Money Making Ideas in Japan for a full-time student?

[ryobreak]

So I've been living in Tokyo for several months now, and true to it's reputation Tokyo's certainly a very expensive place to live.

To get to the bread and butter, I was wondering if any of you have devised any good ways of making a few extra bucks.

I've considered a part-time job, but I don't really want to make the commitment because I go to school full-time and I'd like to prioritize going out with friends than blowing them off for work.

But then again, my decision has certainly cost me, and my savings has dwindled to pretty alarming levels.

I was thinking maybe there were some products that can be bought here that are in high demand overseas and maybe selling them online? I did a lot of English -> Japanese translation work-at-home jobs back in the US and made quick hundreds, but maybe some of you guys have found some jobs that you can do at home which takes full advantage of being bilingual?

Any ideas would help! Thanks!:clap:

[baby_pixie]

You could always privately tutor someone. A couple of hours per week isn't a huge commitment.

Or help people buy things from Japanese auction sites and charge a fee. There are a few deputy auction sites out there but they all charge quite high for their service.

Help people buy concert goods and magazines of their favourite artists. Lots and lots of fangirls and fanboys out there are willing to pay for these things.

[ryobreak]

Concert tickets sound like a great idea- I should of thought of that one (*cough 6000yen XJapan tickets selling for 10000yen-30000yen online).

Tutoring huh? That was actually one of the first things I considered, but it's not like I can just post an ad on a utility pole right? Is there a good database I can apply to so prospective students can find me? The only thing I can find online is branch English schools.

[Requiem]

In-person shopping service. You're in Tokyo, which has so many shops, etc. Do you know how many collectors and Japanophiles would want to hire you to get things places like Y!Japan bidding services can't? Store exclusives, event exclusives, or things that aren't sold online and are much or easier to get with someone with a Japanese mailing address. Require deposits, make sure you get tracking numbers when you ship, no risk all profit.

I PM'd you if you want more specific examples/to be put in touch with people.

[Plekto]

Not only that, but the few things that you CAN get over here are usually marked up nearly 100%. To be honest, most people wouldn't care if it's new or like-new(hint - Book-Off, possibly shipping used Manga and so on for loads less than new?) Or well, most anything other than electronics.

And there's always moving "sales" where people literally throw away perfectly good stuff. I bet you could make a decent bit of money reselling it to people who don't know about such things or who can't be bothered to go crawling around on the weekends to find them.

[SlickWilly440]

You could find a group of middle-aged women who haven't had a good poking in a while and have them pay for English lessons, and throw in poking as a free bonus. Therefore, the payment is for teaching services and not for poking services, but what really draws the customer in is the poking and not the lesson. Make it like a reward for learning English.

This idea is similar to those massage houses where you pay for the appointment, and you pay the employee for the happy ending separately, which mean you are not paying the business. (Loophole in the law).

It would probably be a good idea to make connections with other people who might be interested, and who are able to find potential clients and schedule "English Lesson" appointments.

The clients can arrange for a private location for the poking, since establishing a set location is too risky, but have a main office to take care of the paper work and teach the actual lesson to make the operation look legit.

And remember their satisfaction is more important that yours.

[ryobreak]

Requiem>
Replied!! ^^"

Plekto>
I see a few Doujinshi's and rare books (mostly manga) being sold online at much higher than what they'd go for here, but not only is it probably very time-consuming to sift through all the books at Book Off, but figuring out which manga will sell would probably take the discerning abilities of someone who's an established manga trader. Maybe I should have joined the Manga Club while I still had a chance. Haha.

SlickWilly440>
I think that's what a lot of women on foreign travel visas do to make a living or make ends meet for their next paycheck. I've never seen men doing it, and also usually organized crime is behind that kind've shady market. Something tells me the Gaijin Perimeter is rendered useless against guns and extortion. :O Yikes!

[Plekto]

I mentioned Book Off, but it could be candy or motorcycle parts or most anything that people tend to just throw away when they are moving or can't be bothered to pay the fees.

[Intense]

car parts. A lot of guys I know want jdm parts for their cars because the local equivalents are too expensive and not up to the same quality. And I'm an Aussie so if you export to the USA you'll have an absolutely huge market to tap into

[Requiem]

Yeah, absolutely add car/motorcycle parts to the in-person shopping suggestion. I forgot to mention it, but Jpop/rock items are a good area too. Better you than me *l* Gackt *cringe*

Outside of the in-person stuff, shopping services can be insane for items under 100-150, esp. if they're smallish items. The minimum fees make the markup really disproportionate. Just being able to eliminate the initial shipping charge for something someone living in the country can get at any shop takes off a big chunk.

