Proxy Order sites and Yahoo Auctions

[Zero_Blazer]

Has anyone used proxy sites and yahoo auctions before? If you have, can you tell me how good the quality is? I've never used a proxy site before. Are items labeled "Brand New" really brand-new? And how much would I expect to have to pay in addition to the original cost on Yahoo Auctions when using a proxy? Thanks in advance. I'm still a newb at ordering from other countries.

[NamelessChibi]

Has anyone used proxy sites and yahoo auctions before? If you have, can you tell me how good the quality is? I've never used a proxy site before. Are items labeled "Brand New" really brand-new? And how much would I expect to have to pay in addition to the original cost on Yahoo Auctions when using a proxy? Thanks in advance. I'm still a newb at ordering from other countries. :(

If you have experience with eBay, YJA is about the same. The difference is, their are more pictures showing what's really being sold then with eBay from what I've seen. Anyway, when it comes to cost between the Auction and the Proxy they vary.

Yokatta runs a 700 Yen plus 10% of the final cost for their auctions.

[Zero_Blazer]

If you're buying an item with a set fee, would they normally charge you an auction cost?

[Benio]

If you're buying an item with a set fee, would they normally charge you an auction cost?

Depends on who you use but in most cases, you will be charged a fee based on the final price that the item sells for. For example, on Rinkya, if the item price (not including shipping) is ¥1000 or less you won't be charged a commission (in Rinkya's case, $15 base fee plus $1.00 per ¥1000 above the closing price) fee. For example, using Rinkya, you buy a loose Shinki figure that is just the Shinki and her body accessories (no armor, just hands, hair, extra heads, etc). The buy it now price is ¥850. You would pay around $9.77 for the figure, $15.00 for shipping and handling within Japan and $0 for commission. If you bought a new set for ¥3500 you would pay around $40.23 for the auction, $15 for shipping and handling within Japan and $18 commission ($15 base fee plus $3 (final price of item: ¥1000=$0; ¥2000=$1; ¥3000=$2; ¥4000=$3. Since ¥3500 is less than ¥4000 but greater than ¥3000 you pay $3). [<-I hope this makes sense].

Generally speaking whether you buy from a store or from Yahoo! Japan you will be charged with the following:
• Item price
• Commission
• Shipping from seller to Proxy's Japanese warehouse. (Most Japanese sellers won't ship out of the country, so it has to be
to a Japanese address)
• Shipping from the Japanese warehouse to either a US warehouse or directly to you.

[Zero_Blazer]

Lol Omg. XD

I'm buying a figure at around 3000 yen. Hopefully I won't get charged over 5500 yen. Aaaahhh!!!! XD From what you said, you would be paying more for sending the item than the item itself.

[Benio]

Lol Omg. XD

I'm buying a figure at around 3000 yen. Hopefully I won't get charged over 5500 yen. Aaaahhh!!!! XD From what you said, you would be paying more for sending the item than the item itself.

Yeah that is the downside of using proxy services; you sometimes pay more for shipping and handling than the figure is worth. The example is from using one proxy service though (Rinkya). You really need to visit some of the other proxy sites and figure out what their fees are. You might be able to save some money using a different proxy service.

[Zero_Blazer]

Oh wow, the 3000 yen strarf bis I bought is now 66 bucks, not counting shipping fee to my own address. In total I'm guessing it'll be around 73 bucks. Omg, half the price I'm pay is just to ship the thing. T_T I'm not going to be using proxy sites too often...

[Machinegeist]

I really only use them to get the harder to find ones, but yeah sometimes the final cost is scary, oh so scary.

[Benio]

I only used a proxy to score an impossible-to-find regular release Ach. I've been lucky to purchase all of my other figures through "normal" web retail channels. They are great to find the really hard to get figure but to complete the line will bankrupt you... Patience and perseverance are your friends in this hobby...

[Zero_Blazer]

I won't make the same mistake again. My lust for the Strarf bis has led me down the pricy path and I must cleanse myself. T_T Still, it's hard to find some of the other figurines. Most sites I go to they're either all sold out or on 60+ day backorder. T_T