Signs for tobacco, alcohol and gift回收
Chutian Metropolis Daily News Reporters Liu Li, Xie Ling, Chen Jun
With the Spring Festival approaching, walking through the streets and alleys of Wuhan, one can see many shops quietly putting up signs that read "High Price Gift回收." Where do these gifts come from, who buys them, why is business so booming, and what kind of profit chain lies behind it? The reporter has been conducting interviews in recent days.
Undercover Investigation: If you need 100 bottles of Maotai, I have them
A few days ago, the reporter went to a tobacco and alcohol shop on Liberation Avenue, claiming to want to buy 53-degree Feitian Maotai. The female boss said it was now selling for 1,000 yuan per bottle, with discounts available if buying in bulk. "I want 20 bottles, will there be enough stock?" the reporter intentionally asked. Hearing about a big customer, the female boss boasted, "I do回收business, and many peers can adjust goods mutually. Even if you want 100 bottles, I can get them!"
Yesterday, the reporter, pretending to be a seller, called the female boss again. She quoted 800 yuan per bottle, and mentioned that prices would drop further after the Spring Festival because more people would be reselling then. It's evident that just by reselling a bottle of Maotai locally, one could net at least 200 yuan profit.
After visiting multiple回收shops, the reporter found that the回收prices for famous cigarettes and alcohols were generally around 50% to 70% of their retail price. For example, the soft-packaged premium Huanghelou cigarettes, which retail for 600 yuan per pack, had a回收price of around 500 yuan. The 52-degree regular-packaged Wuliangye, with a retail price of 780-800 yuan, had a回收price of only 480 yuan after a 40% discount.
The owner of a tobacco and alcohol shop on Zhongnan Road said that for transactions involving over 10 cartons of cigarettes or whole cases of alcohol, the回收price would be slightly higher. There were even cases where customers negotiated prices and then asked the owner to pick up the goods directly from a designated location.
Revealing Secrets: Buying Low and Selling High for Profit
Industry insiders stated that there are two peak seasons for gift回收—around the Mid-Autumn Festival and between New Year's Day and the Spring Festival. A well-performing回收shop could make hundreds of thousands of yuan in just two months. "This industry is all about buying low and selling high, profiting from the difference in the middle," said Mr. Wei, who has been in the gift回收business for many years. Prices for tobacco and alcohol回收are very transparent, generally not differing by more than 100 yuan.
Besides local reselling, Xiao Xing (a pseudonym), who runs a tobacco and alcohol shop on Zisha Road in Shahu, said that after回收tobacco and alcohol, they are sold to wholesalers at a slightly higher price than the回收price. However, Xiao Xing remained tight-lipped about the details of the wholesalers, calling it an industry secret that shouldn't be casually investigated.
Xiao Xing said that currently being the peak season for回收, prices fluctuate frequently, almost changing every hour, so he needs to stay in close contact with his wholesalers. He prepares 5,000 yuan in cash daily for回收purposes. If the volume of回收is large, he would coordinate with peers for "joint purchases."
How many shops in Wuhan are involved in gift回收? Mr. Wei said that during festivals, almost all tobacco and alcohol shops with storefronts also engage in回收business.
Currently, some astute回收merchants are actively going online, posting ads on websites like Baixing.com and Ganji.com, while some shops have even registered their own websites to post information.
Changes: Department Store Gift Cards Becoming a Focus of回收
Experience is crucial in this line of work, as counterfeit tobacco and alcohol are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The owner of a tobacco and alcohol回收store near Sichuan Gate in Wuchang said that in recent years, department store gift cards, which involve simpler transactions, have become a new focus for回收.
A couple of days ago, the reporter waited outside a gift shop on Hangkong Road. A student-like young man took out a 1,000-yuan department store gift card, and the boss offered to回收it at an 80% discount. Subsequently, the boss asked the young man to wait inside while he went across the street to check the balance on the card using a POS machine. Ten minutes later, the boss returned, saying, "The card is fully loaded," and handed the young man 800 yuan.
Unlike tobacco and alcohol, the discount for回收gift cards varies greatly, ranging from 70% to 85%, with a selling price usually at 92% to 93% of face value. The larger the amount, the higher the margin, so high-value gift cards are more popular and receive higher discounts.
Department Opinions
Mr. Xu Yongfeng, head of the Market Division of Hongshan Branch of Wuhan Administration for Industry and Commerce, said that the state has not explicitly prohibited gift回收, making this industry a "gray area." Many回收shops are originally fully documented tobacco and alcohol grocery stores, and their gift回收operations are quite covert, even offering door-to-door services, making it difficult to obtain evidence.
Wuhan's 12315 hotline stated that if consumers purchase counterfeit goods from a gift回收shop, they can report it to the administration for industry and commerce. However, consumers must provide their own evidence, such as getting appraisals from quality inspection departments, before the administration will take action.
Expert Perspective
Mr. Feng Guilin, Director of the Institute of Sociology at Hubei Academy of Social Sciences: The rise of gift回收is inevitable and has its rationality from the perspective of preventing waste.
More people send gifts during holidays, and the value of gifts is increasing, reflecting the development of material living standards to a certain level in recent years. From a market perspective, gift回收can be profitable for some people, allowing the residual product value generated by visits among relatives and friends to be realized.
The custom of exchanging gifts does not necessarily correlate with corruption; rather, excessive gift-giving leading to corruption and waste makes gift回收a channel for bribery and money laundering. We should not turn the originally civilian, affectionate, and friendly custom of giving gifts into something corrupt and vulgar.
The回收market is a mix of good and bad elements, providing a convenient gateway for counterfeit goods to enter the market. Relevant functional departments should strengthen management.