We are in the midst of the new life season. Many of you have just finished taking entrance exams or finding a job, and are ready to make a fresh start in a new place and environment! I think there are many of you who have just finished taking entrance exams or finding a job and are ready to make a fresh start in a new place and environment. There may be things you no longer need due to cleaning or moving, and there may be new things you need to purchase. Nowadays, it is a wonderful time when you can order something from the Internet and have it delivered within a few days, no matter where you are in Japan. There is a full range of platforms that can quickly match the demands of buyers and sellers, both individuals and corporations. eBay, the online marketplace that supports e-commerce, held the " eBay Japan Awards 2023" The "eBay Japan Awards 2023"
eBay Japan Awards 2023" brings together Japan's leading sellers
The "eBay Japan Awards 2023" was held to honor Japanese sellers who have achieved outstanding results through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace. A total of 16 individuals and corporations received awards in six categories.
Seller of the Year: Shuppin Co.
The "Seller of the Year" award was presented to Schuppin K.K., the top seller in terms of overall sales performance and buyer feedback on eBay in 2023. Ltd. has been in business for 30 years, and its main products include cameras, watches, and road bikes.
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
Since we deal with the division of labor on a daily basis, including purchasing, pricing, merchandising, and customer support, we focused on strengthening cooperation and improving work efficiency in each section. We also reviewed the way we use data to reduce duplication of work and streamline operations so that we can handle more orders without increasing resources.
Q. Are there any trends in sales that you feel are likely to occur in 2023?
I think that film cameras have been selling well on eBay so far, but I think that the shift from film cameras to digital cameras has been particularly strong in the past year. Also, perhaps because we live in an age when people can easily take pictures with smartphones, digital cameras tend to be more desirable, and we have seen an increase in the average unit price.
Q. Are there any aspects of your business that you feel are after-corona?
We have a physical store in Shinjuku, and on many days, more than half of our business comes from inbound demand. We have had eBay customers visit our actual store in Japan and praise us for their good experience on eBay.
New Seller of the Year: Seigo Makita
The "New Seller of the Year" award, given to the seller who started selling on eBay in 2022 or later and achieved the most sales growth, went to Seigo Makita. As a sole proprietor, he mainly deals in golf-related merchandise.
Q. What is your biggest focus in 2023?
We focused on finding the needs of our buyers after we had a good product lineup, and we made the pages easier to understand by adding more photos and explanations to eliminate buyers' concerns.
Q. What were the advantages and disadvantages of being a sole proprietorship?
I started out as a sole proprietor because of the tax benefits and because I was unsure of my sales prospects for the entire year. I don't see any major disadvantages at this point, but I am discussing the future with my tax accountant.
Q. Do you see any trends in your best-selling products?
There are some models that were sold some time ago that are being distributed in the Japanese market as used products in good condition, and they have a good reputation among overseas customers.
Q. You have achieved success in a short period of time since opening the store.
I used to work for a Japanese e-commerce company, so I have been applying the knowledge I gained there to cross-border e-commerce. I tried to improve efficiency by handling products with high unit prices as much as possible.
Q. I think there are risks involved in a business that carries inventory.
I think that trust is a big part of it. If we have inventory, we can respond to customer requests for "here and there" by increasing the number of photos, and we can also shorten the time it takes to ship items, so I think customer satisfaction is high.
Category Growth Awards
Handbag Category: JFA Corporation
Q. What is your biggest focus in 2023?
For fixed-price listings, we stocked trend-conscious items and displayed high-profile items. In the auction format, we adopted a policy of selling a certain number of items every day to ensure sales.
Watch Category: aonohappa inc.
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
Our main focus was to increase the number of listings and use of advertisements. In particular, we have seen a considerable improvement in impressions and page viewers due to the effectiveness of advertising and promotional tools that we had not used before.
Jewelry Category: Comebei Co.
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
In the EC business, we focused most on cross-border EC. We were able to grow more than expected, partly because of the weak yen. We tried to continuously display a large number of products, deal with customers as politely as we do for domestic e-commerce, and ship quickly so that our customers are satisfied with our products in aspects other than price.
Sneakers Category: Refort Co.
