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  #31  
Old Oct 11, 2020, 09:13 PM
ladatree ladatree is offline
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The biggest pain for Buyee for me was consolidating all the boxes into one big box, whereas White Rabbit will take them all out and put them into one box. And the fees too but they did months where “Shipping Free or the processing fees free” or something which was nice.
I haven’t used them since February last year so I don’t know if they still do them nor not.
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  #32  
Old Mar 26, 2021, 05:57 PM
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So I found lots of stuff on Mercari that I wanted to buy, so I used Buyee. My first items arrived at the warehouse on March 2. Stuff kept popping up, so I bought more items up until last week.

Well... sellers are taking their sweet time, and it's almost the end of the month, but next to all my items it says "Free storage period 30 days left."

I looked at the storage guide and it says that the first 30 days are free and fees start after that.

Did they extend their free storage period? I know Zenmarket did.
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  #33  
Old Mar 26, 2021, 08:46 PM
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If Mercari had a decent structure I'd be able to browse it like Yahoo. Unfortunately it seems made by progressive millennials who only had smartphones in their lives.

I guess Buyee doesn't have a countdown by day so all of a sudden it will change from "30 days left" to " daily fee charged from today" ?
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  #34  
Old Mar 27, 2021, 01:47 AM
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For context:

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Originally Posted by layzee View Post
I'm in .au so most restrictions still apply. The mistake I made was that I consolidated my packages so now they're too large to ship, and they refuse to unconsolidate it or split them up and ship multiple packages. So because of that, my stuff is just stuck there.
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That sucks. Hopefully they can keep it until the planet overlords decide we can ship packages again.
Well, it doesn't look like EMS or economy mail anytime soon.

To summarise the situation up to now, the virus lockdowns back in March 2020 meant that EMS was no longer available and the only option was DHS, which was overpriced. So I just left my packages at Buyee... for one year (lol) and at no further cost to myself.

I wonder how many other people had no storage fees. This "no storage fee" (usually only 30 days free) grace period was only supposed to be temporary but I guess the virus lockdown/shipping restriction situation had more permanent effects than expected. I also wonder how big Buyee's storage facilities are.

Anyway, recently FedEx was made available (with prices and delivery speeds comparable with EMS) so I finally had my stuff shipped over. I wish I had my stuff shipped by cheap boat mail back in March 2020.

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If Mercari had a decent structure I'd be able to browse it like Yahoo. Unfortunately it seems made by progressive millennials who only had smartphones in their lives.
The category structure on Mercari is pretty barebones. There's no "game music" category and video games can't even be browsed by console or game company.

To paraphrase a certain person and taking a more general view: the Mobile Phone Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the Internet.
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  #35  
Old Jun 3, 2021, 02:10 AM
Lucumo Lucumo is offline
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Finding a good proxy can indeed be very difficult. Have been importing for many years now and I don't know how many proxy/forwarding services I've been registered with now. Sooner or later there is always trouble because of incompetence on their part. Considering how much money is being made with the business, I do wonder why no proper company has moved into the space yet.

As for Mercari: Their website is somewhat of a pain and their search function is pretty garbage but it has the advantages of sellers often times paying the local shipping costs, being able to communicate with the seller (like asking them to put more pictures of an item online or haggling (which Japanese do at least)), being able to find items for under value (ideally before they are snacked by merchants who then put it onto YA) and, due to their bad search function, find rare items that haven't been bought yet.
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  #36  
Old Jun 3, 2021, 02:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Lucumo View Post
As for Mercari: Their website is somewhat of a pain and their search function is pretty garbage but it has the advantages of sellers often times paying the local shipping costs, being able to communicate with the seller (like asking them to put more pictures of an item online or haggling (which Japanese do at least))
I'd like to register an account but foreigners are blocked. Will a Japanese VPN work?
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  #37  
Old Jun 3, 2021, 02:49 AM
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Originally Posted by layzee View Post
I'd like to register an account but foreigners are blocked. Will a Japanese VPN work?
Well, I have only dealt with Mercari via proxy services who will typically translate and relay messages. Generally though, a VPN should certainly work but what are you going to do when it comes to shipping if you have no physical address in Japan as well as possibly no proper paying method? Unless you only want to do it for direct communications, then it shouldn't be an issue (though, as said, proxy services do it for you no problem, typically pretty quickly too).
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  #38  
Old Jun 3, 2021, 05:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucumo View Post
Well, I have only dealt with Mercari via proxy services who will typically translate and relay messages. Generally though, a VPN should certainly work but what are you going to do when it comes to shipping if you have no physical address in Japan as well as possibly no proper paying method? Unless you only want to do it for direct communications, then it shouldn't be an issue (though, as said, proxy services do it for you no problem, typically pretty quickly too).
Mainly for direct communication with sellers on there as well as to check if there's any good saved search functions and/or better browsing/searching experiences by having an account. For now I just make do with manual bookmarks.

