Joko Re-Introduction, YAJ/Akiba Shopping Service Offer (CLOSED as of 8/21/23)

[Joko3]

Because who doesn’t like happy endings?

I am happy to announce that I was able to have a customer’s broken Death Smiles PCB successfully repaired locally in Tokyo. The repair was done by the same guy that is regularly called in to repair various retro machines on Sega 3’s 6th floor in Akihabara. He replaced the SDRAM and fixed the automatic reset circuit. It took over five months to get it back, but it’s back in my hands and fully working.

Please let this be a lesson to others. “Untested” can most definitely mean “broken” in Japan. Don’t just assume that everything is perfect, well taken care of, and most likely working just because it’s located on one rock and not another. Please remember that when you buy something on YAJ, you bought it! Returns are not possible in most cases with used arcade equipment. A reputable large seller may work with you, but others will most likely not. Please use caution if you do not see operational pictures in any YAJ auction.

Now, time to play for a bit

Edit: it should be known that this customer understood the risks and handled the situation very well. His reaction was essentially “well that’ll teach me!” and he was very patient during the repair process.

 

[Darksoft]

Top of the top service as usual.

 

[Moonwalker]

Great, please contact me when you start your service again

 

[waiwainl]

Do let us know, I do have 1 mainboard that I would like to find

 

[nonosto]

another perfect transaction, thanks very much Joko.

 

[Joko3]

Just something I thought was interesting to share:

Tonight was the craziest night ever on Yahoo that I've seen yet. The site essentially went "down" during the prime time of the normal auction ending time (2130 Japan time). Product pages would only load at random, bids only accepted at random, etc. Almost my entire watch list sold for half price because people couldn't make bids, and some sellers are now rejecting all bids and canceling the auctions (which means possible negative feedback). It actually made Japanese news already one hour later:

https://matomebu.com/news/yahoo20230305/

There are many cases of some stuff even selling for 1 yen! What a night!

 

[Moonwalker]

Just something I thought was interesting to share:

Tonight was the craziest night ever on Yahoo that I've seen yet. The site essentially went "down" during the prime time of the normal auction ending time (2130 Japan time). Product pages would only load at random, bids only accepted at random, etc. Almost my entire watch list sold for half price because people couldn't make bids, and some sellers are now rejecting all bids and canceling the auctions (which means possible negative feedback). It actually made Japanese news already one hour later:

https://matomebu.com/news/yahoo20230305/

There are many cases of some stuff even selling for 1 yen! What a night!

:O

Just to be sure, do you offer your services again?

Have a nice Sunday.

 

[Joko3]

Tonight was bidding on personal items/keeping my eye on prices out of curiosity (i.e. window shopping). I hit a hurdle that I don't wish to discuss at the moment, but it's going to delay my re-open time by a couple of months.

 

[Darksoft]

Tonight was bidding on personal items/keeping my eye on prices out of curiosity (i.e. window shopping). I hit a hurdle that I don't wish to discuss at the moment, but it's going to delay my re-open time by a couple of months.

Take your time. First things first.

 

[Moonwalker]

Tonight was bidding on personal items/keeping my eye on prices out of curiosity (i.e. window shopping). I hit a hurdle that I don't wish to discuss at the moment, but it's going to delay my re-open time by a couple of months.

I understand, please take your time

 

[Joko3]

It was finally fixed around 1130pm....so like when 99.9% of the auctions on any given day are all over. Somebody is going to have a very bad morning...

 

[Joko3]

I’ve decided to re-open on a limited basis starting next Tuesday, March 14. The limited scope simply has to do with storage space and time. It’s not fair to my wife to turn the house into a cardboard city, and it’s not fair to you if I’m overwhelmed and can’t provide good service.

The basic outline and changes are listed below. Everything was written how it is based on the experiences of the 100+ transactions/300+ items that were shipped out last year. If I sound harsh on a couple of these, it is not without a negative experience to back it up.

• Three customers at a time. I will post 0/3, 1/3, 2/3, 3/3 in my signature. Please look at it before making a request. If you are on a smartphone, look at the very first page of this thread, on the very first sentence to see this. I will update this every time something becomes available or is taken up. If I’m at 2/3 and two people message me, I’ll help both on a case-by-case basis. For example, if they both just need small items then it’s no problem.
  
  
• No cabinets, no CRTs, and no large items that won’t fit into a size 160 box.
  
  
• Cave PCBs. Repeat customers only, requests from others will be ignored without exception. They will be purchased from reputable video game specialist sellers only; no private sellers or “warehouse storage” types. If it’s not from a PCB shop or a Yahoo seller like Yugen2Plus, then I’m not going to buy it. This is for your protection. I'm not looking to get into the luxury paperweight business.
  
  
• Outgoing shipping occurs on Fridays and Saturdays only. Please expect up to one week of holding time. Sometimes I cannot reuse boxes and will need to find a more appropriate one for your package. My priority is package protection, not speed.
  
