Yahoo Japan, the country’s biggest website, is a major force in the domestic e-commerce sector. The transaction value for their auction service “Yahoo Auction” (by far the biggest in Japan) and “Yahoo Japan Shopping” reached a staggering 950 billion yen (US$12 billion) last fiscal.
Reason enough for the company to announce a new service for the service-conscious Japanese: “Yahoo Hoshou – O Kaimono Anshin Pack”, which (roughly) translates to “Yahoo Compensation – Shopping Safety Pack”.
Users signing up to Yahoo Hoshou, which launched on Thursday, can expect to be compensated when items they purchased on Yahoo Auctions or Yahoo Shopping are broken, stolen or went missing during delivery.
Yahoo Japan says that the maximum compensation for each customer per year stands at 100,000 yen (US$1,260), regardless if the items in question were in used condition or new.
Yahoo Hoshou members are charged 350 Yen (US$4.40) for the service per month, while Yahoo Japan Premium users just pay US$1.90, using the company’s Yahoo! Wallet e-money system.
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