There are things that you are not only tired of using, but also cannot throw away. How do you dispose with these odds and ends? Instead of just leaving them in a corner of the room, Let's take pictures of them right away. Then, set prices and post them on a second-hand trading platform. What if there is a good that you really want to get, but it is all sold out? Is there no way you can possibly get it? In this case, you can also search on a second-hand trading platform. The second-hand trading is a steady form of internet economy, but it could be a new trend of 2021. It has expanded to investment destinations and community for people.
1. What Is the Nth New Product?
There is a new consumption phenomenon created by modern people, the Nth new product. The "Nth new product" is a new Korean culture term pointing out a good which is still worthful something, even if it is not new. In other words, it is a second-hand product that is as valuable as a new product. If you have ever bought clothes at Dongmyo Flea Market or luxury vintage boutiques, or used film cameras, this is also a purchase of the Nth new product. An item that is perceived to be well worth investing and consuming, even though it is not a new product, it is a main idea of the 'Nth new product.' Especially, limited edition goods give significant profits when sold back. The item that is perceived to be of worth, even though it is not a new product, is a main idea of the 'Nth new product.' Limited edition goods give especially significant profits when sold back. Resale is the act of sellers making financial gains by adding premium prices, not selling at lower prices. This also shows that the Nth new product has something more special than a normal second-hand product. For modern people nowdays, secondhand transactions have become a new form of consumption and a means of investment. Then, what is the background of this 'Nth new product'?
2. Background of the Nth New Product
a. The Expansion of the Used Market in Korea
It is necessary to explain Korea's second-hand trading trend before exploring the Nth new product. The recent secondhand market is as hot as the market for new products. Let's see the report, “The MZ Generation[1] Search and Transaction Trend for the first half of 2020” announced by the second-hand trading platform "Bungaejangter." Among the subscribers to the Bungaejangter, the MZ generation accounted for 84 percent. This shows that many modern people enjoy secondhand transactions. In addition, according to the “Intermediate Transaction App Market Analysis Report” released by mobile data analysis platform "Mobile Index" in April 2020, the daily number of users of the second-hand trading platform "Danggeun Market" is about 1.56 million. It was the second largest number of online shoppers after the famous Korean shopping site Coupang, showed 3.97 million people. It was an unusual indicator that second-hand trading platforms ranked second in the number of subscribers, beating ordinary online shopping malls. This is the most basic reason why the rush of second-hand transactions has led to the creation of the Nth new product.
b. A Change in the View of Secondhand Goods
The size of the second-hand market has grown along with changes in the perception of second-hand goods. To be specific, buying second-hand goods had been thought of as a choice when we could not afford a new thing. But for modern people, second-hand goods are not simply old items which someone already used. They are high-value product that can still be used at a reasonable price. In addition, the increase in single-person households has made second-hand transactions more popular. Large-capacity products are too burdensome to use alone. But if you divide and resell it, it would be much more cost-effective. Costco groceries are typical examples. Yoo Seung-hoon, the department head of "Joonggonara," said in an interview with a Consumer survey in May this year conducted by Korea Research, "Modern young single households frequently resell the furniture or other goods when they moved out. Products they sold were not so old, they were used about two years. This tendency is getting stronger." As people want to consider cost-effectiveness, and single-person households tend to share large-capacity items, second-hand goods are no longer accepted as merely old things.
c. How do we use the Nth New Product?
There are many forms for using Nth new products. First, there are people who want to protect the environment by using second-hand products. One of the most emerging concerns for modern people is the 'environment.' In terms of being eco-friendly, it can be a way to protect the Earth as reusing products. Next, there are people who make money using Nth new product. The limited-edition products of brands are difficult to get over time, especially collaboration with celebrities. It triggers the idea of the Nth new product. The boutiques which sell luxury vintage goods are always crowded. Because they are out of stock, it is hard to get them unless they are purchased quickly. In addition, the limited edition of the brand collaboration with celebrities will further increase the value of the product. The limited-edition sneakers, which were a collaboration between G-Dragon and Nike, were released at a fixed price of 210,000 won in 2019. However, now in 2020, they are sold from 500,000 to 800,000 won. For modern people, secondhand transactions are not a simple act of disposing goods that are no longer needed. It can also be an act of making financial gains.
3. The Duty for the Second-hand Trading Market.
Second-hand transactions still have some tasksleft. They are mostly transactions between individuals, so we should be careful about fraud cases. It is no joke to hear rumors about second-hand Internet transactions where the bean sprouts came when you bought AirPods, and that a brick came when you bought a laptop. According to the “TheCheat,” damages from online transaction fraud amounted to 25.1 billion won from December 2019 to early September 2020. Furthermore, it is hard to avoid the danger of counterfeit goods. According to the "Prevention Measures for Online Distribution of counterfeit goods" released by the Korean Intellectual Property Office, 10,2767 cases of counterfeit goods were reported online between January and August in this year. The figure is 204.4 percent rising from 4,194 reported cases during the same period in 2019. Also, the second-hand trading market is in the blind spot of tax evasion. Under the Guidelines for Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, sellers are required to pay business income tax and value-added tax if the number of transactions within six months goes beyond 12 million won. However, it is not easy to arrest tax evasion in second-hand transactions conducted on private communities and personal social networks. With the expansion of the second-hand trading market, solutions should be taken against blind spots of crime, such as fraud, counterfeit goods and tax evasion.
'Nth new product' is a Korean term that showed fresh culture trend of Korea. The Nth new product fascinated modern people by making it feel like a treasure hunt. It was unique that the young generation who are likely to pursue new things are rather attracted to second-hand products. It made a new concept of 'The Nth new product' by the market expansion and the perception change of second-hand trading. In this process, people made financial gains and protected the environment. However, the sudden growth of the second-hand trading market still leaves duties such as transaction fraud, counterfeit goods, and tax evasion. Of course, there is still issues to be solved, but this concept of economy can help modern people find new value. Are there no new products that you are interested? Then, why do not you start a second-hand trading right now? The Nth new product is not simply an old item. It may find your new value. Meanwhile, some items can give someone a new value which you did not have much interest in.
[1] The MZ Generation: A generic term for Millennials born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, and Generation Z from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s.