BUYEE(BE)vs ZENMARKET(ZM)

General Mechanical Pencil Discussion
1

BE vs ZM

BE purchases right away (for the most part) no matter day or night or weekend

ZM purchases only during the week, weekends it’ll sit until Monday pending in THEIR system but still open to purchase from anyone else in any platform. At least with BE it shows unavailable even if the purchase isn’t “completed” yet.

BE has a ¥300 purchase fee no matter what with zero protections, additional up to ¥500 depending on your choice for insurances

ZM has a standard ¥500 fee with no additional options (I’ve discovered, because it happened, that they check the item for authenticity on their own. They contacted the seller and sent it back and refunded me)

BE puts the item you bought in an envelope exactly as they received it.

ZM unpacks the item and rewraps it in bubble wrap.

BE offers many options for shipping and sends you an email (not preemptively) if more paperwork is required.

ZM offers similar options but offers DHL Express (the only DHL option) which is superior to FedEx and UPS. I chose UPS not knowing and they messaged me before it sent telling me that they may require paperwork that ZM can’t provide, do I wish to proceed with them or change to another option of which they recommended DHL

BE basically will always respond to any inquiry but the answer will ALWAYS be that there isn’t anything they can do.

ZM responds to every inquiry and really wants to help as much as they can.

BE searches require a mastery of the translations and verbiage that the Japanese use in their titles

ZM is similar but also finds things much more easily with a seemingly more broad understanding of what you’re searching for

I feel like I can continue but that’s a solid jist

Also operating between the two can best be described as one is an Android operating system and the other is iOS

6 Likes
2

Thank you for this comparison.

There are some other considerations.
ZM has a 60 day free storage policy and after that it’s ¥50 per day per item. I believe BE is shorter, either 30 or 45 days.

ZM has very affordable shipping options to the USA. The AVIA small package is great for multiple small items. Shipping has gotten faster, sometimes it’s only 10 days to reach customs. I’ve had no problems. No fees, as long as I avoid UPS and DHL.

ZM also has a bidding credit policy. If you buy frequently enough you get different credit levels. And you can take up to a month to reduce negative balance. It’s useful in that you can go for a while without a financial transaction.

Also, ZM periodically runs discount shipping codes, sometimes as high as 50% off.

6 Likes
3

They gave me 10% off of my shipping.

3 Likes
4

Use the shipping calculator, via a long rectangular button on the right. Only weight really matters, followed by total package value. It really helps in seeing the comparative costs by shipping service.

2 Likes
5

I will, I’m 100% free of buyee now. I’m never purchasing through them again. I’ve not done an auction through ZenMarket yet so I’m not sure how responsive that is but honestly, i just no longer want to give another yen to buyee!

1 Like
6

I’ve used ZenMarket for about 5 years now. It’s the only service I use. It’s not perfect, but it’s comparatively superior to the others considering all factors.

3 Likes
7

Does Zenmarket have 10% off coupons for Mercari? Those save a bundle on expensive items.

8

Occasionally ZenMarket runs discount campaigns for some sites like Rakuten, Rakuma, Amazon, and Mercari, and they’re usually for a cashback program, accumulating “ZenPoints” which can be applied towards the cost of international shipping from the ZenMarket warehouse in Japan to your destination. One yen = One ZenPoint.

Sometimes there are coupons that will deduct the price of an item purchased above a certain price threshold, but I’ve not seen them very often.

NOTE that on Mercari, occasionally sellers will offer a discount on an item there… and that does not show up on the ZenMarket shopping cart. You have to add the item and then contact ZenMarket to apply the discount being offered.

3 Likes
9

Oh, that last bit is important. In Buyee, the shopping cart gives a notification if the price has changed. They keep track automatically for you. So you just go to the item and add it to cart again to get the new price.

2 Likes
10

Buyee has purchased the same day in most cases for me.

1 Like
11

Zen market also does, except on the weekends

12

This is the best way to encapsulate the entire summary of this post.
It comes down to what you value in your proxy experience. For some it may not be a big deal to work through each individual company’s negative traits. Some may have a different experience entirely.
I really like the way @cytherian worded this response.

2 Likes
13

Thanks. Yes, if one is planning to buy just one item and doesn’t plan to accumulate multiple items for shipment, I’d say Buyee is a good way to go. But I’m pretty frugal when it comes to shipping. Having enough interest in a variety of small items, I like to accumulate and then ship inventory in one package. This ends up making shipping costs per item quite small.

It’s also important to note “weekend” is Japan Standard Time. And despite that, I’ve had on occasion a purchase go through on a Saturday. It’s just that it may take an hour or so… which is a major pain-point if buying something notably under market price. I’ve lost about 3 items over the past 3 years or so. Of course, this is all about Mercari. YAJ winning bids are secured no matter the ending time.

2 Likes
14

Well, last night I did my usual round of searches on Mercari… and I occasionally I’ll drop criteria down to just the brand and browse to see what comes up. I found a really good deal on a TOMBOW Exta SH-1500EE that also included the matching ballpoint. Now, it’s like 1am (EST) in the morning on a Saturday, which is like 2pm in Japan. When I woke up this morning, I found it was sold – the purchase went through. Just confirming that ZenMarket DOES do Mercari purchases on weekends… at least on Saturday.

2 Likes