New Requirements for Yahoo Auctions Japan...

You can only place a bid of 5,000 yen or higher if you're on a Premuim account. Premium accounts are ones that have a credit card attached to them.

I really wouldn't want to a be Seller over the next coulpe of weeks while Buyers scramble to upgrade...

 

You mean if you're not on a Premium account?

 

Hmmm... that's strange. Back when I signed up, I just fumbled through the process because my Japanese wasn't so good. And I remember attaching my credit card for those monthly charges of theirs, because I didn't think there was any other way to pay. Is there?

 

Don't most users already pay using credit card monthly, anyway? Aren't credit cards starting to become pretty common in Japan for most retail transactions? It has been a few years since I visited, but that's my recollection.

 

For those who can read Japanese here's the link to the new rules. So as Japan-Games.com already said, if you're not a premium member you can not bid on auctions of 5.000 Yen and above. Might be a measure against bidders backing out from auctions ending high but limiting free accounts still isn't nice.

 

Come to think of it, yeah, I guess you've always needed a credit card. Not sure what the deal is on that.

 

It seems that you can also pay the fee from your Japanese bank account if it's at one of five dedicated banks and after you seperately registered it for Yahoo Auctions. (Link)