世論 What Japan Thinks

Well, given the sample internet population that replied to this questionnaire that headline is true, as revealed by a recent survey from goo Research and reported on by japan.internet.com into internet auctions.

Demographics

Between the 5th and 7th of January 2009 1,027 members of the goo Research monitor panel completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 53.0% of the sample were male, 16.4% in their teens, 18.1% in their twenties, 21.6% in their thirties, 16.2% in their forties, 15.7% in their fifties, and 12.1% aged sixty or older.

I’ve never participated in an internet auction, as the worry about getting ripped-off outweighs any financial benefit that I feel I would gain from using it.

If you want to take part in a Japanese auction but live overseas, one easy way is through a Japan-based representative, with Rinku being one well-known example.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever participated in an internet auction? (Sample size=1,027)

Yes, and still do	54.3%
Yes, but not now	11.5%
No, never	33.2%
Don’t remember	1.0%

From the sample, 293 people, or 28.5%, had sold items, and 653 people, or 61.8%, had won items at auction. The following questions were put to each group.

Q2: What sorts of items have you sold? (Sample size=293, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Books, CDs, DVDs, etc	162	55.3%
PC, peripherals	109	37.2%
Concert, travel tickets	98	33.4%
Collectable toys, figurines	86	29.4%
Jackets, coats, shirts, other clothes	84	28.7%
Bags, shoes, belts, other leather goods	73	24.9%
Accessories	56	19.1%
Baby clothes, pregnancy clothes, children’s toys, etc	41	14.0%
Celebrity items	38	13.0%
Fridges, televisions, other home electricals	34	11.6%
Furniture, interior	31	10.6%
Cars, bicycles, motobicycles, other vehicles	17	5.8%
Food, sweets	16	5.5%
Pianos, guitars, other instruments	14	4.8%
Other	40	13.7%

Q3: What sorts of items have you won? (Sample size=653, multiple answer)

	Votes	Percentage
Books, CDs, DVDs, etc	303	46.4%
PC, peripherals	235	36.0%
Collectable toys, figurines	169	25.9%
Jackets, coats, shirts, other clothes	168	25.7%
Bags, shoes, belts, other leather goods	141	21.6%
Accessories	134	20.5%
Concert, travel tickets	132	20.2%
Fridges, televisions, other home electricals	117	17.9%
Food, sweets	109	16.7%
Furniture, interior	95	14.5%
Baby clothes, pregnancy clothes, children’s toys, etc	59	9.0%
Cars, bicycles, motobicycles, other vehicles	49	7.5%
Celebrity items	41	6.3%
Pianos, guitars, other instruments	24	3.7%
Other	88	13.5%

Finally, the 676 people were asked if they had ever taken part in an overseas auction, including auctions conducted in Japanese, and just 17 people, or 2.5%, said they had.