There are many problems in online second-hand transactions, sometimes sellers deceive buyers, falsely advertise, conceal product defects, and even sell fake and shoddy products; It also happens from time to time that buyers fool sellers, such as malicious returns, unreasonable refusals, and requests for refunds after deliberately damaging goods. In this case, it is difficult to protect the rights and interests of both parties, both are consumers, who should be protected?
The Black Cat complaint platform issued the "Top Ten Consumer Alerts in 2023" in March this year, aiming to help consumers effectively identify and avoid risks. In this list, second-hand platforms have become the focus of attention.
Recently. As a new consumption model that conserves resources and is environmentally friendly, second-hand trading is expanding at an unprecedented rate. From the initial exchange of unused items to the current trading of interest-driven products, the second-hand market has become more than just a platform for disposing of idle items, but also a channel for young people to find opportunities to save money and even earn extra income.
From renting a house to settle down, entrepreneurship assistance, to celebrity peripherals and blind boxes, they can all be traded, and even financial consulting, agency design, language teaching, and all kinds of money-saving card and coupon transactions.
According to data released by a second-hand trading platform, 45% of the platform's transactions are related to interest. The transaction volume of blind boxes, decorative wigs, Hanfu accessories, LO skirts, and celebrity peripherals has increased exponentially, of which the transaction volume of blind boxes has increased by 137 times at the beginning of 2024 compared with the same period last year.
These transactions, which are based on common interests, are more likely to lead to friendship. Interest consumption represented by games, pet plants, model games and animations, etc., generates about 40 chats per order. 40% of these chats take place after the transaction, and many buyers and sellers establish new friendships and continue to communicate after confirming the receipt of the goods.
As of May 2023, the platform has more than 500 million registered users, the vast majority of whom are young people, of which the post-95 generation earns an average of 2,700 yuan.
Perhaps due to the slowdown in per capita disposable income growth, young people who are already low incomes and keen on online shopping are becoming more cautious. There are even money-saving interest groups on Douban. As of May 2024, the group has brought together more than 800,000 young people to discuss life hacks for saving money and gathering wool.
Shopping strategies, taking the initiative to find coupons, choosing to spell orders to get more favorable prices, and pursuing the ultimate cost-effective life seems to have become the main theme of young people's consumption. The second-hand market, which not only meets consumer needs, but also conforms to the concept of saving money, and occasionally makes money, has become the choice of more people shopping.
Today, the transaction scale of the domestic second-hand market has exceeded one trillion yuan. With more and more young people joining, the future development space may be wider. Some reports predict that by 2025, the scale of idle goods trading in the mainland is expected to exceed 3 trillion yuan.
The support of national policies also promotes the vigorous development of the second-hand market.
As early as 1991, the state set up a non-profit social organization specializing in the recycling, sales, remanufacturing, service and scientific research of idle items, laying the foundation for the development of the second-hand market. In the 21st century, with the rapid development of Internet technology, second-hand transactions have gradually shifted from offline to online, and second-hand goods transactions have gradually become commercialized. Especially after 2010, a large number of companies specializing in second-hand e-commerce have emerged, and a variety of second-hand trading platforms have brought more choices to consumers.
As of September 2022, the overall pattern of the second-hand market has shown a trend of one super and many strong. Xianyu is the only family, and although other platforms also have a certain user base, the scale is still small compared with Xianyu. Perhaps because he saw that it was easier for a comprehensive second-hand platform to accumulate users, he turned to a strategic investment in Hongbulin, which focuses on second-hand luxury goods, in November 2022 and completed the brand upgrade.
While comprehensive platforms have an advantage in overall market share, vertical platforms may have higher professionalism and user stickiness in their areas of focus. Both types of platforms have their own advantages, and it will take more time and the market to test which one is more popular.
With the proposal of the national "double carbon" goal, the trend of further development of the second-hand market has been continued, especially the introduction of a series of favorable policies, and the development of the second-hand market has entered the fast lane.
In terms of social influence, the prosperity of the second-hand trading market has also led to the development of related industries. For example, professional second-hand commodity appraisal and evaluation agencies came into being, providing more professional services for the market.
With the rapid expansion of the market, many problems have gradually emerged. Due to the particularity of second-hand goods, it is difficult to define whose responsibility is once the physical product does not match the description or there is a quality problem, and the process of applying for a refund is cumbersome and time-consuming. What's more worrying is that the quality of second-hand goods is uneven, and compared with ordinary e-commerce platforms, the situation of mismatched goods is more prominent. In addition to this, logistics and invoicing issues are also obstacles that hinder the smooth flow of second-hand transactions.
According to the statistics of the Black Cat Big Data Center, the number of complaints related to second-hand platforms will exceed 105,000 in 2023. Most of the main complaining users are young people born in the 95s and 00s, and users aged 20-30 account for more than 60%.
In the face of frequent problems in the rapid development of the second-hand market, we must realize the importance of regulating the market and protecting the rights and interests of consumers. The government, enterprises and all parties in society need to work together to establish a more perfect regulatory mechanism and integrity system to ensure the healthy and orderly development of the second-hand market.
Source: Beijing News