In any case, I should get a Japanese VPN anyway.
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  #39  
Old Jun 3, 2021, 09:28 AM
Lucumo Lucumo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Mainly for direct communication with sellers on there as well as to check if there's any good saved search functions and/or better browsing/searching experiences by having an account. For now I just make do with manual bookmarks.

In any case, I should get a Japanese VPN anyway.
Do you speak Japanese? I do hope so since a decent number of sellers hate dealing with foreigners either writing in a non-Japanese language or using a translator (especially if the website has an IP block in place). And yeah, I also have my bookmarks all over the place.

Hm, it does seem like the registration requires a Japanese IP. Though, this can also be done with a free proxy and a browser addon or something along those lines. As for VPNs, I know ProtonVPN has a Japanese one in their free offering. Never used the service, so I don't know how good it is. I also do hope you can deal with the phone verification which will likely also require a number situated within Japan.
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  #40  
Old Jan 21, 2022, 10:24 PM
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Didn't want to start a new thread...
What's your experience with Mandarake? They have an expensive item I would like to purchase, but they only show the outet box of the boxset, so there's no way to tell if there's even something inside, cases, booklets, spinecards, discs and what condition everything is, especially corner damage and sunfading.
Can you ask them questions? I suppose the item is in a physical shop, nicely wrapped in plastic to make it very hard to get to.
They also claim to use stock photos, which makes things even harder to judge based on what they show, especially for 2nd hand items.
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  #41  
Old Jan 22, 2022, 03:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucumo View Post
Do you speak Japanese? I do hope so since a decent number of sellers hate dealing with foreigners either writing in a non-Japanese language or using a translator (especially if the website has an IP block in place). And yeah, I also have my bookmarks all over the place.

Hm, it does seem like the registration requires a Japanese IP. Though, this can also be done with a free proxy and a browser addon or something along those lines. As for VPNs, I know ProtonVPN has a Japanese one in their free offering. Never used the service, so I don't know how good it is. I also do hope you can deal with the phone verification which will likely also require a number situated within Japan.
Forgot to reply to your post but I'll mainly use it for asking questions like "Does it come with the instruction manual?" and "Does the disc have scratches" etc... which should be simple enough for me to not get outed as a dirty foreigner. Anyway, I tried signing up again with a Japanese VPN which got me past most of the registration process but like you said, I couldn't get past the phone verification section. Would be nice if I could get some Mercari search alerts because the bargains get snatched up pretty quickly there. Reminds me of eBay 10-20 years ago.
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  #42  
Old Mar 6, 2022, 06:12 AM
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Originally Posted by LuxKiller65 View Post
Especially since credit card refund has to convert JPY again so I end up losing money for all the lost bids that the agent refunds me.
Go to another bank.
I got one that doesn't charge conversion fees and actually uses current official exchange rates. And it's a regular VISA card.

fromjapan also doesn't send the money back immediately (only after 20 days).
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  #43  
Old Mar 6, 2022, 06:18 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucumo View Post
Finding a good proxy can indeed be very difficult. Have been importing for many years now and I don't know how many proxy/forwarding services I've been registered with now. Sooner or later there is always trouble because of incompetence on their part. Considering how much money is being made with the business, I do wonder why no proper company has moved into the space yet.
I have been using fromjapan for years now.
NEVER had a single problem with them, their packaging is great, and you can even do special instructions like keep original packaging.
They also allow unregistered SAL shipping and ground shipping. In my case not a single parcel ever got lost, one time it was sent back by my stupid post office, but that's not their problem and in fact it was simple to ship it a second time after it returned.

