日本のマーケット部分 The Giant Japanese Market Thread

[nish]

@stagecoach

@pbmagnet4

Welcome to the wonderful world of Japanese collecting. If its any consolation, I have experienced the same issues.

I accept that it comes with the territory. I knew it would be a challenge when I got in to it. But I admit it’s more taxing than I anticipated considering how hard I have to work just to identify one card in the correct condition, especially someone like me who cares about centering and makes it that much harder on myself. I thought I’d be able to get a lot of cards pretty quickly to start but that hasn’t been the case at all.

Any idea what they call the trade evolution communication cards in on Yahoo Auctions?

The Masaki promos? 通信進化キャンペーン is what usually yields me the most results. You can also try マサキ

[surfnsnow]

@stagecoach Check out this Japanese Search Guide thread from a couple of years ago, it has a lot of good tips:
www.elitefourum.com/t/yahoo-japan-search-guide/13488/1

For specific Pokemon, you can look them up on Bulbapedia, where they show the Japanese characters for the species name. You can then copy/paste the Japanese text into the Yahoo Japan search box.

Hope this helps and good luck!

[smpratte]

Or just use ebay

[nish]

@smpratte

Or just use ebay

ばか外人

[stagecoach]

@nish

The Masaki promos? 通信進化キャンペーン is what usually yields me the most results. You can also try マサキ

This is exactly what I needed, thank you. That was one of the last ones I needed.

@surfnsnow

@stagecoach Check out this Japanese Search Guide thread from a couple of years ago, it has a lot of good tips:
www.elitefourum.com/t/yahoo-japan-search-guide/13488/1

For specific Pokemon, you can look them up on Bulbapedia, where they show the Japanese characters for the species name. You can then copy/paste the Japanese text into the Yahoo Japan search box.

Hope this helps and good luck!

I do exactly this, especially for movie names and set names. That thread was also a great resource for getting started, but some of the more specific terms still eluded me. The right phrasing for the Quick Starter Gift Box, for example, or for the CoroCoro fan book.

@smpratte

Or just use ebay

Certainly I do. But when you can’t find what you want on eBay, you go looking on Yahoo. And when you can’t find what you’re looking for several days (or weeks) in a row, that means checking both an awful lot. Plus the pricing is usually better on Yahoo so it’s worth checking even if you CAN find what you want on eBay. I’m a deep trawler. I’ve used to searching far and wide for my cards. But it’s been an ordeal to get accustomed to searching a few different phrases on multiple sites just to not find something I’m satisfied with.

[cardstockpile]

@stagecoach

Been browsing, searching, and branching out for a lot of Japanese promos over the last couple of months.

Starting to feel exhausted. They are very difficult to search. Between the language barrier and regional naming conventions there is no uniformity to how cards are listed which necessitates multiple searches to review what may be available for the same card. Lots of cards are listed incorrectly because they are so similar to their variants. Lots of language we use in English does not properly translate to the language used in Japan, making it a guessing game how some cards might be referred to in Japan. Almost nothing is sold in sets or subsets and cards are just mixed together. Condition is also generally poor among the limited results.

The cards are beautiful. Getting them in feels amazing. However it is a laborious, tiresome process.

Many times Bulbapedia will provide the Japanese translation which can be plugged directly into YHJ. But yes, eBay is much easier.

[stagecoach]

@cardstockpile

@stagecoach

Been browsing, searching, and branching out for a lot of Japanese promos over the last couple of months.

Starting to feel exhausted. They are very difficult to search. Between the language barrier and regional naming conventions there is no uniformity to how cards are listed which necessitates multiple searches to review what may be available for the same card. Lots of cards are listed incorrectly because they are so similar to their variants. Lots of language we use in English does not properly translate to the language used in Japan, making it a guessing game how some cards might be referred to in Japan. Almost nothing is sold in sets or subsets and cards are just mixed together. Condition is also generally poor among the limited results.

The cards are beautiful. Getting them in feels amazing. However it is a laborious, tiresome process.

Many times Bulbapedia will provide the Japanese translation which can be plugged directly into YHJ. But yes, eBay is much easier.

Yeah, I just mentioned this in one of my replies. Bulbapedia is useful for the complete formal name of something (Mewtwo Strikes Back, for example) or to confirm the Japanese name of a Pokémon. I only go to Yahoo Japan when I can’t find what I want on eBay. Which, unfortunately for me, is a persistent limitation.

