A store in Nagoya, Japan, called“Collectibles”, is popular for its“Barter” approach. According to the Japanese TV Asahi, 70% of the items in the store are barter items, with both niche and practical items coming from customers.
Owner Katagiri has amassed a large number of customers and media resources as a result of his successful experience in the business world, turning his collection essence into the only Japanese barter shop that has been in operation for more than 10 years. A customer traded spare glasses worth 1,000 yen (100 yen) for a pair of high heels worth 900 yen, “Bartering is a very avant-garde experience,” she says. “It’s a good price to get and a good mood to have.”
Other customers said the rise in prices highlighted the appeal of high-quality second-hand goods. At the moment, the store’s popularity for clothes, shoes and daily necessities is soaring, “I want to do a career that can survive no matter what the social environment, no matter what the situation, can provide the greatest help for people,” Katagiri said. My goal is not to drive up the price of good things, but to make good things affordable.”
A Tokyo Cafe has added to the barter, with a mother swapping three picture books her daughter had read for a puppet, a pen and slippers. “It’s fun,” she says. “There’s a happy bond between people, and I want the kids to feel that.”