Yahoo Auctions Japan Trading Assistant (last updated and listed 02/05/'08)
Stats (1 week, this listing):
アクセス総数：305 (PVs)
友だちにメールを送った総数：2
ウォッチリストに追加した総数：3
違反商品として申告された総数：2 <-Number of times snitched, this listing
「違反申告回数」
Number
of times snitched,
total/aggregate ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★ ★ ..................... 12 !!!! (Love
this)
|
Addition to the previous update - Shilling (for "friends" of sellers to raise prices) Shilling is practiced on Yahoo JP. If you place a bid that is too high, sellers' "friends" will "inch up" the current price, and if that "friend" wins, they will treat the transaction as completed. Evidence (a message that was posted in another listing's Q&A):
I'm not explaining what this says, because doing so will be to advertise this "service". And please note that "Yahoo Japan" (Yahoo Japan Corporation / ヤフー株式会社, established 1996, listed on TSE (Tokyo Stock Exchange) in 2003) is a private company which is notorious for several of its operations (and a yakuza company that doesn't care breaking laws). It was established and grew in the period of the IT "bubble". The auction master will do NOTHING to help you. They don't even answer questions. This is also an area that we are here to help you. This is completely different from eBay which is a "government contractor" (with its own problems, as partially described below).* *"Government contractor" means a private company or its employees, working in collaboration with, or in place of a federal agency, to improve the efficiency of the operations of the federal government. Different from "subcontractor". This is the reason that eBay cannot promote trade with "enemies of America" - Communist, totalitarian, dictatorship, terrorist, etc. etc. states. And also the reason that it is engaging in "federal" operations, like trying to block some U.S. states from passing laws to oblige eBay participants to get state licenses or permits (I know this is a stupid example, but this is all I know about eBay's "federal operations"). But anyway, be advised that eBay participants are all under NSA or CIA surveillance. Testimony, quoted with
"permission" (written consent) ヤフーオークションでは、入札価格吊り上げ等の行為は禁止されております。しかし、現在オークションシステムの性格上、価格の吊り上げ行為を防ぐことは難しいのが現状でございます。ご入札者様には賢明な入札の判断をお願い申し上げます。....
こちらの私出品者の商品説明文は他の出品者様がコピーペーストして引用していただいても構いません。....
商品説明文は出品の際に苦慮されるのではないかと思いますので私出品者の説明文を引用できるものが
ございましたらご自由にお使いください。Thanks ByTheWay, the above ASSHOLE was KIND ENOUGH to bid and buy this item, only to remind me about the "service" -> "サクラ評価についてご連絡したんですけど、記載されていたメールアドレスにエラーで届かなかったため、落札いたしました。サクラ評価は現在受け付けておりますでしょうか？ご連絡お待ちしております。" The case has been reported to the Auction Master, who of course has done nothing. (November 10, 2007) This was funny. Has to be the same ASSHOLE: "わいせつビデオや児童ポルノなど、法律で販売が禁止されているもの" (Obscene video, child pornography, etc. prohibited sale by law) LoL! Just to show you that "nobody here speaks English", and the Auction Master is also an ASSHOLE, and therefore, you need an Assistant. This is what I wrote to the Auction Master in response: "バカの一つ覚えじゃあるまいし、こういう物を送る前に自分で確認しろ、このタコ。９回目だぞ。てめえらのアホさ加減、全部、出品物に書いてある。" (no translation is provided) (December 20, 2007) ByTheWay, it's no policy violation to call the Auction Master "SHIT!" or use any foul language including 4-letter. This also applies to eBay. I've called them "fucking bullshit" a few times and got nothing in response. But, writing this kind of stuff IS policy violation, as it has nothing to do with the listing. If the above ASSHOLE can read this, he can remove this listing. Will see. Stupid Questions WILL NOT BE ANSWERED. Example: "次のＨＰの情報より良い情報でしたら入札したいと思っています。http://freedom.ws/?language=japanese&sponsor=miyoko11 私の出品ページの質問欄からご返事いただければ誰にも見られません。お互い質問欄からなら誰にも見られず話ができます。" |
|
Addition to the previous update I got one snitcher who said that what's selling is not clear. He's probably right. Before anything else, what you get by buying this item is ASSISTANCE with the services mentioned, plus any information and advice also mentioned. You don't get any "goods". You only get "services". Hope this is clear. (thanks) |
This is getting to be too long.
