We bid on auctions and shop for you in Japan!

In Japan, most auction sellers and online shops do not ship goods to overseas customers. And their Web sites or online catalogs are all in Japanese. So if you don't live in Japan or cannot read Japanese, you are missing out on a huge and incredible online marketplace for millions of Japanese books, magazines, videos, CDs, DVDs, camera equipment, anime cells, fishing gear, running shoes, etc., etc. There's a LOT of great stuff being sold online in Japan. And a lot of things are sold only in Japan or sold in Japan months before it is sold overseas.

That's where we come in. While based in Tokyo, we act on your behalf to bid, order, or buy the stuff you want from almost any seller or merchant in Japan, and then we ship it to you. We are not limited to just one auction site or to any specific product (but we do specialize in Japanese photo books).

With ProxyShop, you can:

• Browse Japanese auction sites and online shops in Japan like Yahoo! Japan Auctions, Rakuten Ichiba, and Amazon.co.jp. Use the convenient links in the ProxyShop menu box.
• Browse any other online shop in Japan that you know and trust. We are not limited to just auctions or big shopping sites.
• Request searches for any items wanted. Give us any keywords such as a name, title, or ISBN to search for, and we will give you the URL of the search results.
• Bid and buy items at Japanese auctions. We deal with the seller on your behalf.
• Request an English translation of the Japanese auction item's description. For example, we can tell you the condition of the book, publisher, etc. (Free service!)
• Find and buy out-of-print books at auction sites.
• Find and buy stuff available only in Japan.
• Find and buy other stuff like videos, CDs, DVDs, comics (manga), anime cells, camera equipment, toys, computer games, anime stuff, sneakers, etc., and whatever we do not have in our iStore Catalogs.

How It Works

There are four basic steps:

1. Browse the auction or shopping site to find what you want. Use the convenient links in the ProxyShop menu box. Or just browse any online shop in Japan that you know and trust.

2. When you find something you want, submit our order form to request a price quote. Copy and paste the URL of the item's Web page. Also, type a brief description of the item such as the book's title.

3. We will give you a price quote that includes shipping. If you agree to the price quote, use our Proxy Payment Form to send payment. Then we will place a bid or purchase the item. (For auctions, we accept only PayPal payments.)

4. If we win the auction or buy the item, we will pay the seller, receive and inspect the merchandise, and then ship it to you. If we lose the auction or if the item is no longer available, you will receive a full refund or full credit to your account. There's no service charge for a lost bid.

*For auctions, you should submit your order at least 24 hours before the auction ends. Otherwise, there might not be enough time to give you a price quote, confirm payment, and bid on the item.

*Premium customers are allowed to pay for the auction after it ends. Premium customers are our long-time, trusted customers.

ProxyShop FAQ

What is ProxyShop?

It is a service within our iStore that enables customers outside Japan to buy stuff at Japanese auction and shopping sites. You tell us what you want, and we will buy or bid on the item for you. Then we ship it to you. We provide this service because most sellers at Japanese auction and shopping sites do not ship merchandise outside Japan.

Our ProxyShop menu box provides convenient links to major Japanese auction and shopping sites.

How much do you charge for your ProxyShop service?

Our service fee is usually $10 per item or around 15% of the item's price, whichever is greater. You also have to add the shipping cost and other expenses. More details below.

How do I find stuff at Yahoo! Japan Auctions and Rakuten Ichiba?

In the Help menu box, the Yahoo-J Tour and Rakuten Tour links will teach you how to find and identify things at these sites. Then you can use our convenient Yahoo-J Auctions and Rakuten Ichiba links in the ProxyShop menu box to browse auctions. You can also contact us to request a search for anything you want.

Can I order something from an auction category other than the ones listed for Yahoo or Rakuten?

You can pretty much order anything except very large or heavy items, very fragile items, or anything else we do not approve of. Contact us to confirm or to request links to other categories or items.

