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Top Question: What is Celga Gold? Celga Gold is a premium service for our customers in good standing -- with a Gold account, you can have your very own Yahoo Japan username and use it to bid on whatever you want, whenever you want. For more information on this service, please see our Gold page!
More Frequently Asked Questions
Question: I don't read Japanese. How can I find the items I'm looking for on Yahoo Japan? Answer: We provide a list of links to all the most popular anime cels and items on Yahoo Japan. If you don't see the show you want, just let us know, and we'll do our best to locate it and make a new link!
Question: What forms of payment do you accept? Answer: We accept PayPal and US Domestic Money Order (at our US address.) For non-US customers, we accept International Postal Money Orders. We will also accept well-concealed US cash - but please understand this is sent solely at the risk of the customer, Celga takes absolutely no responsibility for its safe arrival, and we do not recommend this practice. If you still have an issue with forms of payment, please contact us.
Question: I want to bid on an auction, but another of your customers has already requested it. Is there still a chance you can bid for me? (What does "second in line" mean?) Answer: We can't outbid one of our own customers. However, if your maximum is higher than theirs, we will place you "second in line". This means that if another Yahoo Japan user outbids our first customer, we will then bid for you up to your maximum. Example:
We will bid for Customer A up to 10000 yen. If the bid goes over 10000 yen because another bidder bid higher than we did, we will then bid for Customer B up to 20000 yen. Example:
We can't bid for Customer B. Example:
In this case, Customer A is both first and third in line. We will bid for Customer A up to 10000 yen. Then we will bid for Customer B up to 15000 yen. And then we will be again for Customer A from 15001 yen to 20000 yen. Please note: If Customer A's new maximum was not higher than Customer B's, then we could not have accepted their bid raise.
Question: Can you tell me what your first customer's maximum is? Answer: No, we hold our customer information in strictest confidence, including their bid amounts.
Question: Why can't I raise my "maximum" if there is a bidder "second in line" behind me? Answer: Your maximum is just that, your maximum - the most that you will want to pay for this item, period. When we accept a second in line bidder, who has a higher maximum, we have agreed to bid for them only when the price is above what you have told us you will pay. We can't read minds - we don't know that you might change your mind later! We strongly encourage our customers to think carefully about their maximum bids, and to give us what is truly the most they are willing to pay. (Please also see the examples above.)
Question: How does the "buy it now" price work on Yahoo Japan? Answer: On Yahoo Japan, a seller can choose to set a "buy it now" price on his auction. This means that if someone bids that price or more, the auction is closed immediately and that bidder wins the auction. Because this happens automatically if we place a bid at or above the "buy it now" price, if we receive a bid from one of our customers that meets it, we understand that to mean the customer wants us to go ahead and "buy it now". If you do not want to do the "buy it now", you must bid below it. Please note that unlike Ebay, the "buy it now" price does not go away if someone places a lower bid. It stays in place until the auction ends or someone meets the price - which means that even if you place your bid early, someone else can still come along, use the "buy it now" price, and win the auction. You can tell if an auction has a "buy it now" price by looking in the second column of auction information, below the title. A buy it now price, if there is one, will be in a yellow box. (It will be the fourth item in the second column, in bold type, if you do not load backgrounds.)
Question: Can I bid on a Yahoo Japan auction with my own ID and have you take care of the payment and shipping details once it has ended? Answer: No. This causes far too much confusion, and can also jeopardize our first-come, first-serve bidding system (see question above). In addition, most Yahoo Japan sellers prefer not to deal with a third party. If you are worried about our ability to place a timely bid for you, we suggest that you give us ample notice (at least 24 hours) before the end of the auction you are requesting, so that we'll be sure to see your request and place the bid on your behalf.
Question: I can't read the description of this auction. Could you read it for me? Answer: We recommend Alta Vista's automated Babelfish translation tool. We may be able to help with some of the confusing points, if time permits, since machine translation is never perfect. However, we are not able to offer wholesale translation services, since Celga is a Deputy Service, and not a translation business. Please also note that any translation help we provide will be to the best of our ability, but as we have stated elsewhere, we make no warranty as to the condition of any goods, or to the accuracy of our translations or their relationship, if any, to the goods themselves. It is the sole responsibility of the buyer to decide if they wish to bid.
