“I have been using Buyee for approximately a year now, and have purchased multiple items through them from Yahoo Auctions, Mercari and Rakuten. My experiences are mostly positive, though there are things I really don't like about them.
What I find positive:
- (main reason :) ) through them I have access to items I cannot find elsewhere, or I can only find them for several times the price
- the site's built-in translation function makes it easy to know what you are purchasing
- there are at least 5 different shipping methods available, from SAL to EMS, depending on the level of tracking and protection you need
- the 30-day free storage period lets you purchase several items, and then consolidate them into one package
- during consolidation, individual packages are not opened up, they are just packed into a bigger box - some people don't like this (this makes the package bigger), but I *strongly* prefer this approach - this way I can be sure nothing gets lost or damaged during careless repackaging
- coupons and free fee offers are available often, through which you can save some money. Their 11.11 offers on Mercari were especially good
- customer service has been helpful for me everytime I had to contact them
What I don't like:
- fees are unreasonably high, it is often not worth purchasing smaller/cheaper items because of them (for example, the minimum fee on Yahoo auctions, without any protection or extra service, is 500 Yen - approx. 5 USD)
- on Yahoo auctions fees have to be paid separately for each item bought - even if they are from the same seller, and even if the seller bundles the items. It would be nice if buyers could at least combine purchases made from the same seller
- the system that automatically determines prohibited items (that you are not allowed to buy) isn't really good. I have seen non-prohibited items marked as prohibited several times. You can ask customer service to review these, but sometimes they still remain incorrectly unavailable (or while customer service gets to your request, someone else buys the item...)
- sellers have a high authority, and it often happens that you are not allowed to purchase an item - or the seller cancels the purchase after you've paid for it. You get your money back automatically in these cases, but it's still very frustrating!”
“Pretty satisfied using Buyee so far, mainly as the middleman for Yahoo Auction, packages so far arrived safety! only reason why I didn't give 5 star is because of the consolidation fee since it is not low..”
“Buyee:
The processes are automated, seamless, fast, responsive and reliable; from purchases to payment to waiting for arrival to consolidation to packing to international shipping I find their user interface is simple, clear, ergonomic, easy to navigate and use. It allows a great deal of autonomy and choices. Buyee is able to buy from many sites from Yahoo auctions, Yahoo shopping, Rakuten, Amazon, Zozotown, Surugaya to many more (including those not in list). And one of the few rare (if not the only one) who is able to buy from Mercari (other services rarely can).
But they charge for consolidation and consolidatioin fee is not low. (Increasingly more and more proxy buying sites do not charge consolidation fees)”
“I used Japan Yahoo Acution to buy stuffs such as Toys and CD overseas from Japan to Hong Kong for more than 2 years. There are many good experiences, and just few no good experience. The great experience were I purchased rare stuffs at a low prices in Yahoo auction! The responce of Customer Service is quick also. The not good experience was the won biddings were cancelled by the Seller with some unacceptable reasons, it was quite dissapointing. I hope yahoo can improve the policy to much protect the buyer from cancelation after winning the goods, so that it will be a perfect buying system and then buyers can enjoy bidding stuffs by Buyee with funs. Thank you.”
“Good products and interesting prices.
I would say that all fees are understandable since their service isnt for free, however, as a customer I would love to have certain fees unified whenever I buy from the same seller multiple items (Let's say Yahoo Japan, for example.) in the same day. This is because I found out that every time I bought items from the same sellee, I have been charged the same fees over and over again. It is really ridiculous in my opinion and definitely this circumstance makes new BUYEE users not use it anymore.
Aside from that, I think there are no other places where you can get very good items from Japan at nice prices other than on Buyee. Although Ive many mixed feelings regarding the fees, I recommend the website and service since more than once items bought there are at the best foundable price! 4.5/5 ★”
“I have been using Buyee for approximately a year now, and during this time I found many great deals on items that I either couldn't find anywhere else, or they would have cost me much more elsewhere. With a mostly English frontpage, a built-in translation function, and PayPal linking for a one-click purchase, it is super easy to use - though this can get dangerous, as you can easily find yourself binge-shopping (that happened to me during lockdown) :)
The 30-day free storage period allows for time to think through which shipping method you want to choose (there are several, from SAL to EMS, depending on the level of tracking and protection you need), as well as to collect purchases which you can then consolidate to potentially save on shipping. Package consolidation works in a way that the original, unopened packages are put into a bigger box - some don't like this approach (it can raise shipping costs), but I prefer it, as this way I don't have to fear that repackers might lose small bits or damage something the seller has shipped intact (I have heard horror stories about little parts going missing, or the purchased item getting damaged during careless repacking on other sites).
In the beginning I was happy with coupon offers, but I am not so much anymore. Offers like "free fee" coupons used to be more common in the past, but current offers are more often linked to conditions that are worse or more difficult to meet (e.g. "free fee" coupons are often limited to a minimum purchase, or there are linked conditions, e.g. "buy a package, pay for its *shipping* via PayPal, and then we'll issue you a coupon that you can use on *another* package's shipping), so they are not so tempting anymore. First-time purchasers are constantly tempted with massive (thousands of yens) discounts, but I, as someone who already used the site, really don't like receiving these promotion e-mails, as they are irrelevant to me.
