It's almost Christmas, but you may not be able to get a present for your loved ones.
The reason is that it is a popular product that is constantly being resold.
The actual situation of resale and the saying of "resale ya".
Why is it difficult to regulate?
And will it be "eradication of resale"?
I will tell you about each in detail.
"I couldn't be Santa" Daddy's disappointment
A father in his 30s who posted on Twitter that he couldn't be Santa told me the story.
This man started working from the beginning of this month and searched stores and official websites for popular character dolls that his daughter, who is in the first grade of elementary school, wanted, but could not find them.
The retail price of the doll was about 10,000 yen, but it is said that it was sold for twice that price on the Internet.
When I told my first grade daughter that "Santa can't prepare the gift I wanted," she said, "I stopped because Santa would be in trouble."
The man said, ``It's natural for parents to want to prepare what their children want, and it's a pity that some people can't get it. I sincerely hope that you will have it," he said.
Stop reselling for the sake of the children
We also asked the child-rearing generation who used to shop at home electronics mass retailers about the fact that popular products for children are being resold at higher prices than store prices.
A father with four children said, "Even if I want to buy a game, I often give up because it's expensive." I don't know, but I think that ordinary people do their best to go around shops looking for children."
Also, a father with a 10-year-old child said, ``I want you to stop reselling at a high price for the sake of your child.It is not normal for the price to rise significantly.''
If you search for “high resale”…
I searched the Internet for toys that have been pointed out to be resold at high prices on Twitter.
Popular anime toys with retail prices of about 10,000 yen released in October 2022 are sold out at retail stores and manufacturer's official websites, and are sold at flea market sites for 20,000 to 40,000 yen. .
In addition, toys that appeared in manga popular with children for about 800 yen were sold out, and were resold at 8,000 yen on mail order sites, about 10 times the price.
In addition, popular game machines were priced about 10,000 yen higher than the retail price.
Santa's nemesis?
Criticized "Reseller"
One of the reasons for this is the existence of people who resell purchased products at high prices.
Part of a Twitter tweet.
"The toy that my eldest son asked Santa for was destroyed by a 'reseller' and is out of stock everywhere. Santa will be overwhelmed, right
?
" My son asked me what a 'reseller' is, so I told him 'Santa's nemesis'."
Expensive resale Buyers also online research
Last year, the web media "Japan Trend Research" conducted an online survey of 2,300 men and women in their 20s to 70s across Japan. People climbed to 38%.
In addition, 24% of them said that they have actually bought it at a high price.
A man who resells "I'm doing it with supply and demand, it can't be helped"
A man in his 30s who resells toys responded to the interview on the condition of anonymity.
The man is based in the Tokyo metropolitan area and has been reselling for six years.
In addition to daily necessities and groceries, he also buys toys and popular game-related items, and resells them on online shopping sites at prices higher than the purchase price.
In response to the interview, the man said, ``I think there are quite a few people who can't buy it because it's expensive, but I think it can't be helped because it's basically a supply and demand. I had no choice but to look for it and buy it, but now it's true that you can buy it if you pay for it online, so I don't think reselling itself is a bad thing."
He also said, "I feel that my rivals who resell products at high prices have increased significantly, especially since the corona crisis."
The reason why resale regulation is difficult
Some high-value resales are regulated, and reselling of tickets for concerts and sports events held in Japan at a price higher than the list price is prohibited by the "Ticket Illegal Resale Prohibition Law."
In addition, although it has already been lifted, there was a time when the resale of masks and alcohol disinfection products, which had been bought up and resold at high prices one after another due to the influence of the new corona, was temporarily prohibited.
However, there are no legal restrictions on most products, and experts say that it is difficult to regulate the resale of ordinary products from the perspective of free economic activity.
Morimitsu Kurino, a professor at Keio University who is familiar with the problem of resale, commented on the current situation of resale, saying, ``For companies that supply products, it is difficult to accurately grasp demand because it does not reach consumers in the way they had expected. I think there will be problems such as affecting the plan."
Will it be "eradication of resale": home appliance mass retailers
In response to a series of resales at higher prices than store prices, major home appliance mass retailers have set a goal of "eradication of resale" and are strengthening efforts to prevent purchases for resale purposes.
Specifically, when selling a popular game machine, it is resold as a new product after confirming whether the same game machine has been purchased in the past and whether the user has multiple member accounts. In order to avoid this, we have taken measures such as having people write their full name on the box.
In addition, while checking the popularity of toys in the market and trends on SNS, it is said that they are responding by limiting the number of items that can be purchased by one person and refusing to purchase products at the same time by customers who visit the store in large numbers. increase.
Reo Endo of the Nojima Kameari store said, "By taking measures, the number of purchases for the purpose of resale has decreased. While collecting information on SNS, we have created a system that allows more customers to receive products at store prices. I want to go," he said.
Will it be “eradication of resale”?: Manufacturers and flea market app operators
When Nintendo, a major game maker, sells popular products, it says that it conducts lottery sales after narrowing it down to one application per person on its website.
After stating that it is important to produce and ship products in quantities that meet consumer demand, he said, "Unfortunately, there are limits to what companies can do under the current Japanese legal system, but I really want the products. We will strive to ensure that the products are delivered to people appropriately."
In addition, major flea market app “Mercari” introduced a “price alert function” last year to notify consumers of products whose prices may have risen.
Mercari says, "We believe it's important to create a place where people with diverse values can trade freely. We will strengthen our ties with manufacturers in light of changes in social conditions, and provide products that are appropriate for consumers. We will provide information."