Can I request you to buy something for me at any shopping site in Japan?

Yes, most shopping sites in Japan we can deal with. Whether it is old comic books or magazines, camera equipment, fishing gear, sneakers made only in Japan, etc., etc. As long as it is not illegal and not too big or heavy (like auto parts), we can get it for you.

If the shop does not have a mail order service and we have to go to the store in person to buy the item you want, then we may not be able to buy it for you. Or we will charge extra for the time required to buy it.

How do I use the Proxy Payment Form?

A normal shopping site has an online catalog where you choose the items you want and put them into a shopping cart and then check out. We cannot do this for auction items and third-party items because they are not our products and they are too transient. They come and go within days and prices always vary.

So we provide this flexible and generic Proxy Payment Form which can be used to order and pay for any auction or third-party item you want. After we give you a price quote, use this form to set the amount you need to pay, choose the desired shipping method, and in the Remarks box, copy and paste the URL of the auction or third-party item(s) you want to buy. (You can enter multiple items or URLs in the same form.) When you complete the checkout process and your payment is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation email.

How do you calculate the price I pay for an auction item?

Our price quote includes the price of the item and SAL shipping. For auctions, we give price quotes on a case-by-case basis. If there's another bidder, we will give a higher estimate. If there is no other bidder, we will give a lower price quote. But it can be unpredictable at times. The weight of the item is also estimated and taken into account.

Here are the various expenses that are passed on to you:

Price of item, 5% consumption tax (if charged by the seller), auction fee (if charged by the seller), shipping cost from seller to us (usually $5-$10), bank transfer fee ($1-2) to pay the seller, packaging cost, shipping charges from Japan to your address, PayPal commission, yen/dollar exchange rate fee, and our service fee of $10 or about 15% of the item price, whichever is greater.

In other words, there will be a substantial markup. Our price quotes seem like we are making a huge profit, but that's just not true. We make a profit, but much less than you would think.

Also, consider how much time and manual labor we spend to process one order:

2 min. to read your order form, check the auction item page for the price, and give you a price quote.
1 min. to confirm your payment and place a bid or order.
5 min. to read the seller's bank account info and pay the seller's bank account via electronic bank transfer.
12 min. to receive, open, inspect, make and affix the shipping address label, and repackage the merchandise for shipping to you.
1 min. to ship the package at the post office.

Thus, we lovingly spend about 20 min. per order. So how much is our time worth? Well, a lot more than minimum wage, that's for sure. And all you do is sit back and browse, place your order, pay money, and wait for your order to arrive. We do all the grunge work.

And if you still think our price is too high, keep in mind that it's for a good cause--the maintenance and improvement of the PhotoGuide Japan Web site.

How long will it take for my auction order to arrive?

Usually 4-6 weeks via SAL (low-priority air mail). You have to allow time for the auction to end, the seller to ship the item to us, and us to repackage and ship the item to you.

How do I keep track of an auction? Will you inform me if I'm outbid?

You just have to bookmark the item page and keep checking the auction. You won't receive any automatic email notice if you are outbid. If you are outbid, we will inform you and send a refund within 10 days after the auction ends.

If I'm being outbid, can I raise my bid?

Yes, if there is enough time left, just send us a note to tell us that you want to raise your bid. In this case, you may have to pay the extra amount before we increase your bid.

Can you do last-minute bidding?

Generally no, we do not do last-minute bidding unless you are a very good customer bidding on a very expensive ($1000 or more) item. Once you place your order, we will place a bid at the maximum amount.

What happens if I lose the bid?

You will receive a full refund within ten days after the auction ends.

What happens if I win the auction at a lower price than I paid?

You will receive a refund for the excess amount paid.

What is that cat on the Proxy Payment Form?

It is called maneki neko in Japanese. It is commonly seen at restaurants and other businesses in Japan. It is like a mascot (holding a gold coin) to attract more business.