I find service and payment fees a little too high. For someone who is mainly looking for smaller items, it's often the fees that make a purchase not worth buying in the end: I've come across several items in the past year that I would have loved to purchase, but fees pushed up the price into a total that was no longer worth buying, so I had to pass on the item. It's also disappointing that I can't make a consolidated purchase from the same seller, so if I want to buy 5 items from the same seller (which will even be sent in the same package), I have to buy these one by one, paying fees for every single purchase separately.
I had no issues with Customer Service, they always helped me quickly when I needed support.”
“Overall, Buyee is clear and upfront about how it works and is incredibly easy to use even for a first-time buyer such as myself. I personally had a very easy time using it to buy some pins from overseas, and the methods for shipping are very easy to understand (even during coronavirus). They provide frequent updates about my order and are overall good. The only thing I have issues with is the rather significant fees they charge, including fees for package consolidation and shipping, but a large part of the high shipping cost is (I assume) because of the current coronavirus and restriction of shipping options to USA, where I am based. Overall, this is a pretty good proxy website, and has a wide variety of items to choose from.”
“All in all, excellent trancaction excpet for an expensive shipping fee and delayed refund. I do want to do business with it again and again, and recommend for the people who want to buy rare items.”
“I have had several positive experiences. However, I have had several orders cancelled after placing them because buyee takes so long to make purchases sometimes another buyer buys it before my purchase is complete. This has happened at least 10 times now.”
“An option to buy from Japanese sellers
(Update as of October 8, 2020)
BUYEE.com let you choose, buy, and bid from several Japanese-based shopping and auction websites, i.e. Yahoo! JAPAN Auction, Yahoo! JAPAN Shopping, Mercari, Rakuten, and ZOZOTOWN. Its service is not as flexible as Ebay.com, especially, shipping service and shipping cost estimation, however, some of items on Yahoo! JAPAN Auction are difficult to find on Ebay at a friendly cost.
Please note that buyer or bidder need to pay for a minimum service fee of 500 JPY plus optional fee for package investigation service and insurance (300+200 JPY). Additionally, for most of Yahoo! JAPAN Auction, local shipping cost from seller to warehouse and oversea shipping cost, will be charged at buyer; this fee cannot be accurately predetermined thought. Some of sellers would offer to handle local shipping cost.
Package consolidation service is supposed to decrease overall shipping cost by combining 2 or more items but please keep in mind that shipping charge cannot be accurately predetermined. Thus, sometimes, shipping charge for separated shipping might be lowered than consolidated shipping since additional 500 JPY will be charged for each consolidated item.
User should be aware of buying an item with lithium ion battery, i.e., digital camera, cell phone, etc., since limited number (1-2) is allowed for small packet by airmail. To make a matter worst, removable battery might not be allowed in some cases. With one of my order, all three batteries in three digital cameras were removed before sending by an airmail.
Customer service is professional, kind, and helpful. Language barrier, especially for someone English is not the first language, might be a problem sometimes but overall rating is acceptable. Responding period is not so long and acceptable.
In summary, BUYEE is a practical way to select and buy items you are looking for from Japan without much shipping restrictions.”
“I have complained repeately about the "Lite Plan" should be set as default to avoid the system mistickenly set back the bidding to "Standard Plan",
and therefore cost more fees than necessary as a result.
Unfortunately my voice had been fallen into deaf ears of Buyee's Customer Service.
But as a over 7-years costomer since 2013, I would still recommend Buyee for Yahoo! Auction JAPAN.”
“I have complained repeately about the "Lite Plan" should be set as default to avoid the system mistickenly set back the bidding to "Standard Plan", and therefore cost more fees than necessary as a result.
Unfortunately my voice had been fallen into deaf ears of Buyee's Customer Service.
But as a over 7-years costomer since 2013, I would still recommend Buyee for Yahoo! Auction JAPAN.”
“I have complained repeately about the "Lite Plan" should be set as default to avoid the system mistickenly set back the bidding to "Standard Plan", and therefore cost more fees than necessary as a result.
Unfortunately my voice had been fallen into deaf ears of Buyee's Customer Service.
But as a over 7-years costomer since 2013, I would still recommend Buyee for Yahoo! Auction JAPAN.”
“Good service, I've used it for more than 5 years and everything has been good so far, no big problems. Good customer service too!
My only complaint its that service & shipping fees are really expensive, almost all the time it's the double of the items cost. Hope you can fix that, even if it's a little it'll be a great help for us, your customers!”
“After fixed service fee, it make me easier to shop more online at Buyee. I would suggest to reduce international shipping cost by reducing total weight of consolidated packing. Not just put original packing into the bigger package! Love to shop more!!”
“Used Buyee as a proxy service to bid some collectible cards on Yahoo! Japan Auctions. They have a nice sniping bid function which is okay and they will notify you through email when someone outbids you’re sniper bid. They also have an easy Translate option that really aids your shopping experience, though the search function is still in Japanese.
Promotions wise, there are current discounts on Mercari but have not tried using that site yet.
Overall, satisfied with Buyee’s service, though the fees can be quite expensive! Would recommend as have used their services before and it was always rather smooth (besides the rather high fees)!”
“First of all, the customer service is very precise and punctual, the prices for shipments are favorable and also on the intermediation.
As for customer promotions, in my opinion, they should only be done on sites where the buyer / customer often makes purchases and not on all online stores of which Buyee is a partner.
For this I put 4 stars; however Buyee remains the best site to buy items from Japan.”
