A few months ago I did a
post comparing the Japanese auction proxy bidding services of Japan AUction CEnter (JAUCE) and Buyee. I have had great success with JAUCE, but felt they were a little too expensive given the amount of new proxy bidding services that have sprung up recently. After a lot of research, Buyee seemed like the best choice for me if I was going to switch. If you recall, I wasn't quite sold (no pun intended) on Buyee after my first order. I'm happy to report, that despite some nuances, I think Buyee is a cheaper option for me and some of the niceties, outweigh the quirks so I am going to permanently switch. Here is my final report.
I purchased 7 auctions over this shipping period....a variety of stuff for my personal collection, a BBM card for
RAZ's collection, and some stuff to sell on
eBay. Some of this stuff I have already blogged about including the
Masterpiece Rugby card of Takizawa-san and the
1959 Manga King Bookmark Card.
Storage Fee Time - Final Conclusion
Winner: JAUCE
I actually got bit by two days of storage fees this time for one item while I was waiting on the final item to come in. In the end it cost me only ￥200, but still annoying that they give you only thirty days. I'm sure there is a business reason for it, but it feels like being nickled and dimed. JAUCE is the clear winner here with their 60 days of storage.
Consolidation Fee - Final Conclusion
Winner: Buyee
To summarize, each
of these services charges a consolidation fee. Buyee is ￥1000 for
three or more auction consolidations...￥500 for two. JAUCE is only ￥400
for two or more. When you have to gather and ship items so quickly
with Buyee, this can really eat into any cost savings they have over
JAUCE. Fortunately, it appears my orders are going to be between 7-10 auctions per shipment and the fees are so low that the little extra Buyee charges doesn't drive up the per-lot-price more than JUACE.
Auction Fees - Final Conclusion
Winner: Buyee
It really is nice not having to pay an arm and leg in auction fees for using their service. The fact that I can snipe bid with Buyee, along with regular bidding makes this an even better deal. Hands down, Buyee is the way to go.
Japan Domestic Shipping - Final Conclusion
Winner: Tie, but leaning a little to JAUCE
I went back and check some of my older auctions along with these 7 auctions and it really is hit or miss with Japanese domestic shipping. Even JAUCE, which doesn't require tracking services, had some higher than expected domestic shipping. This time around all my auctions with Buyee had pretty reasonable domestic shipping costs associated with them, although they are a bit higher on average than JAUCE. I'll call this a tie, but leaning toward JAUCE.
Snipe Bidding Service - Final Conclusion
Winner: Buyee
As
I mentioned before, Buyee software is more capable and allows you to
bid live or set snipes. Sniping is really handy due to the time
difference...I'm not sure if the other proxy bidding services do this,
but JAUCE needs to jump on board with this.
International Shipping - Final Conclusion
Winner: JAUCE
It is a little annoying that I am forced to pay ￥1000 and all Buyee does is throw my stuff in a box...they don't literally throw it in there, but when I open the packages, all the stuff is just, well, there. JAUCE packs it really well and cushions everything. Buyee sets it all in a box, puts a little packaging on top of it all and ships it. I can see myself getting damaged goods at some point. But hey, I am paying for a cheaper option so this is one area where Buyee feels they have to skimp.
Payment Method - Final Conclusion
Winner: Buyee
I love Buyee. You pay only when you win and then debit your PayPal account directly. No fees to transfer money like JAUCE does. This might be the main reason I've switched.
Website Navigation - Final Conclusion
Winner: Buyee
JAUCE's website isn't difficult to navigate, neither is Buyee's. I like the fact that I get offers for Buyee discounts which can even drive the savings lower with Buyee if I ever take advantage of them. There are some quirks about both, but Buyee has more options to it.
Here are some rough statistics on the four previous shipments I had coming from Japan and my latest one (Buyee Shipment #2)
JAUCE Shipment #1: Hammer Price vs Total Price Percentage - 64% (so 36% in fees)
JAUCE Shipment #1: Average Hammer Price vs Total Cost Per Lot - 50% (The higher % the better)
JAUCE Shipment #2: Hammer Price vs Total Price Percentage - 54% (so 46% in fees)
JAUCE Shipment #2: Average Hammer Price vs Total Cost Per Lot - 51% (The higher % the better)
JAUCE Shipment #3: Hammer Price vs Total Price Percentage - 72% (so 28% in fees)
JAUCE Shipment #3: Average Hammer Price vs Total Cost Per Lot - 62% (The higher % the better)
Buyee Shipment #1: Hammer Price vs Total Price Percentage - 64% (so 36% in fees)
Buyee Shipment #1: Average Hammer Price vs Total Cost Per Lot - 57% (The higher % the better)
Buyee Shipment #2: Hammer Price vs Total Price Percentage -70% (so 30% in fees)
Buyee Shipment #2: Average Hammer Price vs Total Cost per Lot - 63% (The higher % the better)
For Buyee Shipment #2, overall I paid 30% in fees and the average percentage of hammer price to total cost of each lot (fees + shipping + hammer prices) was 63%. Not bad and the highest of the 5 shipments, which is good. The numbers definitely show that Buyee does have overall lower fees which is what I was aiming for. That can be easily be $25 or more per shipment in savings which can be several hundred dollars per year. That is definitely worth it and Buyee does seem like the right choice for me.
