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INTRODUCTION
Sourcing custom parts for the TW200 is difficult to nearly impossible from within the United States. The market for our beloved bikes is rather small, and that translates into a miniscule aftermarket parts market specifically for the TW200.
The definitive market for custom parts is Japan. The power of the internet makes it rather easy to find Japanese custom parts; the difficulties arise when you seek to try to order parts from Japan. You must overcome the language barrier, the yen conversion, the Japanese banking system, etc., etc.
Enter Yahoo Japan Auctions. Yahoo Japan is an auction service website that functions nearly identical to ebay. (There is no ebay Japan – I looked already.) Yahoo Japan has a lot of TW200 parts listed.
I have found most all Japanese companies that make custom TW200 parts do not sell directly and do not ship internationally. This holds especially true for the sellers on Yahoo Japan. Yahoo Japan auction sellers will not ship internationally. Period.
But, there is a solution to solve these problems.
This post will attempt to demystify ordering from Yahoo Japan, and will relate my experience in ordering parts from Yahoo Japan.
Disclaimers: I have absolutely no clue how to read, write or speak Japanese, so I can’t help you do it either. I will list some translation resources below.
I am not an agent of , nor in any way affiliated with any of the companies or resources I list below. What I write here is based on my own experience or is taken from their current website.
DEPUTY SERVICES/MIDDLEMEN
I wanted an extended swingarm and a low-style header and exhaust for my TW. I couldn’t find either stateside, but I found what I wanted on Yahoo Japan. But since Yahoo Japan auction sellers will not ship internationally, I needed to find a deputy service.
A deputy service is a company who you authorize to act on your behalf. There are numerous deputy services to choose from. The deputy service purchases items from Japanese web sites and bids on items offered on Japanese auction sites for you. Of course the deputy service charges a fee for these services. Typically the deputy service receives your goods in Japan, then the deputy service ships the goods internationally to you.
Below is a listing of deputy services I located through searching the web and various other forums. Note Well: I cannot vouch for the trustworthiness of any of these services save the deputy service I used (More on that below).
BE SURE TO READ EACH DEPUTY SERVICE'S TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE ASKING ONE TO PLACE A BID!
Always check directly with the deputy service for their latest policies, fees, etc.
Celga - http://www.celga.com
Goody Japan - http://goody-japan.com
Rinkya - http://www.rinkya.com
Shopping Mall Japan - http://shoppingmalljapan.com
Abidko - http://www.abidko.com
Akibado - http://www.akibado.com
DankeDanke.com - http://www.dankedanke.com
e.T.c - http://www.etcjapan.net/international/index.htm
FromJapan - http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/
Goody Japan - http://goody-japan.com
Japan Auction Center - http://www.japanauctioncenter.com
Japaweed - http://www.japaweed.com
Mail Order Japan - http://www.mailorderjapan.com
ok!shon - http://www.okshon.com
Ooh! Japan - http://oohjapan.com
CELGA.COM – My Experience
I chose Celga, Inc. as the deputy service that I would use to purchase some custom parts for my TW200 from Japan. I chose Celga for several reasons: 1. Their FAQ and descriptions made it easy to understand how the process worked; 2. Their fee structure was easy to understand and seemed reasonable; 3. They have offices both in Japan and in California, and I was reassured by the US presence; 4. They accept payment via Paypal so I wasn’t required to send my financial information who-knows-where; and 5. Celga can also buy directly from Japanese websites and webshops. There are likely a few other reasons, but I can’t remember them now..
Celga’s FAQ is rather comprehensive, and rather than rehash it here, simply direct you to read it.
I also experienced that Celga has a policy of requiring a shipping deposit ($300) on items that may be large or heavy, such as motorcycle parts. YMMV.
Cliff Notes version of how the process worked for me:
1. Registered with Celga.com for a Celga (regular) account.
2. Went to Yahoo Japan’s website and searched for TW200 parts.
---2a. (More on translating webpages below).
3. Using Celga’s bid request page plugged in the web page url of the auction I wanted to bid on, and plugged in my bid price or the “buy it now” price.
4. Sent payment via PayPal to Celga for the bid price, plus Celga fees, plus fees for internal Japan shipping to Celga.
---4a. One quirk of Japanese auctions is that payment must be made right away. Therefore the deputy service requires you to “prepay” at least a portion of the bid price before they will place the bid. If you lose the auction, Celga will refund your deposit.
