The Dark Side of Akihabara: The Reason for the Proliferation of Scalpers (Figures, Trading Cards, Gunpla)

Recently, the most talked about resale items in Akihabara have been PS5s and graphics cards, but geeky hobby items are also becoming "hot."
What kind of items are becoming prey to scalpers and resellers?
This time, I would like to give a brief introduction to the situation in Akihabara, especially when it comes to hobby-related resale (apparently they call it "sedori").

Click here to see each store's efforts against resale ↓

Akihabara Hobby Goods Stores Take Measures to Prevent Resales - Gunpla and Trading Card Resellers

Akihabara is apparently a "holy land of resale"

As a test"Akihabara Resale"When I googled it, I found a ton of articles on reselling know-how.
In the end"The mecca of resale"It was written as follows.
To summarise those articles,

There are lots of shops in Akihabara! For detailed resale know-how, please buy the information materials!

This is the landing page, so be careful not to fall for it.

What hobbies attract resellers?

As of May 2021, the three most popular hobby items among them are:

・TCG
・フィギュア
・Gunpla

From here on, I will give a brief introduction to each one.

TCG - On release day, there are lines at card shops

Reservations dry up quickly.

This is outside of my area of ​​expertise, so I will gloss over this one in particular, but TCGs...trading card games have become incredibly popular in recent years.
It seems that new products from "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and "Pokemon Cards" are particularly popular.
In Akihabara, there were even lines that stretched from the card shops all the way to the front of the station.
The singles market has also risen, and old, low-rarity cards that previously had no value and can no longer be used in games are now selling for quite a bit of money...
It's been featured on YouTube and other platforms, and it seems like the price is just going up.

Akihabara Card Shop Summary: Over 80 TCG & Trading Card Stores

Figures - Limited edition items packed into one box!!

If it's a popular item, it may be sold by lottery...

When you think of figures in Akihabara, you might imagine cute, beautiful girl figures, but the figures that are seeing increasing demand for resale are hero and robot figures such as Kamen Rider, and recently, an increasing number of Akihabara hobby shops are offering lottery reservations and sales for popular figure series.
Also, although the number of events has decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when there are figure-related events, it is common to see groups of people loading large quantities of limited edition items they have purchased into vans.

Figures and high-age toys are produced in small numbers and there are few opportunities for resale, so they often reach premium prices soon after release. However, since the original retail prices of these items continue to rise, it seems more common to ship them overseas where there is money and resell them to wealthy people, rather than reselling them in Japan where there is little money.
In fact, manufacturers are releasing expensive products with designs that are designed to appeal to overseas customers, to the point that it seems a bit too obvious, so I guess that's just how it is.

Tamashii Nations TOKYO Akihabara Bandai limited edition products sales and exhibition

[amazonjs asin=”B07T24NX2N” locale=”JP” title=”METAL STRUCTURE Kaitai Takumi-ki Char's Counterattack RX-93 ν Gundam”]

Gunpla - Still going strong even during the COVID-19 pandemic!

It's safe to say that Gunpla is booming.

As plastic models become more popular during the coronavirus pandemic, people are also reselling them.
Gunpla are produced in large numbers and are frequently reprinted, so it may seem like there isn't much profit to be made, but popularity breeds popularity, and new products often sell out on the day of release.
In May 2021, Bandai Namco Holdings announced its sales figures by IP for the fiscal year ending March 2021, with Gundam's full-year results showing a strong 95 billion yen, and it's still fresh in our memory that the Freedom Gundam statue at Shanghai's LaLaport was reported.
Gunpla is becoming popular both domestically and internationally, so it looks like it will remain difficult to obtain for some time.

7 Gundam Model Kit Shops in Akihabara with the Best Selection + Related Recommended Spots

[amazonjs asin="B092RQ82JQ" locale="JP" title="MG New Product A 1/100 Scale Pre-Colored Plastic Model 197703"]

Hobby item resale case files

An incident caused by a plastic model resale arrogant

Buy Nightingale

While some people were unable to get their hands on the plastic model "HGUC 1/144 Nightingale," which was released on July 22, 2021, it has been listed on flea market apps and auction sites one after another, sparking outrage.
Meanwhile, an editorial staff member of the hobby magazine "Hobby Japan" posted on his personal Twitter account (even though he should have stopped doing so) in a way that seemed to defend resale.
Naturally, criticism abounded.

Sell ​​me Nightingale

His comment, "Why not just try and buy it?" led to the creation of several humorous slang terms, such as describing not being able to buy a popular product as "not trying hard enough," and calling the reselling of hobby-related items "HJing," an abbreviation for Hobby Japan.
Hobby Japan's editorial department later issued an apology, the person who made the tweet resigned, and the head of the editorial department was demoted.

