Fewer auctions than usual?

[Keropi]

Anyone know if Yahoo Japan raised fees recently?

There's so few auctions there the past few days. I can't recall the last time the genga category only had 2364 items in it on a Thursday.

Have some sellers bailed out recently?

[sensei]

I've noticed this, but didn't pay too much mind as it's time for my annual lenten abstention from auction browsing and bidding. But I did think the drop in numbers of items FA across the board was odd and noteworthy.

[Belldandy16]

are they big into chinese new year over there?
it just started sunday. Perhaps its like our big holidays? people go outa town, what not.

sorry just thinking outside the box.

[cutiebunny]

I think it's just part and parcel of the normal cycle.

I've noticed that certain times of the year feature more auctions than others. There's a surge around Christmastime and the month afterward due to Japanese people receiving bonuses. There's a small surge around Golden Week because that's another time when Japanese receive bonuses. Looking back at the items that I've won over the past few years, statistically speaking, I typically spend more during these periods because more of what I want is available(and there's more competition).

I don't think that the Japanese are as into the Lunar New Year as much of the Chinese are. Japantown doesn't make a big deal of it in San Francisco, at least, not compared to the celebrations in Chinatown here. I've seen some Japanese merchandise for it(ie. UFO plushies of Mickey in a Tiger suit with "2010" on it) but that's it. I dunno, what's the Japanese translation for "li xi"?

Holiday-wise in Japan, Hina Matsuri is coming up in the next two weeks, but, unless you're shopping for Hina dolls, that shouldn't affect the artwork market much.

[pixie_princess]

I know this is probably an odd question, but is there a good time of the year to look for these dolls? I'm not sure if it was you or someone else Cutiebunny, but I remember several years back someone commenting that they had purchased a full set of Hina Matsuri furniture for their stuffed animals/dolls.

[zerospace]

I have to agree with cutiebunny that there are times of year where there seems to be a lull in artwork auctions. Right now seems to be one of those times. Not that I'm complaining too much ... my wallet is definitely happier for it .

[beatrush]

sometime, even just 1 or two sellers not selling at a certain time can make a dent in the amount of auctions on YJ. One seller I buy from frequently has 500+ auctions going at any given time. He has not been selling as of late so I noticed some series are completely empty because his auctions are not up.

[Sky Rat]

I noticed this too…but I only ever search for one category (it usually has 7-8 pages of results and this past week there’s been only 4,) so it didn’t occur to me that this was happening across all of Yahoo Auctions… I didn’t think too hard about it, because I was honestly relieved that there were fewer things to tempt me to spend money.

I don’t think the Chinese New Year is significant enough in Japan to cause this. I was there during this time period a few years ago and didn’t notice anyone acting differently than usual. They definitely don’t shut everything down like China does for 2+ weeks.

[Keropi]

In some ways I don't mind the fewer auctions either because it saves time searching over there. For example, on Wednesday and Thursday there were only ten pages of genga auctions ending in the next 40 hours instead of the usual 18-34 pages. Sometimes those sellers selling unrelated categorical items can really slow down the search.

I'm NOT looking for picture frames, plants and furniture. I'm looking for sketches!

[cutiebunny]

I know this is probably an odd question, but is there a good time of the year to look for these dolls? I'm not sure if it was you or someone else Cutiebunny, but I remember several years back someone commenting that they had purchased a full set of Hina Matsuri furniture for their stuffed animals/dolls.

After Hina Matsuri is the best time to buy Hina stuff. Although, I purchased my furniture set around mid-Hina Matsuri(typically, you display the dolls from the first of the year to the 2nd of March). The auction stated that it was from an antique store that was closing and the pictures were pretty poor in the auction. Considering the price for EMS shipping, the set was more or less a freebie. But it's a really nice set, and one that definetely should have ended far above what I paid for it. Just keep in mind that, should you buy the furniture set, that the deputy will want to ship it seperately to you...so, expect a good $100 shipping charge for EMS to the US.

Dolls are more expensive typically, but if you just want something, there's always several Disney sets around this time of year with figurines dressed in the costumes. I have a plushie Thumper/Miss Bunny set with the two dressed like the Emperor & Empress.