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Seven-Eleven warns franchisees over suspected anime and game merch scalping

The warning cites sales before promotional dates, hoarding on delivery, and resale by staff, and says some cases prompted early termination of franchise agreements.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

Japan’s largest convenience store operator has warned its nationwide 7-Eleven franchisees that unauthorised resale of popular anime and game character merchandise may be widespread, according to sources cited by SCMP Economy.

The outlet says some store owners and employees were caught setting aside items before release or buying large quantities to sell on resale sites. The company sells products such as Pokemon cards at franchisee discretion and runs paid lotteries that guarantee winners merchandise featuring characters including those from One Piece.

SCMP Economy reports that Seven-Eleven moved to terminate franchise agreements early in some cases tied to the behavior. It also points to prior anti-resale efforts in Japan’s retail industry, including purchase limits to keep hot items available to consumers.

In a warning dated July 13, Seven-Eleven told franchisees that inappropriate practices, including sales before the date and time in promotional materials, hoarding and resale by store staff, and preferential sales to certain customers, had been sporadically reported online and by customers.

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