[pbmagnet4]

@stagecoach

@cardstockpile

Many times Bulbapedia will provide the Japanese translation which can be plugged directly into YHJ. But yes, eBay is much easier.

Yeah, I just mentioned this in one of my replies. Bulbapedia is useful for the complete formal name of something (Mewtwo Strikes Back, for example) or to confirm the Japanese name of a Pokémon. I only go to Yahoo Japan when I can’t find what I want on eBay. Which, unfortunately for me, is a persistent limitation.

It also doesnt help that some people are purposely obtuse when sharing info on select cards in order to decrease potential competition. I may be reading too much into it but thats just the vibe I get.

[stagecoach]

@pbmagnet4

It also doesnt help that some people are purposely obtuse when sharing info on select cards in order to decrease potential competition. I may be reading too much into it but thats just the vibe I get.

I don’t think it’s that. People have been pretty helpful to me, at least as helpful as they can be. (Unnecessarily long reply incoming.)

The longer you’ve been collecting the more connections you have to find you cards, the less cards you actually have that you’re still looking for, and the difficulty associated with locating and acquiring cards like this is significantly reduced. It just becomes second nature - something you’re not trying as hard to accomplish. You’ve built up a lot of momentum and that momentum carries you still. A lot of your collection is “done” and you’re filling in gaps or exploring the fringes.

This happened to me when English promos, especially sealed product. I bought most of my stuff years ago then stopped having to look for it, so my frame of reference for how easy it is to find or buy is rooted in the experience I had a long time ago. But I am still collecting based on the skills and experiences I developed during that period, so it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything different. So when someone asks me how to find something, I say the same thing I always do: check eBay every day. That’s all I ever did, you know?

But that isn’t the only way I got a lot of my stuff. I made friends through friends, I talked to people who used to run leagues, I connected with local store owners, I traded a lot of cards for store credit on eBay stores that were still maturing into the staples they are today. All of this stuff would be impossible to repeat today. They were fleeting experiences that occurred in specific moments in time to take advantage of activity in the hobby that is no longer occurring the same way. So when someone asks me how to find some of the stuff I found, I just say to check eBay. That’s the only thing you can still do. And maybe I place too much emphasis on that considering how much stuff I acquired through being in the right place at the right time and having an encyclopedic knowledge of the cards.

An easy example for me is the Australian packaging for the Legendary Bird Promos/Ancient Mew. This has a unique blinder card that folds into a few different configurations. It’s not very common on American eBay. Back in the day, I was able to buy them pretty regularly. There was a listing a month and they weren’t very expensive. But when I wanted one last year, I checked pretty regularly from March to December and just could not find one. I saw one for $250, which I didn’t want to pay, so I had to look on Australian eBay where I was able to find the one I was looking for. But since they didn’t ship to the United States, I had to defer to an Australian friend to receive and reship the package to me. If I didn’t have that Australian friend, I wouldn’t have had that option. I had to work harder than usual to find that card, but I didn’t have to work as hard as someone who didn’t have an Australian friend. That’s an example of my momentum still carrying me.

So I don’t expect any miracles when you ask the pros how they got where they are because the circumstances that allowed them to get there can never be replicated. It might have been years since they bought any of the cards I am trying to buy. They got theirs just by searching until they found them - probably back when they were comparatively much easier to find. The things they’re looking for now are bigger ticket items, rarer items, and their interest isn’t in the same core cards I am collecting anymore.

So I think that’s why answers can be pretty broad. When someone asks me for advice on how to find something I bought easily in 2012 or tracked down in 2017, the only advice I can give is what worked for me back then. That may or may not help someone who is buying in 2021, especially with more niche product.

With Japanese cards I am very slowly developing my understanding of the cards. I am still having to doublecheck my notes, refer back to bulbapedia, or check six year old E4 topics to make sure I know what I’m looking at. And even when I know what I’m looking for, I have to learn how to find them. The best I can hope for is being pointed in the right direction. There are no easy answers to what I’m looking for. I am probably just not going to find a random seller who knows the difference between CD Promos and their counterparts. I am probably always going to have to hope there’s a picture at the right angle to know whether the listed card is glossy or not. I will not get lucky and find something on Yahoo Japan listed with the same convention I’m used to in English. I just have to go through it and be in the right place at the right time again. Nobody can tell you how to do that, even if they wanted to.

