eBay - Tapping Into The Japanese Collector Market

If you owned a skateboard shop in your local mall would you put a big sign in the window saying "No Baggy Pants Allowed"? Of course not. If you did you would be eliminating 50% or more of your most avid potential customers.

If you sell vintage Americana and don't allow Japanese bidders you might just as well place a "No Baggy Pants Allowed" sign in your auction ads.

Vintage Americana is hot in Japan with thousands of hungry collectors. These collectors have several things in common.

• They have money to spend on their interests
• They consistently pay high prices for the items they collect
• They are highly competitive amongst themselves. This means a collector will often pay an unrealistic price for an item simply to keep a fellow collector they know personally from getting the item
• They are extremely polite
• They pay quickly - usually with PayPal
• Once they have bought from you, they return again and again, quickly becoming loyal repeat customers
• They spend money twelve months a year - they don't suffer from slow buying periods as many American bidders do

If don't think Japanese bidders are a force on eBay, consider this.

There is a company that does nothing but act as a bidding agent for Japanese buyers. They advertise in Japan, have a website set up with sniping equipment, and full translation software. They place bids on eBay for their registered members, make payment in US funds, and have the items shipped to them. They then forward them to the Japanese buyer upon payment for the item, shipping, and a healthy commission.

If a Japanese collector is willing to pay $300 plus a $45+ commission for an item, doesn't it make sense to let them pay the entire $345 to you?

Some things to keep in mind when doing business with Japanese buyers

1. Consider using translator software when doing business with Japanese buyers

2. Whether using translation software or not, remember that many of the people you will be dealing with do not speak or write fluent English. Always use complete sentences and try to use proper sentence structure (simple noun - adjective - verb structure you learned in school). Using the chopped off English many of us have become accustomed to can cause confusion for your customer.

3. Always offer surface, air mail, and Global Priority shipping options. Many Japanese buyers want their items ASAP, and you will be surprised how often a buyer will spend $35 to have a $50 item shipped Air Mail.

4. If they want the item insured (most won't), it must be shipped via Parcel Post of UPS.

5. You will find many Japanese buyers hide their feedback. They do this to keep other collectors they are in competition with from finding their sources (remember what was said earlier about their competitiveness). Don't worry about the hidden feedback. It's usually 100% positive.

6. Delivery confirmation isn't available on USPS international shipments. With Japanese buyers it's not a big thing. They won't ask for it.

What are Japanese buyers looking for?

Their strongest interests seem to be for items from the mid d1950's to current times. Here's a list of some things that have high collector interest in Japan.

• Fire-King glassware - particularly the advertising coffee mugs they made
• Pyrex kitchenware - especially the nesting sets of four mixing bowls in nearly any style or color
• The battery operated tin toys manufactured in Japan but sold in the US during the 1950's and 1960's
• Much of the kitschy fabrics that were popular in the US during the late 60's and early 70's
• Vintage US brand name blue jeans and other denim garments Brand name athletic footwear from the 80's and 90's (particularly anything Michael Jordan related)
• Red/white plastic kitchen accessories from the 50's and 60's Japanese manufactured action figures that were marketed in the US
• Vintage toys in general from the 60's and 70's

There are hundreds of other items that are avidly sought by Japanese collectors. Many of them things we here in the US don't yet consider collectible.

You can research these simply by looking at the public feedback of Japanese buyers. You can also track their buying habits by searching their bid history.

If you need further evidence of what this market can do to your bottom line, consider this:

I sell a lot of old catalogs from a wide variety of companies. It used to be that whenever I listed a men's shoe catalog from the early 1900's, I could expect a high bid of $30 to $50.

About a year and a half ago, three Japanese collectors began bidding on most of the men's shoe catalogs I listed. It is now a rare catalog that doesn't bring at least $100 from one of these bidders. Many sell for $150+.

Can you afford to give up that kind of additional profits on the items you list?

Gary Hendrickson has been making his living selling on eBay for more than six years. He's the author of two eBay related ebooks, has a blog for eBay sellers, and is the owner of ColdItems.Com.

