OK, I’ve reviewed the various fees and add-ons being charged by the two leading services, Treasure Japan and Noppin.
Before I get into the details, however, I want you all to ask yourself one question: What do you really know about the middleman service you are currently using?
I had the same question myself. So, I did the first thing I always do when checking out an online business: a “whois” search on their domain name. And this is what I found:
“treasure-japan.com” is hiding behind a service that keeps the information of the domain registrant private. No name. No address. No phone number. Those are three very big red flags. I also could not find an address or phone number on the treasure-japan website. Conclusion: I am unable to verify whether this is legitimate business registered with authorities in Japan. Unless and until I could find out who exactly runs this service, and whether it is a legitimate business, I personally would not transact with treasure-japan.com.
“noppin.com” is registered to a Mr. Masamichi Kuge. The address given for the the registrant is 2-1-4 Maimatsubara, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi. The registrant’s phone number is also provided. Google’s street view shows this to be an unmarked (no sign) business space on the first floor of an apartment building. In fact, the street view is so clear, you can see a bunch of cardboard boxes piled inside the store. The lack of a sign concerns me, but otherwise it looks legit. (I was also able to find a LinkedIn page for Mr. Kuge, which is further reassurance that his business is registered.) Based on my initial investigation, I would feel relatively comfortable transacting with noppin.com. But — and this is a big but — I would not send noppin.com payment via PayPal, since noppin.com adds a PayPal surcharge despite PayPal’s explicit policy prohibiting such surcharges.
And, in the spirit of full disclosure, here is what you will find if you do a “whois” search for “japanime.com” (my company’s domain): My name, my address, my phone number, and the fact that my domain has been registered since 1998 (treasure-japan.com was registered in 2008, noppin.com in 2009). My company name — Japanime Yugengaisha — is not listed on the record; however, that information can be found by looking up our our howtodrawmanga.com domain name (our publishing imprint’s website).
With that out of the way, here is what I am offering for those who wish to bid on auctions through my company:
NO PAYPAL SURCHARGES — With me, you’ll pay the final closing cost of the auction (plus any auction-related closing fees, taxes and bank-transfer fees.) Treasure Japan and Noppin charge up to 3.8 percent on top of that. They tell you this is to cover their transaction fees. I call it giving them free money.
NO STORAGE FEES - Storage fees are one of the more ridiculous add-on charges that other middleman services demand. Noppin seems to have storage space. For all I know, Treasure Japan is being run out of some housewife’s apartment that she shares with her chain-smoking husband and their Poke-curious son. (If anyone cares to provide me with the return address taken off of a Treasure Japan package, I’d be happy to check the location so we can scrutinize my theory.) In the meantime, I shudder to think that the Tamamushi University Magikarp you just won on Yahoo Japan auctions might be left lying next to the coffee table ashtray or stuffed into a shoebox in junior’s room for “safe keeping” while Treasure Japan awaits your shipping instructions!
I own a four-story building with a 2,000-square-foot storeroom and a state-of-the-art security system. Which means I have plenty of space to properly store your purchases until you’re ready for me to ship them to you.
NO REPACKAGING FEES — Another ridiculous add-on by other middleman services. In fact, everything I purchase on your behalf will be repackaged for safe overseas shipping. (If you ask for “special” packaging — i.e. every Pokemon card put into a penny sleeve and then placed into a toploader, that might incur an additional fee. We can discuss this on a case-by-case basis.)
NO INSPECTION FEES: I read that Noppin charges 3,000 yen per hour if you are having more than 10 items shipped to you and want them inspected beforehand! Are you kidding me? They charge you to make sure they put everything into the box?! Everything I purchase on your behalf will be inspected to ensure you get what you paid for. That way, if the seller has shipped me bogus merchandise, you won’t get stuck with it.
DEPOSIT — This is one area where I agree with the other middleman services. If you want to bid on an auction, you must cover that bid beforehand. I prefer to do this through through PayPal. If you have an alternate preferred method of payment, let me know and we can discuss it.
COMMISSION — For bids 3,000 yen and less, I am asking 20 percent of the final bid. For bids greater than 3,000 yen, I’m asking 15 percent. This is a flat fee, no matter the number of items purchased or the amount of the auction. This makes my commission lower than Noppin on everything except purchases that exceed 60,000 yen (when you factor in all of their add-on costs). My commission is lower than Treasure-Japan on everything except purchases that exceed 10,000 yen. (So, if you are already using Treasure Japan and regularly win auctions that cost 10,000 yen or more, you will spend less with them than with me.)
SHIPPING AND HANDLING — This is another area where Treasure Japan and Noppin squeeze a few more yen out of you. If you win an auction through me, you will only be responsible for the actual cost of having the merchandise delivered by the seller to my location, and then from me to you. That’s it. None of this “surcharge by weight” or “surcharge by measurement” nonsense.
CONCLUSION: I believe my prices are better — way better — than Noppin except for the priciest of items. And I can beat Treasure-Japan on items with final bids less than 10,000 yen. For everything in-between, it comes down with whom you trust the most to bid on your behalf.
I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have.