[ryobreak]

Plekto>Bookoff's certainly a potential treasure chest and I did venture to the one in Akihabara but I just don't have an eye for books worthy of overseas resale value. =[.

Intense>Looked up jdm parts pretty thoroughly, but not quite sure where's a good place to buy them in the Central Tokyo-area. They also sell A LOT of parts, it's really hard to sift through it all. Do you have any particular parts suggestions :3 ?

Requiem> Is there a specific site that deals with doll collectors? Maybe I can better establish myself as an errand-runner if I talk to them via a forum rather than e-mailing each individual personally. Thanks for all the help thus far btw. =]


I'm also thinking maybe since Az was a former english teacher and there's a lot of JET's / former JET's on OP9, maybe some of you guys are pretty well-aquainted with high-yield English private tutoring? So far the internet's only giving me 2000yen/hr + transport fee offers though. Hm. =/

[Intense]

I'd suggest going on car forums and asking what people want. Best place to find parts is on yahoo auctions but there are tuning shops where parts can be directly sourced at a higher cost. Right now I'd say this is a bad idea though because the exchange rate, at least in Aus has gone to shit. Might be a different story in the USA though

[japanat]

Car parts are extremely hard to get ahead on. There are people who spend 60+ hrs/wk getting parts through physical auctions and scrap yards, the majority shipped to SE Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and VietNam. They make a lot of money, but they work their asses off for it - not really a student's part-time kind of job - and you really need to know your paperwork, have distributors, etc, in order to make any real money.

English lessons are easy. Print out flyers, 2/A4 sheet, and ask small shops if they can display them for you. Put on the flyers that they only need 4 people to start a lesson (that way they do the recruiting for you), and you only charge 1000 yen/lesson... each. Sounds cheap to them, and you make at least 4000/hour, more if they bring more friends. If you can set up 1 lesson/ day, you'll make 80K/month.

[baby_pixie]

Livejournal communities can be a great resource if you're offering an in-person shopping service. There are communities dedicated to just about everything you've talked about in here. Post a message about what you're offering and wait for the replies to come in (and they come in fast!).

This is the community I used to sell Jpop stuff (granted, it's pretty much limited to boy bands, which I don't know how comfortable you'd be dealing with).
Jboys4sale (http://jboys4sale.livejournal.com)

Here's one for doll collectors:
Dear Dollfie (http://deardollfie.livejournal.com)

[ryobreak]

baby_pixie>
awesome. checking them out as I write this post. haha, I have nothing against buying boy band stuff.

So I brought this issue up with friends here in Tokyo, and they've hinted that Japanese Muji products sell well abroad, as well as Japanese cigarettes. I think they're brilliant plans, but is anyone aware of where the buyer market's at?

[Digital Masta]

Muji is expensive in Japan...let alone abroad...geez.

[baby_pixie]

Muji products are expensive in Japan? Since when?

ryobreak: I don't know how the market is for Muji items but I know I would buy some if I found someone selling. I miss the cheap cheap Muji stationary items. As for cigarettes, aren't there certain restrictive laws about importing/exporting tobacco?

[Digital Masta]

Muji products are expensive in Japan? Since when?


Let me rephrase...I can get the samething from somewhere else for cheaper. Not that it's really expensive.

[baby_pixie]

Hmm...perhaps on some things but I wouldn't say so as a whole. Especially stationary items. Those 78 yen pens write really well. I can't find anything that writes that well for that cheap (or in that many colours) now that I'm home. :(

[stsparky]

I - for one - am interested in Airsoft stuff. I can't be the only one.

[japanat]

Hmm...perhaps on some things but I wouldn't say so as a whole. Especially stationary items. Those 78 yen pens write really well. I can't find anything that writes that well for that cheap (or in that many colours) now that I'm home. :(Ahh, but add in shipping from Japan to the US, and his recipients would definitely be spending a lot more than the local dollar store or Target.

Sparky,
Don't many cities have restrictions on Airsoft or other overly realistic items? I know my town had a ban on minors possessing them written into the ordinances.

[stsparky]

Ship with flame red tape on the muzzle and you're good.

An adult is okay where a kid and this stuff is dodgy.