Hey guys!!

So, you told me to keep you updated on my Goban and experience all in all and so...I'm doing it

First off, let me just say that the buying experience from Japan was awesome! Everything came exactly when buyee said it would and the service was great. It all came in one huge box

Anywho, here are some pics I just took with my behemoth of a computer ( I dont have a camera)

http://grab.by/qHJ0

http://grab.by/qHJ2

http://grab.by/qHJ8

http://grab.by/qHJe

So, what do you think? I think the board may be made of Katsura? Do you guys think it's an old board? If so, how old do you think? I know it was all hand done (the woodworking and grid lines). The one problem I have which makes me sad is that my stones are a bit too large for the board... When I play i have to tuck them under each other to make them fit. They are only size 25 jitsuyo grade so I'm not sure why this is?

The bowls were said to be made of Kaya. Does it look like Kaya to you? When I open the bowls there is this very strong cinnamon/spice smell to them which I absolutely adore. I've also put a lining in the bowls so that the resin from the Kaya doesn't stain my clam shells.

If you want more pics, let me know!

Seller. I'm guessing about 100 years. Probably other Go equipment pros or woodcraft pros can give you a better estimate?

The bowls look very pretty. Congrats!

Congratulations on your first set



I'd say yes.



No idea. If it was in a tobacco filled home the color could be unnaturally dark for it's age. I received an old Katsura board as a gift from someone while I lived in Japan and it had darkened quite a bit because of the smoke that was in the air of the person's apartment.

I'm wondering why the top is darker than the bottom (this isn't a problem, just curious).

Are the bowls Sakura? If so, they look much nicer than some of the other Sakura bowls I've seen

Congratulations on your first set! I remember how excited I was to get mine, and to think that you also got your hands on some slate and shell stones too! Hope you will play many games with that set. I'm sure it already has many games already ingrained in the that board. =)

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http://www.bengozen.com

The board didn't smell of tobacco at all. The bottom is actually the same color as the top, it's actually just the gran of the wood that makes it lighter on the bottom of the sides. If you look at the pic of the front of the board, you will see how the grain goes like a U and on either side of the curve it is lighter.

The bowls were advertised as being kaya. They are a blonde wood that has a very 'spicy' smell to it.

Do you know why the stones are too big for the board? Is it perhaps because the board is old or the stones are just bigger than normal? they are size 25 jitsuyo.

Seller.

buyee is the company I used to buy the equipment from Japanese sellers off of yahoo auctions Japan.

Thanks a ton!!

They are supposed to be a little too big.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

Oh, interesting. What is the function of the company ?

• Japanese sellers -- want to sell their Go equipment
• Company -- what does it do ?
• Yahoo auctions Japan -- carries out the auctions

Basically, a japanese seller posts an item on yahoo auctions Japan, then an international buyer uses buyee http://buyee.jp/ to purchase the item. Basically, you use buyee to bid on the item, then if you win, buyee pays the seller for you, the seller ships the package to buyee's warehouse, then buyee ships the item to you. Sort of a middle man that does all the work

I didn't know buyee is a website.

The auction companies in Japan will not usually ship directly to other countries. Same problem with buying used items on amazon.co.jp. The "buyee" website provides a service by acquiring an auctioned item and shipping it and gets paid for doing it.

The whole business plan of buyee seems a tad scammish, IMHO.

It seems that they are doing the job of a freight forwarder, and a buyer's representative at an auction. This is a classic way of padding the bills: offer a beginning-to-end suite of services, and the buyer never sees the exact costs.

If I were buying on a Japanese auction site, I would keep the bidding and the shipping functions separate. I would do the buying myself, then pay a reputable freight forwarder to ship it to me. There are many such companies ( Google "Japanese freight forwarder" )

I haven't taken the trouble to understand all of the details in this post: http://myfigurecollection.net/blog/6794,
but I would definitely do so before using buyee.

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Help make L19 more organized. Make an index: https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5207

I'd definitely say the board is Katsura.

I love the bowls
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On third party shippers.

I've never used Buyee so I can't comment on them. I wasn't overly fond of all their fees.

The shipper I use/recommend is FromJapan (http://www.fromjapan.co.jp/). For the massive orders I place they're very good. I ship with their fedex option and have never had a problem. I can't comment on single item shipments though. FromJapan is always very fast in replying to messages and quickly update their item received and shipping info.

Whatever you do though, DO NOT USE EasyAuctionsJapan (http://www.easyauctionjapan.com/). I had nothing but terrible experiences with this service. Two weeks to get an E-mail reply if even that (and three weeks before they bothered packaging my items for shipment).