日本では、「リサイクルショップ」とは、secondhand store/shopのことですが、リサイクルショップは、 外国のcharity shop、thrift shop、thrift storeなどと異なり、商業施設です。つまり、リサイクルショップに物を持って行き、売り、リサイクルショップはそれを売って儲けます。また、通常、リサイクルショップでは、新品もとても手頃な値段で売っています。
I, for one, like to visit a recycle shop very much, even when I don't have anything I want to buy. Yesterday, I bought two ladles at the recycle shop I frequent. I fell in love with the bottom one in the photo below at first sight.
私はリサイクルショップに行くのがとても好きで、特に買う物がなくても行ってます。昨日は、よく行くリサイクルショップで、お玉を２つ買いました。写真の下のお玉には一目ぼれしました。
Bottom one: 480 yen
上のお玉： 180円
下のお玉： 480円
I googled to find that the bottom one costs over 1,200 yen at regular stores.
ググると、下のお玉は普通の店なら、1,200円以上です。
最近買った物の一部：
Bottom, left to right: Timer, non-contact thermometer for liquids only, peeler.
The timer and the thermometer were 200 and 980 yen, respectively, and are more than 1,400 and 3,000 yen, respectively, at regular stores.
上： 漏斗（50円）
下（左から右）： タイマー、液体専用の非接触温度計、ピーラー。
タイマーと温度計は、それぞれ、200円、980円。通常の店なら、それぞれ1,400円、3,000円以上です。
Note that all the items shown above are new ones, not used ones. Now you know why I like a recycle shop!
上記の品は、中古ではなく、新品です。なぜ私がリサイクルショップが好きなのか分かったろうと思います。
10 comments:
Great bargain, I can see myself shopping there too. When you bring in merchandise to the shop does the shop owner pay you for it? or Do you donate to the store? These 'new' items was never used by the original owner?
okasan: Like I suggested in the post, a recycle shop has nothing to do with charity. You bring any items you don't need to the shop to sell them.
Never used. Probably such items are sold to a recycle shop by manufacturers themselves, wholesalers (if they want to get cash quickly), and bankrupt retailers, etc., etc.
What a great idea - I wish they had a recycle shop nearby!
Yangsze: Do you?! But, you have a charity shop nearby, I suppose. I think that's a greater idea!
I often read Japanese people don't like to buy used items. It has something to do with the spirit of things and former owner. For an european person this is very interesting because "haunted" things are the least of our concerns. I like to visit flea markets. The last time I bought a used item (recycled) was end of June in London, guess what: a Japanese Sake bottle with a lovely geisha painted on it. I am also very fond of some Japanese porcelain ginger jar I bought years ago. Payed 12 DM now I found it in an auction: priced 250 Euros. Quite a bargain (laugh). We bought lots of used things on eBay, even a wood burning oven. Ah and I bought some little serving bowls for snacks in a shabby recycling store, manufactured by a long gone artisan german porcelain kiln/pottery. The bowls were made in the fifties. Chalcedon green with extremely finely woven bamboo handles. Japanese guest were really exited, they loved them. Payed 5 Euros for each. Go for it, recycling rules. So well done.
Kiki: You are quite right. The Japanese people tend to hate to buy used items. (Personally, I'd hate to buy used clothes, but I really can't speak for other Japanese. Some may like to, while others may not. That really depends on the person.)
From that particular "recycled shop", I have bought just a lot of kitchen items, many of which are new items, such as frying pans and enameled pots. I have also bought a set of French press and cups and an espresso machine (which I mentioned in my blog), just to name a few.
Why not take photos of some of your precious items and post them to your blog? (laugh)
Recycling - just something funny going on in our village: Due to the similarity of the houses most houses have one window in front facing the street so you can see (into) it while walking by. In one street there is a contest going on an on for years I suppose: They put old coffee pots on display using those windows. Besides before the machines took over in Germany, we were used to serve dipp brewed coffee in an up to 1 liter porcelain coffee pot.
Putting old porcelain coffee pots on display means these guys even built wooden shelves (up to three or four) into their window frames and placed lots of coffee pots on top (windows without curtains of course, curtains are no longer needed). The more shelves the more pots... looking great. Coffee pots of all types and ages, even ugly ones. Sadly I have a bigger front yard and no one can get a glimpse of my front window so I am not going to participate. But I am really fond of this funny collectors battle. Each month there is a huge flea (antique) market in the next town specialized on silver cutlery, porcelain and glass ware, guess most of the coffee pots have been bought there. Or they raided the houses of their old aunts and grandmothers and friends too.
You have made good deals! I shouldn't have read about these places... one more stop during my next journey to Japan and, inevitably, several kilos more ;-) Luckily we have 220V in Europe because I'd probably bring back 2nd hand appliances.
For now I only buy 2nd hand books when in Japan (manga because cookery books don't usually look interesting in 2nd hand shops) and I'm amazed at how clean and new(!) they look!
Sissi: Well, a seasoned traveller like you should spend more time in recycle shops than shrines, temples, depachika, and even 100-yen shops, and find some real bargains!
No shrines, no temples! Just food, drink and shopping, but I have forgotten this year to look for second hand shops (apart from Book off where I bought this year more Shinya Shokudo, a manga by Fumi Yoshinaga and... several episodes of Shirokuma Café ;-) Please don't laugh! it's very useful for those who struggle with kanji and the panda is soooo cute!).
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