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INTEREST: Gantz Producer Wants to Give Away Gantz Sphere, Props

Surely they know about e-bay in Japan, surely

However, this is news to me that Yahoo Auctions (at any time) was more popular than Ebay though. Considering that there is a great quantity of items on Ebay from Japan, at least up until recently.

Yahoo Japan--the country's largest portal--has 95% of the online-auction market, where last year $1.6 billion worth of goods were traded. By contrast, eBay Japan--whose only business is auctions and whose parent dominates online auctions in the U.S.--has a measly 3% of the Japanese market.

EBay's first mistake in the Japan market was coming in late. And when eBay Japan did launch--five months after Yahoo Japan--it charged a commission for each transaction. Yahoo Japan doesn't.

By contrast, eBay's Japanese launch was hobbled by a series of missteps. The first was the decision to charge commissions of 1.25% to 5% and require sellers to provide credit card numbers, a hassle for young Japanese who often don't have plastic and prefer to pay cash on delivery or by bank transfer. Moreover, eBay had a chance to launch soon after Yahoo, but spent much of 1999 developing a site, preparing the legal work to open a Japanese subsidiary, and looking for managers to run the operation.

Even when eBay did get in gear, it took too long, critics say, to embellish its Japanese site with the local touches needed to attract users. Over time, categories had to be changed and more free features, such as horoscopes, product reviews, and newsletters, had to be added "so it makes more sense from a Japanese point of view," says Okawara. These alterations took months.

At the same time, eBay Japan also took a low-key approach to marketing, relying on its usual formula: rather than spend big bucks on advertising, just let auction fans spread the word. That passivity backfired in Japan because eBay had too few users.

EBay and Yahoo Japan are tying up to make it easier for their respective users to bid on and buy goods available on each other's sites.

The deal, which brings together the world leader in Internet auctions with the largest player in the Japanese market, kicks off with the launch later Tuesday of "Sekaimon." The Web site, whose name in Japanese means "gateway to the world," allows Yahoo Japan users access to bid on items listed on eBay's U.S. site using their Yahoo Japan ID.

The second phase of the alliance will see eBay items listed within Yahoo Japan's auction site. This service is scheduled to begin by the end of March 2008. Then, before the end of 2008, items from Yahoo Japan will be listed on eBay's U.S. site so that eBay users can bid and buy the items.