suspicious auction, need help making sense of it.

[theultimatebrucelee]

Oh YEAH! To my maximum of 30,000yen on the dot he kept inching it up
I kinda wish I could go back … I think it may have been another stupid move on my part

that sucks..then again it all depends on how much the item is worth to you. with this time extension rule I wonder if theres a way to prevent this kind of wired bidding, it might just help to stay up or up early to counter bid gradually.

I hear you on that but why couldn’t they just start it at the price they wanted to get for it?

its the same as 99cent auction on ebay, to trick people into somehow thinking that they would be able to get a great deal in the end thus attract more bidders. the price they are looking for might not be what people are willing to pay when asked straight out, but it might be possible when bidders get emotional about the item towards the end of auction to the point of losing reasoning.

[Promethium]

I wonder if theres a way where we can just create accounts to bid on auctions ourselves and that snipe bid wouldn't get a 5 minute extension.

To answer your question there is. However the maximum you can bid on is a mere 5000 yen... If you want to bid more than 5000 yen on an item you have to upgrade your account to a premium account, which costs money - 346 yen a month. (If you use Softbank (cellphone) or have a Yahoo BB (internet) account its free but this doesn't apply to us)

Also, the seller has to be willing to A) deal with an english speaking bidder, B) accept an IPMO/Bank Wire as per payment (paypal isn't popular in japan) and C) be open to shipping overseas, which most of them aren't.

I've only seen one cel dealer on YHJ that accepts Paypal and will ship overseas (Yahoo Seller ID - kerwein) - but again, the hurdle is having a premium account. If the item you're bidding on is less than 5000 yen, bidding on kerwein's stuff is definitely a win-win situation. (He doesn't speak English so he requires the bidder to understand Japanese tho - If you/anyone ever need any help just let me know)

As per the five minute extension, it's set by the seller, so some auctions have it and some don't.

Basically, YHJ sucks and ebay's failure in Japan is costing us all.

[D123]

Oh YEAH! To my maximum of 30,000yen on the dot he kept inching it up
I kinda wish I could go back … I think it may have been another stupid move on my part

that sucks..then again it all depends on how much the item is worth to you. with this time extension rule I wonder if theres a way to prevent this kind of wired bidding, it might just help to stay up or up early to counter bid gradually.

Yeah I know I’m sure when it arrives it will have been worth it, I’m just tired of the crazy prices I pay for what I collect I seem to be the only one … and I can get a little overboard with bidding (I really need to stop that)

I just wait till 6minutes are left then plop down my max bid, although this time I had to make two since I didn’t really want to put down my very max and it wasn’t enough to outbid him triggering the time extension . Maybe I should try a different strategy? I’m not bidding on YJ auctions very often at all.

I hear you on that but why couldn’t they just start it at the price they wanted to get for it?

its the same as 99cent auction on ebay, to trick people into somehow thinking that they would be able to get a great deal in the end thus attract more bidders. the price they are looking for might not be what people are willing to pay when asked straight out, but it might be possible when bidders get emotional about the item towards the end of auction to the point of losing reasoning.

Yeah you’re right there! I’ve gotten that way many times LOL

[D123]

As per the five minute extension, it's set by the seller, so some auctions have it and some don't.

But pretty much ALL do, I don't think I've ever seen an auction without one even Mandarake has it

Basically, YHJ sucks and ebay's failure in Japan is costing us all.

I'm not sure ebay Japan would be much better though Maybe it failed because no time extension



...On a side note you guys do know Celga has this gold account that can allow you to create your on YJ account....
http://www.celga.com/index.php?page=goldfaq

I'm not sure of the positives though I can bid with SMJ whenever I want and it doesn't cost me an extra $48.00 a year

[zerospace]

FYI: Celga Gold has been around for a number of years. I signed up for it about a year or so after they began offering it -- that was back in ohmygosh, 2005? 2004? I can't even remember. Back then, they actually created your YJ account in your name with your CC on it and YJ billed you in yen for the fee. At that time, you had to be a Celga user with a good account history or have a reference from a current trusted Celga user. I know I referred a friend to Celga for a gold account about 2 years ago, and she loves it over her Rinkya account for most YJ stuff.

The annual fee is them passing the YJ charges onto you in annual fashion, and IMHO, its totally worth it. You bid for yourself directly on YJ, and they handle the rest. They also auto-bill your credit card on file whenever you win anything, so you don't even have to worry about paying invoices after the fact (you DO still get invoices detailing the charges). And the best thing: NO DEPOSITS, so no bidding limits .

[Animechaos]

Personal accounts are one of the reasons deputy services are not generally liked by many on YHJ.

We considered personal accounts and decided against it. No deposit / limit means no liability and people bid wrecklessly, don't pay, use them to shill bid, etc. Unfortunetly they can and are abused so we opted not to use them. Our automated system really is no different though...you just log in and bid at SMJ and not YHJ.

