“Bought 4 bags for 100 yuan on 1688，Really fragrant。”A Douban netizen posted a post on the Stingy Women’s Federation，quickly received more than 100 replies and 250 collections。

You can buy a bag for more than 20，It’s not uncommon on 1688——

Here，20 yuan can buy a pair of shoes that don’t scratch your feet，50 Ocean can buy products produced by Guess OEM；The same earrings cost more than 30 yuan on Taobao，Search on 1688 for only 4、5 yuan；Self-heating hot pot as low as 5-10 yuan a serving；T-shirt about 20、The unit price of pants does not exceed 50 yuan 、You can buy a long skirt for 80...

Shopping screenshots personally tested by the poisonous eye editorial department

Many people have only recently known what 1688 is: it is a wholesale platform under Alibaba，It has the same origin as Taobao，Many products are even identical；But because of the B2B model (business to business)、Channel、Various reasons such as announcement，It has never entered the mainstream e-commerce world，It’s even a little cramped because it’s not a big name。

But in 2020 when the epidemic strikes，The cheap and affordable 1688 is full of vitality: since the same model is cheaper，Why not buy it happily？

Poison Eyes (ID: youhaoxifilm) found，more than 1688，Taobao special edition、Pinduoduo and other low-price platforms have gradually become the new favorites of young people，Sharing your cheap shopping experiences is becoming more and more popular in the online world。What is worth buying、On Xiaohongshu and other sub-item platforms，Many bloggers posted their own experiences: “Teach you how to eat Haidilao snacks at a discount，KFC Family Bucket” “How to spend half the price on home decoration” “How slum girls buy bm style large intestine hair ties on 1688”…

Everything seems to be foreshadowing，This generation of young people has downgraded their consumption。

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Has nearly 3 on Zhihu.The "hard-core stingy" blogger with 50,000 followers said to Poisonous Eyes，Since this year，She found that her articles were usually related to "saving money、Fair price、Stingy、Related to "Pulling Wool"，The flow rate is much larger than that of common good grass species。

And platforms like 1688 are becoming more and more popular，Even senior fashion blogger "Late Night Hair" has started Amway 1688，A favorable comment under the article hopes that "Late Night Fa Yai" will quickly publish another guide recommending 1688 stores。

Started by being stingy，Some emerging lifestyles are becoming popular among a small number of people。The "Fire (Financial Independence and Retiring Early)" family is a typical representative，They maintain low material desires、Live a minimalist life，Choose to retire once you save 25 times your annual living expenses，After that, I will live on 4% of the annual financial income。

Fire people are looking for the shortest path to wealth and freedom，To escape from a life of having to sell one’s time in exchange for income，Live Financial Management、The life of raising flowers and feeding cats。Of course，This kind of life，Also needs sustained low desire as support。

Characters in "Those Young People Who Retire Early"，Are you free?？》The two Fire clan Lao Jin and Xiao Dou，They all choose to move to the suburbs or the countryside，“Spend your own money，Eat your own food，Do your own thing。”

Another member of the Fire clan Jianghu，has been a product manager in a major Internet company for nearly ten years，After being “optimized” last year，He left the Internet industry，Replaced Apple with mid-range Android phone、Don’t buy a car、Basically cook at home、Rarely buy clothes，And plan to be a DINK for life。

And in the Douban group Stingy Women’s Federation with more than 330,000 members，Contains the simplest appearance of consumption upgrade。Here，The most common post is “Want to buy this，Please persuade me to quit”、"Is this worth buying?" etc.，And when the poster is interested in a certain piece of clothing、When a certain bag makes my heart flutter，What I often get in the comment area are “warnings”。

In the deduction group，They also tirelessly share their stingy experiences - such as when traveling，You can find someone to buy your favorite hotel tickets on Taobao，Can be 100-500 yuan cheaper each time；When you want to exercise，You can first find the cheapest way to apply for a card online。

Withdraw team members to avoid all waste as much as possible，If you can’t afford it, don’t consume it、Consume less if you can，Will be based on the importance of consumption、Control yourself with urgency。

Image source Douban netizen @婷江

But the most extreme consumption downgrade，Probably the Wool Party。Mentioned in the hard-core story "The Best Day to Stock Up on Toilet Paper"，Xiao Guo, a former Fortune 500 employee “It’s been a long time since I’ve consumed anything at full price。”He will still enjoy life、Travel around the world，It’s just that the destination is determined by the offer where you go。

