Shentucar original
Author | Zhou Jifeng
Edit | dawn
No one could have predicted that Tesla would become a wealth management product.
From March 10 to March 17, in just 8 days, Tesla raised the price of its products three times. Since November last year, the model 3 rear-drive version has increased its price four times, the Model Y rear-drive version has increased its price three times, and the two models with higher configurations have also increased their prices twice.
In just over four months, the price of the Model 3 afterdrive version on sale has risen from less than 240,000 yuan to 279,900 yuan, and the Model Y after-drive version has risen by 40,900 yuan.
The price of the product rose so far that the party cried. The new owner who had already placed an order was happy and broken, and his new car suddenly became valuable.
According to the regulations, orders that have paid a deposit before the price adjustment are not affected by the price increase. If a person placed an order before November 24 last year to book a Model Y rear-drive version (not counting other configurations), it will save 40,000 yuan today.
Fluctuating prices, as well as long product lead times, give people room to scalp orders.
Shentu found that on platforms such as Idle Fish and Little Red Book, there was a phenomenon of high-priced resale of some popular new energy models such as Tesla Model 3 and Model Y. Many people who ordered at low prices last year resold orders or new cars to others when they were about to be delivered, earning a difference ranging from 3,000-10,000 yuan.
An idle fish user who resold Tesla's Model Y order told Shentu: "I earn 4,000 yuan, you save 30,000 yuan." And being able to pick up the car immediately, isn't this a business that both parties are satisfied with? ”
Scalpers also heard the wind and set their sights on the business. They buy Tesla orders from various sources and then resell them at a high price. A scalper who bought orders in Xiaohongshu put up a slogan like this: "Reselling a Tesla order may make money for an iPhone 13." ”
A scalper told Shentu that he could earn at least 10,000 yuan per order and did not worry about no buyers.
Scalpers enter the game to sweep the goods, how much is the reselling order?
A Tao in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, last year booked a Tesla Model 3 after-driving version, this year saw many people because of the resale orders to make money, he is a little moved.
Unexpectedly, just hung up my order on the idle fish, there are already 5 people in the inquiry. In the end, Ah Tao resold the order for a transfer fee of 4,000 yuan. When the money was earned, he regretted it a little, feeling that his price was lower, "Everyone asked for more than 5,000 yuan." ”
Tesla's official price rose sharply, and early orders became hard currency in the market. Above the water, Tesla clearly marked the price, the whole country unified. But under the surface of the water, Tesla orders circulated on platforms such as Little Red Book and Idle Fish.
In this private trading market that resells Tesla orders, there are ordinary consumers, used car dealers, scalpers, and even 4S store employees.
Scalpers, on the other hand, are more skilled than the average consumer, have a wider range of channels, and are more aware of the market.
Originally a used car dealer, in February this year, he found that many electric vehicles began to increase in price, and many people around him were also discussing whether Tesla would continue to increase prices. So he moved his mind and went to the official website to book several Teslas. Unexpectedly, on March 10, Tesla ushered in the first round of price increases, and several orders in Akin's hands were immediately resold and made a small profit.
After tasting the sweetness, he began to buy Tesla orders from various channels and did the business of scalping orders. Many car dealers also "buy goods" from him.
Zhang Kai, a second-hand car practitioner in Hangzhou, told Shentu that many car dealers and scalpers are reselling Tesla orders now, and he also has two orders in his hands.
As far as he observes, at present, only Tesla's orders can sell at a relatively good price, on the one hand, the price fluctuations are relatively large, and Tesla has not strongly bound the "rights and interests of the first car owner" with the first owner. In addition to this, Tesla's delivery cycle is indeed very long. From the official website, Tesla Model 3 is expected to deliver 16-20 weeks, model Y is expected to deliver 10-14 weeks. Many car owners will choose to buy an order that will be delivered soon because they do not want to wait.
Zhang Kai revealed: "Now, basically a Model 3 order, everyone can earn 10,000-15,000 yuan. ”
The price of the transfer is also subject to change depending on market conditions. On March 15, the price of the Model 3 after-drive version increased by 14,000 yuan. "As soon as the official price went up, everyone's transfer fees began to rise, and some of them have risen to 15,000." Zhang Kai said.
There is still a lot of business that can be done around Tesla orders.
Ah Jin told Shentu that if he did not want to buy the transfer order, nor did he want to wait in line for delivery, there was also a way to get a new car immediately. According to Akin, he knows people in the 4S store who can help cut in line and line up orders to the front. "It's just that the price is more expensive, and now the official price of the Model 3 rear drive is 279,900, if you want a car, you get 290,000."
