On eBay, I know that certain sellers can be trusted not to carry bootlegs and others cannot.  And bootlegs are typically offered at a price that raises obvious red flags.  Often the image of the album will even show a bootleg imprint.

But YJA is unfamiliar territory to me.  In particular, I'm looking for Shenmue Orchestra Version, for which there are several listings that end with no bids.  The starting bids for these listings seem a little low for an album that has long been out of print, so I wonder why these copies go unsold.  But the prices aren't AnimeCast low.  The albums pictured look authentic, but I don't know whether the pictures represent what is actually being sold.

Am I being paranoid?  Or do bootleggers in Japan have the audacity to sell bootlegs for retail price and above?

yeah you're pretty f*ckin paranoid.

How are those low prices?

You need to understand that on Y!J you can get stuff for CHEAP. The cheapest Shenmue OV on there was 2800 yen. That's $30, bro. Considering the current market, that seems perfect.

I've bought tons of crap on Y!J, and done even more searching on Y!J. Bootlegs aren't on Y!J because the Japanese don't deal in bootlegs. That's for the Chinese, Taiwanese, and other pan-Asians with less stringent copyright laws.

I never saw a single bootleg CD in Japan in the three years I spent there.  They just don't deal in them, typically.  Also, you can get some pretty good deals on Yahoo Japan auctions compared to, for instance, stores in Akihabara.

ive seen silent hill KICA-7950 as a bootleg on YJA some time ago. although its very rare, it doesnt hurt to be careful, even in japan.

all shenmue orchestra look legit. its a fine soundtrack and one of my favorites and you cant go wrong with those prices.

I'm guessing less than 0.001% of JYA auctions would be bootlegs.

I haven't come across a SINGLE ONE in YEARS of browsing and buying from there.

YJA is incredible. In fact, if it were easier for oversea'ers to bid, it could be dangerous.

I saw a bootleg of the Majora's Mask Soundtrack on YJA not too long ago. I think the guy wanted 3800 yen (I don't remember) and I was wondering why it had no bids. I then looked at the pic included and saw the CD design was different (Taiwanese for sure).

And just two weeks ago I saw a Hyrule Symphony bootleg. Guy wanted 10000 yen, no bids, saw it the disc design was definitely Taiwanese too (and the obi was different as well).

Granted, 95+ percent of the auctions are authentic but I guess you should still keep an open eye.

And Shenmue wasn't such a popular game in Japan, so I imagine the soundtrack to it isn't valued as much there as it is here.

Ironically, it's quite easy to spot bootlegs on yahoo!j, their sellers are the only few who "will ship internationally"
But yeah you're quite paranoid with this (eBay's to blame), 99% of the stuff there is legit.
Later,

Alcahest