I guess you're right but I think a big chunk of used audio in Japan is still absorbed by the domestic market. The Selworld register, when it was accessible, showed hundreds of consummated deals in a week's time on just one equipment model. And there are thousands of them. In used Sansui Alpha series, for instance which I monitored closely since I was lucky to own one, I found a hundred deals in one month with quotes hardly going out of a specific price band, ranging from 50% to 80% of the original equipment price. Yet these equipment were about 10 to 15 years old!
That's not the case for similarly aged equipment from other brands where average auction prices ranged from 5% to 10% of brand new price. My observation was that Japan auctions on British and US equipment had the same price band as Alpha series and Accuphase, as well as esoteric brands, but the others go down really low. I tried cross-checking this out with Audiogon, and partly eBay prices, and except for Alpha series, which is not available in the US, the pricing patterns were somehow similar.
To me, high re-sale value could mean a reflection of quality and personal preferece of Japanese audiophiles. And I respect their taste. That might also explain why those brands/models don't normally get shipped to Piripin/Davao-kou junkyards.