Those of you who have difficulty reading, don't read and
just ask questions, at the bottom, where it says
CONTACT. Click to send email. But on the other hand,
if you are interested in what kind of services are provided,
read thoroughly, and you don't have to bother buying this
thing.
This Description will be
updated periodically, to add more information.
Need items from Japan?
Want to buy from Yahoo Auctions Japan, but cannot because of language problem?
To buy from Yahoo Auctions Japan, you need to pay a membership fee, and have to have an address in Japan. Moreover, most sellers don't ship internationally. Or in the first place, they don't speak English.
These are the areas we can help you as Trading Assistant who is legally permitted to sell and buy used items.
This seller is active on both Yahoo Auctions JP and eBay (USA), with feedback scores more than 500 on Yahoo Auctions JP and more than 250 on eBay. See his feedback profiles below to see what people worldwide have said about him:
Yahoo Auctions Japan: syd231 (auctions.yahoo.co.jp/)
eBay (USA, or now "global"): syd4059 (ebay.com/)
As a permitted dealer in used goods, this seller has sold, to mention some examples:
|
55 items to a collector in Country F (Europe)* |
|
58 items to a buyer in Country T (Asia)** |
|
52 items to a new customer in Country S (Asia) |
*This customer was "dumped" in February 2007 for wanting to resell PS3's in Europe. It's probably illegal to export PS3. This seller does not deal in illicit merchandise or with illegal exports.
**Dumped in April 2007 for placing dozens of orders for max prices that were nowhere near the winning price.
Activities during this listing:
Great
sales on eBay.
(December: 926.77 USD, record high)
Other updates: A note on EMS shipping - way below, or jump from HERE.
Services provided:
- Purchase and shipment of items you want from Yahoo Auctions Japan (or anywhere else). Basic fee (commission): 20% of the Purchase ("winning") Price*
*About the commission of
20%. This is long. Skip for other services provided.
I know some people feel
that the commission of 20% is too high. But please note the
following. This commission includes: - Risk of
nonpayment. For regular customers, I send the invoice
after I ship, so I know the actual shipping cost.
- Customer protection
from frauds. As in any auction, there are frauds on
Yahoo Auctions Japan. Examples: The description that says
that the item is "unchecked" (動作未確認).
In some cases (like an electric appliance whose working can
easily be checked by simply switching on), sellers try to
get rid of broken items, by saying that "working is
unchecked". They do this because saying that the item is
"junk" (ジャンク)
won't sell. Or they have to, because to dispose of items in
Japan, we have to pay something like 1000 yen a piece. And
there are also items that cannot be disposed of at all. This
seller will make utmost efforts to make sure that this is
not the case. If he has any doubt, he will recommend that
the customer does not buy these items. (I once bought a CD
player that said "動作未確認",
knowing that it might be broken, and it was, the power
circuit was dead. I used it to fix another CD player of the
same model. But think about it. Anyone can check the power
circuit by simply pressing the power switch. This is an
obvious case of fraud, but not considered as such
("disclaimer"). Related word:
動作確認済み
("checked"). This
word simply means that working has been checked. It does not
guarantee proper or full working, unless the description
says exactly which functions were checked. But note that
some items, like audio equipment, cannot be checked in full.
But see below for an example fraud (a broken
amplifier). But on the other hand,
even if an item is "unchecked"
(動作未確認),
if you know about the item, you can tell that it works. An
example is vintage stuff like old TV games. Many sellers of
these items cannot check the working in the first place,
because they don't own the console or other equipment that
are needed in checking the operation. These are sometimes
(or usually) good buys. Another example of
practical fraud. Let's say a seller is selling an item that
is 20 or 30 years old, by saying that the item is "new and
unused" (新品未使用).