  
• Messages will be responded to within 24 hours. If I leave you on “read” please don’t be offended. It just means I likely read your message on the train, on a break at school, walking my dog, etc., and could not respond properly at the time. I will do so when I return to my computer later in the day.
  
  
• Fees are charged by the hour for items under 100k yen. This includes all messaging time, time spent purchasing, inspecting, taking photos, testing, packing, filling out forms, and my trip to and from the shipping center. The rate is 2700 yen per hour (roughly $20 USD). In general, small purchases are charged 1 to 1.25 hours, PCBs are charged 2 to 2.5 hours, and bulkier items are charged 2.5 to 3 hours.
  
  
• Items over 100k yen are charged a 10% flat fee.
  
  
• Packing materials are charged. Anti-static pink bubbles and easy-peel green tape are purchased out of my own pocket; they are not re-used from incoming boxes.
  
  
• If using YAJ, please note I may not make your bid during the last ten minutes and may have to make it earlier in the day. Please ensure your max bid is seriously how much you are willing to pay for an item.
  
  
• Max YAJ bids must be deposited prior to my bidding. After all, if I win, I'm on the hook to pay. If you lose, you will receive a refund within 24 hours.
  
  
• Payments are to be made via Paypal Friends and Family unless you live in a country that does not allow it. Goods and services payments must have the appropriate PayPal fee (4% for most areas) added. I can't purchase your items if I don't have all the cash to pay for them.
  
  
• As usual, remember that purchasing items in Japan is not the same as in your home country. Returns are difficult here, especially for second-hand goods. Even non-working items are incredibly difficult and may be impossible to return. I will do everything I can to help avoid such a situation, even if it means not collecting a fee from your business. Do not assume "untested" means "it probably works because the seller is Japanese"; that is simply ridiculous. Please use my service with this understanding: I am acting as a forwarding service only; I am not a store with a return policy. Japanese stores that do have a return policy are void once the item leaves the country. I will only take responsibility for shipping damage; a suicide battery or custom chip failing during the trip for example is not my fault. Remember, we are dealing with 20 to 40-year-old electronics here that were used for thousands of hours. If a problem occurs and it cannot be worked out via PM then it will be forwarded to forum staff for moderation including all communications.

 

[Joko3]

To make the most effective use of time, my search list spreadsheet will now be started over. All 2022 requests are gone. To renew please message me and I will add it. Please include a general budget for the item. If you don't receive a message back about it, it means I didn't find it. I will search for everything on my list at least once a week online, and at least once a month in person in Akiba.

As stated in the above post, I will ignore Cave requests if we've never done a transaction with each other before.

 

[tDRG]

Welcome back! I hope the time away has been at least somewhat restful. Sorry to hear about the hiccup in your business plan, hope it all works out for you soon.

 

[Joko3]

SF2 Turbo (Hyper Fighting) is packed and ready.

It's been a while since I've posted packing pictures, so I decided to show a step-by-step demo of how I may pack a PCB. My procedure changes depending on box size and thickness, but in general, your board will always have this level of protection when I ship.

Step 1: If possible and given permission, verify the board is operational prior to packing.

Step 2: Lay protection on the bottom of the box. Lots of people remember to protect the top well but forget about the bottom. Don't forget that some dickheads like to drop boxes.

Step 3: Triple-wrap the board in anti-static pink bubbles. Length, width, length. Use three long sheets of equal length. Easily removable tape ensures that everything can be re-used. These are the two packing supplies that I charge for in your total.

Step 4: Protect the sides of the box. In this case, there was not much room on the sides, so I cut four pieces of cardboard to make an extra wall around the box. A box within a box.

Step 5: Wrap the art and insert it on top. It should be easily noticeable. This is to satisfy a customs agent if they open the box. They may be less inclined to mess with everything if they can clearly see that it's a video game upon opening.

Step 6: Protect the top. In this case, I had air bubbles reused from another package that came in. If I didn't have them, I would have used a various combination of bubbles and paper as I did with the bottom.

Step 7: Fill out the necessary paperwork and drop it off at the courier.

 

[Joko3]

FM Towns Marty packed and ready to go. Similar process to the PCB packing (please see previous post).

 

[Joko3]

New available.

Current occupancy is 1/3. I can help 2 people right now. PM me with your request.

 

[Bar81]

When you say Cave do you mean literally all Cave PCBs or just the super expensive ones. For example would Esp Ra De be off limits to a new customer?

 

[djsheep]

When you say Cave do you mean literally all Cave PCBs or just the super expensive ones. For example would Esp Ra De be off limits to a new customer?

Pretty sure CAVE means CAVE.

 

[Joko3]

^This is the correct answer. This rule was made not without reason and negative experiences to back it up. It has nothing to do with making a good ol’ boys club or anything like that. Even buying a cheap PS1 game off Mercari qualifies one to be an existing customer, so I don’t think I’m being too harsh with this.