Frequently Asked Questions
Accounts and eligibility
- Do I need an account to bid?
- Yes. Registration is free. You confirm your email address once, and from then on each sign-in asks for a short code we email you.
Your name is used to confirm payment and to ship your items. It cannot be changed once registered, so please enter it carefully.
- Can I bid from outside Japan?
- You are very welcome to. We accept bids from any country, as long as payment and shipping are possible.
Inspecting high-value items in person
We recommend inspecting high-value items in person. For items of 1,000,000 yen or more, we recommend an inspection by you or your proxy. Please contact us if you would like one.
Bidding and closing
- How does bidding work?
- Automatically, by proxy bidding. Enter the most you are willing to pay, and the site bids on your behalf only the minimum needed within that limit — never more than your maximum.
- What is a participation deposit?
- Some listings ask for a refundable deposit before you may bid. Pay it by bank transfer, PayPal or cryptocurrency; you can bid as soon as it is confirmed.
- If you win: it is applied to the amount you pay.
- If you do not win: it is refunded, less transfer fees.
To request a refund, please contact us.
- When does an auction end?
- An auction starts once the “first bid” is placed; until then it has no fixed end time.
- An auction with no bids yet: it ends once the number of days in “Duration” (shown on the auction page) has passed, counted from the “first bid”.
- An auction that has bids: it ends at the “End Time” shown on the item page.
A bid within 5 minutes of the close extends the end by the time remaining plus 5 minutes.
- There are two kinds of watchlist. What is the difference?
- The regular Watchlist emails you when an auction you added receives its “first bid”, i.e. when the auction starts.
- Category Watch emails you when a new item is listed in a category (title) you added.
Payment and shipping
- What payment methods can I use?
- The payment methods available differ by seller and are shown on the item page.
Bank transfer and PayPal are billed in Japanese yen. Cryptocurrency is billed in XRP.
- Bank transfer: the most straightforward option for a transfer within Japan, and the fees are low.
- Bank transfer through Wise: paying from abroad, sending from your Wise balance is among the cheapest in transfer fees. Recommended for payments from overseas.
- XRP: if you can buy it on an exchange, it is among the cheapest ways to send money from abroad. Recommended for payments from overseas.
- PayPal: on the expensive side for an international payment, but its protection is thorough.
- How much is shipping?
- If the seller uses automatic calculation: shipping is calculated automatically at Takkyubin rates from the size of the parcel, the number of items and where it is going. The amount billed may not match the parcel’s actual size when it ships; that is by design.
- If the seller ships freight collect: to an address in Japan, no shipping is charged — pay the carrier when your parcel arrives. To an address abroad, ordinary prepaid shipping is charged even though the listing says “freight collect”.
- If the seller quotes shipping separately: the seller will send you the shipping cost after you win. Please pay once you have it.
Proxies (companies or individuals)
- Can I ask a proxy to bid for me?
- Bidding through a proxy is not permitted.
- Can my items be shipped to a proxy’s address?
- Yes, to a proxy (a company or an individual) in Japan.
Register the proxy’s address under My Page › Profile.
- Can I ask a proxy (a company or an individual) to inspect a high-value item?
- Yes. For high-value items of 1,000,000 yen or more, we recommend an in-person inspection by you or your proxy. Please contact us if you would like one.
Photos and selling
- Why are the photographs watermarked?
- The public thumbnails are watermarked to deter copying. The full-size images without a watermark are shown to bidders, deposit payers and the seller.
- Can I sell here?
- Selling requires approval. Please contact us.
Languages
- What languages is the site in?
- Seven. Use the switcher in the header.
Still stuck? Contact us.