But, can you say that something that can deteriorate over
time is "new and unused" when 20 or 30 years have passed
since it was manufactured? To protect customers from this
kind of practical fraud, this seller will use his knowledge
and experience and try his best to make sure that the item
is in fact in working condition. If he cannot, again, he
will recommend that the customer avoid these items. Prime
example is audio equipment. Amplifiers, and especially phono
cartridges. These were never intended to work for 20 or 30
years. Phono cartridges for instance have rubber parts.
Rubber can deteriorate and harden over time, with the item
becoming useless. It's a matter of degree. Saying that these
items are "新品"
(new) is a contradiction of terms and outright fraud.
Another thing is that unless the sellers of these items are
like 50 or 60 years old, there is no way for them to tell
how the original product worked or sounded when it was
manufactured. And this also applies to buyers. They have to
satisfy themselves with badly deteriorated products, or
without knowing how badly the product has deteriorated. This
is another factor giving sellers the excuse of selling "new
but badly deteriorated" products. This should be written
"新品
(未使用)
動作 不明" ("new,
(and unused) but working unknown"). Example description:
"____(company
name)
の1970年代前半の製品、_____(product
name)
を出品いたします。2002年ごろに新品デッドストック品を入手して、その性能と音を確認しました。"
This seller is selling a phono cartridge that was made in
early 1970's. He says that he bought a
"new
deadstock"
in 2002.
Most likely, this phono cartridge is dead by now. And he
tries to deceive those who don't know by saying it's "new"
and bought a "deadstock" in 2002. ("Deadstock" means
something that didn't sell for some reason.) What's worse
about this description is that this seller says that he has
"confirmed (確認しました)
both the performance (性能)
and sound quality (音)".
What is he talking about? Also note that some
people sell items on auctions because they know that they
are about to break. So far, I've fixed 3 amplifiers* and
maybe 5 CD players. These were all described as
"動作確認済み"
("working checked"). I can almost "feel" this kind of fraud
by now. (Shows in the way how the description is
written.) *An example "trick" for
selling a broken amplifier. Description:
"ボリュームはがりもなく良い状態です。AUX端子でCDを接続して音はきちんと出ていますが、少し古いものですのでまったく音が出ない以外はノークレームでお願いいたします。"
This description emphasizes that the main volume is intact,
and the operation has been checked by connecting a CD player
to the AUX terminal ("line input"), and says that the money
will be refunded (maybe) if the amplifier produces "no
sound". The fact of the matter is that this amp's
equalizer amp (for phono input) was dead. This seller had
been selling a lot of audio equipment. The working of the
equalizer amp can be checked very easily by shoving a
screwdriver, or just by turning the switch to "Phono". It is
obvious that this seller checked and found out that the
equalizer amp was dead, and to make it sound like the item
was in working condition, he brings out about the checking
using a CD player and AUX terminal. You are probably not
familiar with amplifiers, so I will add that if the
equalizer amp is dead, the whole amplifier could die any
moment. (Why did I buy this item? Well, it's my favorite
model and was in my "automatic" buying price range. Rest
assured. I will NEVER let my customers buy this kind of
item.) Another funny example of
trying to sell a broken amplifier:
"...トラブルを避けるため、気難しい方、神経質な方、新品同様の品をお求めの方、美観に神経質な方、過剰なまでにコンディションにこだわる方....。"
Two of these words are often used by sellers.
"神経質"
means "picky" and is a derogatory term. It's almost like
saying you have a mental problem if you are
"神経質".
He uses this word twice in this very short sentence.
"気難しい"
is also practically the same in meaning. The last one
"過剰なまでにコンディションにこだわる方"
means people who are abnormally
("過剰なまでに"
literally means "excessively") picky about condition. Just
count how many times he is saying the same thing. Another
thing this description said was this:
"超低域____
(low-range
sound)
をカットするサブソニックスイッチが折れていますが、通常は使わないので殆ど問題はないと思います。"
He is talking about what is called sub-sonic filter
(サブソニック),
and that it's switch is broken, but that this should not be
any problem, because the sub-sonic sound filtering system is
normally not used (通常は使わないので殆ど問題はないと思います).
