Are you searching for bags at wholesale?
Each season, luxury bags announced by Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and other high-end designer brands that lead the global fashion scene attract interest. Likewise, market demand for secondhand, high-end designer bags, from so-called masterpieces to rare limited-edition items, is enduring.
Efficiently and inexpensively purchasing items that are popular among customers is a serious challenge for buyers. And many of these buyers are constantly searching for reliable wholesalers to stock up on popular designer bags.
With the spread of digital technologies, an increasing number of buyers around the world have been participating in online auctions as a new purchasing option.
This article summarizes the changes taking place in these purchasing arenas, and highlights how buyers can use both wholesale and online auctions to efficiently purchase valuable designer bags.
Purchasing bags: Differences between how Japan and the world use wholesale and auctions, and changes in this situation
In the past, buyers throughout the world intent on purchasing secondhand designer bags had been challenged by a supply that failed to meet demand. In the first place, few secondhand bags were available on the market and finding items in beautiful condition was a rarity. Against this backdrop, buyers had mainly purchased bags from wholesalers.
However, there are fewer wholesalers that handle bags than those that handle other types of designer goods, and wholesaling is dominated by “walk-in sales.” As bags are relatively large, the small number of items that can be brought in therefore limits supply. For this reason, wholesalers and buyers often form communities using messaging apps, for example, and trade bags within these communities.
Meanwhile, in Japan secondhand bags have become more widely available than in the past, and, compared with other countries, it is easier for buyers here to purchase them. One of the reasons for this is that many Japanese people appreciate designer goods and handle things with care as part of their character. There is therefore an abundance of secondhand designer bags available in Japan, many of which are in beautiful condition. Purchasing, wholesaling, and auctioning secondhand items have also come alive, thereby providing buyers with plenty of suppliers. These kinds of secondhand item markets are rare throughout the world.
Although Japan’s active secondhand markets have attracted attention from all across the globe for some time, participating in these has presented several significant hurdles for foreign buyers. Specifically, participation requires buyers to have an office in Japan and to obtain a domestic license called a “Secondhand Dealer Permit.”
Following the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, however, Japan’s auctions have increasingly shifted online. This development has made it easier to participate in auctions from outside Japan, and buyers from various countries now participate in Japan’s online auctions.
Having many reliable purchasing routes is a major benefit for buyers. But when purchasing designer bags, how should buyers make use of both wholesale and online auctions? Let us summarize the respective benefits of using each.
Benefits of using wholesale to purchase bags
Using wholesale to purchase designer bags offers the following benefits to buyers:
Benefits of using wholesale to purchase bags (1): Purchases can be made quickly
Wholesale transactions typically take place directly through one-on-one price negotiations between wholesalers and buyers. For this reason, most transactions are completed within one day. Online auctions, however, require a certain amount of time because online auctions include a preview period and a bidding period. By comparison, wholesale allows bags to be purchased more quickly.
Benefits of using wholesale to purchase bags (2): Purchases can be made with limited resources
In the case of wholesale, buyers can purchase large numbers of bags at once through a single negotiation with a wholesaler. Because it allows buyers to purchase large volumes while minimizing labor, wholesale is useful for organizations and others with a small number of buyers who are unable to easily allocate resources for bag purchases.
Benefits of using wholesale to purchase bags (3): Easy to purchase desired items in a reliable manner
Since wholesalers propose goods that meet the needs of buyers, they tend to easily attract items from certain brands and in specific price ranges. When looking to purchase the same kind of item in a reliable manner, using wholesale is likely the best choice.
Although wholesale offers many such benefits, it also presents the following challenges for buyers.
Few available wholesale options
As mentioned earlier, there are currently few bag wholesalers that serve as suppliers outside of Japan. In order to capture purchasing opportunities, buyers must sometimes develop relationships with wholesalers by participating in exhibitions and communicating with various vendors, or by participating in communities after having established relationships of trust.
Limits on place and time
Since wholesale involves face-to-face transactions, buyers must set aside time for negotiations. And because locations are also limited, buyers tend to deal primarily with local wholesalers.
