Reborn in 08, Public Enemy of Competitors

Night falls in Wenzhou.

"Is that what Manqing said, that I should go to Hangzhou?"

Du Zhou shifted his gaze from the computer screen to his wife's face.

"Yes, we also need to bring a few samples over from the warehouse."

Qin Xinyue said, "YiTaoGO has very strict quality control, and the details of the cooperation can only be explained in person."

Du Zhou asked doubtfully, "Then let Manqing bring him over. That way, we can see what's really going on with this Shen Mo..."

"They're not even officially engaged yet, how can we just bring them home like that?" Qin Xinyue said with a hint of reproach in her voice.

"That's true."

Du Zhou shuddered at the thought of Huang Mao Shen Mo riding the Ghost Fire with Du Manqing on his back.

Qin Xinyue said, "Please make the trip; it's for the good of our factory."

"Okay, I understand."

Du Zhou said, "I wonder how Shen Mo plans to cooperate. Can he sell 1000 items a day like he did with Vancl?"

"No matter how many pieces we can sell, it's better than tens of thousands of pieces rotting in the warehouse."

"At least we can get some money back, which will allow the factory to stay a little longer."

Qin Xinyue had just finished speaking when her phone vibrated slightly.

Then I saw a QQ message from Du Manqing: "Mom, hurry up and go to the homepage of YiTaoGO, my 'Qingman' is on a group buying activity."

Du Zhou immediately opened YiTao GO, and Qin Xinyue leaned closer, staring intently at him.

The entrance to the group-buying activity is displayed in the center of the homepage, with a banner that reads "Group buying, the more you buy, the more you save."

Click to enter the group buying channel and find the "Qingman" chiffon dress product page.

A prominent scrolling notification box is frantically refreshing the live feed, constantly popping up new messages like a snowball:

"User 'Suiyue Jinghao' has just successfully started a 5-person group buy for chiffon dresses, and we only need 3 more members to complete the group!"

"User 'Class 3-2 He Tongxue' successfully joined the group purchase! A group of 10 has been formed, and the 5 yuan rebate has been credited to your account!"

User "Young Woman Bai" is currently group buying a floral print midi skirt; only 2 more people needed, so hurry before it's gone!

"..."

As the notifications scrolled upwards, their attention was immediately drawn to them.

Although Du Zhou doesn't understand the internet, he understands human nature.

Phrases like "2 more people needed" and "Rebate received" constantly stimulate users' desire to consume.

"How long has it been, and you've already sold over 50 items?"

Qin Xinyue stared wide-eyed at the notification that "52 items have been purchased so far".

Du Zhou couldn't help but sigh, "Do you think it's too late for me to learn how to use the internet now?"

Even if you learn it, can you come up with these ideas?

"Tsk tsk, I wonder how Shen Mo came up with so many ingenious ideas?"

"If you want to know, then go to Hangzhou and ask him in person."

Qin Xinyue couldn't help but laugh.

Just then, a pop-up window appeared in the bottom right corner: "[Special Offer for Group Buying with Friends] Share with one click and invite new friends to enjoy discounts! Invite your friends to participate in group buying, and both of you can enjoy extra rebates!"

………………

The link to the group-buying activity spread like wildfire in QQ groups, Renren.com, Baidu Tieba, and various forums.

While browsing Tianya (a Chinese online forum) out of boredom, Liu Wen accidentally saw a link to YiTaoGO's new user invitation campaign, and her heart skipped a beat.

As a seasoned "group leader" who controls two QQ groups with 200 members each, he has always made a living by exploiting information asymmetry.

The trick is simple: find a dress priced at 100 yuan on Taobao, in a wholesale market, or in a factory.

Then, through persistent haggling and bargaining, the price is reduced to seventy or eighty yuan. After that, the seller shouts and sells the product in the group, making a profit from the price difference.

However, the group-buying mechanism with clearly marked prices on the YiTaoGO page seems to have made what she is doing public and transparent!

My first thought was that these group-buying group members were doomed.

But upon closer examination, it turns out that this is actually an opportunity.

I promptly registered an account on YiTaoGO and plunged into the group-buying section. The page was filled with a dazzling array of products, and the rules were crystal clear.

Full payment is required for group purchases. If the group purchase is successful, the goods will be shipped normally. If the group purchase fails, the system will automatically refund the full amount to the payment account.

"That's a brilliant move!"

"By locking in potential customers, we have no fear of customers backing out."

Liu Wen casually flipped through the pages and quickly locked her attention on Qingman's floral dress, but she didn't foolishly send the link directly.

Instead, she posted several pictures of beautiful dresses in the group-buying group, along with a highly provocative caption.

"Ladies, I just found a really pretty dress."

"Originally priced at 109 yuan, now only 89 yuan. Discount 1 if you want it."

"1!"

"1!"

"I saw this dress on Taobao last week, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it. It's only 99 yuan, which is such a good deal."

