Buying jackets on Japanese auction sites

[jonbuilder]

I would like to start a thread where information and instructions for buying jackets from Japan
I have a few questions to start off with.
I am assuming that the reference to Japanese auctions I found on the outerwear forum is different than the jackets on eBay from Japan?
I noticed many references to proxy Japanese sellers on eBay is here a way to identify eBay proxy sellers?
What are the Japanese auction sites?
What are the Japanese auction sites Proxy bidding options?
Below is an example of two sellers in Japan with the same picture of the same jacket and almost $800 differential pricing

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AERO-LEATHER-Authentic-Patrolman-Horsehide-Leather-Jacket-40-Used-from-Japan/143894463800?hash=item2180c74538:g:-LIAAOSw42Nf4gGs&LH_ItemCondition=3000

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aero-Leather-Patrol-Man-Horsehide-Police-Jacket-size-40-Used-Rare/274630248381?hash=item3ff13d07bd:g:Sz8AAOSwc1Ff7CZ4&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

[jonbuilder]

Here is a jacket list on eBay from Japan that I am interested in. I believe the price is high. The seller did issue an offer for $2,100 plus change. The offer I submitted was rejected. Is there a way to determine if the seller is a proxy seller and the jacket could be purchased directly from the jacket owner?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-s-vinta...-Horsehide40-with-tag-F-S-147-CO/313268537667

 

[Kubatu]

https://buyee.jp/mercari/item/m43513644147

Here's the original, listed at 142500 yen, so $1384.98. The ebay account is a proxy seller.

 

[dannyk]

I for one think this is a great idea. I just got a super brief crash course yesterday. Thank you to everyone who chimed in. Everyone on TFL really are super friendly and that’s why I’m a member here. But there’s still so much I don’t know, and have questions on.

 

[Kubatu]

I would like to start a thread where information and instructions for buying jackets from Japan
I have a few questions to start off with.
I am assuming that the reference to Japanese auctions I found on the outerwear forum is different than the jackets on eBay from Japan?
I noticed many references to proxy Japanese sellers on eBay is here a way to identify eBay proxy sellers?
What are the Japanese auction sites?
What are the Japanese auction sites Proxy bidding options?
Below is an example of two sellers in Japan with the same picture of the same jacket and almost $800 differential pricing

Here is a jacket list on eBay from Japan that I am interested in. I believe the price is high. The seller did issue an offer for $2,100 plus change. The offer I submitted was rejected. Is there a way to determine if the seller is a proxy seller and the jacket could be purchased directly from the jacket owner?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/AERO-LEATHER-Authentic-Patrolman-Horsehide-Leather-Jacket-40-Used-from-Japan/143894463800?hash=item2180c74538:g:-LIAAOSw42Nf4gGs&LH_ItemCondition=3000

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aero-Leather-Patrol-Man-Horsehide-Police-Jacket-size-40-Used-Rare/274630248381?hash=item3ff13d07bd:g:Sz8AAOSwc1Ff7CZ4&LH_ItemCondition=3000

There are a number of Japanese retail sites that proxy sites offer service for. The main four are: Yahoo! JAPAN Auction, Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping, Mercari, and Rakuten. To my knowledge, Mercari, Rakuten, and Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping are not auction sites. All of their listings are BIN. Yahoo! JAPAN Auction has many auctions, but it also has listings with Buyout Prices, which is just another form of BIN. Some items are listed as an auction at the same price of their Buyout cost, making it pretty much the same thing as a BIN listing.

So, the bidding process is pretty much the same as ebay. Some listings are auctions that you bid on and they end after a certain date, others are listed at a BIN.

I don't think eBay proxy sellers identify themselves as such. It may be against the terms of service for ebay. However, it feels like they are very easy to spot. The listings are almost all the same, similar descriptions, etc. If you see a seller based in Japan selling a bunch of leather jackets as a BIN, I would just assume they are a proxy seller. For those Aero jackets, the reason you see such a difference in pricing is because neither of those sellers actually own the jacket. Here is the original item on Mercari. It is listed for $500. One seller is trying to sell it for around $700, the other is trying is to maximize his profit and is selling it for $1200. If we add up shipping fees and such, the seller listing it for $700 can still probably make $100 in profit.

