As someone who regularly uses bidding and proxy services for Japanese items (eBay, ZenMarket, etc.), I found the Japan Rabbit bidding process extremely rigid and manual — it doesn’t feel user-friendly. I received no updates by email or otherwise that I’d been outbid, so I had no opportunity to track progress or adjust my bid.

There’s also no automatic bidding like on other auction sites. Instead, I have to email and pay again each time I want to increase my bid, rather than simply setting a maximum upfront and letting the system incrementally bid on my behalf. This feels especially frustrating given the $8 service fee, which doesn’t currently include key features like automatic bidding or live status updates. (For comparison, ZenMarket charges only JP¥500 and includes all of these features.)

Without this functionality, users are left to either:

* Overpay by guessing what the seller might accept, or

* Have their card charged multiple times for bid increases — often without clarity on whether they’ve actually won.

At the moment, my card has been charged for something I didn’t win, and there’s nothing in the platform indicating where that money is or what the next step is.

The automated emails are also confusing — they say “We received your order” and include an “Estimated time of arrival”, which makes it seem like I’ve won the auction when I haven’t. The order status also shows “Processing” even though the Mercari listing now shows SOLD, suggesting the systems aren’t in sync.

Overall, the process feels far too manual and slow. I think Japan Rabbit could be much more user-friendly if:

* I could add or update my top bid amount directly in the platform

* The platform automatically and incrementally bids up to my maximum

* I received automatic notifications when I’m outbid

* The system’s emails and status language reflected what’s actually happening in the auction flow

I do like that you offer access to items that can’t be bid on through ZenMarket — that’s a real advantage — but the overall process feels confusing and slow.