世論 What Japan Thinks

If you’ve lived in Japan for any amount of time you might suspect that just about the only times that get resold are books, music and software, at places like the entertainingly-named Book Off, but to find out what other transactions take place, MyVoice looked at the buying and selling of used goods.

Demographics

Over the first five days of September 2008 15,250 members of the MyVoice internet community completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 1% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 36% in their thirties, 29% in their forties, and 19% in their fifties.

I did once buy a Gameboy Advance new then some second-hand software, but I left the device on a flight to Amsterdam! I’ve bought and sold through Book Off, although it’s a bit scary to visit their shop and see mile upon mile of books to browse through! I also once sold a digital camera back to a shop, but that was a highly unsatisfactory experience. I have my old dead computer to dispose of, but I don’t think I could get any money for that, so I’ll drop it off with a recycler somewhere.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever bought or sold used items? (Sample size=15,250)

Both bought and sold	67.7%
Only sold	6.0%
Only bought	15.2%
Done neither	11.1%

Q2: What kinds of used items have you bought? (Sample size=used item buyers, multiple answer)

Books, magazines	78.2%
CDs	58.8%
Game software	48.4%
DVD, video, laser disk	34.5%
Cars, motorbikes	29.6%
Ladies, gents clothes, fashion items	26.1%
Children, baby clothes, items	16.3%
Computers	13.4%
Game machines	10.3%
Furniture	10.2%
Household electrical items	9.6%
Entertainment-related electrical items	8.9%
Toys, plastic models, train sets	8.8%
Interior items	8.5%
Accessories, watches	8.2%
Homes	7.6%
Sporting, outdoor goods	5.6%
Musical instruments	4.5%
Mobile phones	2.1%
Other	3.4%
No answer	0.4%

Q3: What kinds of used items have you sold? (Sample size=used item sellers, multiple answer)

Books, magazines	77.3%
CDs	53.8%
Game software	43.1%
DVD, video, laser disk	31.7%
Ladies, gents clothes	26.8%
Cars, motorbikes	21.3%
Fashion items	19.7%
Children, baby clothes, items	17.5%
Game machines	13.4%
Household electrical items	12.6%
Interior items	12.0%
Accessories, watches	11.9%
Computers	11.6%
Entertainment-related electrical items	11.2%
Toys, plastic models, train sets	9.8%
Furniture	9.2%
Sporting, outdoor goods	6.7%
Musical instruments	3.8%
Homes	3.3%
Mobile phones	2.2%
Other	4.4%
No answer	0.9%

Q4: What kinds of used items do you feel reluctance to buying? (Sample size=15,250, multiple answer)

Household electrical items	41.3%
Mobile phones	39.8%
Ladies, gents clothes	33.8%
Computers	32.0%
Accessories, watches	23.7%
Fashion items	23.1%
Entertainment-related electrical items	22.8%
Furniture	20.3%
Children, baby clothes, items	19.4%
Cars, motorbikes	15.7%
Homes	14.1%
Interior items	11.8%
Musical instruments	11.1%
Sporting, outdoor goods	9.8%
Game machines	7.5%
Toys, plastic models, train sets	5.7%
Books, magazines	4.8%
DVD, video, laser disk	4.1%
CDs	3.9%
Game software	3.1%
Other	1.9%
Don’t feel reluctance to buy from any particular category	20.5%

Q5: If you were buying used items, would you be particular about the quality or price? (Sample size=15,250)

If it’s cheap, not fussy about quality	2.4%
More particular about cheapness rather than quality	15.9%
Can’t say either way	29.5%
More particular about quality rather than cheapness	37.8%
If it’s good quality, not fussy about price	8.5%
Regardless of price or quality, I don’t buy used	5.1%
No answer	0.8%

Q6: Over the last year how has your frequency of purchasing used items changed? (Sample size=15,250)

Increased considerably	2.4%
Increased a bit	9.3%
Not changed	66.6%
Decreased a bit	10.6%
Decreased considerably	10.1%
No answer	1.0%