In Xiao Guo’s life，He will use his bank points to redeem a free Burger King lunch；Take advantage of the promotions of a certain payment terminal，Spend 0 in a large supermarket.63 yuan bought something worth more than 50 yuan；What’s even more exaggerated，He arranged a night at a five-star hotel including breakfast for himself and his wife，Only spent 9 yuan。

No matter these emerging life bloggers，Still experienced buyers of 1688，Most of them are "poor people with time"。

The grass-growing blogger "Fei Fanshan" has several fan groups，She shared her observations with Venomous Eyes，She thinks people who are keen on shopping for goods on 1688，Mostly students and mothers。This is not difficult to understand，The student party has no income，As for Bao’s mother, after her children take up most of the family expenses，Want to save money as much as possible。

TAs like to buy mobile phone cases on 1688、Hairband、Small jewelry、Socks、Mobile phone masks and other daily groceries that don’t pay attention to the brand；There are also decorative paintings、Ornaments、Glass、Storage boxes and other household items；There are layers of imported snacks with distribution premiums、Drinks、Tableware and other categories，The price purchased at 1688 is also more friendly。

But there are not only cheap things on 1688，"Lu Chen" from Zhihu spent 6,000 yuan on two mattresses，But she thinks the comfort and experience are better than the two mattresses she bought at an offline store for 18,080 yuan。

The price of Japanese White Lovers biscuits (12 pieces) (Source: @ Penguin Food and Drink Guide)

1688 which originally only served wholesalers，Countless shopping tips have also been studied by ordinary consumers。

“Many Taobao sellers are actually dealers，Does not produce goods，But get the goods from the source manufacturer。This type of product，Buy directly from the factory at 1688，You can save a lot of money。” said the review blogger “Penguin Eating and Drinking Guide”，This is also the reason why many 1688 buyers fall into the trap。

“Penguin Eating and Drinking Guide” once bought a dinner plate on Taobao，Then find the manufacturer on 1688 and place an order，The packaging box shipped by 1688 is even the same as Taobao，But the price is half cheaper。Some netizens also found it on Zhihu，Place an order for related beauty equipment at "Zhongshan Aimanfen Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd." on 1688，30% cheaper than the same product on Taobao。

Comparison of prices of the same plate on 1688 and Taobao

A qualified "consumption downgrade player"，You also need to have a good understanding of the source of everything-the various factories on 1688。

Pay attention to the location 188bet sports betting app download of the factory when buying things，The possibility of stepping on thunder will be much reduced。

For example，Most makeup brushes come from Cangzhou, Hebei，Children’s clothing is mainly produced in Zhili, Huzhou, Zhejiang。Buy at the right place，The chance of being cheated will be appropriately reduced。"Fat Fan Fan" said to Poisonous Eyes，She buys things on 1688，Will pay special attention to the place of shipment。Knowledge blogger Half Buddha Immortal also mentioned it，Like clothing industry，Basically Nantong、Changzhou、Jining、Ningbo、Haining、Shishi、Monopolized by companies in Dongguan and other places，Shoes are from Jinjiang、Putian、Qingdao、Dongguan、Nantong。

If you want to buy factory goods without middlemen making the difference，You need to pay careful attention to the seller’s company profile。

This includes registered capital、Number of employees、Transactions within 90 days，Whether the business scope on the business license includes details such as "production and processing"。If this store is the source manufacturer certified by 1688、Substantial registered capital (if it can reach more than 5 million)、Many employees、Many collectors、High number of transactions，High return rate，So most of them are relatively reliable。

The business situation of a 1688 certified source manufacturer

If you feel that the above method is too cumbersome，A "hard-core stingy" with 14 years of experience sharing a very practical method，Find a store with the 1688 certified bull head logo，Select the most popular products、Best rated、Businesses that take real photos，"Someone else has already screened it for me"。

Bull head logo

As one Zhihu netizen said，“It feels so good to visit 1688 online，Even if you just buy a pack of hot pot base ingredients for 5 yuan，There seems to be a millionaire boss，The pleasure of making a big purchase。”

However，Compared to the exquisite art and the always-online waiters on Taobao stores，Free shipping is often not available、Shopping on 1688 where after-sales service is not 100% guaranteed，It’s like opening a blind box，Experience varies from person to person。

