Well this is quite a news! If you had experienced purchasing cards from Yahoo Japan but received cards that were different from the listing, then you know how important this is.
Key points for foreign buyers:
Sellers on Yahoo Japan can now decide to opt-in to authentication services on their Pokémon TCG, YGO or MTG listings.
Seller can also decide not to opt-in. Buyers can set search filters to show only listings with authentication service opt-ins (filter not yet implemented on middleman websites).
Authentication is done by Card Rush.
Authentication service only applies to raw cards (service available now) or PSA/BGS graded slabs (starting from October 16, 2023). Slabs from other grading companies will not be authenticated.
Transactions will be cancelled automatically if authenticators determine that the cards are fake or have visible damages not stated in listings, or if cards didn’t arrive at Card Rush within 4 days of the listings’ end dates.
Authentication takes up to 4 days.
Sellers must pay shipping to the authenticator, and buyers must pay shipping from the authenticator to the buyers.
For any troubles involving the authenticator or post-authentication shipping, you will need to ask you middleman to file claims manually by following instructions described here.
Tbh, I’ve always thought the wild west nature of Yahoo! was kinda a novelty.
" * Transactions will be cancelled automatically if authenticators determine that the cards are fake or have visible damages not stated in listings, or if cards didn’t arrive at Card Rush within 4 days of the listings’ end dates."
That could be huge. I wonder if it will change the dynamic of Yahoo! because you can just make moonshot purchases because there is less risk of not receiving the beauty goods.
That’s so great. I prefer to buy raw cards and there are a lot of cards I would like to buy on YJ but I’m always afraid of getting scammed and having no protection especially through a proxy like buyee or zenmarket.
Not sure if this is just a translation error, but the website makes it seem like the seller can enable it with a checkbox, but they don’t have to? If that’s the case then I’d think anyone intending to scam would just not click the box.
I guess as a buyer that just means staying away from listings that don’t say they have authentication enabled.
Correct. The authentication service isn’t enforced - seller will decide which of their listings should go through the service.
However, enabling it is way more tedious than just a checkbox. Sellers are also required to provide more detailed descriptions of the cards they sell, including uploading at least 6 close-up photos of each card: one full front, one full back, one on each of the 4 corners and additional shots of any visible damage. https://support.yahoo-net.jp/SccAuctions/s/article/H000014149
The authenticator will then match each card with its descriptions, and sellers risk failing the authentications if authenticator found damages undescribed in the listings (authentication service is free, but sellers will be charged shipping costs to the authenticator AND the return shipping from authenticator if authentications failed).
So in the end, the question is going to be if buyers shifting to buy only cards with authentications can form the motive to push sellers going through that tedious listing process.
