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YJ Shopping Tips
Last Update: 3/22/2004
If you have any tips you'd like to share or you are looking for information not contained here or within our FAQ, E-mail me at uriko@rinkya.com.
General tips
- General searches are Good. Specific searches are great . . . if it turns up what you need at a price you like. There are, however, a great number of problems with them that going through general searches, no matter how tedious, corrects for.
- General searches will turn up poorly or generally titled auctions hidden in obscure places. Not only will the general search show you these auctions, those who stick to the specific searches will miss them and not drive up the bidding.
- YJ's search engine is not perfect. I've copied text from an auction title, pasted it into a search box, and still not gotten the auction in question listed as a hit. A more general search, especially one of a category listing, may pick up auctions these auctions.
- Description searching is Good. When you're looking at a search screen, if there's a tab to the far right, you can click on that to see hits for searching descriptions by keyword. YJ sellers tend to title their auctions on the assumption that bidders are doing global searches for their items, so an auction title for a Pooh mini bean bag toy may say only "Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed toy! Cute! New!" Also, the Wondrous Whatsit you're looking for may be one of the items in a lot, with its name only appearing in the description. The "Description" tab is not always available, but when it is, it's definitely worth a look.
- Timing can be Crucial. It never hurts to check for any item, but if you're looking for something that is related to a specific season of the year, you're well advised to keep a closer eye on the auctions at that time of year. If it's a very obscure item, it may be on auction only then.
Sizing
Naturally sizing is a concern for anyone buying clothing. Here are some conversion tables to help you figure out what size you should be buying. Shoe sizes should be interpreted as being of narrow width from the rest of the world's perspective, so if your feet are wide, you may want to go up a size.
- Women's apparel
- Note that dress size is the same as suit size in Japan.
| Country |
Dresses
(Misses and Juniors) |
Shoes |
Slacks |
Bras |
| European |
Subtract 31 |
Subtract 13.5 |
No change |
Subtract 5 |
| UK |
Subtract 3 |
Add 18.5 |
Add 26 |
Add 33 |
| US |
Subtract 1 |
Add 17 |
Add 28 |
Add 33 |
- Men's apparel
- Suits and coats
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Japanese sizes |
| Country |
S |
M |
L |
LL |
| European |
44 |
48 |
50 |
54 |
| UK and US |
34 |
38 |
40 |
44 |
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Shirts (Collar Size)
Japanese collar sizes are the same as European ones, both being measured in centimeters. US and UK sizes are the same; to convert either one, multiply the collar size by 2.5 and round up.
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Shoes
| Country |
Japanese size |
| European |
Subtract 14.5 |
| UK |
Add 19.5 |
| US |
Add 19 |
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Children's apparel
Fortunately, sizes for children are very easy: they are based on the height of the child. Below are the conversions into imperial system units for Japanese sizes. Of course, if you have a metric yardstick or measuring tape, you can just measure the child with that and skip the conversions.
| Japanese size |
90 cm |
100 cm |
110 cm |
120 cm |
130 cm |
140 cm |
| Imperial system |
2 ft 11.5 in |
3 ft 3.5 in |
3 ft 7.5 in |
3 ft 11.25 in |
4 ft 3.25 in |
4 ft 7.25 in |
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