5.Waited for the auction to end (Or for “By It Now”) waited for Celga to place the bid).
6. Received confirmation that I had won the auction.
7. Received invoice for any balance of auction bid price, Celga fees, and fees for internal Japan shipping to Celga.
8. Received confirmation from Celga that their Japan office had received my items.
9. Sent Celga a shipping request to ship my items from Japan to me in the U.S.
10. Received international shipping invoice from Celga.
----10a. Shipping from Japan is not cheap. I shipped via EMS because it is insured. Check their rates on their webpage so you know ahead of time the ballpark shipping fees.
11. Sent payment to Celga for international shipping fees.
12. Received confirmation, with tracking numbers, of packages shipped.
13. Received my packages five (5) days later!
14. Hid packages and invoices from my wife…
My items were received well packaged and in perfect condition.
I also received several email updates from the Celga staff. When I had a question regarding shipping or billing, I simply emailed them. I always received a prompt response and excellent customer service.
I had no problems using their service, would use them again.
TRANSLATING WEB PAGES
So you fire up Yahoo Japan in IE or Firefox and holy moly, that is a lot of Japanese writing. You need a translater, and fast.
I am a fan of Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a web browser like IE and Firefox except it has the power (maybe the evil power?) of Google, and will atomatically translate Japanese language websites into English. Automatically, you say? Yes. Automatically. Or, well, you may have to click on one button at the yop of the page, but I am calling it automatically. No cutting, no pasting, etc.
Now keep in mind that it is not perfect. I guess that some things don’t quite translate properly or something, so there is a bit of ‘Engrish’ to muddle through, but you will get the particulars.
There are probably more options, but I got tired of looking and Google Chrome suited me perfectly.
CONCLUSION
So that’s how I ordered some custom TW200 parts from Japan using Yahoo Japan. It’s easy, and if I can do it I am confident you can too.
Why didn’t I just use Webbike Japan you ask? Because I found them crazy expensive for the same stuff, and because I found parts I liked better through Yahoo Japan.
Now you can avoid lots of this if you have “people” in Japan – they can simply be your middleman – but I don’t have “people” in Japan.
Hope this helps add to the great knowledge base here. PM me with any questions, or broken links.
Thanks for reading.
INTRODUCTION
Sourcing custom parts for the TW200 is difficult to nearly impossible from within the United States. The market for our beloved bikes is rather small, and that translates into a miniscule aftermarket parts market specifically for the TW200.
The definitive market for custom parts is Japan. The power of the internet makes it rather easy to find Japanese custom parts; the difficulties arise when you seek to try to order parts from Japan. You must overcome the language barrier, the yen conversion, the Japanese banking system, etc., etc.
Enter Yahoo Japan Auctions. Yahoo Japan is an auction service website that functions nearly identical to ebay. (There is no ebay Japan – I looked already.) Yahoo Japan has a lot of TW200 parts listed.
I have found most all Japanese companies that make custom TW200 parts do not sell directly and do not ship internationally. This holds especially true for the sellers on Yahoo Japan. Yahoo Japan auction sellers will not ship internationally. Period.
But, there is a solution to solve these problems.
This post will attempt to demystify ordering from Yahoo Japan, and will relate my experience in ordering parts from Yahoo Japan.
Disclaimers: I have absolutely no clue how to read, write or speak Japanese, so I can’t help you do it either. I will list some translation resources below.
I am not an agent of , nor in any way affiliated with any of the companies or resources I list below. What I write here is based on my own experience or is taken from their current website.
DEPUTY SERVICES/MIDDLEMEN
I wanted an extended swingarm and a low-style header and exhaust for my TW. I couldn’t find either stateside, but I found what I wanted on Yahoo Japan. But since Yahoo Japan auction sellers will not ship internationally, I needed to find a deputy service.
A deputy service is a company who you authorize to act on your behalf. There are numerous deputy services to choose from. The deputy service purchases items from Japanese web sites and bids on items offered on Japanese auction sites for you. Of course the deputy service charges a fee for these services. Typically the deputy service receives your goods in Japan, then the deputy service ships the goods internationally to you.
Below is a listing of deputy services I located through searching the web and various other forums. Note Well: I cannot vouch for the trustworthiness of any of these services save the deputy service I used (More on that below).
BE SURE TO READ EACH DEPUTY SERVICE'S TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE ASKING ONE TO PLACE A BID!
Always check directly with the deputy service for their latest policies, fees, etc.
