Buying A Cartridge Direct From Japan

Because Axel Schurholz is 'one man company' I asked him
why his wife does not help with his customers? He gets more
emails then he can answer. His answer was that his wife
then need to ask him how to answer the questions asked.
So much about (his)secretary.

I decided to join this Jauce bidding site in Japan. They are an intermediary bidding company. To bid on eBay in Japan, there is no other way to submit a bid that I'm aware of.
It must be noted that their is a $25 bidding fee that will be paid whether you win or not. Yes, even if you lose the bidding auction, you will still have to pay this $25.
I decided to make a purchase and post the findings on this forum for everyone to understand the frustrations that are being expressed.
The item I went after was a Highphonic A-3 phono cartridge.
It took some time to understand my way around this bidding site. Because the site is in Japanese, translation programs had to be implemented. Half the time, I still couldn't understand what was being said in these translations.
I received notice (email), this morning that the item has shipped, therefore I assume all charges that could occur against this auction, have been filed and paid. Nothing moves from point A to point B until the fees get paid.
The following is how it all transpired!

Deposited 2600 'Yen' into Janace bidders account.
I have converted Yen to $ for your better understanding. $1=104 Yen

This 'Yen' deposit = $249.18
Exchange rate Fee = $ 17.37
Won auction = $216.17
Auction Fee = $ 25.00
Bank Fee for Auction payment= $ 2.14
Local Delivery to Jauce warehouse = $ 8.65
Repacking of item for international ship= $ 12.00
Shipping to my home = $ 12.23
Exchange rate Fee for additional deposit
to cover shipping = $ 1.50

Total cost = $295.06
Cost of item= $216.17
Fees = $ 78.89 = 37% of auction price

Interesting adventure! All fees were % amount of selling price so the more you bid, the more the fees will be.
I can only imagine what a nightmare it would be if the item I receive is not as described or get damaged in shipment. I'm keep my fingers crossed. (grin)

So...tell me again, how long was the Japanese economy in recession? High fees and tariffs don't result in stimulating an economy. Thanks for the warning on this Japanese bidding site! I'll be avoiding it.

There are less fee intensive options than Jauce, Griffithds. The $25 fee even for a lost auction is ridiculous.

Years ago (1984?) I purchased a Dynavector cart directly from Dynavector. Done with emails and a bank transfer on the day of the sale. When the transfer was rec'd, the cart was sent.
No problems what-so-ever.