Information on the reprint of HG Nightingale will soon begin.

In early September, while the heat of this incident was still high, a modeler who provides Hobby Japan with model examples made a comment about "effort" on Twitter (even though he should have stopped), which caused a minor outrage.

TAMASHII NATION 2021 limited edition products will be sold by lottery at short notice

On August 24, 2021, online sales began for commemorative products for the online event "TAMASHII NATION ONLINE 2021," but the sales method was first-come, first-served.
The product lineup included popular figures of Rider, Gundam, Seiya, and Ultraman, items that fans and scalpers would covet.
On the day of the sale, as expected, there was a huge influx of users when the products went on sale, and they sold out immediately while the server was down.
Due to many user complaints, the planned second and third sales were quickly changed from first-come, first-served to lottery sales.

[Apology and Notice]
Notice of change in pre-sale sales method for "TAMASHII NATION ONLINE 2021" commemorative productshttps://t.co/g80RGevlzl

We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by the early sell-out of tickets in the first pre-sale. Please see the link above for details regarding the changes.#t_n2021 pic.twitter.com/i1NhKOGy0B

— Tamashii Nations Official/Tamashii (@t_features) August 25, 2021

Incidentally, the event "TAMASHII NATION" has been held online since 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but until then it had been held every year in Akihabara, and in recent years, groups of resellers who have secured large quantities of limited edition items have been spotted near the venue, becoming a fall tradition.

In September 2021, Bandai's online shopping site "Premium Bandai"Membership terms and conditions revisedWas done.
The policy states that if necessary, users will be required to submit official identification, and if they fail to do so, or if it is determined that the service is being used for profit or resale purposes, the service will be suspended.This is clearly a measure to combat the increasing popularity of resale.

Bandai Tamashii Nation 2018 New Figures Report

Surugaya sells "second-hand" Gunpla on the day of release

On January 15, 2022, multiple Gunpla models released that day were spotted on display at Surugaya as second-hand items at premium prices.
Gunpla purchased for the purpose of resale are often traded on flea market apps, etc."release date"To"Popular Gundam Model Kit" "multiple"It's hard to imagine it being put up for sale as a second-hand item.
Also, Surugaya handles not only second-hand goods but also new hobby items, so this "You did it!" This became a hot topic on social media.

However, this is business as usual.
Since this is a typical Surugaya gesture, toy and hobby nerds were apparently surprised at the news.

Must-see for cedlars! This is what's coming this year!?

If you've read this far, we'll give you some special information on resale hotspots!!

Beautiful Girl Plastic Models - More and more companies are joining the market

It's not just that beautiful girl plastic models are "coming," but that they have already arrived.
As I mentioned earlier, the list price of figures continues to rise due to increasing manufacturing costs.
Additionally, due to the many time-consuming processes involved, such as painting, production is limited and resale is difficult.
Xenoblade 2 figuresThere have been cases of items being re-released, but this is a very rare occurrence.
So, in recent years, the hobby industry has been trying to create beautiful girls for otaku using plastic models, which require no assembly process and are relatively easy to resell, and these have actually sold well.
Popular items often sell out immediately after online pre-orders begin.
Otakus are so easy to fool.

However, there are many different manufacturers entering the market, and some products are popular and some are unpopular, and some are of good quality, so if you are considering reselling them, please do your research thoroughly before purchasing.
In fact, if you're looking at a place like this, it means you're not suitable for resale.

[amazonjs asin="B092RNFKS7" locale="JP" title="BANDAI SPIRITS 30MS SIS-G00 Richetta Color A 1/144 Scale Pre-Colored Plastic Model 197704"]

Summon & Magic - A TCG that card gamers are paying attention to

Among the popular TCGs right now,"Summon & Magic"is!!
It wouldn't be surprising if the seeds of a boom that has been secretly simmering among hardcore card gamers were to burst into flames at any moment!
Get your hands on these booster packs before they explode in popularity with the second edition!

Fist Alien - A figure sure to become a revival hit

I'm coming!!

Just wait and see!!

...Anything goes, just make it popular!!

[amazonjs asin=”B093FK6S3N” locale=”JP” title=”◎ TAKARA Fistful of Aliens Mini Figures (As Is)”]

*August 3, 2021: Added "An incident caused by arrogant plastic model resale"
*Added August 27, 2021: "TAMASHII NATION 2021 limited items will be sold by lottery"
*Added on September 15, 2021, regarding changes to Premium Bandai membership terms and conditions
*Additional information about second-hand items at Surugaya on February 3, 2022