Celga - http://www.celga.com
Goody Japan - http://goody-japan.com
Rinkya - http://www.rinkya.com
Shopping Mall Japan - http://shoppingmalljapan.com
Abidko - http://www.abidko.com
Akibado - http://www.akibado.com
DankeDanke.com - http://www.dankedanke.com
e.T.c - http://www.etcjapan.net/international/index.htm
FromJapan - http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/en/
Goody Japan - http://goody-japan.com
Japan Auction Center - http://www.japanauctioncenter.com
Japaweed - http://www.japaweed.com
Mail Order Japan - http://www.mailorderjapan.com
ok!shon - http://www.okshon.com
Ooh! Japan - http://oohjapan.com
CELGA.COM – My Experience
I chose Celga, Inc. as the deputy service that I would use to purchase some custom parts for my TW200 from Japan. I chose Celga for several reasons: 1. Their FAQ and descriptions made it easy to understand how the process worked; 2. Their fee structure was easy to understand and seemed reasonable; 3. They have offices both in Japan and in California, and I was reassured by the US presence; 4. They accept payment via Paypal so I wasn’t required to send my financial information who-knows-where; and 5. Celga can also buy directly from Japanese websites and webshops. There are likely a few other reasons, but I can’t remember them now..
Celga’s FAQ is rather comprehensive, and rather than rehash it here, simply direct you to read it.
I also experienced that Celga has a policy of requiring a shipping deposit ($300) on items that may be large or heavy, such as motorcycle parts. YMMV.
Cliff Notes version of how the process worked for me:
1. Registered with Celga.com for a Celga (regular) account.
2. Went to Yahoo Japan’s website and searched for TW200 parts.
---2a. (More on translating webpages below).
3. Using Celga’s bid request page plugged in the web page url of the auction I wanted to bid on, and plugged in my bid price or the “buy it now” price.
4. Sent payment via PayPal to Celga for the bid price, plus Celga fees, plus fees for internal Japan shipping to Celga.
---4a. One quirk of Japanese auctions is that payment must be made right away. Therefore the deputy service requires you to “prepay” at least a portion of the bid price before they will place the bid. If you lose the auction, Celga will refund your deposit.
5.Waited for the auction to end (Or for “By It Now”) waited for Celga to place the bid).
6. Received confirmation that I had won the auction.
7. Received invoice for any balance of auction bid price, Celga fees, and fees for internal Japan shipping to Celga.
8. Received confirmation from Celga that their Japan office had received my items.
9. Sent Celga a shipping request to ship my items from Japan to me in the U.S.
10. Received international shipping invoice from Celga.
----10a. Shipping from Japan is not cheap. I shipped via EMS because it is insured. Check their rates on their webpage so you know ahead of time the ballpark shipping fees.
11. Sent payment to Celga for international shipping fees.
12. Received confirmation, with tracking numbers, of packages shipped.
13. Received my packages five (5) days later!
14. Hid packages and invoices from my wife…
My items were received well packaged and in perfect condition.
I also received several email updates from the Celga staff. When I had a question regarding shipping or billing, I simply emailed them. I always received a prompt response and excellent customer service.
I had no problems using their service, would use them again.
TRANSLATING WEB PAGES
So you fire up Yahoo Japan in IE or Firefox and holy moly, that is a lot of Japanese writing. You need a translater, and fast.
I am a fan of Google Chrome. Google Chrome is a web browser like IE and Firefox except it has the power (maybe the evil power?) of Google, and will atomatically translate Japanese language websites into English. Automatically, you say? Yes. Automatically. Or, well, you may have to click on one button at the yop of the page, but I am calling it automatically. No cutting, no pasting, etc.
Now keep in mind that it is not perfect. I guess that some things don’t quite translate properly or something, so there is a bit of ‘Engrish’ to muddle through, but you will get the particulars.
There are probably more options, but I got tired of looking and Google Chrome suited me perfectly.
CONCLUSION
So that’s how I ordered some custom TW200 parts from Japan using Yahoo Japan. It’s easy, and if I can do it I am confident you can too.
Why didn’t I just use Webbike Japan you ask? Because I found them crazy expensive for the same stuff, and because I found parts I liked better through Yahoo Japan.
Now you can avoid lots of this if you have “people” in Japan – they can simply be your middleman – but I don’t have “people” in Japan.
Hope this helps add to the great knowledge base here. PM me with any questions, or broken links.
Thanks for reading.