"It's all thanks to Sister Liu! Following Sister Liu means you'll get the benefits!"

"..."

The group chat exploded with activity, with nearly 25 people wanting to buy it.

Someone in the group even tagged Liu Wen, asking, "Sister Liu, is there anything else?"

Liu Wen followed up with another link, "And this Vancl T-shirt, originally priced at 48 yuan, is now only 29.9 yuan..."

Before she knew it, she had gone from being a group-buying group leader to a free distributor of YiTaoGO.

And Liu Wen is not the only one like this.

Group buying group leaders across the country, "group buying experts" in colleges and universities, and students in part-time job groups have all sensed the opportunity.

Group buying links are spread like a net across various QQ groups.

New student groups, hometown groups, homeowner groups, stay-at-home mom groups...

More and more people registered for YiTaoGO accounts and were quickly drawn in by promotions such as free shipping and flash sales for just one yuan.

At the same time, the external advertising team placed Google Play ads on video websites such as Youku and Tudou, and also bought some peripheral Google Play ad slots on portal websites.

GG's ad featured a Nokia N95 with the eye-catching "1 Yuan Flash Sale" text, which garnered a very high click-through rate.

The data in the background kept surging, and Zhuang Bifan, Zhong Xue, Yuan Hua and others were filled with excitement.

"Brother Mo! It's exploded! It's exploded!"

"It's normal for it to explode, otherwise all our efforts would have been for nothing!"

Shen Mo repeatedly instructed, "Xu Kun, Zhang Wei, keep a close eye on things. We absolutely cannot let anyone take advantage of us and fleece us."

"Don't worry, Brother Mo, I'll do as you say."

Xu Kun grinned and said, "The one-yuan flash sale has a strict requirement: you must have completed at least two orders on YiTaoGO to be eligible. As for those newly registered accounts, they have no chance!"

"Group buying is for attracting new users and social sharing, while one-yuan flash sales are for retaining users and ensuring the activity of both new and old users."

Shen Mo nodded in satisfaction: "One will focus on breadth, and the other on depth, ensuring the rapid development of our YiTao GO."

Yuan Hua asked, "Brother Mo, do you think other platforms might copy our approach?"

"I will definitely learn."

Shen Mo scoffed: "Jingdong and Taobao can do 1-yuan flash sales, but they can't learn how to do group buying links even if they wanted to."

Yuan Hua pressed further, "Why?"

"Since Ali and Tencent are competitors, how could Tencent allow QQ to drive traffic to Taobao?"

Shen Mo smiled and said, "As for Jingdong and the like, they don't have a full range of products and lack SKUs that can attract customers, so they can't be copied."

"Wow, group buying is social media-driven viral marketing, 1-yuan flash sales boost daily active users, free shipping is used to attract new customers, and rebates are the main source of profit..."

Zhong Xue's eyes were filled with admiration.

"That's right, these are the four main engines driving our growth at EtaoGO, and there are even better ones to come."

Shen Mo narrowed his eyes into slits. What was this? The zero-yuan price cut, comparable to a nuclear weapon, hadn't even been released yet.

"Wenbin, call the Shuper Hotel and order food. Let's have a proper celebration tonight."

"Alright, Mo-ge!"

"Damn, Brother Mo, you're treating us to a big meal!"

"Brother Mo is so generous!"

"Is this even worth it? Once sales break ten million, we'll head straight to the West Lake State Guesthouse."

Shen Mo said in a calm tone.

As YiTao GO has developed to this point, no one thinks Shen Mo is bragging anymore; instead, everyone is full of anticipation.

After all, the West Lake State Guesthouse is known as the No. 1 garden in West Lake, with an average cost of four or five hundred yuan per person, which they wouldn't have dared to dream of before.

"Brother Mo, can I get cash instead?"

Qin Feng scratched his head and chuckled.

"Screw you! The goal is achieved, and you'll get a bonus, a raise, and a seafood feast—it'll all be yours."

Shen Mo swore and cursed at Qin Feng, but he meant it for everyone present to hear.

In an instant, everyone was full of energy and couldn't wait to get to work.

………………

Almost overnight, links to YiTaoGO were being forwarded everywhere, as if the entire internet was "group buying" overnight.

Du Manqing benefited from this massive influx of traffic, selling 148 floral dresses alone, and the total sales of Qingman exceeded 250 pieces.

I was so excited that I couldn't sleep all night. I immediately shared the good news with Du Zhou and Qin Xinyue.

Qin Xinyue was astonished: "At this rate, wouldn't Manqing's shop be able to sell ten thousand items a month?"

"Quick! Tell Xiao Li to book train tickets to Hangzhou right away!"

Du Zhou said urgently, "I need to see Shen Mo immediately. The sooner I see him, the sooner our factory can recover."

While Qin Xinyue was happy, she couldn't help but worry. Could her daughter really handle the extraordinary man who could create YiTao GO?