How is an order resold?
Tesla clearly stipulates on its official website that the order cannot be transferred unless it is an immediate family member, and the order can be cancelled at will before paying for the car, but the order fee will not be refunded.
Tesla's official website shows that the first payment is non-refundable and non-transferable
That being the case, how does order transfer work on the market?
Zhang Kai explained: "The so-called transfer order is actually a transfer. The original owner of the order gets the registration certificate and driver's license after the license, and after the completion of the account, it is transferred to you, which is equivalent to a second-hand car transaction. ”
Due to the need to transfer, many sellers tend to look for buyers in the same city. Everyone is in the same city, when it is time to pick up the car, the seller calls the balance to the delivery center, takes the car out, and then transfers the car to the buyer. "Hand in hand, I don't touch the car the whole time", this is the classic phrase of many sellers.
So how do scalpers operate?
Many scalpers have placed orders for multiple Tesla vehicles before the price increase, and they will directly bring up these cars before the delivery period and then resell them to buyers.
In addition to grabbing orders on the official website, scalpers will also buy Tesla orders throughout the country.
In the name of wanting to resell the order, Shentu contacted the scalper Sun Yu.
Sun Yu told Shen Tu that there were two ways in which he received orders. The first way is that he signs a contract with the seller online, if the seller is willing to pay the balance in full, when the seller brings the car out, he will hire a scooter to pull the car away, take the relevant information away, and then call the seller with the money. Another way is that if the seller refuses to pay the balance in full, he will run to the car pick up place to accompany the seller to pick up the car, get the car, and then transfer the money to the seller. Only in the second way, the acquisition fee paid to the seller will be relatively small.
As for the transfer, the seller is not responsible for the whole process, he will be fully represented. On the other side, he would look for buyers, sell new cars to buyers, and earn transfer fees from them.
Ah Jin has more ways to make money, in addition to collecting his own cars, he will also supply many car dealers. For example, he recently acquired a Tesla in Xianju, Zhejiang, and the car has been proposed by the seller, and the information is complete. So he sold the car to the local car dealer, and he didn't have to go to the scene to make a net intermediary fee.
To sum up, these scalpers are not so much orders as used cars, but these "used cars" have not been driven.
A gold rush game
Buying someone else's order is equivalent to buying a second-hand car, and there are many risks in the middle. Why are there still a large number of consumers willing to buy?
"Because I can't wait, and I can save a lot of money." Zhang Li told Shen Tu. She placed an order for a Tesla Model Y in mid-January, and the official guidance price at that time was 301,840 yuan. Because it took a long time to pick up the car, she turned around and went to idle fish to find a seller who transferred the order. The seller's order guide price is 280,000 yuan, and the transfer fee is 5,000 yuan. So Zhang Li spent less than 290,000 yuan to buy a new car without waiting in line for delivery.
In the entire Tesla order scalping market, in order to be able to sell the order, whether it is an ordinary consumer or a scalper, the resale order price will be cheaper than the official guide price.
Taking the Model Y after-drive version as an example, the official guidance price today is 316,900 yuan, and the price of Akin for external sale is 295,000 yuan. This 295,000 includes both the money for the whole vehicle and the transfer fee.
But not all orders can sell for a good price.
Taking the Model Y after-drive version as an example, the official guidance price today is 316,900 yuan, but before that, this model has three historical guidance prices of 276,000, 280,000 and 300,000. The cheaper the guide order, the better it can sell.
A Tesla Model Y prospective owner with a 276,000 guidance price order told Shentu that his transfer fee was 11,000 yuan, which was cheap and not sold.
For scalpers, whoever can find earlier, cheaper orders can make more money.
Akin had posted in Little Red Book to buy a Tesla order. Someone left a message: "Is the Model Y with a guidance price of 300,000?" Akin refused. He prefers model Y orders with a purchase guide price of 276,000 or 280,000.
The account is calculated like this: the official guidance price of the Model Y after-drive version is 316,900 yuan, Akin is 295,000 yuan for takeaway, if he acquires 276,000 orders, even if he has to pay the seller a purchase fee of 10,000 yuan, then he can earn nearly 10,000 yuan; if it is a 280,000 order, he can earn at least a few thousand yuan. But if he buys an order with a guide price of 300,000, then there is little profit left. The higher the guide price of the vehicle he buys, the lower the profit he can get.
As prices rise, earlier, cheaper-priced orders become scarcer. Scalper Sun Yu told Shentu that the purchase price of the Model Y after-run version order with a guidance price of 276,000 yuan has risen to 10,000 yuan.
