Am I the only one...

[Golden Boy]

...who thinks the yen rate has basically made Yahoo Japan a place to look at cels rather than buy cels?

As of this writing, the exchange rate is around 84 yen to the dollar. Most deputies take an additional 6 yen off for an effective rate of roughly 78 yen to the dollar. 78 yen?!?!?!

It wasn't so long ago (or maybe it was a long time ago) when I would complain when the yen rate dipped below 120. Ha!

It seems the current exchange rate is doing what I haven't been able to do on my own; that is to save money and buy less.

Oh well, just a quick vent!

gb

[animeobsessed]

You're not alone. I think this subject came up on another thread, but I can't remember which one.

I have only bid on two cels in months and only b/c they were rare cels. I knew exactly how much I could bid and luckily I won below my max. Even though the cels were rare, there were only a couple bidders on each of them.

Another reason I look and don't bid is b/c there isn't much to bid on...good cels are not coming up very much at least in the series I collect or if they do I can't afford them after the yen conversion.

[Goldknight]

I hear that! Then yen rate has stopped me in my tracks lately. I purchased one cel off of YJ awhile back and did a payment plan on it because with the exchange rate and deputy fees I probably paid close to $200 additional. Not exaggerating on that one. Only reason I went through with it was because it was wishlist. There's so many pretties posted each week. Especially in the DBZ section every Friday. But damn! I was watching the auction of THE Kenshin cel of him with Kaoru and if I remember right it went well above the 100,000jpy mark using Rinkya. I cringe just thinking about the rate on that sucker plus deputy fees.
Damned economy.

[Keropi]

Yeah, it's not very encouraging that's for sure. It's just one more thing that dissuades me from bidding on anything.

But to be honest I think I've only won one thing on YJ that went for more than $100 after yen conversion since that Sola door sketch I got back in April 2008. So it hasn't affected me as much as most people.

[Shampoo]

Yup! Thou for me its not just cels (nothing quality pops
up for the series I collect anywho)
but everything I'm use to buying from japanese webshops:
trinkets, clothes, beauty supplies, shoes, you name it!!

Its actually forcing me to avoid my usual web-shop stops
all together because in the end:

1000 yen cell strap X 1000 EMS X 8% shopping deputy X 4% pp fee
X exchange of 80 yen= $27 !!!
PFFFT!!

[sensei]

While I've certainly cut back, partly due to retirement (with stricter budgets across the board), I'm pleased that I can still get very nice lots for around $50 a lot. So while I'm likely to to think twice before I bid, I'm still thinking twice. When the market dries up all over, then it will be time to lament.

[duotrouble]

Again, you're not alone. Of course, I'm going the extra mile of not even looking. You can't miss what you don't see. Hopefully, the exchange rate will go back up soon.

[cutiebunny]

Everything looks less attractive when, you sit and ponder that, without deputy fees, an item that ends at 1000 yen will end up costing you $12.

At 1000 yen, I don't feel the pinch so bad. But the higher an auction goes, the more I'm just paying due to a poor exchange rate. 10,000 yen items are really $120 & 100,000 yen items are...$1200.

I've cut back too because of the exchange rate. I don't try to compete for items as much as I used to, unless it's something that I've got to have no matter what. When I look at my YJ/Mandarake purchases this year, I can count on one hand the number of items I've purchased with an end price of more than 10,000 yen.

I'm sure that this is why some deputy services have changed their fee structure - Most of their US clientele just isn't buying the quantity that they used to.


But then, and this might only be my observation, RS is a good measure of the economy as well. When I first joined RS in 2005, it was uncommon to see an updated site remain on the main page for more than 12 hours. But now, it's become more common to see sites on the main page for 24+ hours.

[dark-water-dragon]

I agree with all that the current rate sucks. The only way that I really justify buying many items is if I would normally pay the price with the added cost put in or if I try to save money by buying multiple items from the same seller on the same day, due to using celga (which I love). I also have to agree with Goldknight when it comes to DBZ Fridays. I have no idea how many auctions I have lost because I could not or justify going bigger because of the exchange rate. Even when it dips from 81 to 80 it still feels like a punch in the gut.

[Drac of the Sharp Smiles]

I'm in a really irritating position.... Not only has the value of the dollar tanked, but about TWENTY incredible auctions recently showed up on Yahoo Japan for one of my favorite shows, from which I haven't seen a lot of things that I've wanted for a while. Such is life...

Many Sharp Smiles,
--Drac

[star-phoenix]

I hear ya on this one.

I actually have not purchased anything on Yahoo Japan for almost 4 years since the yen started going down back then. Just too expensive these days and I can't validate spending $50+ in fees for a cel that was just $40 on YJ.

[toonybabe]

Its brutal! I don't buy a lot on YP. If I do its usually Unico cels and they only pop up once every couple months, sometimes only 1 or 2 times a year. I recently purchased two Unico cels and paid an extra $75 due to the exchange rate and deputy fees!

It really sucks because when Unico cels do pop up they are usually great shots. They're rare compared to other anime production art so its painful to refrain from bidding and let one pass me by.

[kathpatty]

who's really stupid.......?
500 yen= 27.95 and that doesn't include shipping to me

I must stop buying unnecessary items....... I must stop buying unnecessary items..... I must stop buying unnecessary items................................

and Rinkya......

**Arizona Residents are required to pay 6.3% Arizona Sales Tax.

[Sui Kune]

It's down to 75 to the dollar now. I'm really feeling for a friend of mine who lives in Japan and absolutely depends on the yen rate being good for her living. I'm lucky that it only affects me in my collecting hobbies and try to keep that in perspective whenever I get frustrated about it, but unless a wishlist item pops up, I'm taking a break for a while until it gets better. I could use the time to save for top-tier wishlist cels (and a certain rare as all hell giant Raikou plush I've been after for 10 years) anyway. XD

[D123]

It is brutal I went from 0 to 60 to a screeching halt, I don’t buy ANYTHING anymore from YJ I’m lucky wishlist wise nothing I really want has popped up. I sure miss the good old days when the rate was at least 100, deputies taking so much off the actual exchange rate and going by their own bothers me I just don’t get that