What is "Yahoo! JAPAN Auctions"?
"Yahoo! JAPAN Auctions" is the biggest in Japan and one of the biggest online auctions in the world. Around 5 million items are sold every day. Both private individuals and companies can take part in auctions. Yahoo! Auctions offer a huge number of goods for every taste and budget.

Pros and cons of auctions

Pros:

• Prices might be significantly cheaper compared to online shops.
• You can find rare things at auctions that cannot be found in online shops.

Cons:

• There are no guarantees at auctions.
• You cannot cancel your bid.
• You cannot refuse to pay after winning an auction.
• You cannot return your item and get a refund if something is wrong.

How can you lower your risks when bidding on auctions?

• Check the seller's rating before bidding. Avoid sellers with many negative reviews.
• Don't buy "free" items or at a ridiculously low price. The seller will probably charge you extra for the shipping within Japan.
• Feel free to ask YokoMarket, if you have doubts.

How can I bid on auctions through YokoMarket?

How do I place a bid?
Use our search facility to locate the item that you want. You can make a bid from the page of the item or by topping up your personal account to your maximum bid amount.Let's say that you make a maximum bid of 1000 Yen. The current price will go up in steps of 100 Yen until, either you win the auction or your 1000 Yen bid is exceeded. The system automatically participates for you. Note that in the Yahoo! Auctions, if a higher bid is made at the last moment of the auction, (a sniper bid) the auction is extended for a further 10 minutes.

What do I pay apart from the item price and service fee?
Sometimes an 8% 'Consumption Tax' might be levied. Usually when this happens, you are told about it in the description of the item.
If you buy an oversized item, you may be charged extra for packaging fees. This is normally mentioned in the description of the item, but at times it is only mentioned after the purchase.

What is the cost of shipping within Japan?
The fees will depend upon the location of the item, weight and size and mode of shipping. Shipping fees within Japan are not usually mentioned because it is impossible for a seller to predict in advance where an item may be shipped to. So shipping costs are usually determined after a purchase is made. It is well worth noting that some sellers ship from countries outside Japan and that when this happens, costs can double.

How much are bank transfer fees?
It depends on the bank, but usually it is between 50 and 300 Yen.

Will you refund me the money if I got outbid?
Yes, once you are outbid we will instantly refund to your account the bid amount and our service fee of 1 USD.

What items am I not allowed to bid for on auctions?
As in any market, there are honest and dishonest sellers in Yahoo! Auctions. Not only goods are available, but services as well. Be sure that what you are bidding on is what you really want. For example, you may think after seeing a picture of a television wall mounting, that the television shown on the mounting is included. How disappointed you will be! To avoid disappointment, check out all details, prices, number of bids and seller feedback. Check very carefully when the price of an item seems 'too good to be true'!

You cannot buy the following through YokoMarket on Yahoo! Auctions:

• Goods that cannot be shipped within Japan. Some sellers insist on picking items up at their location.
• Any kind of service.
• Goods prohibited by law such as drugs and firearms.
• Items that the postal service forbids such as spray cans, perfume, nail polish, plants and seeds, animals or oversized items.

I have changed my mind. Can I cancel my bid?
According to the rules of Yahoo! Auctions, this is a definite NO! Not under any circumstances! So, carefully consider the matter of bidding in a responsible manner.

Do you have auction sniper functionality?
No we don't. Actually, it's not effective on Yahoo! Auctions because the auction time is extended automatically if someone places a bid at the last minute.

Why have I lost an auction even though my bid was the biggest?
On Yahoo Auctions, if two people have the same maximum bid amount, the one, who started placing bids earlier wins. For example, if your competitor manually placed the first bid earlier, even 3 days before the end of the auction, he/she will win.

Can I bid on other Japanese auctions?
Yes, you can bid on Mbok, Rakuten Auction and so on. We deal with them manually. To start, add an auction item URL to "My Account".

What are the terms for free storage at your warehouse?
You can keep your item at our warehouse for no charge for 45 days from the day it arrives at the warehouse. When this term expires, 50 Yen per day per item is charged. The maximum storage period is 3 months.

Have we answered your questions?
If not, please contact us and we will answer any question.