Bidding with FromJapan

[Stompp]

Lets hope this won't crash and burn (here's to hoping I won't get outbid )

Placed a bid for the Minkymomo pachinko on YAJ today through FromJapan and I hope to make this a thread about my experiences with their services. Still almost a week left on the auction so no rocking the boat just yet.

[Drunkenclam]

Good luck. My slots on hold as just brought Mrs Clam an

Spoiler

Ipad mini

for Christmas

[Stompp]

Question: the pachinko is shipped with a "Transformer (household power 100V)". Since I live in Sweden (we have 240V here) should I ask the seller to drop the transformer to save on shipping?

[Drunkenclam]

It's a good idea to have it removed.

1) it reduces the weight
2) If if comes loose. It will cause a load of damage in transit.


I never have the transformer shipped. I buy a nice big one from RS when it arrives.

[Stompp]

So, a little update. These pics are from a buy now item but the procedure is the same for a normal auction.

First of all you have to deposit funds equal to the the amount you want to bid + initial fees. There's three ways of depositing funds: credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. Whenever you pay with the two former methods a 5% usage fee will be charged in addition to the 200¥ commission. If you have made a deposit via bank transfer your funds will be turned into FJ points (1¥ = 1 FJ point). When you pay with FJ points the 5% usage fee will be charged.

Funds deposited via credit card or PayPal will be refunded after a period of time if not used. FJ points will not. Additionally FJ points cannot be transferred to another account or refunded if you cancel your account.

1. Getting to the auction page
   On the front page paste paste the link to the auction page on YAJ, type in the amount units you want to bid on and choose whether to place a real time bid or a snipe bid.
   
   bidpag0.png
2. Auction information
   Here you can revise bid type and quantity. Type in your maximum bid and choose whether to use deposit or points to pay for the item or items.
   
   bidpag1.jpg
3. Bid confirmation
   Top left you can see the cost summary for your bid. On this page you have to:
   
   • Choose type of domestic delivery (safer or cheaper).
   • If you want the item to be shipped as is to you from FJ.
     There's a bunch of important info in this box. Be sure to read it thoroughly.
   • State if you're buying tickets to a venue.
   • Agree to the terms and conditions.
     
     bidpag2.jpg
   
   
4. Point of no return
   Click on the "I agree with all the terms and conditions" button to place your bid.
5. Paying for you items
   After winning an auction you can choose how to pay for the item. Either select FJ points, from deposit or credit card/PayPal.
   
   bidpag3.jpg
   
   Paying for items are split in two steps called charge 1 and charge 2: the first is for the winning bid and the second for domestic and international shipping.

Comparing the experience with Shopping Mall Japan, FJ is way more thorough. More steps and choices, at first maybe a little daunting but you also get way more information through the process. SMJ is simpler, but you don't get half of the information you do from FJ.

You can always contact FJ with your questions and requests. They've been very helpful to me so far

I'll post a summary of all the charges as soon as I have a total.

[Stompp]

Ah, missed posting the last step for paying charge 1. Nothing much really. It's confirmation on what you're about to pay for and what funds you are using to pay from. In this case I'm paying from my deposit.

bidpag4.jpg

Now it's just waiting for the item to arrive at FJ and ask them to ship it home. Of course you can combine shipping multiple items. FJ will store your items up to 30 days. A bit low compared to SMJ and Rinkya. They both allow storing up to 60 days.

[Drunkenclam]

Now. I don't want to be a kill joy or anything. But you do realise the machine your bidding on has already been converted to cyclic. So would have some of the internals modified.

[heima]

Thanks for keeping us posted Stompp. Your write ups will benefit many.
You 'Da Man!

[Stompp]

Now. I don't want to be a kill joy or anything. But you do realise the machine your bidding on has already been converted to cyclic. So would have some of the internals modified.

Thx, mate. Kinda figured that out. If possible - maybe I'll restore it to original. On the other hand cyclic has its advantages.

[Drunkenclam]

That's why they call me the Dr. Although I must admit. I always like to see a picture of the back before committing. As long as everything is there, converting back shouldn't be a problem. Unlike some of the auto play kits. Good updates. I'll be watching with interest. Still watching prices of the one I want.

[Stompp]

Thx for the tip. Will do that from now on. FJ seems ok with asking the sellers questions on your behalf. Will give them a try on some other machine.

[Drunkenclam]

Question! Question!


How long does it take for them to register a paypal deposit. One of the complants about SMJ (Shopping Mall Japan) Is the length of time between deposit sent and making the account live.
Especially as FJ refund you deposit after so long if you don't win or rebid.

[Stompp]

For me it registered instantly (paid with credit card). Don't know about returns yet. SMJ seems to have more hands-on procedures. Also SMJ cannot handle auto bidding on auctions with multiple items.

[Stompp]

Meh, outbid in the last minute and I wasn't by the computer

[Drunkenclam]

Nevermind. There are others.

[Drunkenclam]

Well I sent my ¥10000 deposit via credit card last night. And my account was active in seconds. Bidding was simple and the page flashes up things like any negative feedback that go through auto translate. Now just sit back and wait

[Stompp]

Yupps, I'm liking FJ more and more. Only issue I've encountered so far is that G-front apparently has blocked FJ from their auctions Kinda weird since SMJ works fine.

[Drunkenclam]

Oh I should point out to non US buyers. FJ has the advantage of doing all the costs in yen. So those of us who don't use dollars. We don't get stitched up with 2 currency conversions on every purchase. ie GBP-USD-JPY

[emmadog]

I've used several proxy bidders in the past but none came close to Juno. How does FJ compare?

[Drunkenclam]

Don't know yet, But these guys seem to have access to the best rates for Fedex shipping, Its not that much higher than Surface. I might know in a few weeks.