Resale Value

Resale value is determined by four factors: "brand power," "scarcity," "product condition," and "market supply-demand balance." Products with strong brand power (Apple products, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, etc.) resist depreciation even in the secondhand market. Limited-edition and collaboration items see their prices driven up by scarcity, sometimes trading at 2 to 3 times the retail price shortly after release.

Product condition is evaluated on grades such as "unused," "excellent," "minor scratches," and "scratched," with prices typically dropping 10-30% for each grade decrease. The presence of accessories (box, warranty card, tags) also affects pricing - for brand-name goods, having the box and warranty card can create a 5-15% price difference. Keeping accessories stored from the time of purchase is a fundamental strategy for maximizing resale value.

Consumption with resale value in mind has the effect of lowering the "real cost of purchases." For example, if you buy a bag for 100,000 yen and sell it a year later for 70,000 yen, the actual cost of ownership is just 30,000 yen. On the other hand, buying a cheap 30,000-yen bag with virtually zero resale value results in the same 30,000-yen real cost. From this perspective, choosing items with high resale value is a rational consumption behavior.

In practice, it is important to research the secondhand market price of the same product on flea market apps and auction sites before purchasing to get a sense of the resale value. Seasonal items (coats, boots, etc.) tend to fetch higher prices when sold before the season begins, and timing strategies such as selling older models before new ones launch are also effective. However, being overly fixated on resale value can lead to the counterproductive situation of "not being able to use what you want to use," so it should be treated as just one factor in purchase decisions.