So I’ve been looking for one of these on and off for a while and saw this on an auction site. It comes out of Japan so I hesitated for a bit. Last night I pulled the trigger and bought it. Probably spent more than I should have but what the hell.
Has anyone else bought from a seller from Japan?
What are the chances of it being counterfeit?
Did I screw up?
Assuming the auction site you bought from was eBay, you’re buying from a Mercari reselling bot and way overpaid.
Bots will take legit listings from Japanese auction sites and plaster them all over eBay with ridiculous markup rates. The yen is incredibly weak right now which means you probably overpaid even more on it, compared to if you had just gone through a reputable proxy service.
It’s not really a scam, just incredibly sleazy. I just report/flag listings I see from those accounts if I’m ever looking at eBay.
There’s also multiple top decks listed on BSTs out of the US right now, all for 80 bucks or under. So unless you really wanted an orange engraved Top Deck, yeah you probably made a mistake.
Edit: Here’s the actual listing for the yoyo you purchased. At current conversion rates it was around ~76 USD, and around 20 bucks is typical for EMS shipping to the US. メルカリ
Yes Ebay was the place and that is the same listing. It looks like this will be a lesson learned as it is too late to cancel the order. I may be able to return it but at what additional cost.
I looked at this forums BST but not other sites.
Don’t beat yourself up. Be happy that you’re going to be getting a GREAT yoyo and learned a little lesson.
I agree with @ChrisFrancz. Also, just a heads up, this is also happening:
I saw that thread, that’s what got me interested.
I guess I’ll trust my instincts a little more and do some research first.
Thanks
I mean I have bought from them before as well, it added a piece to my colorways specific clyw collection… was it a good deal on paper, not at all. However tracking down specific colorways can be a royal pain so I view it as saving myself a lot of headache. End of the day you got a top tier yoyo and if you are happy with that then it really doesnt matter if you over payed a bit.
I think a lot of us, or all of us have “overpaid” for a throw we really wanted before. It’s not a massive screw up imo.
I would recommend posting a “WTB” thread for whatever you want next time.
Usually people have throws sitting around, but they aren’t making sales posts. Personally I wouldn’t list “rarer” pieces for sale because I know there’s a big chance they’re going to end up in someone’s closet, or under the bed, lost forever because this hobby has so many people that come and go. I almost feel like a mini museum at times.
If I see someone who’s apart of the community asking for a specific throw, then I’d be more inclined to sell. Knowing it’s going to a good home and hopefully staying within the community.
Last thing is, be weary from anything posted by a Japanese seller on eBay, they do it with more than just yoyos.
They will list a guitar at $1200, that same exact guitar is listed for $600 or less by a USA seller. The issue with yo-yos is that there’s no “competition” for you to compare the price to. They will also have the same listing on two separate accounts at different price points with different pictures so that you think you’re getting a deal because one is cheaper.
To me, there’s specifically “ebay” prices, and “reddit/yyefourm” prices, you’ll almost always be paying a premium on eBay, even if it wasn’t a listing from Japan.
Either way, you got a Top Deck, enjoy!
What you described isn’t Japanese specific, that’s just a general scummy auction tactic used by people from all countries. The OP already had me a little weirded out by the implication that just because a listing was from a Japanese seller that it was potentially a scam or counterfeit.
The issue in this instance is explicitly with Mercari reselling bots. OP paid 180 dollars for a yoyo that they could’ve proxied through a reputable service for around 100 dollars total.
Mable,
Wasn’t my intention to werid you or anyone out, I have no issues with Japanese people. My sister in law is Japanese and I love the culture…
I should have made it more clear that after seeing multiple posts for the same top deck I started to get concerned, I don’t do much shopping on these auction sites and was worried I would never see it.
As far as the price, I have at times over paid for something I wanted so that’s not an issue. Would I do it again, probably not after reading these helpful post.
Ahh, that’s fair then. My apologies for the incorrect assumption. There’s just a bit of a precedent that kind of gives BSTing outside of the US an unfairly bad reputation sometimes.
It’s not Japanese specific, but I don’t see listings from Italy, the UK, Brazil, or other countries like this on eBay in mass if I’m being honest. I’m not saying every Japanese reseller does this either, I buy plenty of stuff from Japan through eBay or other proxy services, getting car stuff imported is always fun.
It’s just my observations and a warning to the OP who isn’t used to eBay. I apologize if I offended you, that was not my intent.
Another downside to buying yoyos from eBay is that it is all too easy to get caught up in a bidding war with other interested buyers. On a BST, it is usually first-come-first-serve and the presence of multiple interested buyers doesn’t impact price. BST sellers are awfully nice (which I’d venture to guess in the business world would be a euphemism for “dumb”) in that they just set a price and sell it for that amount; they don’t (typically) capitalize on the profit potential of competing buyers.
All I know is, years from now, you won’t be thinking about any of this when you pick up that Top Deck. You’ll be thinking “holy crap how is this thing so good?!”
Congrats on your legendary throw acquisition.
Shapapy,
Point well taken, once I get my hands on it all will be forgotten.
