Japanese reseller apps (“flea market” apps; フリマアプリ, furima apuri) prove that anyone can make money off of anything. It seems people are making some nice pocket change off of something most people wouldn’t think of even trying to resell: corporate onboarding materials. Of course, Nintendo is not just any corporation – which may explain why its employee materials are fetching good cocktail money on sites like Mercari.
A report from weekly magazine Friday notes that searches for 会社案内 (kaisha annai) on resale site Mercari shows a few sellers have made money off of selling old Nintendo company guides handed out to new company employees from previous years. For example, a few sellers have made between $1,980 yen (USD $13) and 7,200 yen ($47) selling copies of the 2014 Nintendo Company Introductory Guide. Another made 9,500 yen (USD $62) off the 2011 guide.
Copies of the company’s 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2020 guides are currently available for purchase. One ambitious seller is currently trying to hawk the pretty 2014 guide for 20,000 yen ($131).
The corporate pamphlets are sort of fun, as they consist of artwork of various Nintendo characters in a variety of styles. They’re probably also interesting historical documents, showing how Nintendo and the way the company positions itself have changed over time. Still, there’s no denying it’s a…let’s say hyper-niche product.
Who’s selling this stuff?
Friday talked with K, a reseller who’s earned money buying and reselling corporate pamphlets and other goods on Mercari. K says the corporate pamphlets don’t sell instantly and usually take several months for someone to snap them up.
K speculates most sellers are college students selling the goods for lunch or beer money. They’re likely getting these materials from either job fairs or friends and co-workers who’ve left the company.
Nintendo is an obvious target for reselling these corporate materials, as it’s a gaming company with a stable of popular characters and a worldwide fan base. Their lack of general availability makes them even rarer, turning them into one of the world’s most unusual collector’s items. Other entertainment company’s internal materials sometimes end up on Mercari for the same reason.
The companies likely aren’t happy about employee-only assets ending up online. “But no matter the era,” laments Friday, “you’ll find college students with no morals.”
Sites like Mercari have made life hard for collectors in Japan. Many resellers bombard events that sell limited edition goods – like the recent Hello Kitty 50th anniversary celebration – and snap goods out of the hands of fans so they can sell them online for a substantial markup. Companies like Sanrio and Disney have put purchase limits in place in an effort to deter resellers.
Get More UJ
What to read next
How did a fully AI-generated manga hit number one in Japan? And what does its success portend for the future of the industry?
Nagano Nichidai High School even says it’ll fast-track non-students for matriculation if they’re accepted into the club.
The controversy renews the debate around the implied (and, sometimes, contractual) rule that idols don’t deserve a personal life.
Sources
「就活生が転売」か？「任天堂」などの人気企業のパンフレットが「メルカリで数万円」で売られている！LiveDoor News