Question: Why do Yahoo Japan sellers provide such sparse descriptions for their items? Ebay sellers drown us in detail! Answer: This is due to a major cultural difference: Japanese sellers expect to be trusted. They generally will mention if an item is a reproduction, or if parts are missing from a kit; but if everything is in order, they generally will not mention it. They expect the buyer will understand that.
Question: Can you ask the seller a question for me? Answer: Unlike Ebay, Yahoo Japan does not provide a method for sellers and buyers to email each other. The only thing they've provided is a public "Q&A" board, where you can leave a question for a seller, who may or may not see it, and who may or may not answer. Generally, Celga simply doesn't have the staff to keep polling this board to see if questions have been answered, so we're unable to provide this service.
Question: Can you tell me if this is a specific character or version of an item? Answer: We are not experts in anime, or Japanese toys, or indeed in anything. We are a deputy service, who acts as your agent to place bids on your behalf. Sometimes members of our staff can answer questions about specific shows or items that happen to fall into their own area of collecting interest (most of us are collectors, too!), but we cannot be considered a reference.
Question: You just confirmed my bid! Why haven't you placed it yet? Answer: We generally place bids as close to the end of the auction as possible, because we find that it helps our customers win more often. However, if you would like your bid placed earlier, we will be happy to do so - just let us know in your email!
Question: I just emailed a last minute bid - why didn't you place it? Answer: While Celga does operate 7 days a week, we are not actively staffed 24 hours a day. We require 24 hours notice to get your bid placed before the end of the auction. Although we can make no guarantees, we do try to handle as many last minute bids and changes as possible. It greatly increases our chances of seeing your last minute email if you use a subject line like "URGENT: AUCTION ENDING IN 3 HOURS".
Question: If I lose auction A, I want you to place a bid on auction B for me. Answer: We can't accept "cascading" or "conditional" bids. We are not able to track individual auction wins quickly enough to make this feasible, and we can not make decisions about which auctions to bid on for customers. However, you are welcome to check to see if you lost auction A, and then send us another request to bid on auction B.
Question: Can I cancel my bid? Answer: When a bid request is accepted by Celga, this is taken to be a firm by the customer to honor that bid, and pay it and all fees promptly. Celga frowns on bid cancellations; we may have turned other bidders away because we were committed to bidding for you. If a customer requests a cancellation, the bid request may not be considered canceled until the customer has received a confirmation of the cancellation by Celga. Bid cancellations are at the sole discretion of Celga. Under no circumstances may a bid be canceled after it has been placed on an auction.
Question: How much of a deposit must I make? Answer: We require a deposit of half your maximum bid, to be made before your bid can be placed. Please note that this applies to all customers -- without deposits, we cannot pay the Yahoo Japan sellers quickly enough after your auctions end, so it is very important to have a deposit in your account when bidding.
Question: What happens to my deposit if I lose the auction? Answer: You may choose to leave your deposit with us to be used towards future bidding or you may request a refund (your deposit is 100% refundable if you don't win). Just let us know!
Question: When will you let me know if my bid was successful? Answer: We usually send out invoices a few days after the end of a successful auction. This process will take somewhat longer during times of unusually high volumes; we will do our best to let you know when those are. We don't send announcements for unsuccessful auctions. So if you'd like to know the result of a particular auction, just email us with the URL and your max bid, and we'll let you know as soon as we can!
Question: When is the amount on my invoice due? Answer: It is due upon receipt.
Question: How do you calculate exchange rate of yen to dollars? Answer: Our current standard exchange rate reflects the actual rate our bank gives us. This is somewhat less than the interbank exchange rate, which banks provide only to each other. Our current rate is always listed on our News page, and is subject to change at any time. For more information, please see the Exchange Rate Info page.