Need for negotiating skill and experience
Since transaction prices are determined through negotiations with wholesalers, buyers must have an understanding of each bag’s market price. Buyers also require experience in the industry, including the skills to advance negotiations in an advantageous direction.
Difficulty of buying single items
When dealing with a wholesaler, buyers commonly purchase large quantities of bags at once. For this reason, buyers may have difficulty making small transactions, or purchasing a single item.
Limits on items that can be viewed
In general, the number of items that can be checked is limited because the buyer makes purchases from among the bags that are presented (displayed) by the wholesaler.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags
Next, let us take a look at the benefits that online auctions offer when purchasing bags. In addition to wholesale, an increasing number of global buyers are using online auctions as a new purchasing route.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags (1): Purchases can be made regardless of time or place
Buyers can purchase bags by participating in online auctions at a time and place of their own convenience during the preview and bidding periods (*). Because the time and location are not restricted, buyers can participate from anywhere in the world.
※In the case of STAR BUYERS AUCTION, the preview period lasts about one week and the bidding period lasts about six days.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags (2): Market prices are easy to read
Online auctions set a starting price for each product, after which participants can also freely check how the price changes as a result of bidding. Since bidding reflects the popularity among participants, the price tends to match the market value, and even people with little knowledge of market prices can easily participate.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags (3): No need to negotiate
During online auctions, participants simply enter a value and click to complete their bid, so there is no need to negotiate prices with other people. This also makes participation easy for those who are not confident negotiators.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags (4): Desired items can be targeted with pinpoint accuracy
Participants in online auctions can bid on as little as one bag, so can target the item they desire with pinpoint accuracy. This also makes it easy to respond flexibly to sudden changes in customer needs.
Benefits of using online auctions to purchase bags (5): Ability to view an abundance of items
Since participants can see every item on auction, they can compare and consider many different bags to enable a wider range of purchasing options.
How can buyers find an online auction at which to purchase bags?
As we have seen, wholesale and online auctions each have their own respective advantages.
And as mentioned above, buyers are increasingly using online auctions as a new purchasing route, while online auctions continue to expand as a reliable source of bags. Online auctions will therefore serve as excellent opportunities for buyers who want to have as many suppliers as possible.
So, what kinds of bags are actually traded in different price ranges at online auctions? As an example, let us take a look at Star Buyers Auction, one of Japan’s leading online auction sites.
In October 2020, a “Chanel Matrasse Caviar Skin Double Flap Double Chain Handbag Pink Gold Hardware 27 Series” began bidding at 180,000 JPY and was successfully bid for at 680,000 JPY.
In December 2020, a “Hermès Birkin 40 Togo Black Silver Hardware D: 2019” started bidding at 1.719 million JPY and was successfully bid for at 1.96 million JPY.
In fact, before the emergence of COVID-19, when physical auctions were also the norm in Japan, such high-priced bags were rarely available through online auctions. After COVID-19 led to the expansion of online auction services, however, online auctions began to attract greater numbers of items and participants to create a thriving market.
Online auctions now offer unprecedented appeal for buyers and have increased the number of supply options in which they can easily participate. By combining the use of online auctions with wholesale, buyers will be able to realize higher value purchasing.
Participating in online auctions
So, what kinds of sites are there among the easy-to-use online auctions? Japan is increasingly transitioning to online auctions, which has led to the launch of many online auction sites. Of these, one of the sites that has gained popularity among many buyers is Star Buyers Auction, a leading online auction site in Japan.
Star Buyers Auction holds regular auctions twice a month separately for watches, bags, designer jewelry, jewelry, and apparel, among other items. B2B online auctions that boast an abundance of more than 25,000 items offered during every event are rare even in Japan.
Star Buyers Auction also provides extensive support in English, Chinese, French, and other languages, and many buyers from the United States, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia already participate.
Visit here to apply for an account. All steps can be completed online. We hope that you include online auctions as one of your purchasing routes for realizing more reliable purchasing.