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
Our goal for the year was to win an award for the second year in a row. We were always conscious of staying ahead of the pack as the top sneaker seller and making a huge difference. In addition to selling on eBay, we also worked hard to create and promote the release of BayChat, an eBay customer service tool that we developed.
Collectible Card Game Category: Collect Inc.
Q. What is your biggest focus in 2023?
We opened a card shop in September last year, and I have been focusing on preparations for the opening and post-opening operations. We started out not knowing what was right and what was left, but through repeated trial and error, we have just now managed to get it into shape. We have a lot of positive things to say about eBay since we started the card shop, and we would like to increase both of them through synergy effects in the future.
Anime Goods Category: AmiAmi Japan
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
We focused on our international sales strategy. Specifically, we improved our infrastructure including distribution facilities, participated in several overseas anime events, and strengthened our marketing. In this context, we worked to raise the number of active listings on eBay by listing more used products in addition to traditional new product sales.
Video Game Category: MondoLife Inc.
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
We focused on improving the speed of product delivery. We focused on adjusting handling times and increasing staff.
Auto Parts Category: Laffey Corporation (car-jp.sushi)
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
After hearing about the Bad Buyer Experience (BBE) from eBay, we have been working on the Best Buy Experience (BBE) to make 2023 the best buying experience for our customers first. We are now working to provide our customers with the best buying experience first in 2023.
Camera Category: Shuppin Corporation (Map Camera)
This award was given at the same time as the Seller of the Year award.
Sporting Goods Category: Seigo Makita (JapanGolf Ayasetrade)
This award was presented at the same time as the New Seller of the Year award.
Musical Instrument Category: Ray (L'amitie Store)
Q. What did you focus on most in 2023?
2023 was a year of many things and a year of personal endurance, but I still focused on steadily increasing the base of business quality. The two things I focused on the most were building our customer service system and optimizing our packaging and shipping system. By providing prompt and accurate information and shipping goods safely and efficiently, we have provided customers with a sense of trust and improved customer satisfaction. These efforts were some of the factors that led us to receive the 2023 eBay Award, and have contributed greatly to our performance improvement as well as building deeper relationships with our customers.
eBay Cross-Border Ecommerce Report Released
eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, continues to see transactions taking place all over the world. eBay Japan K.K. has released a report on sales trends of items listed by Japanese sellers from January to December 2023.
In terms of transaction value, luxury goods such as "women's apparel & bags," "watches, parts & accessories," and "branded accessories" maintained their No. 1 and No. 2 positions, as in the previous year.
In terms of growth by category, auto parts ranked first with a 50.3% increase over the previous year, followed by digital cameras with a 42.6% increase, and trading cards with a 25.8% increase.
Pokémon cards continue to be popular
The "Collectibles category" grew rapidly, up 25.8%. Pokémon cards, which are popular among players and collectors alike, have had a tremendous impact, and "Pokémon Card 151," which went on sale on Friday, June 16, 2023, is still selling well.
The ONE PIECE card game, which is now in the planning stages for its second anniversary, saw a five-fold increase in sales compared to 2022. The 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh card is also boosting category popularity.
Naoki Kitamura, General Manager of Category Management Dept.
FY2023 was a difficult year for cross-border EC, with few external factors providing major tailwinds, such as stable exchange rates and the resurgence of inbound tourism following the end of the Corona disaster. On the other hand, even in such circumstances, sales from Japan on eBay achieved remarkable double-digit growth, and continued to be stable and strong in 2024. In addition, the full-scale introduction of eBaymag, the official multinational expansion tool, has helped sellers to explore new markets, with a 21% increase in sales value to Europe and a 19% increase to Australia, a high-profile market, compared to the previous year. Although the situation is expected to change again this year with the U.S. presidential election, there are many factors that are expected to provide a tailwind, such as a further increase in sustainability awareness that has taken root in society and increased demand for Japanese products due to the increase in foreign travelers as a result of the weak yen. Looking ahead to this year, we plan to expand the Authenticity Guarantee (Authenticity Guarantee Service ) category and enhance logistics services through SpeedPAK (eBay's official logistics service), eBay's own delivery service, and we will further expand the market based on these initiatives. We will further expand the market based on these initiatives.