A friend told Poison Eyes，The first time she shopped on 1688 was to buy a cardboard box，I rarely use this software after I accidentally stepped on a minefield；The "hard-core stingy" will choose 1688 sellers with relatively complete after-sales services，Almost never stepped on a trap。

Of course，The wind of relegation has never hit everyone’s heart。A friend worth over 100 million told Poison Eyes，He usually also does online shopping，But I still prefer offline consumption。“Buy headphones，Want to listen first。Buying clothes，Want to try first。In addition (shopping) is more of a communication activity with family。”He thinks，Really rich people buy luxury goods，More are just here，Just went in and bought it。

Seller will not downgrade

Another important part of this inclusive ecological chain is the seller.

Sellers have many situations，Big manufacturers with strong strength often produce and sell their own products；Regular dealers often serve manufacturers that focus on production itself；As for small sellers who are weak，Sometimes it often only exists as a resale character。

"Hard-core stingy" will search for Yu Meijing dealers on Baidu，Real shot through factory、Comparison between product packaging and official website, etc.，Lock a reliable dealer。

1688 and Taobao sometimes have the same store，For example, a women's shoe factory will open stores on 1688 and Taobao at the same time (the corporate legal person is the same person)。And the exact same shoes，Its positioning on Taobao is 350+，It may only be sold on 1688 for just over 200。The same non-stick pan、Taobao price of street stall goods，It may be double 1688 or even more。

You can see in the company file whether this company is also on Taobao、Open a store on 1688

Except the same store，Some 1688 buyers are also keen on looking for foundries。

In the past few years，Fredda was found to be the supplier of many big-name 188bet app hyaluronic acid solutions，Also started to be chased by some consumers。Another example，The OEM factory for Three Squirrels’ Strawberry Crisps is called “Jiangsu Perez Food Co., Ltd.”，Li Ziqi’s chopped pepper sauce comes from “Sichuan Kou Daxiang Food Co., Ltd.”。

Duan Tongyuan Store、OEMs are still a minority after all，Factory goods are the hard currency of 1688。A Taobao special edition staff member who is also an Alibaba product like 1688 emphasized to Poisonous Eyes during the interview，There are only two kinds of goods in the world，A brand product，A factory product。

"Hard-core stingy" introduced to Poisonous Eyes，In fact, for many Taobao hits in the same category，Their purchase channels may be the same。After all，It is also very common for one factory to supply several Taobao stores。

Guarding your own factory，Why not open your own Taobao store to sell it？

The old man who sells women’s bags says，Now I want to start a Taobao store，At least 800,000-900,000 is needed。From selection、Photography、Model，Go to survey、Planning，It takes considerable effort。And，This also means manual adjustments，From employing people for wholesale to employing people for retail，Build an e-commerce team from scratch，Change the warehousing supply model。

In simple terms，1688’s price advantage，Because it saves the cost of Taobao art and brand promotion，Based on the cost advantage of raw materials，Make money by order volume。

Lao Ba told poisonous eyes，There are 3 main sales channels，Respectively, sample processing、Distribution and cross-border orders。In simple terms，Processing of incoming samples is based on the customer’s design needs to earn processing fees；Distribution is supplying goods to some Taobao stores，These Taobao stores are not for production，No need to stock either，After someone placed an order on Taobao store，Laoba can send it to consumers directly；And cross-border are some orders from abroad。

With many "stingy people" occupying 1688，Lao Ba also knows that there are many "individual customers" in his store，But he doesn’t really care，Because according to the background data，30% of orders come from retail，But it only accounts for 1% of the amount。

Precisely because the models of retail and wholesale are so different，Many people still focus on wholesale like Lao Ba，Retail is just incidental，Xiao Qing, who makes crystal products, made the same choice as Lao Ba。

Xiaoqing said to Poisonous Eyes，His wholesale accounted for 70% share，Another 20% are micro-business customers，The latter operates with zero assets through dropshipping，You only need to post on WeChat Moments to solicit business to earn the price difference。And only 5-10% are real retail customers。

He told Poison Eyes，Because of making accessories，During 520, the traffic of his store was 2-3 times that of usual，At that time, many retail customers wanted some small gifts from sellers，Pack up the things you took，But Xiaoqing could not meet their needs: "I am in the wholesale business，Single profit is already very low，It really won’t make any money if you give him things anymore。”