They raised their fees though. Originally it was 300 Yen per order. Now it's 300 Yen per item, which sucks, because very cheap items will get way more expensive. If you buy these, better buy 2 copies, because that will also be a 300 yen fee. I don't even get it. When I order expensive things, I would be fine with 300 Yen per item, but when it's soundtrack CDs for 400 Yen, 300 Yen is simply too high.

One of the only minuses atm is that when you order too much and it's above 2 kg, you are forced to go with a more expensive shipping. They don't split orders up, but of course they can combine orders. That's the only part that is silly. Sometimes I order 5 items and it's only a few grams above 2 kg.

Anyway, their shipping is fast too. And you can change declarations too to avoid customs.
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  #44  
Old Mar 6, 2022, 06:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layzee View Post
Would be nice if I could get some Mercari search alerts because the bargains get snatched up pretty quickly there.
One tip from me:
Get yourself software like Website Watcher.
That way you can check websites for changes.
This way I'm searching for tons of things every day and find out almost immediately.
Got me tons of bargains.
That software sends me an e-mail when it detects changes.

Like for example Metal Gear Solid 2 - the white + black special edition soundtrack that is very rare.
I also got the Prince of Persia Sands of Time (video game OST) for 5000 Yen from Amazon Japan, when it was listed there. And that copy was even sealed.

I'm also doing it for a few rare things w/ yahoo auctions too.
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  #45  
Old Mar 7, 2022, 07:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimi View Post
One tip from me:
Get yourself software like Website Watcher.
That way you can check websites for changes.
This way I'm searching for tons of things every day and find out almost immediately.
Got me tons of bargains.
That software sends me an e-mail when it detects changes.
I prefer not to install extra software but if it is as useful as you say it is, I may need to reconsider. Would you say it works similar to Yahoo alerts?
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  #46  
Old May 6, 2022, 07:40 PM
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I don't know where else to post this, but does anyone know how to go about asking a seller a question on Amazon.jp?
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  #47  
Old May 6, 2022, 09:56 PM
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You will need an account (which I presume you already have). Then just click on the seller and there's a button on the top right 'Ask a question'. Hope that helps
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  #48  
Old May 7, 2022, 05:45 AM
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Yes (which I haven't used since Jeff Bezos had hair), but the item only shows up on Amazon.jp, so I think they only ship in Japan? I was planning on using Zenmarket, but if I try to ask a question through them, it only shows the product page, not the seller's individual item.
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  #49  
Old May 7, 2022, 06:35 AM
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Quote:
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but the item only shows up on Amazon.jp, so I think they only ship in Japan?
Not necessarily. If shipping is handled by Amazon rather than the seller, I think overseas shipping is offered most (or even all?) of the time. Some sellers will also ship overseas themselves, though not a lot of them will. Other than that, follow suicider's advice on asking a question directly on Amazon.co.jp. I remember I asked someone a question there about a year ago and they came back to me rather quickly. Can't remember where exactly I clicked but if you only see an option to ask a question about the shop, you can tell them what item you're referring to in your message. It may help you to switch your Amazon.co.jp interface to English. Also, be sure to write the seller in (good) Japanese or you'll likely be ignored by them.
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  #50  
Old May 8, 2022, 04:14 PM
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Reminds me of when I had my own Yahoo Japan account and I sent google translated messages to sellers, resulting in instant bid cancellations, being blocked and left a message on my profile saying i was a pale ghost stealing japanese goods from the japanese people

good memories of stuff i missed like that, or because i didn't pay within 23 hours and 59 minutes
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  #51  
Old May 9, 2022, 12:25 PM
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a pale ghost stealing japanese goods from the japanese people
So this is the reason for their extremely isolationist attitude towards strangers…
Looks like Sengoku Era mentality isn’t the only area to blame.
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  #52  
Old May 9, 2022, 05:06 PM
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It's OK I'm fine with that, not blaming them for wanting to avoid non-japanese buyers, and that was in 2007-2010, seems like things are changing a bit. i still enjoy shopping there, but with an agent, to avoid surprise

I was just really sad I missed the goods. Some of stuff I missed never came back at the same price. one auction in particular with sealed samples, one of the nicest things i never got.

