A recent controversy involving employees at a major Japanese convenience-store chain has drawn attention to insider access, product reselling, and the darker side of online marketplaces. The incident also raises an uncomfortable question: would any of us behave differently if an easy profit were within reach?
There was a recent news story about people connected with stores belonging to one of Japan’s largest convenience-store chains. They had apparently set aside rare merchandise before its official release, purchased it for themselves, and then resold it for profit—as though such preferential access were simply one of the privileges of the job.
Did they really resort to such petty dishonesty simply because they regarded it as a perk of the job?
Had they kept the products for their own personal enjoyment, perhaps no one would ever have found out. But once they tried to make money by reselling them, the situation became different from ordinary resale.
Even so, perhaps they did not feel that they were doing anything particularly wrong.
Maybe they thought of it as nothing more than an easy way to earn a little extra spending money.
For Seven-Eleven, the incident damages the reputation of its brand. On the other hand, if the company enforces its rules too strictly, some part-time employees who were attracted by such unofficial privileges might quit.
At a time when Japan is already suffering from a labor shortage, the company may feel that it is being hit from both sides.
This kind of resale business may be one of the harmful consequences of the online age.
Of course, passing secondhand goods on to someone who needs them can contribute to the reuse and circulation of resources.
But that is different from the increasingly conspicuous behavior of people known in Japan as tenbai-ya—resellers who buy limited or popular products solely to sell them at inflated prices.
I have never used an online flea-market platform myself. Still, should something catch my attention in the future, I might well use one.
And when I think about this particular incident, I cannot place myself entirely on the side of righteous criticism.
I have a tendency to follow the crowd. Had I found something I liked, I might also have taken advantage of the opportunity to buy it before the general public.
Had I realized that an item could be resold, I might even have bought something I did not personally want, sold it, and earned a little money.
Perhaps unofficial privileges would have been quietly overlooked if they had been exercised in moderation.
But anything taken too far eventually comes back to the person responsible.
The fact that the conduct was exposed and widely shared on social media suggests that it must have become too blatant to ignore.
The online world made such reselling easier.
It was also the online world that exposed the deception.
Everything has two sides.
Even as times change, the chain of cause and effect continues without end.
The tools may change with the times, but human desire—and the consequences it sets in motion—remain much the same.
・・・
set aside
To reserve something for a particular person or purpose.
取り置きする、確保しておく
preferential access
An advantage that allows someone to obtain something before or more easily than others.
優先的な入手機会、特別な立場による便宜
perk of the job
An extra benefit or privilege that comes with a particular job.
役得、仕事に伴う特典
petty dishonesty
A relatively small but mean or unfair act of deception.
小狡い不正、ささいだが卑劣な不正
resale
The act of selling something that has already been purchased.
再販売、転売
inflated price
A price that has been raised excessively above its normal level.
不当に引き上げられた価格、高値
online flea-market platform
A website or app where individuals buy and sell new or used goods.
フリマサイト、個人間売買のオンラインサービス
righteous criticism
Criticism made from the belief that one is morally correct.
自分が道徳的に正しいという立場からの批判
follow the crowd
To behave in the same way as other people rather than making an independent decision.
付和雷同する、周囲に流される
exercise something in moderation
To use or enjoy something without taking it to excess.
度を越さず、ほどほどに行う
blatant
Very obvious and offensive, especially when describing bad behavior.
露骨な、目に余る
cause and effect
The relationship between an action and the result it produces.
因果、原因と結果
#Reselling #OnlineMarketplaces #JapaneseSociety #HumanNature #pathologist
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