Here's the breakdown for a shipment from Crescent, the only service that I have used so far.

================================
ITEM : DD Red Shoes
-------------------------------
Winning Price: JPY 2400
Shipping from the seller: JPY 140
Bank Wire: JPY 250
-------------------------------
TOTAL: JPY 2790
================================
ITEM : Pinky Tohru
-------------------------------
Winning Price: JPY 3500
Shipping from the seller: JPY 390
Bank Wire: JPY 250
-------------------------------
TOTAL: JPY 4140
================================
ITEM : Goto:st Pinky Book
-------------------------------
Winning Price: JPY 4800
Shipping from the seller: JPY 210
Bank Wire: JPY 250
-------------------------------
TOTAL: JPY 5260
######################################
AUCTIONS TOTAL : JPY 12190
SERVICE CHARGE: JPY 1600
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING(EMS): JPY 2400
--------------------------------------
JAPANESE YEN TOTAL: JPY 16190
CONVERT TO US Doller: US$ 142.01

Just the one Pinky would cost you about $65, but since the charge and shipping would be the same for a few small articles, I usually try to win 2-3 auctions in one go. I think that is quite similar to what a rare Pinky would cost you on eBay – even before S&H!

I just found another guide: Begginer's guide to Yahoo Japan Auctions.
It is very complete, it even covers the process to sign up to Yahoo Wallet to be a premium member.

Is there a way to list auctions by price (either highest to lowest or vice versa)? I can't seem to find it, maybe there isn't a way? 

EDIT: Nevermind! Found it! 

Hi,
Below is the tutorial of JapanAuctionCenter.com
http://www.japanauctioncenter.com/quick_tutorial.php

And a link for case studies
http://www.japanauctioncenter.com/case1.php

Best regards

Maybe I'm going to ask a silly question, but I am a newbie so please forgive me 
I have used Rinkya to buy on yahoo.jp and to bid with Rinkya you have to make a deposit which isn't actually charged on you CC so when you win something you have to pay all it's due (item, shipping, fees, etc..)
I'd like to use crescent shop to bid on some pinkys since they have lower fees, but I can't understand how deposit works with them: is it actually cherged on you card so when you win you just have to pay eventually the difference due or it works like Rinkya? 

Taty

Yes, Taty, you make a deposit of for example $50 that is charged to your card. When the auction is finished and Masamichisan at Crescent have received your item(s), he will send you a request for the difference between to total cost and your deposit (provided that it is more than $50, of course, which is likely :-). Please remember that the Crescent fee will be added to the winning bid, as well as the cost for shipment inside Japan, usually a bank transfer charge too, and the S&H to you. As a rough estimate, count on almost dubbling the actual price of the item. Here's an example (so that's what a GoFa Pinky is worth: $64):

ITEM : GoFa Pinky
-------------------------------
Winning Price: JPY 4000
Shipping from the seller: JPY 200
Bank Wire: JPY 250
-------------------------------
TOTAL: JPY 4450

#####################################
AUCTIONS TOTAL : JPY 4450
SERVICE CHARGE: JPY 500
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING(EMS): JPY 1800
-------------------------------------
JAPANESE YEN TOTAL: JPY 6750
CONVERT TO US Doller: US$ 63.67

DEPOSIT PAID   - US$ 50.00
-------------------------------------
GRAND TOTAL     US$ 13.67

sork, thank you very much for your explanation, now I have it perfectly clear :)

I'm going to make my deposit in the next days so I'll be able to buy some pinky I saw on yahoo.jp.
I like the idea to buy through Crescent Shop since I used their sercive to buy 2 of my ball jointed dolls years ago :)

Taty

I've used Shopping Mall Japan https://shoppingmalljapan.com/. They have the upshot of being able to place bids real time. I don't know if I hit them at a bad time though, their customer service was like pulling teeth. (Apparently it would kill them to take five minutes to say "We're really busy and are working on your order" when you've been waiting for an answer for a week.)

Okay, so I found Pucchi (one of the pinkies I was looking for) but, I can't figure out the Yahoo Japan page (in other words, I can't understand japanese...) I'm okay with converting yen to US$, but I don't know where the "bid" button...or ANY information is, for that matter.

Could someone help me out? You can send me a message (if you'd like), but thanks for the topic! The information was very helpful, and the pinkies are so much cheaper!

Hi there! You cannot bid yourself if you are outside Japan but have to use an agent such as Crescent in Japan (please see second part of my guide). They will bid for you and handle the local arrangements but this comes at a price, of course. If you look at my example above you will see that this roughly doubles the cost. This may be OK if you desire a very rare item and are willing to pay what it costs. If not, I think it would be cheaper to buy from eBay even if the auction price is higher. Isn't Pucchi available on eBay now and then? Save a search there for Pinky:st, Pinky Street and you will see everything that becomes available, even Ringo and rare WF issues!