landwhale wrote:K2!, YOu would probably know this, I notice that in JPY prices, the VMF are a lot more affordable than the prices on Yamato USA. With shipping and customs and charges would it be cheaper to get a VMF from Yahoo Japan through a bidding service?
Landwhale-san, I doubt it. I use Yahoo! Japan auctions all the time and after the currency conversion, the deputy fees, the bank transfer fee, the in-Japan shipping, then the shipping to me, it's rarely ever cost effective to buy on Y!J Auctions. I have to use it because often there is no other way to find the items I'm wanting. The only way you might get lucky is if the starting bid is REALLY outrageously low and there are no competitor bidders or not many to drive up the bidding.
For example, if I win an auction for 1100 yen, the total price I'll end up paying after everything is around $45-55 and that's with a very inexpensive deputy service.
Last week, I paid $840 USD for about 5 magazines, 10 magazine clippings, 1 t-shirt, 3 pamphlets and 2 small music boxes I won on Y!J auctions. (Not expensive merchandise, but with all the fees and costs, it adds up drastically.)
How much are the Yamato dolls selling for on Y!J? You can almost always add at least 30-35% or more to the total final bid price, for the fees and costs.