JD.com (JD), the e-commerce giant in China, has recently released a new resale platform named “鲸置” (Jing Zhi), targeting at 182 million Chinese consumers active in the second-hand market. It offers the users three options in selling previously owned products –– “Direct Resale”, “High Price Commission” and “Fast Recycle”.
“Direct Resale” is only available to JD.com products, whose quality is guaranteed by the retailer. In “High Price Commission”, the platform charges a 6% commission but offers free-of-charge services in product collating and quality assurance. Through “Fast Recycle”, as the name suggests, products are sold directly to JD.com’s partner recyclers.
In fact, JD has stepped into the second-hand market back in 2014, by acquiring Pai Pai from Tencent. However, it was in 2017 that JD rebranded Pai Pai as a high-quality E-resale platform, and partnered with a professional E-recycling company AiHuiShou.
To further secure a share in the premium reselling market, Jing Zhi is now aiming at the luxury market. The platform has highlighted its luxury section on the home page, giving the users quick access to buy or resell high-end products, including wristwatches, luggage and bags, accessories, streetwear, and designer’s clothing. But at the same time, as an overall retailer, JD is also pursuing a high market penetration rate in all product categories.
Statistics show that the Chinese resale market in 2020 was valued at 1052 billion RMB ($162.75 billion), up by 400% compared with 2015. Behind this fast growth, there are two main driving forces worth attention. First, young people in China start to embrace the idea of second-hand products – same value, cheaper price. Second, the Chinese government also signaled support in developing a circular economy, with a goal of reaching 5 trillion RMB of production value by 2025.
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