Sources / News, Company Website
Resell orders are fraught with risk
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the transaction, the buyer and seller will sign a contract. Even if there is a contract, such a private transaction is actually full of risks.
If you resell between individuals, the buyer will be relatively more risky.
"Because the car is in the seller's name. If the seller and the buyer are in different cities, the seller needs to send a driving license and registration certificate when transferring the house. It takes time to send it, at this time, your money has been hit, what if the other party is not willing to transfer and suddenly repent? You spent money and you can't get a car. Or, even if you are in the same city, the seller gave you the car, but the information was not given to you, and you could not pass the household. Zhang Kai pointed out.
Although many people also state in the contract that "if Party A fails to cooperate with the transfer after the deadline, it is necessary to compensate Party B for liquidated damages according to the new car rental market", but once the seller defaults, the buyer's rights protection cost is very high.
And once the scalper intervenes, not only the buyer, but also the seller has a high probability of stepping on the pit.
Scalper Sun Yu told Shentu that they generally prefer that the seller pay the remaining balance first, and then transfer the money to the seller when the car is raised. Shentu questioned this: "What if the car is pulled away, but the money is not called, or the car is raised and is not ready to be collected?" Sun Yu only responded with a slight reassurance: "After all, the contract is signed, and I will not lie to you." ”
"Even if there is an agreement, the cost of rights protection for ordinary consumers is still very high." Zhang Kai said: "Second-hand car dealers with large-scale stores offline are relatively reliable. They will first sign an agreement with the seller, then advance the full amount, collect the seller's information required for the transfer, put the car out and put it in their stores; after finding the buyer, they will sign an agreement with the buyer to assist them in the transfer. The risk of finding scalpers can be great. ”
Who can curb scalper hype?
Under the traditional distribution system of automobiles, the depot is responsible for production, and the dealer is responsible for sales. The depot will set an official guide price, but the dealer will have a certain amount of discretion. When the product is in short supply, the dealer chooses to sell at a higher price; when the slow sales, it will give consumers a certain discount.
But Tesla broke with this tradition, selling products directly to consumers as a car manufacturer, and the price is transparent, the prices in all stores in China remain uniform, and there is no middleman to earn the difference.
When scalpers began to resell orders, it was equivalent to impacting Tesla's direct sales system of unified pricing nationwide to a certain extent. Tesla is also alert to this.
On March 16, the big V "Han Chao" exposed a Tesla "non-resale commitment letter", Tesla required the owner of one or more cumulative orders to buy multiple Tesla vehicles to sign a "non-resale commitment letter", promising not to resell to a third party within one year, and the violator paid a penalty of 20% of the vehicle's fare.
Taking the Tesla Model 3 after-drive version of the model as an example, the guidance price of this model is 279,000 yuan, and the 20% penalty is more than 50,000 yuan.
According to the Red Star Capital Bureau, the relevant person in charge of Tesla confirmed the authenticity of the "no resale commitment letter". The person in charge said that the "non-resale commitment letter" is a preventive measure in response to the recent phenomenon of individuals buying multiple Teslas at one time on the official website, in order to maintain a fair and transparent car purchase experience for consumers, and will not have any impact on the normal car purchase and overall experience of ordinary consumers.
Zhang Xiang, an automotive analyst, said: "Tesla has raised prices three times in a month, and the price increase is very large, causing scalpers to start speculating on orders. Such a commitment letter issued by Tesla is also to eliminate scalper speculation and protect the rights and interests of consumers. ”
But in fact, on the deep way of research, since Tesla issued a similar policy, many scalpers are still selling orders, but they will not choose to go to the official website to place orders, but choose to buy orders from car owners. Acquisition orders cost relatively high, but scalping Tesla orders is still profitable.
In addition to the introduction of the "no resale commitment letter" policy, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, pointed out to the media that the increase in the order amount is one of the ways to effectively curb the spread of the scalper phenomenon, "Tesla's deposit is 1,000 yuan, even if the order cannot be transferred, the loss borne by the scalper is small." If the amount is larger, scalpers may consider reducing the risk of hoarding, and the orders circulating in the market will be reduced accordingly."
In fact, many scalpers are also worried about whether the car will fall into their hands while collecting cars and hoarding orders. After all, Tesla's delivery cycle is long, and there are many price variables, and no one can predict that the price of Tesla will rise in the future.
In the future, if the price of raw materials is controlled and the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles falls, Tesla's official price will certainly decline, and the profit space of scalping orders will be squeezed to the end.
*The caption and illustration in the text are from pexels. At the request of the interviewees, A Jin, Ah Tao, Sun Yu, Zhang Kai, and Zhang Li are pseudonyms.