Chapter 13: Making Money
It only took half a day from going to the garbage dump to assembling two electrical appliances.
It was still early, and the two people who couldn't wait decided to try their luck in the afternoon.
Of course, in order to make them look better, Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro found some cardboard boxes and repackaged the two electrical appliances.
These materials are of course not in short supply for Kashiwagi and Kotaro who work in the warehouse, and the leftover scraps are enough to cope with the situation.
If you were to ask where there are the most electronics stores and the heaviest flow of people, it would of course be the famous Akihabara Electronics Town.
Since the 1940s, there have been various electrical parts stores, as well as the popular tape recorders at the time, and so on. Later, it gradually developed into an electrical commercial street.
I don't know when the rumor that "electronic appliances are the cheapest in Akihabara" spread, and it attracted many consumers to go there.
Televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, which are called the three great artifacts by the people of Japan, as well as game consoles, stereos, and VCRs that are popular among young people, are all available there.
When the cluster effect appears, second-hand electrical appliance stores that specialize in selling second-hand equipment are naturally indispensable.
Arakawa District is not far from Akihabara, the straight-line distance is about five or six kilometers, and it can be reached in more than ten minutes by taking the JY Yamanote Line.
Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro went out panting, carrying the cardboard boxes. As for Kashiwagi, needless to say, he definitely went to the bubble shop in Shinjuku on his rare day off.
The price of ordinary quality tea is only 500-600 yen, and the price of new tea is about 1,000 yen. However, only the lower-class salarymen will taste these teas, and the high-quality ones will cost a few more zeros.
Prices haven't skyrocketed these days, and there's no consumption tax, so it's quite friendly for a single man like Kashiwagi.
Of course, these were all told to him by Kashiwagi, and Shirakawa Feng definitely didn't ask about it on purpose.
It is only a 100-200-meter walk from Akihabara subway station to the destination, where you can find the Kotobuki home appliance store, BIC CAMERA (camera store), Dynamic Audio (audio),...
Various electrical appliance signs are hung on the walls, and below is a stream of people. Occasionally, songs can be heard from karaoke bars on both sides.
"It's so lively." Kotaro loves to join in the fun, and when he saw such a prosperous scene, his thick eyebrows raised slightly and his eyes were full of spirit.
Lively is good, lively means a large flow of people, so the shops here must be doing well.
"Let's go." Baichuan Feng took the lead. The two of them walked around holding the boxes. Sometimes Baichuan Feng would pretend to ask for the price.
After a while, he had an idea in mind and started looking for targeted stores.
As soon as I turned the corner at the intersection, I saw a white three-story building with a huge blue sign on the wall that read "Hand Off".
Below the store name is written in English "We buy used gear", accompanied by some audio and home appliance logos.
Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro looked at each other and realized that this was the place.
I pushed open the glass door and heard the shopping guide’s greeting “Welcome” before I saw anyone.
Soon an employee in a blue and white uniform came over and asked, "How can I help you, gentlemen?"
Baichuan Feng patted the box in his hand and said, "We would like to have something appraised. Could you please ask the store manager to entertain us?"
The shopping guide smiled politely, not showing any displeasure at all because Baichuan Feng asked to see the store manager right away. "Please wait a moment. Please go inside and rest for a while."
There is a special reception room here. While waiting, Shirakawa Feng took a look at the prices of other electrical appliances in the store. They are divided very carefully according to type and condition.
Soon a middle-aged man in a black suit knocked on the door and came in. "Hello, I am the store manager and owner, Ishikawa Masaaki. Please take care of me."
As soon as they met, they held their business cards, bowed respectfully and introduced themselves. They didn't show any arrogance just because Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro were dressed simply.
Wow, I have to say, RB has really achieved the pinnacle in the service industry.
Look at what he said, it made Kotaro smile from ear to ear.
Seeing that the other party was so enthusiastic, the two of them naturally returned the gift seriously. The more gifts, the less blame. This is what the Japanese people believe in.
After explaining the purpose of their visit, Ishikawa Masaaki began to carefully check the things that Shirakawa Kaede and the others brought, not missing any details.
If you run a second-hand store, you must have the ability to identify, otherwise you will be cheated and close the store sooner or later.
When Ishikawa Masaaki was inspecting, Shirakawa Feng was also a little nervous, thinking that there should be no flaws in the places he had moved.
After checking the appearance and debugging various functions, Ishikawa Masaaki confirmed that the two appliances were working. He nodded to Shirakawa Kaede and the others, "The appearance is good and all functions are normal."
Baichuan Feng took a look and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, no one noticed that the prices of the house after it was opened and the one before it was opened were two completely different prices.
"I wonder how much you plan to sell it for, Mr. Shirakawa?" Ishikawa Masaaki did not name a price first, but asked Shirakawa Kaede first.
This was actually a test to see if Baichuan Feng knew how to do it. If Baichuan Feng hesitated and said a price that was not very firm, he would raise the Dragon Slaying Sword without hesitation.
"Mr. Ishikawa, this Panasonic 18-inch TV costs 148,000 yen when it's new. Mine isn't brand new, but it's at least 90% new, and can be rated A or even SA.