Oh as for the .99 cent Ebay auctions, I'm guilty of putting up a lot of those. Only because .99 cents or less and it's free for the seller to list an auction. One penny higher and we're charged that insertion fee. Probably why a lot of those type of auctions are on Ebay right now.

But a side note, I'm in the processing of learning / relearning a lot of programming. It's going to take a quite a bit of time since some of it is new territorry for me, but I'll be remaking SMJ's site and I'm going to do my best to get every feature everyone wants up there....and a few innovative ones some wouldn't expect.

[zerospace]

Well, I like my Celga Gold account and wouldn't trade it for any other (I also have a Rinkya account that I think I've used all of once since I opened it *laughs*). I've referred a friend, as I said before, and she has been very happy, too. So.. I guess its one of those YMMV situations . I see Celga still requires that you be a current customer in good standing (and I'm sure they still accept references from customers like myself, who have a long, good history with them -- I go all the way back to 2002-ish with Celga ).

I was simply posting because D123 mentioned the gold accounts, and since I'm a long-time Celga Gold customer, I figured I should pipe up. Everyone seems to have a favorite deputy service, and all have their pros and cons. Personally, I like the way things work with Celga -- it's hassle free for me. I don't have to remember to make sure my deposit is big enough to place a bid when I want to, so if I spot something at the last minute, I can still bid on it without worrying.

I'm really not trying to pimp Celga here, they're just my deputy of choice, and have been for a long, long time, so I happen to have a ton of experience with them and their services .

[theultimatebrucelee]

I’m just tired of the crazy prices I pay for what I collect I seem to be the only one … and I can get a little overboard with bidding (I really need to stop that)

haha, your not the only one, so don't feel bad. we're not at a good time of collecting right now especially for cel. exchange rate aside, I think sensei mentioned this in one other thread that the market is pretty much dried up which makes it not much fun to collect as before and whats little leftover would be in high demand, guess those big time collectors are actually controlling the market right now lol

I just wait till 6minutes are left then plop down my max bid, although this time I had to make two since I didn’t really want to put down my very max and it wasn’t enough to outbid him triggering the time extension . Maybe I should try a different strategy? I’m not bidding on YJ auctions very often at all.

I'm a bit confused with the time extension. but when I used private proxy I always requested snipe within last few seconds, and on some auctions where I was the only bidder, time would not extend and I would win. other times when another bidder also puts in a bid within seconds of auction ending and I do the same, extension would show up...but if I am the only bidder and bids at last minute on auction with extension on, would time extend?

[theultimatebrucelee]

I've only seen one cel dealer on YHJ that accepts Paypal and will ship overseas (Yahoo Seller ID - kerwein) - but again, the hurdle is having a premium account. If the item you're bidding on is less than 5000 yen, bidding on kerwein's stuff is definitely a win-win situation. (He doesn't speak English so he requires the bidder to understand Japanese tho - If you/anyone ever need any help just let me know)

I've wonder how I can take advantage of this kerwein seller's auction if I don't understand Japanese...does he understand english if I were to write to him? how to sign up for account is also a mystery to me, perhaps I would be able to find a proxy that's willing to create account for costumer, celga sounds like a nice place.

many times I come across things I don't understand on auction description, when that happens, I would definitely love to get some help.

in past year I have grown tired of staying up watching auction ends, bad for health nor do I wish to get up early, that's why I really prefer a proxy that does snipe bidding. although I don't think I'll ever be able to satisfy certain proxy's prerequisite.

[D123]

No deposits are good!

but I do agree with this

We considered personal accounts and decided against it. No deposit / limit means no liability and people bid wrecklessly, don't pay, use them to shill bid, etc.

all have their pros and cons.

Yes they do but I had to try SMJ after Celga’s terrible customer service and I couldn’t go back, I love it! I did however try Celga again recently as back up and they have a refund request button (So convenient!!) that wasn’t there before. I wish SMJ had it! That was so great <3

[D123]

I’m just tired of the crazy prices I pay for what I collect I seem to be the only one … and I can get a little overboard with bidding (I really need to stop that)

haha, your not the only one, so don't feel bad. we're not at a good time of collecting right now especially for cel. exchange rate aside, I think sensei mentioned this in one other thread that the market is pretty much dried up which makes it not much fun to collect as before and whats little leftover would be in high demand, guess those big time collectors are actually controlling the market right now lol?

I try not to

I just wait till 6minutes are left then plop down my max bid, although this time I had to make two since I didn’t really want to put down my very max and it wasn’t enough to outbid him triggering the time extension . Maybe I should try a different strategy? I’m not bidding on YJ auctions very often at all.

I'm a bit confused with the time extension. but when I used private proxy I always requested snipe within last few seconds, and on some auctions where I was the only bidder, time would not extend and I would win. other times when another bidder also puts in a bid within seconds of auction ending and I do the same, extension would show up...but if I am the only bidder and bids at last minute on auction with extension on, would time extend?

