Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Auctions on MSN and Mandarake
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BuraddoRun
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Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by BuraddoRun »

I was hoping that some of you veteran BWA participators would give me a little primer on how things generally go at these, as I plan to join my 1st come 12/5 when the next one starts. I read on their site that there is a 500JPY fee to participate, and that there will be an additional 10% fee for any win. But I have some other questions:

1. How long is the BWA exactly?
2. How often is new stuff listed? Daily? Hourly?
3. What is the typical duration of each auction?
4. How does bidding work? Is it like EBAY in that you place a high bid, but it automatically raises the bid up to the next increment and not the max you typed in? Or is it like a real auction where whatever bid you place becomes the bid of the moment?
5. Do they list a lot of stuff? Most of us are looking for cels I presume, so do they usually have a great amount and variety?

AND

6. How many of you are planning to participate? I see some older threads where you all show off your winnings, but do you ever keep an open "live" thread to talk about cool stuff that shows up? Hmmm...maybe that's not the best idea if you see something you're hoping others overlook. LOL!
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." -Isaiah 1:18
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benten
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by benten »

In answer to 6, read this thread for an interesting discussion of a then ongoing auction:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=28274
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benten
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by benten »

1. How long is the BWA exactly?
The last auction started on October 03. Auctions ended from October 10 through October 17.
2. How often is new stuff listed? Daily? Hourly?
As I remember, all auctions are listed at the same time.
3. What is the typical duration of each auction?
Most of them seemed to go for seven days but some ran for up to 14 days.
4. How does bidding work? Is it like EBAY in that you place a high bid, but it automatically raises the bid up to the next increment and not the max you typed in? Or is it like a real auction where whatever bid you place becomes the bid of the moment?
Like Ebay. Like Yahoo Japan, auction deadlines do extend in response to last minute bidding.
5. Do they list a lot of stuff? Most of us are looking for cels I presume, so do they usually have a great amount and variety?
A catalogue is published ahead of time showing everything that will be in the auction. In the past, Klaus has kindly scanned the auction catalogue and posted it so that people could look at it ahead of time. Under the MSN/Mandarake heading, look for Zenbu threads with Klaus as the author to see past catalogues.
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zerospace
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by zerospace »

A few other tidbits you may or may not realize regarding the BWA:

- The BWA has more than just cels ;). Just like Mandarake sells more than just artwork online and in its stores, the BWA contains other items as well.

- Generally speaking, most items are somewhat expensive (Mandarake generally seems to save some of the highest quality items for the BWA).

- They charge a commission fee on top of the final auction ending price.

- Selection varies greatly from BWA to BWA. Often, you'll find the more sought after series (seems like a TON of Ghibli stuff these days), but sometimes there will be odds and ends from various shows in there, too.

Benten is correct in saying that all items are listed at once -- then, the ending times vary from there. Usually the first batch of auctions ends within a week, I think, and then some nearly each day from there. So once the items go up on the site, you should pay attention to the ending date/time of the item(s) you want. You can watchlist BWA items if you are registered to participate.
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cutiebunny
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by cutiebunny »

In order to participate in the BWA, there is a fee of 550 yen. You pay this fee regardless of whether you win anything or not. You do not have to pay this fee if you decide to buy their BWA book, which, with shipping, is $20. Prior to the last BWA, Mandarake had several auctions on E-bay where you could buy the book to participate in their auctions.

Mandarake charges a 10% fee on top of the final price of any BWA item. Mandarake does not charge a commission on Everyday Auction items and anything on its Market portion of their website.

My personal experience has been that Mandarake sells the best of the best items during its January BWA simply because everyone is flush with cash at that time. Most Japanese workers receive a bonus for the new year, so that's a nice bonus that many of them use to buy BWA items. Lunar New Year also (usually) falls in January, and then there's Christmas, Hanukkah and the many other holidays that are celebrated around this time of the year around the world, so everyone has extra funds to play with. I actually dread liking stuff during the January BWA simply because I know it's going to go sky high. The April BWA also always has a nice selection too, but that's because Golden Week is around the corner, and that's a bonus time too... :hurt:

Mandarake's BWA cel selection has gone done since I first started participating, but that's to be expected as cels are no longer being produced. There was a time where there were 40 pages of cels/sketches, but now I think it's around 27?
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BuraddoRun
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by BuraddoRun »

benten wrote:In answer to 6, read this thread for an interesting discussion of a then ongoing auction:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=28274
WOW! Those links to certain auctions, unfortunately, don't show up anymore. I would've like to seen that Ranma OP cel everyone was talking about. I won't be bidding in the thousands for any cel right now, but I still wanna join the BWA next week, even if all I end up doing is watching and repeating, "WOW!" Thanks for all of the tips, guys! I'll look forward to chatting about it with you all next week!
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." -Isaiah 1:18
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Macron one
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by Macron one »

The winter BWA is normally held in January though, so i'd be inclined to think that December 5th refers to the release date of the catalog, rather than the BWA itself.
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by KuroiTsubasa4 »

You'd be correct :) The magazine comes out the 5th, though the last time I ordered it, they shipped it a little early.
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BuraddoRun
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by BuraddoRun »

Macron one wrote:The winter BWA is normally held in January though, so i'd be inclined to think that December 5th refers to the release date of the catalog, rather than the BWA itself.
OH, I see. Well, I guess that gives me a little more time to save (or spend, with Christmas just around the corner. :wink: ).
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." -Isaiah 1:18
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bulleta
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by bulleta »

Another thing you might want to keep in mind if you plan on joining...
You don't have to register to actually see the auctions (you just can't save the link in your Mandy profile - but that's what bookmarks are for!). In fact, you can register right up till the end (I've done it within an hour of my auction ending). BWA prices can be scary high, and what's the point in paying the registration fee if the things you want are already over your limit? I save a lot of money not even bothering. :)

I pay for my Mandarake wins with Paypal (I always worried about my credit card flagging Mandarake charges as suspicious). But I think you can only register with a credit card (someone more BWA prolific can correct me if I'm wrong). Some credit cards can charge for converting to yen, so that's another thing to keep in mind.
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Re: Mandarake BWA Primer - request

Post by zerospace »

To add to what bulleta said, I have the same problem with my CC company flagging Mandarake charges ALL THE TIME! So, I use PayPal now to avoid the problem -- it's something to keep in mind, though, that it could happen when you register ;).
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