If you want to find a jacket listed by a proxy seller, there are two options I can think of. The first is to search on proxy sites using the terms in the jacket, such as "馬革", which means horsehide. However, this has not always guaranteed results for me, so I have now switched to using google reverse image searching. Because these proxy sellers are just using the exact same images as the original Japanese listing, it becomes pretty simple to find the original:

I go to Google Images, then click the camera icon to search by image. https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en. Then I just paste the URL of the ebay image, for example, this one from that Trojan listing. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/xt8AAOSwWZdfkTRJ/s-l1600.jpg

These are the results I get.

The first page is unhelpful, mainly ebay links which is not what you want. Then on the second page, there are finally links to Mercari listings. The first I see is titled "50‘s vintage Trojan White Horsehide", which is what we're looking for. Then you can just click "Buy this item", which brings you to Buyee, a proxy site that many here have used. I have not used it, however, so I can't give detailed descriptions on what that looks like. You would likely buy the jacket through the proxy service, then the local seller would ship it to the proxy service warehouse, where it would then be shipped to your address. Along the way there are various fees and shipping cost, which are not necessarily cheap. I think a good rule of thumb is to assume the total added cost from these expenses would be $100.

So that's some information about Japanese auction sites! I may have a few details wrong since I am not actually that experienced with proxy buying either, but for the most part, I think the info here is accurate.

 

[Carlos840]

I have never bought jackets on buyee, but have bought around 50 items there and i have never had a problem.
Everything i have received from them was always as advertised and superbly packaged. The japanese take packing things to a new level IMO.
Only thing is they always declare accurate value on the customs invoice, so if you buy expensive things be ready to pay import taxes.

 

[jonbuilder]

https://buyee.jp/mercari/item/m43513644147

Here's the original, listed at 142500 yen, so $1384.98. The ebay account is a proxy seller.

Thank you for the help Kubata I was able to register the total delivered price came to $1484. The deal-killer was the width 54 cm another 1 cm or perfectly 2 cm and I would be good. I am still considering the Trojan. Maybe I will get lucky and the width is closer to 55 cm it happened to Terry.

 

[Mich486]

I suggest zenmarket.jp. Done around 20 transactions all smooth. Load money into the account from credit card or PayPal and bid/bin. Nothing really complicated, the best way imho is to jump in and try the service with maybe a relative small purchase.

 

[Kubatu]

I suggest zenmarket.jp. Done around 20 transactions all smooth. Load money into the account from credit card or PayPal and bid/bin. Nothing really complicated, the best way imho is to jump in and try the service with maybe a relative small purchase.

Zenmarket is what I have used, and I agree it is very simple. Between Buyee and Zenmarket, I am not sure which is the best value in terms of fees and money saved, but I don't think it is more than a couple dollars saved either way. One benefit to Buyee is that they have access to Mercari through a partnership. Zenmarket does not have this since Mercari typically does not allow for proxy purchases, so you have to use Buyee if the item is only listed on Mercari.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

easiest way to spot an Ebay proxy is to ask them for extra photos of the jacket. They will reply the jacket is in warehouse or something like that. Not exact science, but a good indicator. Obviously other way is to note multiple listings using the same photos at different price points.

Note this is different that using buyee where you are directly bidding for something via a local proxy.

The ones on ebay are playing margins and basically wait for you to buy, then they will try and buy cheaper from the direct listing, and pocket the difference. This can be hit or miss depending on how quick that transaction happens on the back end.

On buyee, when you bid on something and win, you get it, no question. Plus you save money. There's some exceptions as a lot of jackets are coming from 2nd hand stores. So there's a chance the store sells it locally and never updated the yahoo auction bid.

As I cautioned elsewhere, just make sure you know what you're buying. Measurements, style, etc. Just like there's bad info on Ebay, there's bad info on buyee (yahoo auction really). Except on Ebay you can try and get more info and maybe have an easier path to return items.

But yeah, if you're buying a Schott 118 size 40 or a Vanson Enfield size 42, you should have plenty of reference points to know what that is. Buying a no label vintage jacket, good luck, you're really gambling that person took accurate measurements.

 

[Colin G]

From Japan is another proxy to consider. I use Buyee and it is quite simple. Everything I have purchased has fit and the measurements given by the seller were pretty accurate. No problems here.

