Is This Yahoo! Auctions Listing a Scam?４ Things to Check Before You Bid
We all know that feeling.
You’ve been searching for that perfect item for ages on Yahoo! Auctions.
Just as you’re about to give up – there it is!
It’s that super-rare piece of merch you’ve always wanted, in mint condition, and at a super cheap price!
Yatta-!! You go to bid, but wait…
Is it too good to be true? Is it actually a scam? Will you actually end up with a brick in a box?
How can you tell?
Here’s a guide to 4 things you should definitely check before you bid on that too-good-to-be-true Yahoo! Auctions listing!
#1: Seller Reviews
This might seem obvious, but the first thing you should check is the reviews for the seller of the listing. On DEJAPAN, you can find the seller reviews just below the item description.
The seller for this listing has a TON of reviews, and ALL of them are good, so odds are you can trust this seller!
If a seller has a high number of bad reviews, that might be a sign that the seller is untrustworthy.
Also, if a seller is new, and doesn’t have any reviews at all, there’s just no way of knowing whether they’re trustworthy or not. We’d recommend not bidding on listings like this.
#2: Seller Location
Checking this requires going to the actual listing on Yahoo! Auctions.
You can open the listing by clicking here on our website:
The seller’s location is on the right hand side, underneath the current price and domestic shipping cost.
This seller is located in Kanagawa Prefecture, which is a good sign because it’s in Japan.
Here’s a list of all 47 Japanese Prefectures in both English and Japanese for you to reference 🙂
This seller, however, is located somewhere other than Japan, written as “海外”, or “overseas” in the English translation. You should be suspicious of these sellers, as they often spring exorbitant “domestic” shipping prices out of nowhere. The worst one I’ve seen would have cost 90000 JPY!
#3: Item Photos
If a listing ONLY has stock photos, especially if they’re photos that can be found on other websites, there’s a good chance it’s a scam listing.
This listing only has one photo, and it’s an official photo pulled from amiami.com, as you can see from the watermark in the bottom right.
This alone isn’t necessarily the MOST suspicious thing in the world, since some sellers might not be great at taking photos, and might use a stock photo if the item is still in good condition.
However, this listing is ALSO from an overseas seller (did you catch that?), so it’s almost 100% a scam listing.
Compare that listing to this one:
This seller added multiple photos of the item from various angles, and even included two pieces of paper saying ヤフオク！ (Yahoo! Auctions in Japanese) with their username, to prove that they actually took the photos. This listing is almost 100% NOT a scam, and can be safely bid on!
#4: The Seller’s Other Listings
One final thing you should check is what other items the seller is selling.
You can check this right on our website, by clicking on the seller’s name here:
If the seller has other listings that seem to be related to each other, that is a good indication that they’re a real seller.
For example, if you were looking at a trading card, and the seller has other listings of trading cards.
If the seller has zero other listings, or if their listings are all unrelated items, this is a sign that they might not be a reliable seller.
Bid Confidently
Now that you’ve got all the tools you need to know whether a Yahoo! Auctions seller is legit, you can bid with confidence!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to send us an email at contact@depan.com or leave a comment down below!
