Jiang Tao first took a screenshot of the Ultraman hair clip on Liu Tianxian's hair.
Then he searched for the same model on Taobao.
The search results were somewhat unexpected.
There were fewer than ten shops selling this hair clip.
The shop with the highest sales had only sold 108 units.
The other shops had pitiful sales, ranging from just a few to a dozen or so.
So far, the sales of this hair clip seemed pretty mediocre.
Looking at the pictures of the hair clip on his phone, Jiang Tao didn't find it particularly attractive.
From his aesthetic perspective, it was average—extremely average!
He figured even his daughter, Jiang Xue, would probably嫌弃 (disdain) it if he bought it for her!
The reason this hair clip was about to see a sales explosion was likely tied to Liu Tianxian.
After all, her high-end custom outfit, million-yuan necklace, and hundred-thousand-yuan bracelet weren't things ordinary people could easily afford.
But this Ultraman hair clip on her head? It was priced at just 19.8 yuan, incredibly affordable.
Even students could buy it outright without any pressure.
Jiang Tao analyzed that the reason this Ultraman hair clip was about to blow up had little to do with its design or quality.
It was simply because it was the same model as Liu Tianxian's!
In marketing terms, this was the celebrity effect.
Fans see their idol wearing or using a certain piece of clothing or accessory and rush to buy it.
With Liu Tianxian's massive fanbase of over 70 million, boosting the sales of a 19.8-yuan hair clip to explosive levels was a piece of cake.
A while back, a small turtle toy had seen a sales frenzy because of an Olympic diving champion.
The manufacturer worked overtime for months and made a fortune.
Liu Tianxian's influence and appeal surpassed even that of an Olympic champion.
Making a hair clip go viral was well within her power!
After analyzing the two pieces of information, Jiang Tao formed a preliminary plan in his mind.
The most urgent task tomorrow, of course, was to go to the lottery shop and sell the lottery ticket. That couldn't wait.
Tomorrow was the last day to redeem the prize; after that, it'd be nothing but a piece of scrap paper.
As for what the lottery shop owner did with it, that wasn't Jiang Tao's concern.
He could do whatever he wanted.
The other thing was to stock up on Ultraman hair clips in advance!
As it happened, Jiang Tao's younger sister, Jiang Bing, ran her own e-commerce business.
One person, one computer—no need to stock inventory or handle shipping.
She sourced products from Alibaba, sold them on Taobao, and made money from the price difference.
Of course, it sounded simple, but there was a certain threshold and difficulty to it.
According to Jiang Bing, her monthly Taobao advertising costs were two to three thousand yuan.
On top of that, she paid another two to three thousand a month for a model or tool that provided trending search data.
Adding products to her shop wasn't about blindly throwing in as many as possible.
It required a keen eye and sharp instincts for Taobao products.
With good judgment, she could make a few products go viral in a month, earning higher profits.
With poor judgment, the products she added would only have average sales.
After a month of hustling, after covering advertising costs and other expenses, she'd barely make any money.
The most Jiang Bing had ever earned in a month was over 60,000 yuan, when six products in her shop went viral at once.
Normally, she made around 6,000 to 8,000 yuan.
After all, her shop had been running for four or five years and had a solid customer base.
Even if she didn't have a viral hit in a month, she still had a baseline income to avoid going broke.
With a plan in mind, Jiang Tao slipped into bed to sleep.
He slept straight through until 7:30 in the morning.
The moment Jiang Tao opened his eyes, the first thing he did was grab his phone and call his sister, Jiang Bing.
*Ring, ring, ring—*
The phone rang for quite a while before it was answered. Jiang Bing's voice came through, sounding groggy, like she hadn't fully woken up.
"How's a grown girl like you so lazy? It's this late, and you're still sleeping?"
"Come on, get up! Your big brother needs you to handle something."
"If you pull this off, I'll give you a big red envelope for the New Year!"
"Of course it's real. When has your second brother ever lied to you?"
"I'm sending you a picture. Check the wholesale price for this hair clip and buy me 10,000 of them."
"No, I'm not crazy. Hurry up and wake up; this is urgent!"
"If you mess this up, I'll set you up with ten blind dates when you get home!"
"I've sent the picture to your phone. Find the source manufacturer and negotiate the lowest price possible."
"Alright, hanging up. Waiting for your good news."
Jiang Tao gave his little sister a quick rundown over the phone before hanging up.
Professional matters should be left to professionals.
His sister was in the e-commerce business and was much better at finding source manufacturers than he was.
He trusted her to handle it.
After ending the call with his sister, Jiang Tao got dressed and out of bed.
After a quick wash, he headed downstairs to "Old Guo's Shop" for breakfast.
A basket of xiaolongbao (steamed buns) and a bowl of steaming wonton soup warmed him up instantly.
While eating, Jiang Tao got a call from his sister.
She'd already found the source manufacturer for the Ultraman hair clip.
The manufacturer was a small accessories company in Yiwu that specialized in producing various hair clips.
The Ultraman hair clip was just one of their dozens of products.
For a one-time order of 10,000 units, they could offer the lowest price of 6 yuan per clip.
And, by a stroke of luck, the factory only had a little over 10,000 Ultraman hair clips left in stock.
Jiang Tao made a snap decision to buy them all.
At a wholesale price of 6 yuan and a retail price of 19.8 yuan, each clip would yield a profit of 13.8 yuan!
Selling 10,000 clips would mean a profit of 138,000 yuan!
Jiang Tao immediately transferred 60,000 yuan to Jiang Bing and instructed her to ensure the manufacturer shipped immediately.
The shipping address was set to Jiang Bing's place.
Jiang Bing had no idea what had gotten into her second brother today, wanting to buy 10,000 hair clips for girls all of a sudden.
Plus, she thought the hair clip wasn't even that great—just average.
She searched online and saw that the clip's sales were pretty mediocre too.
But her second brother insisted on buying them, threatening to cut off their sibling bond if she didn't.
Jiang Bing's attempts to dissuade him failed, so she had no choice but to follow his instructions and pay the manufacturer.
She also demanded that the seller ship the order within the day.
…
Yiwu, Tongle Accessories Factory, Factory Director's Office.
"Great, great, don't worry, we'll ship this morning!"
"It's a total of 10,200 or so. I'll throw in the extra 200 for free, just as a gesture of friendship."
"We have plenty of other accessory styles. If you like anything in the future, just let me know, and I'll give you the lowest price."
"Happy cooperation, happy cooperation!"
"Alright! Goodbye! Bye-bye!"
After hanging up the phone, Shan Teng's chubby face lit up with a smile brighter than the sun.
With less than ten days until the end of the year, the factory was about to go on holiday.
Then, out of nowhere, they received a 60,000-yuan order today.
And the buyer wanted a hair clip model that wasn't even one of their best-sellers.
This was like the heavens sending someone to clear out their inventory!
After checking his phone to confirm the payment had arrived, Shan Teng immediately contacted a logistics company he often worked with and personally went to the warehouse to arrange the shipment.
For a small factory like Shan Teng's, with daily sales of only five or six thousand yuan, a 60,000-yuan order was a big deal.