Secondhand market offers first-class bargains

A mother discovers business opportunities while selling used books, as trading in pre-owned items becomes increasingly common. Yan Dongjie reports.

In the basement of her mother's house in southern Beijing, Zhang Rong spends hours every day reading many children's books one by one and classifying them according to the content.

The 36-year-old mother of a first-year primary school student has noticed a great need for used children's books among parents. So, she recently decided to make a career out of it.

"Children need to read a lot of books, but if you buy them all it adds up to a large expense. I hope more parents can afford original picture books for their children and the price won't be an obstacle," Zhang said.

Used better than none

According to Sun Xinyi, mother of a 2-year-old boy in Changchun, Jilin province, it's not just about books.

She said more young parents are willing to buy secondhand products for their children because these must-have items are usually only used for a short time, so buying them secondhand is a good way to save money.

According to statistics released by MobTech, an intelligent information platform, secondhand deals are more popular among people born after 1995 than those born in the previous decade.

From toys and buggies to crawling mats and protective fences, the 32-year-old has bought a range of secondhand baby products online since her son was 3 months old.

Used books are the items she buys most. "They are usually in mint condition, but about 20 to 30 percent of the original price. With all the secondhand toys and study materials available, my son can enjoy more than I could afford (if the items were bought new). The secondhand market provides more possibilities for children," Sun said, adding that the new lifestyle has eased the financial pressure on her.

Like Sun, more than 20 million users on Xianyu, a popular secondhand exchange platform owned by Alibaba, are mothers, according to data the company released on Mother's Day last year.

Those customers bought more than 50 million secondhand child-related products in 2020, a rise of 8.5 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, the number of child-related used items posted on Xianyu rose by more than 70 percent year-on-year in both 2019 and 2020.

Demand drives business

"A new picture book can cost more than 100 yuan ($15), while a secondhand one is usually 20 percent of that price," Zhang said.

In August, having tired of the difficulty of buying used children's books, she decided to make things easier for other moms by starting her own company to import and sell secondhand books.

She often looks online and in stores for used books to give to her son and his friends, but it is not easy to find high-quality items. She sometimes asks friends in the United States to help buy original picture books for children, even though it is inconvenient and usually expensive.

"When I studied in Philadelphia, I saw secondhand bookstores everywhere. I was a regular customer. They are now appearing in some cities in China, and people are more accepting of secondhand books," she said.

Having gained a master's in education from the University of Pennsylvania about 10 years ago, Zhang is a key opinion leader among the parents of her son's friends.

More and more parents ask her for advice on choosing used picture books, so she knows about their demands and tastes.

"English-language picture books are very popular among parents in China's cities as the content is more varied and helps children learn English," Zhang said.

After graduating, she worked as an English teacher for several years before becoming an assistant to an executive at a transnational e-commerce platform. Through that, she learned skills such as how to communicate with overseas companies and how to import goods.

"Under Chinese law, an individual can only buy a maximum 50 of books per year from overseas, but there is no limit for companies," Zhang said.

She started by buying used books overseas and selling them in China via online platforms such as Taobao and Weidian.

When she contacted secondhand bookstores in London, Chicago and California, World of Books in London, United Kingdom, replied quickly.

"The dealer has more than 2 million used books, and is interested in the Chinese market because of the large population and the second- and third-child policies that have been announced in recent years," Zhang said.

Three months after World of Books replied, the first batch of 20 metric tons of used books arrived at the port in Shanghai, despite delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The price of used items from World of Books varies, but they can even be less than 10 percent of the original price, plus the shipment fee of more than 4,000 yuan per ton. Zhang adds a 10 percent markup to the cost when she sells the books.

In August, she ordered 20 tons of children's books from the UK. When they arrived in Beijing near the end of last year, they sold out almost immediately.

Since then, her company has ordered 20 tons of books every month from the US or the UK, but demand is higher than she can cope with.

"Kindergartens and some children's book galleries buy secondhand books from us, too, because our used books are usually in a good condition, so they are easy to read," Zhang said.

About 40 percent of her customers are from first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province.

"The other 60 percent come from places I didn't expect, such as cities in Yunnan province and Dalian in Liaoning province. Demand is growing fast," Zhang said.

Rising popularity

"The Chinese customs require a list of all the titles, authors and prices of the books we import, which has to be made by the bookstore in London. The store also has to remove those that are not allowed to be imported to China before sending the consignment. That adds to their work and the time we have to wait," Zhang said.

The ocean journey from London to Shanghai takes about three weeks, then the books are sterilized and stored at the port for nine days before they can be transported to Zhang's warehouse.

"We sterilize them again to make sure they are safe, because most of my employees are parents and we are very careful with things for children," she said.

Although secondhand goods are becoming popular, many parents have raised concerns about whether they are clean and safe because young children tend to put everything in their mouths.

Zhao Ziqi, father of a 4-year-old, is relaxed about the issue. "Doctors say that exposing children to bacteria can help build their immunity, and all the secondhand children's stuff was only used by other children, who are just like my own daughter. When I think in this way, I don't feel worried," he said.

Last month, Zhang was busy packing imported picture books into boxes of about 1 cubic meter, because she and her husband plan to take their son to a Hope Primary School in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region to make a donation.

Her husband used to be a volunteer teacher at the Mingde School in Tumd Left Banner in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital. The children there have a great thirst for books, and a donation of secondhand items is the gift they like most.

"My husband is from Inner Mongolia, but my son has enjoyed the resources of the capital since he was born. We want him to know that children in different parts of the world live in various conditions, so he will remain grateful," Zhang said.