Hi everyone! Welcome to my Yahoo!Japan Auctions Gothic and Lolita Finds Journal!
I plan to post a few links every few days on some hot finds that I find on Yahoo! Japan. I often find that while I love Gothic and Lolita clothes in general, only a few actually fit my personal style. So this journal is a way for my to embrace more aspects of Japanese Alternative fashion! I will try to provide a wide range of interesting things to view: clothes, accessories, shoes, and bags! I hope everyone will find this helpful! Though please keep in mind...I don't know how many people will see/watch/view these links so it is likely that many people want to bid on the same item and if that is the case...I am sorry ;( only one person can win..though if a lot of people seem interested and I find similar items again or at the same time I will post them here too!

Here is a little help for all you Gothic and Lolita Bidders out there ~_^ (okay so it is more like A LOT rather than a little... ^_^;):

Celga is a shopping service and auction bidding service that you can use to buy things from Japan. And as a service there are fees.
Please look at the fee's you may encounter before you decide to bid(taken from Celga's Fees Page):

The following fees will apply on top of your final winning bid price for any given auction.

Bank Transfer Fee - $2
Auction payments in Japan are generally done through bank transfers, which involve a nominal fee we must pay on your behalf during the close of the auction.

This fee may apply only once if multiple auctions are won from the same seller (see Combining Auctions, below).

Shipping Inside Japan - variable
This is the cost of shipping from the seller to Celga. Since most sellers will not ship outside Japan, this is a necessary step (and, therefore, expense) on your item's journey from Yahoo Japan to you. The amount of this fee will depend on what type of goods you have ordered (frozen: it is sometimes listed on the auction how much shipping is, from what I know Celga usually prefers the C.O.D. cash on delivery method if possible)...small items usually rum $5-$10 USD while larger items run a little more in expense!)

This fee may apply only once if multiple auctions are won from the same seller (see Combining Auctions, below).

Celga Markup - $5 and up
This is how we stay in business. We charge a flat rate of $10 per 10,000 yen increment of your item's final auction price, unless your auction ends under 1001 yen, in which case it's a mere $5. Please refer to the following table:

Up to 1,000 yen $5
1,001 to 10,000 yen $10
10,001 to 20,000 yen $20
20,001 to 30,000 yen $30
30,001 to 40,000 yen $40
40,001 to 50,000 yen $50

...and so on. Please note that the minimum markup fee is $5.

...and just in case you still don't get it... That means if you win an item there is a fee you must pay to Celga for that item which will always be at least $5!

frozen's example:
You are buying a 7,000 Yen Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Dress (cheap!!!)

(** example ise based on $1 = 108 yen and then rounded which Celga usually does**)

7,000yen Btssb Dress

Final price: 7,000 Yen= $65
Bank fee: $2
Shipping within Japan: $10
Celga fee: $10
------------------------------------------------
Total before international shipping: $87 (still cheap!)

After that there is the cost of shipping the item to you!
Shipping To You - $12 and up
Shipping from Japan is primarily done via EMS, our preferred (and very speedy) mailing service. Lightweight items are usually around $11 to $13 to ship, while heavier items will increase the price. Heavier items can also be shipped by other methods, which may increase shipping time but reduce your overall cost. When you receive your shipping invoice, we'll include the weight and price, so that you can decide whether you'd prefer a different carrier.

A handy EMS fee table can be found on the Japanese post office website:
http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/fee/intel/ems.html

The shipping fee may apply only once if multiple auctions are won in a short period of time (see Combining Auctions, below). We do not, however, recommend shipping fragile, light items together with heavier items

So for example for that Btssb Dress you bought above shipping is probably around $20-25 dollars which means in total your dress may cost you $107 USD-$112 USD (which is still some great savings) though if you win multiple items in auctions you can save on over all shipping fees!

There is also a Handling and Storage Fee for Large Items
Due to the difficulties of handling and storing extremely hefty or bulky items, we may add a $10 fee for each oversize or heavy item you purchase (i.e. REALLY LARGE Lolita Brand Suitcases, Japanese Victorian styled Furniture o_O). If you are uncertain whether an item might be large or heavy enough to accrue this fee, please just drop us a line and ask! ^_^


Combining Auctions
Whenever possible, if you win several auctions from the same seller on the same day, Celga will try to combine the orders to save you money. In situations like this, since Celga is able to pay the seller for all your auctions at once, you save money on things like bank transfer fees and internal shipping fees.

For example, if you won three items on the same day from the same seller, you would pay only one bank transfer fee and only one fee for shipping inside Japan.

Now, please do understand that sellers on Yahoo Japan auctions expect to be paid right away after the end of the auction, so Celga cannot hold payment for any outstanding auctions you may have. Also understand that due to this demand for speedy payment, Celga may not always be able to combine auctions -- and if we have to pay a seller multiple times, Celga have no savings to pass along to you.

But if it happens to work out, as it usually does, it's always nice to get a price break. ^_^

Please note that this does not apply to markup fees: Celga must charge at least the minimum markup fee of $5.00 (USD) for every auction, even if it is won on the same day from the same seller as another auction you've won. For each auction we handle, no matter who the seller is, there is a certain amount of overhead, and Celga needs to cover our costs to keep helping you win auctions!

Late Payment Penalties
As you can imagine, tardy payment of your invoices would make it difficult for Celga to stay in business, and we therefore respectfully request that you pay your balance as soon as you receive your invoice. All auction ending balances, commission or other fees which are not paid within two weeks will accrue additional charges. This late penalty is a minimum of $25 or 10% of the total owed, whichever is greater, per month that the invoice remains unpaid. This amount may be increased if the items are particularly large or bulky.