The fact of the matter is that the sub-sonic sound filtering
system is very important if you are going to play LP and EP
records with this amplifier. Sub-sonic sounds are produced
by records that are waving. If you don't cut these sounds,
they can badly affect your speaker system. So I asked this
seller to check the Phono input, and told him how. I got no
answer. Chances are, this amplifier's phono input is dead.
And from the way he talks about
"神経質"
so many times and in so many ways, he knows it, and wants to
sell the thing without letting people know about the broken
equalizer amp. This kind of description of trying to sell a
broken item should be easy for you to spot. Just count the
number of times the seller uses the word
"神経質"
and the like. This often shows the seller's guilty feeling.
**The Japanese text is
quoted for the purpose of illustration and explanation. Its
similarity or identity with the actual text is purely
coincidental. Additionally, Yahoo JP is not automated
like eBay where you simply click "Pay Now" and that's it.
Yahoo JP sellers have their own way of doing things.
Personal sellers will send you a mail, but some commercial
sellers (stores) don't send you any mail. You are expected
to fill out forms for instance and pay based on that form.
These are written in the winning notice, but you have to
know (read) what you are supposed to do. These are part of
the commission that I'm taking. Another
thing is that there are practically no rules about how to
write descriptions. Some are outright stupid or useless.
Example: "画像で判断下さい"
("See the picture, decide for yourself, and don't ask
questions").
- Search for items you want: free of charge. Just let me know what you want.
- Assistance in reading item descriptions (not "translation"): free of charge. Also see above for the problems that this involves.
Note
that there are
businesses and companies that will let you buy items from
Yahoo Auctions JP, but they use machine translation. I'll
tell you what. They simply don't work, because sellers in
Japan (or anywhere for that matter) are not professional
writers, and their Japanese is sometimes very poor. In
addition, you need "expertise" in what they actually mean.
Like I said above, Yahoo Auctions JP is not automated like
eBay. You have to handle everything manually. Sellers have
their own way of doing things. And some, though very few,
sell defective products, just to get rid of them, and say
"no claim, no return" ("ノークレーム、ノーリターン",
disclaimer, which is Japanese English, meaning that the
seller will not take responsibility for items that were
damaged in the first place). We can help you spot these
items by reading "between the lines" and from our
experience.
- Assistance in asking seller questions: free of charge.
Questions have to be
asked at least one day before end of auction. Note that in practice,
Yahoo JP sellers are not obliged to write descriptions in
full. Some people just write "used", and/or don't write
anything about shipping costs. If you want these items,
asking questions is critical.
- Assistance with sale of items on Yahoo Auctions Japan and eBay. Fee depends on item.
- Shipment of items worldwide. Basic fee: 20% of the actual shipping cost. This includes packaging fee. *To send by airmail, the weight of the package may not exceed 2 kilograms.
Items will be shipped by
a method called "Small Packet". This is the cheapest
shipping method for products, and may not contain letters.
Fee depends on the country of destination (i.e., where you
live). Some examples: Zone
1 Zone
2 Zone
3 Zones from
Japan and example shipping costs Asia, Guam, Midway,
etc. Europe, North and
Central America, Middle East,
Australia South America,
Africa Up to 200
grams 330
yen 420
yen 530
yen Up to 400
grams 610
ditto 780 1,010 Up to 600
grams 890 1,140 1,490 Shipping by "SAL"
("Surface Air-Lifted", a lot cheaper) is also available, but
only to small countries where "surface mail" will not cause
problems, like delays. Also, if you know your
country's tariff exemption rate, let me know. This is the
"value" I must write on the customs declaration form (CN22).
The only way for me to find this out seems to be to call
your Embassy, but some embassies do not give out this
information. If your customs officials open the package, and
think that the item is worth more than what I write in
"value" (which is something like "10 USD" at the most for
all items), you will be tariffed for the excess amount.