Question: I've won a lot of auctions, and paid you for them. Why haven't you shipped them yet? Answer: Whenever possible, we try to hold our customers' auction wins for a combined international shipment. Most customers bid on multiple auctions and would like them shipped together to help reduce the cost of international shipping. As much as possible, we let our customers decide when they are ready for a package, so they can choose between quicker arrival of wins versus a lower cost for combining the items. However, please note that for many reasons, including but not limited to the nature of the items won and our limited storage space, we may need to prepare a package without an explicit request. Thank you for understanding! We have more detailed information about international shipping and the after the auction timeline on our after the auction information page. If you are waiting for one particular item to arrive before requesting a package, please email us as soon as possible, and we will do our best to honor your request.
Question: Why does getting my items take so long? Answer: 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.
Question: Can I get insurance for the shipping in Japan from the seller to you? Answer: The Japanese post office and package delivery services have proven to be very reliable, so we do not routinely insure domestically. However, we MAY be able to insure the package if the seller agrees. Since it is more work for the seller, they are more likely to agree if the auction ended with a high final value. If they do not agree to ship with insurance, we cannot honor your request. If we are able to have it shipped insured, we will invoice you for any additional costs.
Question: Is my international shipment insured? Answer: When we ship by EMS, which we STRONGLY prefer, the items are insured up to the declared amount, up to 20,000 yen. Additional amounts of insurance may be purchased for an additional amount, again, up to the declared value. Please note: some customers, in order to avoid local duties, have asked us to declare the value of the package to be a lower amount. We will do this, but please note that if you request this, you are forfeiting your ability to claim any more than the declared value, regardless of your item's actual value.
Question: The seller on Yahoo Japan says that they ship internationally. Can you have them ship the items directly to me? Answer: All items which are bid on through Celga must be delivered to our Japan offices. This is the only way that we can ensure that the items have been shipped by the seller and have arrived safely.
Question: What if the seller doesn't ship the item to you after I pay? Answer: Almost all of the many, many sellers we have worked with have shipped us the items, even if some of them ship somewhat more slowly than others. However, like any online auction site, there is a very small percentage of those who turn out to be bad, and not ship the items. In the rare event that this happens, we will contact the seller and do our utmost to get your item shipped to you. We do mark items which are long overdue, and actively contact the sellers. If we cannot obtain the item, we will negotiate with the seller for a refund. Any refund we obtain will be sent on to you. Please note, however, that Celga is not the seller, merely a deputy service which is placing bids and paying the sellers on your behalf. Therefore, the customer is assuming the sole risk and possibility of financial loss should the transaction not be able to be completed successfully.
Question: Why do you need the full URL with every inquiry about my items? Answer: Celga handles literally hundreds, if not thousands, of auctions every month. We index all our records via the auction URL, since it is a unique identifier for each one. With so many auctions, this is the only way we can be sure we're accessing the information on the correct one.
Question: Why do you need my full name and address on every email? Don't you know me by now? Answer: Celga has hundreds of customers, many of whom have the same name. (Some of whom have the same first AND last names!) We need your name to make sure we are matching the correct items with the correct people. Our customer's email addresses tend to change far more often than their names do. Celga has also added new staff in recent months, who are not familiar with our customers. Adding your name and address to every email helps them get to know you.
Question: Can you buy items for me from sites other than Yahoo Japan? Answer: The only other sites for which we are routinely taking requests are www.bidders.co.jp, MSN auctions, and WANTED auctions. These are other auction sites like Yahoo Japan, but much smaller. Depending on how busy we currently are, we MAY be able to honor your request to purchase an item from another site. If you would like to send us a request, please send the complete URL of the site and the description of the items you want (item #, title, etc.), along with the usual information of your full name and address. We will let you know if we're able to help you - and please understand if we do not currently have the resources!
Question: Where is Celga located? Answer: Celga's main offices are in Japan (look, photos!), but since we are an Internet business, we have staff in multiple places around the world. We transact all of our business with customers via email and the Internet.
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