 

[Marc mndt]

I'm so jealous you guys in the USA have a customs threshold of $800.

In the Netherlands / Europe the threshold is €22.

 

[tmitchell59]

Maybe I will get lucky and the width is closer to 55 cm it happened to Terry.

I've bought many jackets that should not have fit by the numbers, but they did.

I've only got lucky because I take a risk.

 

[tmitchell59]

I'm so jealous you guys in the USA have a customs threshold of $800.

In the Netherlands / Europe the threshold is €22.

There are no Customs Fees for jackets made in the USA that are returning to USA.

 

[jonbuilder]

I've bought many jackets that should not have fit by the numbers, but they did.

I've only got lucky because I take a risk.

I took the plunge even though I am short on funds, buyee responded they would complete the purchase within two days. This is the most I have paid for a jacket but is less than an LW reproduction. I do not get a mutton collar which I do not use even if one comes with a jacket. I will report back in Terry's vintage tread if my order is successful. That Trojan was haunting.

 

[TooManyHatsOnlyOneHead]

There are no Customs Fees for jackets made in the USA that are returning to USA.

Merica!!!!! F'yeah

 

[tmitchell59]

I took the plunge even though I am short on funds, buyee responded they would complete the purchase within two days. This is the most I have paid for a jacket but is less than an LW reproduction. I do not get a mutton collar which I do not use even if one comes with a jacket. I will report back in Terry's vintage tread if my order is successful. That Trojan was haunting.

I look forward to your post.

 

[jeo]

My general rule of thumb is if it's on ebay and I see it's from Japan, I go to buyee.com, go to the Yahoo Auctions Japan section and search for it because it will almost always be cheaper. I don't use anything else other than buyee.com when buying straight from Japan. It's easy and I've never had an issue.

I think I've gotten lucky as I've purchased about 5 or so jackets from Buyee.com. Except for the last one I bought, I never paid import taxes on anything. I should mention that all of them were shipped through EMS, except this last one that I purchased after covid and EMS wasn't an option. I chose DHL and had to pay another $120 on a roughly $850 jacket.

 

[willyto]

My general rule of thumb is if it's on ebay and I see it's from Japan, I go to buyee.com, go to the Yahoo Auctions Japan section and search for it because it will almost always be cheaper. I don't use anything else other than buyee.com when buying straight from Japan. It's easy and I've never had an issue.

I think I've gotten lucky as I've purchased about 5 or so jackets from Buyee.com. Except for the last one I bought, I never paid import taxes on anything. I should mention that all of them were shipped through EMS, except this last one that I purchased after covid and EMS wasn't an option. I chose DHL and had to pay another $120 on a roughly $850 jacket.

Where do you live?

Every single item I bought from Buyee has been stopped at customs in Spain. EMS or DHL doesn’t matter.

I just choose DHL because package arrives in 3 days and I make the payment through Online payment when they send the Email/SMS . I can’t be bothered anymore to wait weeks/a month for the EMS packages to go trough the process. I prefer to pay the extra shipping(not much of a difference).

By the way, $120 for a $850 is so low. So lucky!

 

[Blackadder]

Yahoo Auction JP differs from ebay that seller on the Yahoo auction has an option to automatically extend the time when someone places a higher bid in the last 5 mins. That option "自動延長" can be seen on the listing. If that is the case, you may end up with a bidding war that will last another hour and it also means it would be difficult for you to sneak in a last minute bid like on ebay. Since it is highly beneficial to the sellers, sellers always turn that on.
When I wrote this, I did not see this thread so I would just repost here.
When looking at items on Yahoo Auction JP and you see that there is a VAT on the bid price, it means it is from a registered shop. If that happens, you can try to search for the same item on Rakuten and since Rakuten is not an auction site, you may be able to buy that item right away thru proxy at the Rakuten price which is most likely the same as the opening bid on Yahoo. That is a good way to skip the auction process thereby saving time and money.
For example
https://auctions.yahoo.co.jp/search/search?auccat=&p=aero+patrolman&tab_ex=commerce&ei=UTF-8&fr=
https://search.rakuten.co.jp/search/mall/aero+patrolman/
You can find two of the same jackets listed on both Yahoo and Rakuten.
https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/l585088178
https://item.rakuten.co.jp/desertsnow-koriyama/16-11-369/