The interesting thing is，Perhaps due to the "invasion" of individual travelers，Lao Ba mentioned，Many 1688 stores now pay more attention to the art and product descriptions，Attract scattered customers。

Some stores have even begun to “reverse tricks” on consumers，Create a store without supply，From Taobao、JD.com、Purchase goods from Pinduoduo and other places，Using the information gap between buyers and sellers，Earn 25% of the price difference。And the basis for all this to be established，Because consumers default to 1688 as the bottom line of psychological expectations in major platforms，without comparing prices。

From saving money to saving money, it is rationality, restraint and pragmatism

Behind the 1688 trend is a familiar term: consumption downgrade。And it is mentioned frequently，Actually, it just happened in the past two years。

All of this can be traced back to changes in the 188bet Online Sports Betting and Casino macroeconomic environment.

In recent years，The squeeze-out costs of high housing prices are becoming increasingly obvious，Facing the pressure of down payment and mortgage loan，Public consumption in other aspects has generally been compressed。Proportion of house-related consumption，10% from 2005，Significantly increased to 22% in 2015；And food，The proportion of beverage and tobacco consumption dropped from 37% in 2005 to 30% in 2015。

In the face of the pressure of the house，People’s willingness to consume，Showing weakness as early as two years ago。

July 2018，Retail sales of 50 key large-scale retail companies nationwide decreased by 3% year-on-year.9%，The decline is 8 larger than the same period last year.9 percentage points。National Bureau of Statistics data display，October 2019，The year-on-year growth rate of total retail sales of consumer goods nationwide was 7.2%，The actual growth rate after deducting price increases is 4.9%，A record low。

And the arrival of the epidemic，It even makes Buddhist young people tighten their belts。Some people are "optimized"、Some people have their salaries reduced，Even people whose jobs are not affected，Also pessimistic about the future，Changed my behavior-avoiding excessive consumption in the past，Start saving。

Shared by a Douban netizen，I used to order takeout a lot，Only order takeout merchants with physical stores，4-5 times a week，60-80 each time，There are 2,000 yuan in expenses a month。Today，She is used to going to the local farmer’s market to buy the freshest and cheapest vegetables，Cooking for the family，Successfully controlled food expenditure to just over one thousand a month。

EpidemicThe impact has also made the global economy hot and cold. 

1st Quarter 2020，Domestic retail sales fell 22% year-on-year，In addition to food retail sales maintaining positive growth，All others declined。Australian retailer AdoreBeauty reported，Since mid-March，Many women are starting to buy hair dye and other products，DIY at home，Instead of the usual expensive hair services。

It is in this context，1688 trend began to rise in mainstream public opinion——

Before this year，Will discuss online、Most of the people who pay attention to 1688 are B-side users，“Hard-core stingy” tells Poisonous Eyes，She posted 1688 articles last year，Many readers didn’t know it at the time，One after another expressed their opinions: "Can I also buy 1688?"；And this year she posted related articles again，It is quite popular among fans。In the stingy group、Money-saving groups and other popular Douban groups，1688 has also been mentioned significantly more times since this year。

Last year, a netizen posted Amway 1688 in the money saving group，No one cares

This generation of young people are starting to save money，Saving money while doing so。They chose to abandon the consumption trap，Condensing one’s consumption desires，Pay for future desires。

In a group with more than 30,000 members, "This is how I saved the down payment for a house！”，No one fantasizes about getting rich overnight through speculation，Instead, he diligently saves the income from his job，Plus take care of some financial management。

A friend who was once keen on online shopping said to Poisonous Eyes，A friend who was once keen on online shopping said to Poisonous Eyes，Because moving is too troublesome，Learning to “break away from others”。She was once passionate about beauty，Various lipsticks in the past two years、I bought a lot of eye shadows when the eye shadow trend was very popular，But found that the marketing component is greater。Today，She is numb to consumerism，More accustomed to hoarding some practical things。

With the decreasing desire of young people to consume，The discussion of white card economy has also entered the mainstream view。

Mentioned in "Das Kapital"，Most people earn income by selling their labor force。And when the brand uses the glamorous star offensive，Trying to create the illusion that “I will be better off if I buy this”，To "easily" earn consumers' 188bet online sports betting "hard-earned money"，These brands can obtain a path of wealth accumulation encouraged by "Rich Dad Poor Dad": passive income。