[smpratte]

@pbmagnet4

@stagecoach

Yeah, I just mentioned this in one of my replies. Bulbapedia is useful for the complete formal name of something (Mewtwo Strikes Back, for example) or to confirm the Japanese name of a Pokémon. I only go to Yahoo Japan when I can’t find what I want on eBay. Which, unfortunately for me, is a persistent limitation.

It also doesnt help that some people are purposely obtuse when sharing info on select cards in order to decrease potential competition. I may be reading too much into it but thats just the vibe I get.

You are definitely projecting something that isn’t happening. There are multiple free articles on this site with invaluable information: key search terms, tournament translation, release information, etc. There are more resources here on japanese releases than actual japan.

[pbmagnet4]

@stagecoach

@pbmagnet4

It also doesnt help that some people are purposely obtuse when sharing info on select cards in order to decrease potential competition. I may be reading too much into it but thats just the vibe I get.

I don’t think it’s that. People have been pretty helpful to me, at least as helpful as they can be. (Unnecessarily long reply incoming.)

The longer you’ve been collecting the more connections you have to find you cards, the less cards you actually have that you’re still looking for, and the difficulty associated with locating and acquiring cards like this is significantly reduced. It just becomes second nature - something you’re not trying as hard to accomplish. You’ve built up a lot of momentum and that momentum carries you still. A lot of your collection is “done” and you’re filling in gaps or exploring the fringes.

This happened to me when English promos, especially sealed product. I bought most of my stuff years ago then stopped having to look for it, so my frame of reference for how easy it is to find or buy is rooted in the experience I had a long time ago. But I am still collecting based on the skills and experiences I developed during that period, so it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything different. So when someone asks me how to find something, I say the same thing I always do: check eBay every day. That’s all I ever did, you know?

But that isn’t the only way I got a lot of my stuff. I made friends through friends, I talked to people who used to run leagues, I connected with local store owners, I traded a lot of cards for store credit on eBay stores that were still maturing into the staples they are today. All of this stuff would be impossible to repeat today. They were fleeting experiences that occurred in specific moments in time to take advantage of activity in the hobby that is no longer occurring the same way. So when someone asks me how to find some of the stuff I found, I just say to check eBay. That’s the only thing you can still do. And maybe I place too much emphasis on that considering how much stuff I acquired through being in the right place at the right time and having an encyclopedic knowledge of the cards.

An easy example for me is the Australian packaging for the Legendary Bird Promos/Ancient Mew. This has a unique blinder card that folds into a few different configurations. It’s not very common on American eBay. Back in the day, I was able to buy them pretty regularly. There was a listing a month and they weren’t very expensive. But when I wanted one last year, I checked pretty regularly from March to December and just could not find one. I saw one for $250, which I didn’t want to pay, so I had to look on Australian eBay where I was able to find the one I was looking for. But since they didn’t ship to the United States, I had to defer to an Australian friend to receive and reship the package to me. If I didn’t have that Australian friend, I wouldn’t have had that option. I had to work harder than usual to find that card, but I didn’t have to work as hard as someone who didn’t have an Australian friend. That’s an example of my momentum still carrying me.

So I don’t expect any miracles when you ask the pros how they got where they are because the circumstances that allowed them to get there can never be replicated. It might have been years since they bought any of the cards I am trying to buy. They got theirs just by searching until they found them - probably back when they were comparatively much easier to find. The things they’re looking for now are bigger ticket items, rarer items, and their interest isn’t in the same core cards I am collecting anymore.

So I think that’s why answers can be pretty broad. When someone asks me for advice on how to find something I bought easily in 2012 or tracked down in 2017, the only advice I can give is what worked for me back then. That may or may not help someone who is buying in 2021, especially with more niche product.

With Japanese cards I am very slowly developing my understanding of the cards. I am still having to doublecheck my notes, refer back to bulbapedia, or check six year old E4 topics to make sure I know what I’m looking at. And even when I know what I’m looking for, I have to learn how to find them. The best I can hope for is being pointed in the right direction. There are no easy answers to what I’m looking for. I am probably just not going to find a random seller who knows the difference between CD Promos and their counterparts. I am probably always going to have to hope there’s a picture at the right angle to know whether the listed card is glossy or not. I will not get lucky and find something on Yahoo Japan listed with the same convention I’m used to in English. I just have to go through it and be in the right place at the right time again. Nobody can tell you how to do that, even if they wanted to.

