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Thursday, September 12, 2002
Thanks for your interest; At first I was just looking for someone to watch my shop while I travel, or do other business. But now I am thinking that I might want to work together with someone who will help me advance my business by using their intelligence, energy, ideas, and more. Such a person is extremely hard to find. Yet what advances our business also advances you. When we are successful together then we have a profit to use to find and buy more beautiful things, to travel, to invest, to collect, to lead a better life. I have been doing this business for a very long time. I have a huge inventory and a huge collection. But the Japanese market is extremely slow right now and we must look for other markets. We must use all our energy and all our ideas; we must work efficiently and effectively ; we must use computers and emails to reach out to many people quickly, yet we must call dozens each week to become friends. People who collect expensive paintings, armors, swords, will only buy where they feel they are liked and from a person they can trust--- us. I have created below a letter for people who have asked to be my agent. I have a book of 240 photographs to give to such applicants, and many other ideas. But, just like an employee, their success or not depends on their own willingness to try hard and succeed---- studying, looking, learning, and using all your energies to find customers and succeed in selling to customers. If we just sit and look out the window...... I have too much energy (most days) to live that kind of life. Holding a fantastically beautiful gold Inro in my hands excites me--- I want to own it, I want to collect it, and if I must I want to sell it so as to introduce the beauty to someone else --- and so that I may find another. It is an adventure, a thrill, an amazing life and it can be lived in London and Paris and New York and San Francisco if and only if we are successful. I hate losing. We have better stuff and are nicer people than the other dealers although the deck is stacked against us in many ways in Japan. Yet, I have come this far and want to go further. If we meet I will show you my oil painting business and my Internet interests. For now I include the letter I wrote today to an agent applicant since much of what I say applies to Aoyama Blvd. Although much work remains to be done please visit our web sites www.mukashiya.co.jp and www.gallery-samurai.jp and www.gallery-samurai.jp Éand we have others too. I need someone who can speak pretty good Japanese and I need salesmen who will go to the customers homes, or sit in their own homes and telephone 100 people saying "Let's do some business together". For someone to watch the shop and to back me up I need someone with good letter writing skills and if possible Adobe Illustrator. We use Macs but will teach if needed. Interested? Most people say "too hard too complicated and too much responsibility". I donŐt think so. I do business American style---- show you the target and let you mostly figure out how to get there, with my help and consultation. Can you do this? Have you before? What do you think? J. R. Miller 3:20 AM and still working **************************************************************************************** Dear New Agent: It was very nice to meet you today. Here are some quick ideas: 1. Go to all antique shows in your area. Get to know everyone. Talk to them. Drop off a business card. Tell them you love to buy sell trade Japanese swords and guns and Tsuba and Armour. Ask them about this business. Clubs? Kantei-kai? 2. Post free ads at the supermarket and other bulletin boards. Say "Selling Japanese Swords" and post your A-4 size ad on the wall. Put these "Chirashi" up everywhere. Put your face on them. 3. Get a small Internet web site. We use GoLive for the Mac. At first hard, later very easy, and we can train you in Tokyo if you want. 4. Cold-call customers from the Yellow pages--- every doctor, dentist, and other people you can find. 5. Place a small ad in the local newspaper? If the cost is cheapÉ.. 6. We will give you 30 names from our mailing list. Call or write each and tell them you are the local agent. If that customer wants to see any swords they can come view at your house or you will bring them to their house. Then they can talk with you, look, think, and you can be our salesman to sell to them. 7. Other ways to get customers? Kantei-kai? Art clubs? Historical Festivals with antique armour and guns and swords being used (Re-enactment). 8. Other ways to find places to buy and sell: Coin dealers; stamp dealers (100% rich men); Pawn Shops (very active in Japan); dentists; accountants; lawyers; businessmen?; always think "What do you want to buy, what do you want to sell?" 9. You need a Sword Only business card and 24 hour sword only telephone number and fax number. Then, when you have a customer, to go visit: 1. We can loan to you one or more swords to sell after you find out what your customer is looking for. 2. Make a small 4 page catalogue offering 5 swords. Give to everyone. We can give you the information and pictures and Oshigata. 3. Use our 240 Photograph album (sashin-kan) to offer ´100,000,000 in Japanese art and antiques. No one else can offer ´100,000,000 but you can because you know us. 4. We can give you 50 free videos to hand out. 5. Or, you can make a video yourself. 6. Or we can make one together. Or add your introduction to our video. 7. We are happy to use your ideas about Oshigata, photographs, videos, Chirashi, ads, put you name in our ads, go to antique shows together etc. Talk to us. All the above depends only on the energy you put into it. If you put every spare hour into Japanese swords, then you will succeed. Each sword profit at first is ´100,000; later ´250,000. If you find one good customer you are successful for life if it is a good trusting relationship. If you sell 3 swords each month and one or two Hiroshige, or Tsuba, your income will be ´1,000,000 -------- but you must put tremendous energy and inspiration and study into it. What you put into this is what you will get out. Best wishes, James R. Miller Tokyo Japan Note: there are 2 types of Japanese art---- one is international level, that sold by famous Auction Houses in London and Paris and New York. This is what I sell. I offer Japanese swords, Tsuba, Armour, Tanegashima, Ukiyo-e, Netsuke, Inro, Paintings, Clocks, Kozuka, Kakemono, and Buddhist Art -------from the Kamakura to the Edo periods. Most antique dealers sell furniture and kimono and plates. This is more like Local art or Folk art or Decorative art------ if you offered any of this to an international auction house they would say "No". If you offered my art to them they would say "Yes". That is the difference.
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