If an invoice remains either fully or partially unpaid for three months, the auction items involved will be considered abandoned, and will become the sole property of Celga, to dispose of as we see fit.

Well that's a lot of what I think you need to know before you consider bidding




First off, when you see an auction on Yahoo!Japan Auctions that you would like to purchase first you will want to:
TRANSLATE THE PAGE OF THE AUCTION USING AN ONLINE TRANSLATOR(if you don't think you are fluent enough in Japanese). If you feel like this is the item for you then realize that Celga is not responsible for items that do not fit (no refunds/returns) so it is up to you to figure out if the item will fit you...also please keep in mind that items auctioned from Japan may be giving you Amateur measurements so they COULD BE WRONG!- still Celga is not responsible for this). I would advise if still possible that if the item is still on the brands webpage to check the measurements there or to ask around and see if anyone you know in real life or online has the same dress can tell you if the measurements are right or not.

THEN!:

e-mail the following to bustakei@yahoo.com

1. The auction URL
2. Your maximum bid (preferably in Japanese yen)
3. Your full name
4. Your address, including telephone number
5. Notification that you have deposited 50% of your max bid in USD to paypal@celga.com (which means before you e-mail send in half the amount of your bid!)

The current exchange rate as of 9/17/2006 is 108¥ = $1.

Finding out half the amount of your bid in U.S. Dollars:
So for example you see an auction that you want to bid on and your maximum bid is 2,500¥ to find out how much you need to paypal you divide the 2500¥ by 108¥(to get 23.15)and divide the number you get by two(to get $11.57)! So then you would paypal the number you got (in this case $11.57) to paypal@celga.com!

You should get a reply back from Celga within 48 hours saying that your bid has been added.

If possible try to send in auction bids at least 24 hours in advance. Sometimes you find an auction you want to bid on last minute, you can still send in a request but it is not always guaranteed that they will process your request in time. If this is the case you should put for example something like "URGENT AUCTION ENDING IN 6 HOURS" in your subject header of the e-mail so that they will see it and your likely hood of them processing your request is better! I find that if I find an auction ending in about 7 or 8 hours and it is before 3AM Pacific time on the West Coast they are usually able to process my request in time! Celga staff is great deal with! Please understand that sometimes your order just is able to be processed in time, if that is the case and you feel like you bid a lot then please consider a Celga Gold
Account (which allows you to bid in real time with your own account!)





After you send in that e-mail you will need to check the auction yourself to see if you have won. So save those links to what you are bidding on! If you end up winning your item then congratulations! You will soon receive an invoice from Celga in which you need to pay for the rest of your auction (which include the amount of the auction you haven't paid for and all of the fee's mentioned above for that auction- PLEASE NOTE: this DOES NOT INCLUDE THE SHIPPING TO YOU you will need to pay this at a later time (when you decide you want to ship your item)

Shipping time(taken from Celga's webpage)
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Celga generally hold's your auction items to mail together, in order to save you money on international shipping. Of course, if they see that quite a few auctions have piled up in our Japan office with your name on them, they are likely to assemble a shipment for you anyway. But if you haven't received one in a while, and would just like to have whatever they have collected for you, they will be happy to pack up the packages you do have and send them to you!
As with any auction site, each seller is different. Some of them are prompt about shipping, some of them are slackers. In some cases, it can take a few weeks to complete a single deal. The average, however, is about 7 to 10 days.

Almost all of the sellers on Yahoo Japan are not professional, full time retailers; many are simply selling items from their collections. While most of them are very prompt with their shipments, occasionally there will be one who does not ship very quickly. We do keep track of every item we win for customers, and follow up with these sellers whose items are very late.

It takes at least 17 days from the end of auction date for items to be ready for international shipment. This includes time to pay the seller, receive the items, unpack, and inventory them so we have a record of their arrival. Many times the sellers will not include the auction number with an item, so we have to track down which auction it belongs to, so we can mark it as having arrived.

The volume of items we handle is how we are able to keep our fees so low. Even so, we want to make sure that each item is properly tracked and accounted for.
Before you send in a shipping form you should find out if your items have arrived or not. Send an inquiry to bustakei@yahoo.com with the links your auctions and inquire about whether or not they have arrived.

If all the items you want to have shipped or ordered have arrived then go to Celga's Shipping Form Page and fill out the information and they will them package up your item for shipment.

Then within a few days(usually 3 or less) you will get a shipping invoice in which you can pay the cost of EMS shipping or other wise) and as soon as this is paid they will ship the item as soon as possible! With EMS shipping you will get your item usually within 3 DAYS! They will give you tracking numbers and a website in which you can check the status of your package! It is super fast ;D!

In reality this whole process takes a moderate amount time so please do not expect an outfit you plan to wear next week that you win today to arrive to you in time (it just isn't possible :(!) So please keep in mind time restraints for both you and yourself).

If you have anymore questions for Celga about their process then e-mail them at bustakei@yahoo.com (yes if you bid with celga a lot you will use this e-mail a lot!) @_@! :D!



I hope this has been informative to everyone ^_^!

Good Luck Bidders!

- Frozen ♪

P.S. Don't forget to check out the actual Celga Inc. EGL page ^_^! You can find my personal reports on interesting places to shop online in the diaries section(*plug plug* My Brand Diary Report Page ^_^!) Also you can see Miffy's articles on these things too!