ColdItems.Com The Auction Rebel Blog

Related News

First gemstone art auction to showcase rare icons - Economic Times First gemstone art auction to showcase rare icons Economic Times, India -10 hours ago “Our auction will give it the status of contemporary Indian miniature art because it will be treated as conventional art at the sale,” he added. ... Lehman CDS Auction Hammers Australian Resource Stocks - Daily Reckoning - Australian Edition Telegraph.co.uk Lehman CDS Auction Hammers Australian Resource Stocks Daily Reckoning - Australian Edition, Australia -4 hours ago An auction was held last week to determine the value of the outstanding Lehman CDS. Based on the results of the auction, it looks like anyone who sold ... Lehman's CDS Mess: Who's on the Hook?Seeking Alpha Traders' worst fears realised at Lehmans auctionIndependent Lehman Debt Protection Cost Set at AuctionTheStreet.com Forbes - Wall Street Journal all 236 news articles Buyers brave cold to find bargains at school auction - Rapid City Journal Buyers brave cold to find bargains at school auction Rapid City Journal, SD -31 minutes ago That’s what Hermosa Elementary School principal Chip Franke was thinking during the Rapid City School District’s surplus auction Sunday morning. ... Financial crisis: Homeowners in Manteca neighborhood cope with - San Jose Mercury News Financial crisis: Homeowners in Manteca neighborhood cope with San Jose Mercury News,  USA -19 hours ago He had become a community leader here, rallying his neighbors to stand up to the builder that was planning to auction off one-third of their new Paseo West ... Fed Says ECB, Others to Offer Unlimited Dollar Funds in Auction - Bloomberg RTE.ie Fed Says ECB, Others to Offer Unlimited Dollar Funds in Auction Bloomberg -2 hours ago The ECB, the Bank of England and the Swiss central bank will conduct dollar auctions at maturities of seven days, 28- days and 84-days at a fixed interest ... BoE say no limit to dollar swap line with FedReuters Central banks offer unlimited cash to banking systemCityWire.co.uk SNB expands dollar offerings in joint c'bank moveHemscott CNNMoney.com all 453 news articles Bowled over by cricket auction - Henley Standard Henley Standard Bowled over by cricket auction Henley Standard, UK -1 hour ago An auction at its annual sportsman’s dinner, held last week at Phyllis Court Club, included an England shirt signed by Freddie Flintoff, a round of golf at ... Bad case, good guitars: Auction of guitars owned by former ... - TMCnet Bad case, good guitars: Auction of guitars owned by former ... TMCnet -22 minutes ago The disbarred prosecutor's three guitars fetched a total of $5100 in less than half an hour of bidding at an auction house overlooked by a giant statue of ... Creditex and Markit announce final results of Lehman credit event ... - HedgeWeek HedgeWeek Creditex and Markit announce final results of Lehman credit event ... HedgeWeek, UK -4 hours ago Markit and Creditex, in partnership with 14 credit derivative dealers, have conducted a credit event auction to facilitate the settlement of credit ... Lehman Bondholders Get Little Insight on Price From CDS AuctionBloomberg Lehman derivatives auction: Bad, but not a disaster?Los Angeles Times Auction Settles $400 Billion Worth of Lehman-Related CDSsWall Street & Technology MarketWatch - Conde Nast Portfolio all 14 news articles The Slot-Auction Saga Continues - Wall Street Journal Blogs Staten Island Advance - SILive.com The Slot-Auction Saga Continues Wall Street Journal Blogs, NY -Oct 10, 2008 The slots would then be put up for auction and claimed by the highest bidder. Federal regulators are hoping to force airlines to use larger planes hauling ... Port Authority seeks to stop airport auction planNewsday US Completes Its Plan to Auction Slots at AirportsNew York Times So It's All Our Fault, Huh? Feds to Auction Off Takeoff and ...Jaunted Houston Chronicle - Business Travel News all 513 news articles Early space blueprints up for auction - Houston Chronicle Early space blueprints up for auction Houston Chronicle, United States -3 hours ago Wernher von Braun's early blueprints for space exploration will be up for bid at a prestigious New York auction house this week. ...