In many ways, access to Yahoo Japan through online deputy services have been a godsend for a poor, lowly cel collector like me. As much as I enjoy my early days of buying from American cel dealers, most of the great selection and great deals are on YJ. For most auctions, I've scored some terrific deals and some fantastic cels. I've managed to find other things I'd never thought I'd find, like a rare shikishi, a out of print art book or a cool robot toy. However, for every 10-15 items I've won, I've also been burnt by some shady japanese sellers with fake, counterfeit goods or by a misrepresented listing. Some of the items I've been burned are:
1. A fake BGC hanken cel
2. A King Kong vs. Godzilla movie poster that turned out to be a repro.
3. Some Dirty Pair pencil sketches that turned out to be Xerox copies
4. A fake Tezuka Astro Boy sketch and autograph
ALthough I've experienced the "bite" of some bum auctions without opportunity of recourse (like on Ebay), the good far outweighs the bad. So here's a question for you: have you been ever burned on YJ, and if so, which type of items have you been burned on? What is the costliest burn you've experienced? What sellers do you avoid? As they say, misery loves company, so please share with us your hard luck stories!
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I don't know if he wasn't happy with the price (which I thought was actually a little high - that was the minimum bid) or if he just didn't want to sell to a foreigner. I pretty much gave up on getting those books after that.
