Advice for people new to cel collecting.

I also have the same issue about the BG bleed,
specifically dark blue/dark colour BG, so I try not to buy any of this if the cel comes with such BG.

My advice is when you read the description of the item in YJA, beware of the words"???"/"???", that means bleed.


https://translate.google.com/?hl=ja#ja/en/%E8%89%B2%E6%BB%B2%E3%81%BF%2C%20%E8%89%B2%E7%A7%BB%E3%82%8A

Hello all!

I've mainly been a collector of western animation cels for a couple of years. I have purchased a handful of anime cels, all were from sellers in the U.S. for domestic shipping/in-person pick-up.

I see a lot of advice in this thread for how to obtain cels from Japanese-language auction sites via translator tools. They are very helpful! I have a few questions, as I am not sure how well the language tools work for them:

-How would you communicate with a seller if you do not speak their language? A translator tool? Are sellers usually accepting of buyers who do not speak their language well?
-How open are these sellers to buys from other countries? Is there a place where they would specify if they do not want buyers from other countries?
-Is there a Japanese form of electronic payment that I should sign up for in advance?
-What is the shipping cost usually from Japan to California? Is it dependent upon the site?

Thank you for your help!

To buy from Yahoo Japan, you'll need to go through a deputy service. You'll never directly communicate with the seller. Most deputy services will not contact the seller on your behalf unless there's a problem with the transaction. They won't ask random questions because they do not want to risk being blocked by the seller.

Most Japanese sellers do not want to send overseas as they are hesitant about dealing with non-native Japanese speakers. There are exceptions, like the Mandarake website or some private sellers, but to access these items, you'll need to go through a deputy service lik ShoppingMall Japan

Shipping for cels from Japan to the US is fairly cheap..around $20 via EMS. That's what I pay when I buy cels off Mandarake.

Thank you Cutiebunny! I understand now that these third party websites recommended are not translator tools, but buying services.

I was looking at Aleado and noticed that the shipping calculator on the side nearly doubled the cost of a $60 cel. I knew shipping could get expensive. I'm no stranger to shipping things from East Asia, but I'll admit to being thrown off. It now makes much more sense that I am also paying for someone's help to bring it over. :))

I am not buying right now, but it's great to know what I'm in for! I have been spying at eBay cels for months, and already the cels on these sites are much more dynamic, more plentiful, and more fun. :))

Shipping varies by the deputy service. Some deputies, like Buyee, bundle all items won in a month's time and then send them to you in one box. I used Buyee for quite a while until they changed their storage time to a month (used to be 3 months without fees) and they were fantastic packers.

Otjer deputy services, like ShoppingMallJapan, routinely ship your items with other items won by other users to their facility in the US. Someone sorts the items upon arrival and you can then have them ship to you every 90 days or so. Some people don't like this method because it basically means you're paying double shipping. But. It does allow you to wait several months to ship to you instead of the 1 month period most deputy services offer.

Fees range widely between services. If you're looking for a thrifty service, I'd recommend ShoppingMall Japan. If you don't plan on buying too much, Buyee works the best.

Mandarake is different in that you can buy all items directly from them on their website. Shipping for a cel via EMS for those bought off Mandarake is about $20.