim/no return. If Buyee tried to force eBay like returns they would be black listed by many sellers.

Here is part of the Buyee message to sellers.

■ About transactions 
 [Transactions are completed when the products arrive at our domestic warehouse. We will ship overseas. ]
・ Transactions with the seller will be until the item arrives at the warehouse.
・ We will not disclose the seller’s personal information to our members.

■ Requests
[Cancellation of Transaction]
If
you do not wish to make a transaction with an overseas customer via Buyee We apologize for the inconvenience , but please let us know that this transaction has been cancelled.

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38

Thanks for the advice pal, yup the item I read the terms of a few of these proxy websites and they tended to say they don’t cover authentication! Also buyee seem to have a 900k Yen limit