question on Yahoo Japan Auctions

[Major Focker]

need some help.

i'm hunting down some stuff on YAJ, and sometimes i encounter auctions where instead of the usual "Number: 1", it shows a higher number, as in the example below where it shows "3". does this mean that if i'm the highest bidder, i win 3 units of that item? or does it simply mean there are 3 available and each winning bid gets one?

also, what does the line "The highest bidder: No" mean?

appreciate some clarification. thanks

詳細情報

個数 ： 3

開始時の価格 ： 1,000 円

最高額入札者 ： なし

More info

Number : Three

Starting price : 1,000 yen

The highest bidder : No

Edited January 11, 2013 by Major Focker

[Jefuemon]

最高額入札者 ： なし means that no one has bid on the item yet. If there are bids, then the user with the highest bid goes there, such as on this other auction for the non-scale Meltrandi ship.. 最高額入札者 ： tig***** / 評価：583

Don't know about the quantity part. Can you post a link to the original auction?

[Major Focker]

thanks for clarifying that point on the highest bidder.

as for the quantity part, i kinda figured it out by experimentation.

there was an auction that said 2 available with a current bid of JPY1000. i bid 1050 and won. but when i checked the bid history, it says there are 2 highest bidders: me and the guy who bid 1000. what i noticed though is that there is also a column in the bid history which shows the quantity. in this case, the other guy apparently bid for 2 and says his bid is at 1000. so presumably, that means he bid for 2 units at 1k each. but since i bid for 1 (apparently) at 1050, i will get that one unit, and the other guy gets one at 1k. so now i'm pretty certain i'm not getting both at a total of 1050 (as i thought), and instead just one. cost me $6 in proxy fees, but i'll just charge that to experience.

in contrast, another auction i won indicated quantity available =1, but there were 3 of the same item pictured and the description said for 3 units. so that one, i won all three at the price i entered in the bid. i was charged that price as a total, and not x3. this seems to be consistent with other past auctions where multiples of the item where shown and described, but indicated quantity was set at 1 in the upper summary box.

so in summary, it seems that when a seller wants to sell something as a set, they indicate the available quantity as 1, then in the description they state how many multiples of the item are in the set. if the seller is not selling multiples as a set, they indicate available quantity to whatever they have on hand, and bidders are expected to indicate how many they want and the price they are bidding for each. something to be mindful of when buying from YAJ.

so i guess this thread can be closed, unless some folks have other questions about YAJ. happy to share my experiences with various proxy services, as well as tips, though i am by no means an expert.

p.s. is it wrong that i'm tempted to get another meltrandi ship?

[veffidas]

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_auction#A_second_item_auction .

Also, "Highest Bidder: None" can still occur when there are bidders but the reserve has yet to be met.

[Major Focker]

thanks for the link. it didn't play out that way on YAJ though, in the sense that i wasn't charged the price of the second best successful bid. i was charged at the price i bid for, which is 50 yen higher than the other guy's successful (albeit, only partially so) bid.

[Hikaru1234567890]

Hi guys I'm really new to yahoo Japan auctions and I need to know how it works.

[Jefuemon]

Hi guys I'm really new to yahoo Japan auctions and I need to know how it works.

Works like any other auction site. Thing is, unless you live in Japan, you've got to go through a proxy bidding service, because a majority of the payments will be done through bank transfer (not Paypal), and over 90% of the sellers will not directly ship to a foreign address.

Also, if you live in Japan, and plan on bidding on anything over ￥3500, you've got to have a paid membership.

I'll leave it up to others to suggest a proxy service.

[DarrinG]

I recommend RinkYa - have probably won about 60 auctions and everything has gone smoothly....