Damn Bargain-Hunting Chinese Gangs

[Mulboyne]

[YT]dXf2VxOuK6U[/YT]

A new Yamada Denki opened near Shinjuku's East Exit and attracted a queue of up to 10,000 people. The news report above points out that there appeared to be large groups of Chinese all buying similar products. The film shows them collecting afterwards and handing over receipts to someone who looks to be in charge. All interviewees say they are buying for themselves until one girl finally says she has been paid to queue to buy for another party. It seems pretty clear that this is an organized attempt to take advantage of the shop's opening day discount. To be honest, I'm not sure why these people are being reported as if they are some drug smuggling ring. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of illegal behaviour. Yamada Denki says the company will refuse to sell to anyone they suspect of gaming the system with the intention of re-selling at higher prices but there's no law which says you can't try to do that. You could argue that the teams are breaking the spirit of an opening day sale special offer but I can't get too judgemental, having pushed "Happy Hour" and "All-you-can-drink" deals in Japan well beyond the point of economic sense, as well as decency.

[Midwinter]

[YT]dXf2VxOuK6U[/YT]

To be honest, I'm not sure why these people are being reported as if they are some drug smuggling ring.

Demonizing the Chinese makes for a nice distraction from Japan's more pressing problems. Tomorrow there will probably be a report of how White Foreign Devils are taking advantage of bored and naive housewives. Really though, this is no different than the stories they used to run back in the 1990's of Iranians in Ueno park selling watches and mystery packs of meat.

[Russell]

How much are these opening day discounts?
Just wondering.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Yamada Denki is calling these stores "LABI," so I was just wondering if in Japanese that makes them Labiya? If so, that makes them into a bit of a cunt of a name for a store....

[damn name]

The irony is that they are probably Chinese subcontractors hired by a Japanese company paid by Yamada Denki to be sakura to boost the lines and get media coverage. Free media coverage for Yamada Denki and they come off like angels.

This is a sign that I've been in Japan waaaay too long. I suspect a sinister angle behind everything that happens.

[Russell]

The irony is that they are probably Chinese subcontractors hired by a Japanese company paid by Yamada Denki to be sakura to boost the lines and get media coverage. Free media coverage for Yamada Denki and they come off like angels.

This is a sign that I've been in Japan waaaay too long. I suspect a sinister angle behind everything that happens.

This makes quite some sense.
It is difficult to imagine that the discounts are big enough to make it profitable to hire people buying stuff that is hardly below prices of wholesales.

[FG Lurker]

Yamada Denki is calling these stores "LABI," so I was just wondering if in Japanese that makes them Labiya? If so, that makes them into a bit of a cunt of a name for a store....

Great minds think alike!

[FG Lurker]

The irony is that they are probably Chinese subcontractors hired by a Japanese company paid by Yamada Denki to be sakura to boost the lines and get media coverage. Free media coverage for Yamada Denki and they come off like angels.

This is a sign that I've been in Japan waaaay too long. I suspect a sinister angle behind everything that happens.

Pachinko parlours do this all the time. Works like this:

1. Parlour sets certain machines to pay out fuckloads of balls.
2. Parlour tells gangs (often Chinese, apparently) what machine numbers will pay out.
3. Gangs hire sakura to line up in front of pachinko parlors early and then run to those machine numbers when the parlor opens.
4. Sakura sits at that machine all day, winning fucktons of balls.
5. At the end of the day the sakura trades balls for cash. Sakura keeps his pay, generally 15,000yen to 18,000yen from what I have been told. Remainder gets furikomi'd to the gang.
6. Gang takes their cut and gives the rest back to the parlor owner or manager.
7. Sakura gets paid. Gangs get paid. Owner/manager gets more money back than he would have otherwise post-tax. Tax man and other pachinko punters get fucked.

I know this because I met a guy who was "working" as pachinko sakura.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

This is a sign that I've been in Japan waaaay too long. I suspect a sinister angle behind everything that happens.

Naah...It's when you suspect a sinister angle, have something confirmed as being sinister and then don't give a fuck that you know you've been in Japan waaaaaaaaay too long. You're still fine.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Great minds think alike!

Oops! Sorry about that.
I've no claim to a great mind, though....you were ffour bloody years ahead of me in thinking: story of my life.

[matsuki]

The irony is that they are probably Chinese subcontractors hired by a Japanese company paid by Yamada Denki to be sakura to boost the lines and get media coverage. Free media coverage for Yamada Denki and they come off like angels.

This is a sign that I've been in Japan waaaay too long. I suspect a sinister angle behind everything that happens.

Have to agree, I just bought a new notebook there. Their discounts really aren't all that great to begin with and then when they beat an internet discount price for me, they did it with their points.

[FG Lurker]

Oops! Sorry about that.

Don't apologize, was damn happy to see someone besides me thought it was a weird name!