I think a 10%-15% discount on the original price is a reasonable price. Of course, considering that Ishikawa also wants to do business, it can be reduced by another 5-10 percentage points. "
As soon as Ishikawa Masaaki finished speaking, Baichuan Feng began to talk. What a joke, all the preparations he had made for such a long time were not in vain.
Second-hand stores will appraise and grade the recycled goods. If the goods are intact and 95% new or above, they will be rated as SA grade. Grade A is a good product with slight signs of use but no wear and tear. And so on, it can be divided into five grades in detail.
"So Mr. Shirakawa is an insider. My apologies." After hearing what Shirakawa Feng said, Ishikawa Masaaki bowed again and then regained his businessman's shrewdness.
The greeting is an apology for the probing move just now, but the business still needs to be discussed.
"Since Mr. Shirakawa is an expert, I will speak frankly. Although the TV is indeed in good condition, electronic products are updated too quickly.
They start depreciating from the moment they leave the counter, and the A-grade quality that Mr. Shirakawa just mentioned is acceptable for grading luxury goods, but is not suitable for electrical appliances.
So I think a 60% reduction from the original price is a reasonable price.”
Masaaki Ishikawa looks gentle and polite, but he is ruthless when it comes to bargaining, and he often cuts off a large portion of the price in one go.
"Mr. Ishikawa, although this TV is not the latest model, it is still relevant and popular, isn't it?
Besides, what we do with Mr. Ishikawa is not a one-time business." After saying this, Shirakawa Feng looked at Ishikawa Masaaki with a meaningful look.
As expected, Ishikawa Masaaki perked up immediately after hearing the last sentence, "What does Shirakawa-san mean...?"
Yes, yes, that's what you thought. Baichuan Feng winked at him.
Ishikawa Masaaki received the signal and became more respectful. "I wonder where Mr. Shirakawa is working?"
"Ahem..." Shirakawa Feng cleared his throat and glanced outside the door. Ishikawa Masaaki understood immediately and immediately stood up and closed the door.
Baichuan Feng leaned forward and lowered his voice, "We are working in warehousing and logistics," and then gave Ishikawa Masaaki a look that said "you understand."
Ishikawa Masaaki understood, and it suddenly dawned on him, that's what it was.
If we were to ask which link in the process is most likely to cause goods to be "damaged or scrapped", it would of course be warehousing and logistics.
There will always be damage to goods during handling or transportation. Whether it is real damage or false damage, those who understand will understand.
So where did the damaged goods end up? Masaaki Ishikawa looked at the TV in front of him and thought that perhaps he should talk about it again.
"Ishikawa-san, I can even provide after-sales service for the goods I sell here in the future."
"After-sales service?"
"Yes, if you have any questions, please contact me. I will arrange for repairs and maintenance within one year."
This is another killer trick that Baichuan Feng has pulled out. What do you think? These days second-hand stores also provide after-sales services. You haven’t seen that before.
Ishikawa Masaaki had indeed never seen it, and Shirakawa Kaede's assurance even gave him a new idea. Could he also adopt this approach in his future marketing strategy?
Ishikawa Masaaki was tempted, "Shirakawa-san, if all the goods in the future can be guaranteed to be of this quality and provide the after-sales service you mentioned.
Then I am willing to buy it at a discount of about 55% based on the original price. The newer the style, the higher the price.
This is my bottom price, after all, the risk is on my side."
Baichuan Feng thought about it, and considering that he would have to do long-term business for some time in the future, he nodded in agreement.
Electronic products are indeed updated too quickly. Of course, the fluctuations will not be too big unless there is a revolutionary improvement on the same product.
Besides, these are all excessive. The right thing to do is to save enough money as soon as possible.
So both parties happily left each other's contact information. Shirakawa Feng gave Kashiwagi's address, because he would not be so stupid as to fill in the school dormitory.
Since it was the first transaction, Ishikawa Masaaki also gave a very favorable price: the TV was 88,000 yen, and because the food processor was easy to sell, he readily gave a high price of 4,000 yen.
Now is the time when the public has a strong desire to buy, and Ishikawa Masaaki is not worried about whether he can sell it. He even said that he will eat as much as Shirakawa Kaede can get, and he does not only have this one store.
This back and forth transaction brought in 90,000 yen. Kotaro's face turned red with excitement, and beads of sweat covered the tip of his nose.
As soon as he walked out of the store, he simply grabbed Baichuan Feng 's wrist, "Xiao Feng! Xiao Feng! Money! Lots of money!"
"Haha," Shirakawa Feng also laughed happily, "Koutaro, I told you that there will be bigger and better TVs in the future."
"Yes, yes." Now Kotaro firmly believed in what Shirakawa Kaede said. Others might not know, but he knew very well that this business was almost a no-cost business.
The only cost was the pile of junk. Thinking of such a big garbage dump, even the garbage dump in Tokyo, Kotaro wished he could sleep there tonight.
More than 90,000 yen is equivalent to nine 10,000 yen bills.
The current 10,000-yuan bill does not feature Fukuzawa Yukichi, but Prince Shotoku.
Shirakawa Feng pulled out a piece of paper and shook it towards the sun. "Please take good care of me in the future, Prince Shotoku. "
"Please take care of me!" Toratarou cheered.