Shipping by EMS is
basically not provided. Reference
(personal opinion). Also see "Value"
on "CN22". Currency
Converter (an
eBay service)
Addition (4/14/07): Problems about domestic shipping
The practice on Yahoo JP is for
sellers to charge only the actual shipping, and not
"handling". Some buyers give negatives for being charged
"extra shipping". This might be good for buyers, but this
practice has some problems. Examples: - Some sellers don't
write shipping at all. You have to ask them. - Some sellers only ship
by "takkyubin" (宅急便)
which is door-to-door delivery service and costs a lot. One
reason is these sellers "have no time" to ship from post
office which is cheaper. "Takkyubin" companies come to your
house and pick up the cargo. I've had a bad experience of
buying something that cost only 50 yen, and wound up paying
740 yen for "takkyubin" delivery. - Some sellers
(commercial) only sell by COD (cash on delivery). This
requires an extra cost of around 300 yen. - "Takkyubin" companies
offer a cheap shipping method called "mail-bin"
(メール便).
This can be as cheap as 140 yen. But it has problems.
Packages sent by this method are not handed to the
recipient. They are shoved into the mail box, or if they
don't fit the box, they are placed in a plastic bag and hang
on your door knob, or left on the floor. The shoving can
damage other packages that might be in the mail box, and
anything hang on the door knob or left on the floor can be
stolen. - In general, the way
people pack domestic shipping items is very poor. They can
come in a department store paper bag without any packaging
material. - But then, you can't
blame these sellers, if the practice is to charge only the
actual shipping cost and no "handling", which means that
sellers could run a deficit for packing things securely. So,
you have to select both the sellers and the shipping method,
depending on your item.
Lastly, if you have read this thing so far, I hope you have understood that I'm interested in making my customers happy, in addition to making profit. Like I said, if I have any doubt about the item, I will recommend the customer not to buy the item. I'm not acting like an agent who is just getting and selling items ordered by customers. In some cases, I persuade customers not to buy the item against their wish. So, don't expect me to get whatever you want, by ignoring my advice. Customers who don't follow this policy will be dumped.
CONTACT (English, Japanese or "romaji"). Click-> syd231/syd4059
Subject line: "Trading Assistant, Yahoo JP"
**Make sure to write something in the subject line, so I won't delete your mail accidentally.
PAYMENT METHOD: Overseas customers can also pay by PayPal. Currencies accepted: JPY (Japanese yen, preferred), USD, EUR, CAD, AUD, GBP, HKD.
To pay by
PayPal Go to the PayPal site
(https://www.paypal.com/)
(registration is free). - Click "Send Money"
tab - For "To:", enter my
email (s_mori@sa2.so-net.ne.jp) - Enter "Amount" and
select "Currency" ("JPY - Yen") - For "For:", select
"Service/Other"
Finally (at last), below is the official signboard as prescribed, and obliged posting, by the Antique Business Law of Japan. People who are selling and buying without this permit are in the business illegally, and are punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 1 million yen (approx. 8,547.00 USD at the rate of 117.0 JPY/USD.) Also note that this is a "permit" (許可) and not a "license" (免許 or 認可). Sellers who write that they have "免許" or "認可" are in violation of the Law.
Reference info: The Antique Business Law is more binding on buyers. For instance, under this law, buyers are obliged to report to the police if they think that the item they bought could be a stolen good. Buyers are also obliged to identify the seller.
To check my status, you can call Ms. Nakajima (中島)* of Yamate Police Station (山手警察署) at (81-) 045-623-0110, and ask for "Naisen (extension) 262" to get her directly. But for questions about antique business or Net auctions in general, including fraud and other criminal cases, call the Kanagawa Prefectural Police Headquarters (神奈川県 警察本部) where the "Public Safety Commission" (公安委員会) is located. (81-) 045-211-1212. The officer there I spoke to last said they (the Headquarters ) can handle some foreign languages.
*Ms. Nakajima was transferred in November 2007. Replaced by Ms. Aoki (青木).
|