More than 25,000 products available each time! How can Star Buyers Auction have such an abundant lineup? We interviewed the people in charge to find out.

Published: June 30, 2021

Updated: June 21, 2021

Online AuctionsJapanese AuctionsB2B AuctionsStar Buyers Auction

Image: More than 25,000 products available each time! How can Star Buyers Auction have such an abundant lineup? We interviewed the people in charge to find out.

Buyers who are always looking for good purchasing routes know they can rely on B2B auctions for an abundant lineup of valuable products. Star Buyers Auction is popular even among Japanese auction companies, attracting buyers from all over the world. They hold auctions of luxury watches, jewelry, brand-name bags, and other goods twice a month, offering an abundant lineup of more than 25,000 products each time.

On top of that, their successful bid rate is more than 90%. This means that they have a stable supply of products that are attractive to buyers.

But how can Star Buyers Auction offer more than 25,000 products each time and still achieve such a high successful bid rate? To find out, we spoke with Satoshi Hada and Taku Matsumoto at Valuence Japan, which operates Star Buyers Auction. The two have worked in the East Japan Sales Division, which handles the buying business, and are now in charge of overseas operations in the Business Strategy Division.

To find out, we spoke with Satoshi Hada and Taku Matsumoto at Valuence Japan, which operates Star Buyers Auction. The two have worked in the East Japan, which handles the buying business, and are now in charge of overseas operations in the Business Strategy Division.

The strength of Star Buyers Auction: Unique purchasing routes

The items listed by Star Buyers Auction are generally either products purchased from general customers or listings from auction sellers.

"Star Buyers Auction is operated by Valuence Japan, which also operates NANBOYA and other stores all over Japan that specialize in buying brand items. As of May 2021, there were 117 NANBOYA locations across the country. Since we buy directly from general customers, we are able to collect many valuable “UBUNI”, first-time items."(Hada)

“First-time items” means products made available on the secondhand market for the first time. Since these are fresh items that have never been sold in the secondhand market before, they easily attract buyers at auction and result in a high successful bid rate. Also notable is that many Japanese people prefer brand-name goods and treat them well, which means a greater likelihood of attracting beautiful goods.

Why people choose NANBOYA, a specialist in buying watches and brand-name goods

Japan has a strongly rooted culture of reuse, and there are many shops that buy luxury watches and brand-name goods. But with so many such shops, what makes NANBOYA so popular among customers who want to sell? Well, there are several reasons for that.

Service by highly specialized concierges (appraisers)

The first reason is that NANBOYA offers thorough and highly specialized concierge services.

"A typical buyer would look at the used goods that the customer brought in, quote their secondhand market price, and urge the customer to make a decision. They’d just say, “Well, here’s the price, so are you going to sell?’ But for us, the price is hardly the most important thing. We ask our customers why they got the item, how they have used it, and why they are parting with it." (Hada)

For example, a customer may have purchased an item to commemorate a life event but found it didn’t fit their lifestyle any more and decided to give it up, or they may be parting with it to fund a special trip or other new experience. Before buying, we listen closely to each customer's thoughts, evaluate the items, and thoroughly explain the evaluation to the customer’s satisfaction.

NANBOYA’s concierges learn from a training team of specialists from each genre and brand as well as specialists with qualifications from GG, one of the most prestigious gemology programs in the world. They gain a solid base of knowledge about products, appraisal and evaluation skills, and customer service etiquette.

The concierge experience creates a virtuous cycle of customer trust and satisfaction, leading to many repeat customers who look to NANBOYA whenever they have something to sell.

Comfortable shops in convenient locations

NANBOYA's shops are mainly located in commercial facilities and outside of train stations, making them very convenient to visit on shopping trips. All of their shops are equipped with luxuriously comfortable private booths to ensure customer privacy. They are spaces that allow customers to use NANBOYA’s buying services with comfort and peace of mind.

Of course, there are also various buying methods other than store visits to suit customer needs, including online, mail-in, and home visits.

A system that makes buying services appealing and easy to use

NANBOYA also has a variety of services to make its buying services more familiar to customers.

Miney, its asset management application, provides users with information such as market trends and current market prices on items they own. This service allows customers to understand the value of their own real assets and notifies them when it’s a good time to sell so they can turn them into cash through NANBOYA.

NANBOYA also has an in-house watch repair system with first-class technicians, and even offers services like watch repair, overhaul, and battery replacement. Thanks to this in-house repair system, we can offer reliable watch repair services that will motivate customers to use NANBOYA for reasons other than buying. We even buy broken watches and perform repair and maintenance to list them for auction. The successful bidder will receive an item that’s ready for immediate sale.

These services create an environment that makes NANBOYA’s buying services easy and comfortable to use, creating a cycle that draws a large number of high-quality products.

Expanding globally and accelerating buying

In recent years, NANBOYA has been accelerating its buying services by setting up bases both in Japan and overseas. Its first international location was launched in Hong Kong in July 2019, and it has been adding more ever since. As of May 2021, NANBOYA has buying operations in a total of 15 bases in the following regions.

Hong Kong
Indonesia
Thailand
Philippines
Malaysia
South Korea
United Kingdom
France
Turkey
Singapore
United States

"We are continuing to maintain the quality of our services in Japan, and we are seeing an increase in repeat customers, particularly among the wealthy. Outside Japan, wealthy people are more conscious that owning luxury brand-name goods is a form of asset management, and buying is on the rise, especially for items in high price ranges, such as Rolex and Hermès products." (Matsumoto)