Time extension. wouldn’t you just love to kil.. kick! the man that came up with that lol

in past year I have grown tired of staying up watching auction ends, bad for health nor do I wish to get up early, that's why I really prefer a proxy that does snipe bidding. although I don't think I'll ever be able to satisfy certain proxy's prerequisite.

SMJ did have a snip option but it’s gone now
I usually prefer to do the bidding myself though anyway

[Animechaos]

I wish SMJ had it! That was so great <3

We will eventually. That and automated deposit increases and many other features. Including an eventual comback of our sniping system.

Guess I could say we're re-starting from the ground up. Eventually the site will completely change, much quicker, easier to shop around, and lots of things we don't
have automated now will be.

Some will be major, but some we already put in. We just revamped the shipping request form, added SAL small packet / economy, and added hover tooltips. A very simple but helpful change. But eventually the shipping request form will be gone completely. You'll just check the items you want shipped in the account page, click "ship", and off they go.

I guess the cool thing is I'll be programming it mostly myself. So if you folks have any ideas or features you want just let me know and I'll see if I can weave it in.

[D123]

I wish SMJ had it! That was so great <3

We will eventually. That and automated deposit increases and many other features. Including an eventual comback of our sniping system.

Guess I could say we're re-starting from the ground up. Eventually the site will completely change, much quicker, easier to shop around, and lots of things we don't
have automated now will be.

Some will be major, but some we already put in. We just revamped the shipping request form, added SAL small packet / economy, and added hover tooltips. A very simple but helpful change. But eventually the shipping request form will be gone completely. You'll just check the items you want shipped in the account page, click "ship", and off they go.

So awesome ^.^

[sensei]

I think sensei mentioned this in one other thread that the market is pretty much dried up which makes it not much fun to collect as before and whats little leftover would be in high demand, guess those big time collectors are actually controlling the market right now lol

Actually I guess this makes me a "big time collector" as I seem to have no problem finding something good for sale. I read the various grumbly posts by other collectors who keep saying that the anime art market has gone South and all the good cels are past and gone. But I don't see it. It is true that for some series the inventory has vanished almost completely: the interesting early CGI series Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, for instance, for which I've seen only one lot go up in the last 3-4 years (on Mandarake). But overall I've found myself diversifying, watching for series for which eyeworthy art does show up for sale and being very patient on the rest. Just last week a nice batch of TnN OP/high-end character cels popped up on YHJ, and the same has happened in other series as well. There is inventory out there still, even it it's not the hog heaven that existed a few years after some important series wrapped up.

but if I am the only bidder and bids at last minute on auction with extension on, would time extend?

No, it won't: that's one case in which the snipe bid brings down the lot almost instantaneously. But if two snipe bids arrive in the last seconds, then, as you note, the auto-extend kicks in. I've gotten used to it over time, and feel it has the advantage of encouraging you to place your max bid when you go to bed, and then go get a good night's sleep, knowing that if you're outbid, it's by someone who honestly wanted the item more than you. Snipe bidding encourages craft and slyness, and sometimes a lack of common sense if the snipe bid is outrageously high (and is nearly matched by another enthusiastic snipe bidder).

[Promethium]

As per the five minute extension, it's set by the seller, so some auctions have it and some don't.

But pretty much ALL do, I don't think I've ever seen an auction without one even Mandarake has it

I know. It's the worst system ever! Whoever thought of that system is on my $hit list.

I've only seen one cel dealer on YHJ that accepts Paypal and will ship overseas (Yahoo Seller ID - kerwein) - but again, the hurdle is having a premium account. If the item you're bidding on is less than 5000 yen, bidding on kerwein's stuff is definitely a win-win situation. (He doesn't speak English so he requires the bidder to understand Japanese tho - If you/anyone ever need any help just let me know)

I've wonder how I can take advantage of this kerwein seller's auction if I don't understand Japanese...does he understand english if I were to write to him? how to sign up for account is also a mystery to me, perhaps I would be able to find a proxy that's willing to create account for costumer, celga sounds like a nice place.

Kerwein only speaks Japanese, but again, if you/anyone want to bid on his stuff or have questions for him just let me know. I can drop him a line on the auction page. He's been around for over a decade on YHJ and he puts things up in bulk and then disappears for a few weeks/months and then comes back.

As per setting up a YHJ account... Hmm, maybe I should start a "step by step - how to create a YHJ basic account thread" if enough ppl are interested. That way, ppl can bid on stuff that's less than 5000 yen without deputys - you'd have to check with the seller if they're willing to ship overseas/accept an IPMO before bidding tho. Oh, and the really great thing about having a YHJ account is that you can set up to three "Key Word Alerts" and be notified immediately (or once a day in bulk) if something goes up that matches. I have several free YHJ accounts just for the alerts

FYI - Making a basic YHJ account is free so I'd be weary of deputys that charge money or require a deposit.