Have anyone had any luck with Mercari's crap categories? There's no way to find game soundtracks, the best I can do is type a brand/series/company, or game name + music (in japanese), but I'm sure I'm missing listings this way...
I'm using the desktop website, I wonder if their android app has more settings?
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  #53  
Old May 10, 2022, 04:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuxKiller65 View Post
Reminds me of when I had my own Yahoo Japan account and I sent google translated messages to sellers, resulting in instant bid cancellations, being blocked and left a message on my profile saying i was a pale ghost stealing japanese goods from the japanese people
My messages weren't even machine translated but they still sounded non-native enough to have the same things happen (block etc). I even got a "fuck you" once or was it 「ファックユー」, can't remember which but it was one of them. Generally though, I suspect 90% of the time, if Japanese sellers detect any hints of foreignness from you, they'll just give you the silent block treatment.

Occasionally, in the "ask seller a question" section, I find other foreigners begging Japanese sellers to sell to them. Some of them do it with broken Japanese. Some of them do it in English and I'm like, at least have the courtesy to use machine Japanese so they can actually read your shit.

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Originally Posted by LuxKiller65 View Post
good memories of stuff i missed like that, or because i didn't pay within 23 hours and 59 minutes
Back when Yahoo Auctions was less automated (5+ years ago), if a seller had "pay within 3 days" in the auction terms, then you had better do that. If the item remains unpaid on the 4th day, the transaction will be cancelled, you'll be blocked and be given negative feedback. If the seller is lenient and allows you to pay on the 4th day, then they'll ship the item. And then you'll be blocked and be given negative feedback. These days, Yahoo Auctions is somewhat more automated/formalised and standard practice seems to be pay within 5 days of auction end.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LuxKiller65 View Post
It's OK I'm fine with that, not blaming them for wanting to avoid non-japanese buyers, and that was in 2007-2010, seems like things are changing a bit. i still enjoy shopping there, but with an agent, to avoid surprise
The more savvy sellers will block the more well known proxies (sneaky gaijins) so you'll still need a backup plan here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LuxKiller65 View Post
Have anyone had any luck with Mercari's crap categories? There's no way to find game soundtracks, the best I can do is type a brand/series/company, or game name + music (in japanese), but I'm sure I'm missing listings this way...
I'm using the desktop website, I wonder if their android app has more settings?
Pretty form for a Japanese website like Mercari to not even have a category dedicated to VGM.

It's been a long time since I bought game music from eBay but it looks like they finally have at least some way to categorise game music CDs now.
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  #54  
Old Jun 4, 2022, 09:51 AM
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Does anyone know Rakuten's return policy?

I bought an item through Zenmarket: https://vgmdb.net/album/35314 I had them take pictures, but it ended up being this more common one instead: https://vgmdb.net/album/28516

I let Zenmarket know, and they contacted the seller, but the seller refused to issue a refund because it was technically the same item (even though they made the mistake of listing it under a different catalog number).

Rant: I don't normally care about this sort of thing, but I do when I'm one album short of a complete HQCD collection. Also, this is an HQCD! It's like better quality pressing material... or something? Whatever, screw you, Cometostore!

Are refunds based on the seller's discretion? Is there anything I can bring up to Zenmarket to change their mind?
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  #55  
Old Jun 5, 2022, 05:33 AM
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if their policies are anything like yahoo's policies, you have to swallow the pill and move on. Have you been through their legal stuff on the website?

@layzee, sorry i did not answer you, but yeah, basically, i agree. and yes some big sellers and even smaller sellers seem to have added the more common proxies to their blocklist. there were some items i tried bidding with 3 different services and all were blocked, it was pretty amazing.
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