Knowledge blogger Half-Buddha Immortal also mentioned it，Products such as shoes, clothing, luggage and bags have been completely industrialized，The cost and technology itself are very transparent。A bag with a light luxury concept、Shoes，Although young people can afford it，But there is a high brand premium，Is a powerful tool for harvesting contemporary young people。

When making consumption decisions, consider practicality and cost-effectiveness，When the non-brand logo is priced at a premium，Everything is clearer，Select 1688，It is also a vote with your feet against consumerism。

As long as the quality is decent、10 yuan canvas bag，As long as the quality is decent，It bears the attribute of practical value。Just like what "hard-core stingy" said to Poisonous Eyes，It turns out that her skin care products are of SK-II grade，But now she prefers affordable alternatives with clear efficacy like The Ordinary。

A Zhihu netizen’s question hit straight to the soul: “The shampoo that costs more than 300 yuan is really useful，But is there any shampoo that is 5 times better than a 60 yuan shampoo?？Is a 600 yuan cushion foundation really many times better than 240 yuan?？”

Affected by the overseas epidemic，China’s foreign trade factories are also facing severe challenges。Statistics display，The order volume of a large number of foreign trade factories has dropped sharply，There is a problem with the capital chain，Factory capacity is vacant，Loss of workers。Many foreign trade factories have also opened stores on Taobao’s special offer，With a view to exporting to domestic sales。

At the factory direct purchase festival held by Taobao Special Edition at the end of March，145 industrial belts across the country、More than 300,000 source factories，Harvested 1.100 million new orders。There are many foreign trade manufacturers among them，A glove company in Yiwu, Zhejiang was originally worried about this year’s bleak foreign trade business，Serious inventory backlog，I didn’t expect to participate in the direct shopping festival，More than 200,000 pairs sold in 3 days，"This wave returned a lot of blood"。

In the context of seamless connection between goods and people，The “street stall economy” came into being，1688 has also specially opened a "Night Market Purchase" section。A Douban netizen who named his stall "Pig Girl on the Wind Channel"，One day in early June，By selling slippers、hat、Socks, etc.，Her profit margin can reach about 100%。

The picture on the right is from Douban netizen @Mangou is a skinny dog

However，The street stall economy is more like a tornado，After less than half a month in the public opinion field，has quickly dissipated。This is not incomprehensible，After all, the street stall economy may have helped 1688 reduce inventory，But stall owners still have to face the top priority of business。

Setting up a stall itself is not an easy task，A stall owner once sold a box of bird's nest rice dumplings for 88 yuan before the Dragon Boat Festival，The items sold seem to be full of design，But because the category is single、Overpriced，No one is interested。An Ultraman brother who chooses to sell internet celebrity bubble machines，Business is also slow because of product selection。

Even if it is as cheap as 1688，Also affected by the "consumption downgrade"。

Lao Ba said to the poisonous eyes，Everyone’s consumption decisions have tightened，The premium his upstream can earn is getting smaller and smaller。A bag that once had an ex-factory price of 70 yuan，You can sell it for over 200 on Taobao。But in just 5 years，The fixed multiple ratio (retail price/cost price) has been reduced from 3 times to 2 times，Bags with the same ex-factory price today，On Taobao you can only get the price of 158。

After all，Premier Li Keqiang mentioned it not long ago，"There are 600 million people in (China) whose monthly income is only 1,000 yuan"。

Lao Ba told poisonous 188bet online sports betting eyes，Although his factory is still operating normally during the epidemic，But the shutdown rate of nearby factories reaches 50%，From the consumption data of retail e-commerce platforms，Everyone has much less demand for bags。

But some 1688 merchants are still strong。Xiao Qing said that he has hardly felt the impact of the epidemic，Dimou sent many private messages to sellers on 1688 to see if they can be interviewed，Most of them have been read and cannot be read back，Although there was a store owner who chatted with Poisonous Eyes for a few words at first，But during the busy 618 period，Because I am busy with business，Rejected the interview request。

The stingy God cannot make everyone rich，But saving money may be the new normal。

Reference:

1. Is the same thing 1688 cheaper than Taobao？Zhihu

2. What are the recommended shops on the 1688 platform？Zhihu

(The content of this article is the independent opinion of the author，Does not represent favoritism。）

*Source of this article: WeChat public account “Poison Eyes”(ID: youhaoxifilm)，Author: Wu Yinan，Original title: "Young people surfing on 1688: Are they downgrading their consumption or being stingy online？》.