Anyone buy from Yahoo Japan?

[mesmer]

Hi, I'm new here and to PCEs. I want to pickup a system that will play SCDs, but either US-TG or  JP-PCEs are so expensive locally and on ebay.

I'm considering using a proxy service (celga.com) to buy a system from yahoo auctions japan. Does anyone have experience doing this?

I'm worried about buying something and it end up being broken, should I avoid the original CD-ROM2? Here is one that comes w/ the super system card 3.0:
http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f106065528
The translation says that they could not test the CD-ROM because they only have hucards.

Should I stick to super-cdroms or duo-rs? ex:
http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n107865116
http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d124571774

I calculate that I should be able to get a system for under $100 total. Also I could buy some other things cheaply, since the majority of the cost is the international shipping.

Thanks,

[IRuu]

I actually have the same exact question. I would also like to buy a duo and see where is the best place to get one. So yeah would be great if anyone could help

[Arkhan]

YJA is pretty much sold as is usually

try finding a duo-r
cd rom rom is ok, if you want to get it fixed up by someone here.

Get it if its on the cheap.

[Samurai Ghost]

I buy a lot of systems on Yahoo Auctions Japan and get them refurbished/recapped and have a lot of systems for sale at the moment (mostly briefcase units). I can tell you that it will be over $100 for a complete set up but I think I can get you a good deal so send me a PM in you are interested! I should be posting a thread with more info in the next week, but I've just been really busy!

By the way, the auctions you posted are at low prices now because they aren't finished yet. Most of the bidding on these kind of things happen in the last couple hours. Generally working DUO-R systems go for 7,000-9,000 yen depending on the condition/accessories, which is over $100, plus airmail shipping will cost at least $70 or so. Add a proxy service and you're looking about $200. The other two auctions will definitely get bid on as well. I usually buy systems with problems and get them repaired. Sometimes it's impossible and I end up with dud systems but a lot of time a repaired/recapped system will be a lot more reliable than one that has never been worked on.

[Samurai Ghost]

Made a weird double post for some reason.

[csgx1]

Not too long ago I was diligently looking to buy a Super CD rom + Core Grafx II set up as well.  Ending price + proxy service fees + shipping costs all add up fast.  The extra costs of buying from YJA is often more than it's worth doing.

I had a total target price in mind for a SCD+CGII set.  I then calculated all the cost and I was basically trying to win an auction for around 4000 yen, which is quite low and near impossible as I soon found out after being constantly out bid. 

I ended up buying a set off of Ebay from a seller in Japan.  I got a good price that was lower than my target price since there were no extra middle-man/shipping fees.

However, if you know how to repair systems or feel lucky, go for the YJA "as is, untested, junk" lots since they tend to end relatively cheap.  I personally only use YJA if the item that I'm after can't be found anywhere else. 

[Keith Courage]

I've always wanted to buy things from that site but I can't figure out how to since I don't have a Japanese street address to sign up for the service.

[mesmer]

try finding a duo-r
cd rom rom is ok, if you want to get it fixed up by someone here.

So DUO-Rs have a better chance of working?
Who repairs CD-ROMs here?

By the way, the auctions you posted are at low prices now because they aren't finished yet. Most of the bidding on these kind of things happen in the last couple hours. Generally working DUO-R systems go for 7,000-9,000 yen depending on the condition/accessories

Yes, I'll watch some go to completion and see how much they go for. AFAIK you can't search completed auctions, so I'm saving these URLs.

I ended up buying a set off of Ebay from a seller in Japan.  I got a good price that was lower than my target price since there were no extra middle-man/shipping fees.

Mind sharing the ebay id?

I've always wanted to buy things from that site but I can't figure out how to since I don't have a Japanese street address to sign up for the service.

You must use a proxy. celga/rinkya etc.

[Samurai Ghost]

Yes, I'll watch some go to completion and see how much they go for. AFAIK you can't search completed auctions, so I'm saving these URLs.

Yeah it's not possible to search completed auctions on the site (although there are a few separate archive sites), so if you save the URLs you should be able to check it later. If you have an account you can check the completed auctions in your watch list.

I might end up bidding on the SCD one. What is up with that CG2 with the logo sanded off??

[Flare65]

Unless you can read Japanese, how are you getting around the language barrier?  I'd love to bid on a few of these auctions, but I can't read the auction pages.  I'm stuck at ebay's mercy when I want to buy games.

[tlaloc]

Unless you can read Japanese, how are you getting around the language barrier?  I'd love to bid on a few of these auctions, but I can't read the auction pages.  I'm stuck at ebay's mercy when I want to buy games.

Looks fine from here, check it out:

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpage11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp%2Fjp%2Fauction%2Fn107865116&lp=ja_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

you should proably use babelfish if you don't understand japanese* tlaloc <---samehttp://babelfish.yahoo.com/

[PunkicCyborg]

Unless you can read Japanese, how are you getting around the language barrier?  I'd love to bid on a few of these auctions, but I can't read the auction pages.  I'm stuck at ebay's mercy when I want to buy games.

i find games by looking up the japanese title for it then pasting it into the search bar. Google chrome has a really nice japanese translator built into it which also makes it a lot easier. Once you see the page translated it's not that hard to navigate.

[Samurai Ghost]

Unless you can read Japanese, how are you getting around the language barrier?  I'd love to bid on a few of these auctions, but I can't read the auction pages.  I'm stuck at ebay's mercy when I want to buy games.

Well actually I can read Japanese so it's no problem. But even if you can read it generally you need to be in Japan to bid on the auctions. Very few sellers on YJA will ship internationally and payment will be a hassle either way.

By the way, the Super CD auction just ended for 8,750 yen ($113), and the DUO-R for 7,250 yen ($93). Pretty average prices, but by the time you factored in shipping you'd be looking at around $200 for either set up, plus whatever you'd have to pay to a proxy service. Which is why I'm buying a ton of systems and shipping them back by freight together. It's a pain in the ass and I end up with some junked systems but in the end I hope I can give some of you guys a good deal! Working my ass off this week so when I have to the time I'll post a new thread.

[Ji-L87]

Well actually I can read Japanese so it's no problem. But even if you can read it generally you need to be in Japan to bid on the auctions. Very few sellers on YJA will ship internationally and payment will be a hassle either way.

Yeah, that's what I've heard. A friend wanted to buy some things and offered to get some stuff for me as well but things apparently fell through in the payment process : /

Yahoo auctions is such a tease. I've never used a proxy service before and it just seems to be such a hassle. Auctions are bothersome as they are, adding another factor in there sure wouldn't help.
I wish they'd start opening up their auctions a bit and finish it off by allowing me to pay by paypal

[mesmer]

By the way, the Super CD auction just ended for 8,750 yen ($113), and the DUO-R for 7,250 yen ($93). Pretty average prices, but by the time you factored in shipping you'd be looking at around $200 for either set up, plus whatever you'd have to pay to a proxy service.

Here is what I estimate:
Item: 7250 yen - 93 usd
bank transfer fee (if any) - 2 usd
japan shipping - 10 usd
celga fee - 10 usd
international shipping, cheapest (ems/airmail/sal) - 50 usd
Total: 165 usd

This one:
http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f106065528
only went for 3200, which using the above numbers comes out to: $114, albeit with an untested cdrom