Second-hand Goods Trading Market -- Let Idle Items Get "Busy" in Accordance with Rules and Regulations

The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Circular Economy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), requiring the standardized development of the second-hand goods market, including improving laws and regulations on the circulation of second-hand goods, establishing and perfecting standards for the identification, evaluation, and classification of second-hand goods such as vehicles, home appliances, and mobile phones, regulating the order and transaction behavior of second-hand goods circulation, and encouraging the development of the "Internet second-hand" model. The introduction of the "Plan" points out the direction for the development of the domestic second-hand goods market and boosts confidence, and can be described as "timely rain."

With the improvement of people's living standards, every household has more and more idle items. It is a pity to let land be occupied, so we need channels for trade. There is no lack of high-quality and low-priced "treasures" among second-hand goods, which also makes consumers keen on "treasure hunting" flock to them. In recent years, the annual transaction volume of second-hand idle goods in China has maintained rapid growth, and the "post-90s" and "post-00s" are becoming the new force in idle goods transactions.

Nowadays, low-carbon environmental protection is deeply rooted in people's hearts. Second-hand goods enable the reuse of materials to "turn waste into treasure," which is in line with China's major policy of developing a circular economy and improving the efficiency of resource utilization and the level of renewable resource utilization. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people and should be vigorously promoted.

However, for a long time, due to the lack of laws, regulations, and industry standards for second-hand goods transactions, the market has been in a state of wild growth, inevitably with a mix of good and bad, and chaos frequently occurring. For example, internet trading platforms, with their advantages of convenience and low cost, gather traders together and greatly increase the success rate of transactions. However, due to the lack of relevant rules and the malicious behavior of a few bad apples, the transaction model in which buyers and sellers do not meet has changed from convenient to mutual distrust, increasing time costs and transaction costs. Acts infringing on the interests of transaction participants occur from time to time, not only disrupting the normal transaction order but also seriously affecting the healthy development of the market.

In response to the current situation of the industry, the "Plan" aims to guide the industry onto a normal development track from the perspectives of improving laws and regulations, establishing industry standards, and regulating business behavior. How to buy fake goods, how to receive goods (money), and so on, these problems will all be solved in the future. At the same time, the plan encourages the development of the "Internet second-hand" model, clarifying the future development direction for enterprises from a policy orientation.

In addition to commodity transactions, the "Plan" also encourages the development of other forms of second-hand goods transactions. From the construction of centralized and standardized "flea markets," to the establishment of old book sharing corners in schools at all levels, to encouraging communities to regularly organize second-hand goods trading activities to promote the transaction and circulation of idle goods among resident families within their jurisdictions, it can be said that it covers everything from online to offline, from commercial to public welfare, from enterprises to schools and communities.

The introduction of the "Plan" provides an overall framework for the standardized development of the second-hand goods market. The next step is to issue more detailed regulations in accordance with the characteristics of the industry to help China's second-hand goods market develop better and more healthily.