Episode 111: Buyeeing Camera Auctions From Japan

Episode 111 marks the Camerosity Podcast's belated 5th Anniversary, and the crew celebrates with a Discord-suggested topic: buying cameras through Japanese auction sites. Hosts Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike are joined by a large group of regular and new callers to dig into a subject that's unfamiliar territory for anyone used to eBay as the default used-camera marketplace. The core lesson is that Japanese sites like Yahoo! Auctions Japan and Mercari Japan require non-residents to go through proxy services such as Buyee, From Japan, and ZenMarket, and these proxies are not interchangeable—each has its own quirks, fees, coupons, and shipping/consolidation policies.

The bulk of the episode is a hands-on comparison of these proxy services, with callers sharing personal wins and headaches. Topics include how Yahoo! auctions use a "soft close" that changes sniping strategy compared to eBay, how listing descriptions of "junk" versus "near mint" can be wildly inconsistent, and how buyers have far less recourse or seller contact than on eBay. Mike recounts spotting a flaw in a Baldaxette through photos that wasn't mentioned in the listing, while NP shares an experience buying expired film. The group also discusses the upside of consolidated shipping (and its pitfalls, like paying for shipping twice or battery restrictions), the chance to snag deals on cameras that are less popular in certain regions, and the fact that Japanese-market cameras sometimes carry different model names abroad. Anthony brings in a European angle by discussing Catawiki, and Greg Harp and Ira Cohen share standout scores—a mislisted 1950 Canon and a Leica IIId, respectively. A China-focused proxy, Superbuy, and Buyee's inspection/insurance options are also touched on.

The show closes with a rapid-fire GAS roundup: Mike's ongoing hunt for an Arco 35 with View-Arco, Paul's Mercari mishap involving a Rolleiflex SL66, and a string of recent pickups from A.J. Gentile, Marty Olsen, Will Pinkham, Bryan Hewitt, Theo, Ron Gee, and others, ranging from a Kiev 4a to a MIOJ Konica I. Overall, the episode serves less as a sales pitch for Buyee-style auctions and more as an honest, warts-and-all guide—by the hosts' own admission, they may have talked listeners out of trying these services, but the goal is to arm prospective buyers with enough real-world detail to decide for themselves. The next episode is announced as a deep dive into fixed-lens rangefinders and SLRs.

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We’re back in time for both the 111th Episode and the belated 5th Anniversary of the Camerosity Podcast! Even though we forgot about our own anniversary, we commemorated the occasion with a topic from the Discord suggestion box, buying cameras from Japanese auctions! If at first, this seems like a dry topic, then clearly you aren’t the target audience for this show as any option for more GAS is always welcome here!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike are a combination of regular callers and a couple newbies, A.J. Gentile, Bryan Hewitt, NP from Discord, Greg Harp, Heath from Maryland, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Jody Oliver, Marty Olsen, Nick Marshall, Ron Gee, and Will Pinkham!

For those who have only experienced buying cameras through eBay, the first thing you should know about buying on Japanese auction sites is that if you are not in Japan, you need to use a proxy and while there are many out there, they’re not all the same. Starting off the show, we attempt to explain the differences between the most popular options, what’s similar about them and more importantly, what’s different.

On the show were a large number of people who have experience with these types of proxy sites, so the various callers shared their experiences, both good and bad, with them, detailing what they liked and where things can go wrong.

In our attempt to explain how all these proxies work, we did a pretty poor job of promoting them, and by the end of the show, we may have turned people off from ever wanting to use one! But hey, the more information you have, the better you are able to make a decision.

While a majority of the show stayed on topic, we did get to some recent GAS near the end, including Mike’s white whale and pickups from A.J., Greg, Will, and a purchase that Stephen made during the show!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

The recording for the next show is just a couple days away, but for Episode 112, we are going to discuss fixed lens rangefinders and SLRs. While collectors and users often get the most excited over interchangeable lens cameras, there were a huge number of excellent fixed lens cameras and since many don’t get a lot of love, we hope to change that on the next show. We will record Episode 112 on Monday, July 20th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time. For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time. Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

5th Anniversary of the Camerosity Podcast / Introducing the returning callers, and a couple of new ones
eBay is the de facto used camera marketplace, but Japan has their own auctions
Stephen’s GAS is extreme
What are Buyee, From Japan, and ZenMarket? / What about Yahoo! Auctions Japan and Mercari Japan?
Proxy services are above board and welcomed / Sometimes items are restricted, but you have other options
Yahoo! auctions are a soft close, unlike eBay, and it affects sniping
Coupons from the proxy services, and the tricks to using them
Why junk can be near mint, and near mint can be junk
What experiences have we all had with the condition of items?
Mike spotted an issue with a Baldaxette through the photos that wasn’t in the description
NP’s expired film-buying experience
Lack of buyer protections and lack of contact with the seller compared to eBay
Consolidated shipping is a huge plus
Why you can end up paying for shipping twice, and options for tariffs
Packaging can vary when you consolidate, and beware of batteries
Deals can be had with items that are less desirable in different regions
Camera models sold in Japan can have different names than in other countries
Some items can be listed on both Yahoo! and eBay at the same time, and it’s not always legit
Fun with translations
Anthony takes us to Europe with Catawiki, and compares notes with Ira Cohen
Greg Harp and Ira share their big wins with mislisted items: a 1950 Canon and a Leica IIId
The Arco 35 with View-Arco is becoming Mike’s White Whale
Superbuy is a proxy service for China
Stephen goes over Inspection and insurance options on Buyee
Greg got some cameras he didn’t buy
Paul’s domestic Mercari misadventure with the Rolleiflex SL66
Sharing the GAS: A.J. Gentile’s Kiev 4a and Aires 35-V
Marty Olsen snagged a Minolta Maxxum 500si from a $5 bin
Will Pinkham had a banner week, getting Canon 110ED 20, Agfa Karat 36, and Lavec Mini Spy XR8
Jeremy Scott ran into Norris Liu on Whatnot
Bryan Hewitt modified a Mamiya film back with the Mercury Works 135 Pano Conversion Kit for RB67 Back and uses it on his Graflex
Theo picked up an Agfamatic 5008 Makro pocket after the 110 episode
Ron Gee got a King Regula after reading Mike’s review, and bought a Rollei 35 T from Paul, a Universal Minute 16 is Greg’s latest
Mike finally found a MIOJ Konica I

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

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