I think you are spot on. Im new to Japanese myself, and skipped English all together for more conspiratorial reasons. Efour has been a great resource. The difficulties I have had are my own and same with yours.

[pbmagnet4]

@smpratte

@pbmagnet4

It also doesnt help that some people are purposely obtuse when sharing info on select cards in order to decrease potential competition. I may be reading too much into it but thats just the vibe I get.

You are definitely projecting something that isn’t happening. There are multiple articles on this site with invaluable information: key search terms, tournament translation, release information, etc. There are more resources here on japanese releases than actual japan.

Efour is an amazing resource. Just took me a bit to realize that asking Discord for tips is usually a dead end based on competing interests. Im sure this will be a copypasta meme so

[smpratte]

@pbmagnet4

@smpratte

You are definitely projecting something that isn’t happening. There are multiple articles on this site with invaluable information: key search terms, tournament translation, release information, etc. There are more resources here on japanese releases than actual japan.

Efour is an amazing resource. Just took me a bit to realize that asking Discord for tips is usually a dead end based on competing interests. Im sure this will be a copypasta meme so

Oh yeah discord can range from great conversations about the hobby and then immediately pivot into pepe emojis and pastas.

[setokaiba2999]

ooo Leonhart is selling his vintage boxes, the neo japanese box too, I wonder whats going on…

[serpintaxt]

@stagecoach

@nish

The Masaki promos? 通信進化キャンペーン is what usually yields me the most results. You can also try マサキ

This is exactly what I needed, thank you. That was one of the last ones I needed.

@surfnsnow

@stagecoach Check out this Japanese Search Guide thread from a couple of years ago, it has a lot of good tips:
www.elitefourum.com/t/yahoo-japan-search-guide/13488/1

For specific Pokemon, you can look them up on Bulbapedia, where they show the Japanese characters for the species name. You can then copy/paste the Japanese text into the Yahoo Japan search box.

Hope this helps and good luck!

I do exactly this, especially for movie names and set names. That thread was also a great resource for getting started, but some of the more specific terms still eluded me. The right phrasing for the Quick Starter Gift Box, for example, or for the CoroCoro fan book.

@smpratte

Or just use ebay

Certainly I do. But when you can’t find what you want on eBay, you go looking on Yahoo. And when you can’t find what you’re looking for several days (or weeks) in a row, that means checking both an awful lot. Plus the pricing is usually better on Yahoo so it’s worth checking even if you CAN find what you want on eBay. I’m a deep trawler. I’ve used to searching far and wide for my cards. But it’s been an ordeal to get accustomed to searching a few different phrases on multiple sites just to not find something I’m satisfied with.

Have you tried the chrome extension? www.elitefourum.com/t/yahoo-japan-japanese-translation-chrome-extension/32882/1

[kpod]

@setokaiba2999

ooo Leonhart is selling his vintage boxes, the neo japanese box too, I wonder whats going on…

Where did you see that posted at?

[htwa]

i love the efour discord

[stagecoach]

@serpintaxt This looks great. Unfortunately my work computer is pretty locked down and doesn’t allow chrome. But I’ll try it at home.

[sherbert13]

@kpod

@setokaiba2999

ooo Leonhart is selling his vintage boxes, the neo japanese box too, I wonder whats going on…

Where did you see that posted at?

His IG

[pigeonsyndicate]

Walking around Nakano the other day and saw this. I didn’t read much of it, but it looks to be an auction that Mandarake is hosting. Don’t know squat about the details, so I apologize for no being able to give much info on that. Also don’t know if people already know about this or not. It definitely has someone’s grail card for sale though, so I figured it was worth mentioning. I believe could’ve sworn I saw dates on the paper, but I don’t see them anymore. Maybe they were on the Yugioh one next to it. But either way, something to look into for those interested.

Edit: Just did a quick mandarake website search and saw all of these in there. pretty easy to find on ekizo.mandarake.co.jp/auction/item/itemsListEn.html?t=0&q=pokemon