Fourp.org

My Business Reflection of Selling Second-hand Books on Douban.com

Today I have sold two second-hand books on Douban.com whose English website is Douban.net, one of the books is “Technical Analysis of the Futures Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications” written by John J.Murphy. This book is sold in 80 yuan (more than 11 dollars) at many bookstores and my transfer price on Douban.com is 50 yuan. Apart from selling the books itself, the reason I sold the books is that I want to do an experiment, whose simple purpose is to know if we can sell the books on Douban.com. The following is my thoughts about this experiment.

What is Douban.com in essence?

People generally believe that Douban.com is a Web2.0 website affected deeply by The Long Tail written by Chris Anderson. On Douban.com, the users spontaneously offer the contents for the users themselves. The contents provided by the users include mainly the Books ( Wo Du), the Films ( Wo Kan ), the Music ( Wo Ting ) and the Blogs ( 9 Dian ).To the website team, Douban.com is similar to a “Perpetual Motion Machine”, because they only need take the website’s framework to guide the users and make them finish the rest.

At the Books ( Wo Du ) on Douban.com, the users enrich the website’s contents by to recommend the books which they have read, and more users visit Douban.com to find their favorite books and share them. Due to group effect, more and more users constantly update the Books on Douban.com, and the Books has become a books marketplace or community in a short time.

Why can we sell the books on Douban.com?

Although Douban.com is not Dangdang.com or Joyo.com which can sell the books or else, Douban.com is still a books community, and so It has also the function of selling books as the bookstores. In fact, as Dangdang and Joyo’s sales union, Douban.com in long-term cooperation with them obtains the royalty from its sales revenue. In this cooperation, Douban is equivalent to a salesman or sale agent of Dangdang and Joyo.

Douban acts as the intermediary of B2C in this cooperation with Dangdang and Joyo. And similarly, Douban can act as the intermediary of C2C and become a trade platform between the users and the users. Douban has done so. And It put the commercial site’s sales ( etc. Dangdang and Joyo ) and the personal user’s sales together on its website. Douban treats the commercial websites and the personal users’ sales as equals, although it does not get any intermediary fee from personal transactions.

Well, why did we have sold the books on Douban.com? I think, the first reason is that Douban.com is a books community and this is the relevance between Douban.com and the books. Secondly It is the convenience of selling books, because there are some users who want to buy the books in the visitors of Douban.com. Finally, It is also important that the characteristics of the books including the second-hand books itself. The effect of the product’s characteristics to the sale is attributed to whether the total customer cost that get the product is less than the total customer value.

What is the inspiration to us to sell the books on Douban.com?

The relevance and convenience bring it to realization to sell books on Douban.com, but there are contingency and uncertainty, especially to the personal user. I can’t calculate the quantity that Douban.com sells books for Dangdang and Joyo each month, but the quantity to personal users is very small. Maybe one factor is that the personal users have not lots of books to sell.

In consideration of the strengths and weaknesses to sell books on Douban, I discovered the personal or small websites as Douban can form a kind of direct or terminal sale model, the foundation in existence is their convenience and creditability, and the chance may become an obstacle to the more large sales that they hope.

Link: 在豆瓣卖二手书的商业思考 ( by Bill in Chinese)

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Empty Cup and Personality

“Your experiences are similar to a half glass of water, which is neither empty nor full. If you want to become a member of our company, you must be complete and clean to throw away all your experience as the water drained from a cup. Then know and understand our company with the Empty Cup attitude. The only way you can progress and adapt quickly to the job.” the words is often said to many new employees by many companies in China.

I found,  all companies who say the words require their employees to have the strong executive power, and the employees who listen the words are generally the lower-level staffs on the level of implementation. The kind of words is benefit to the company for new employees to “Brainwashing”, the company wants new employees “No Me”, and the company think the employees on the level of execution should not have individuality, so the company request the new staffs “No Excuse”, the first is “to execute”, the second is “to execute”, and the three also is “to execute”.

At the same time the words make many people lost their creativities, because they are completely “Empty Cup” and “No Me”, and the things they need to do is not innovation but implement, the innovation is the leader’s things. When the innovation disappear from the lower and it become the senior leaderes’ patent, what will be the future of the company?( From 空杯和个性 by Bill Han)

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America in the eyes of China’s Me Generation

 
(a little village in Northwest China)

In late 70s of last century, I was born in a little village in Northwest China, I lived in my hometown county for my first 20 years, and finished senior high school there. Then I leaved my hometown and started my college life in a capital city in North China. Four years later, I went to littoral area of South China to find work. My thought has been changed and influenced a lot along with my experiences. From senior high school to a big city is my first big change, and then from college to work with the place from north China to south China is my second big change. My opinions towards things have changed a lot, even totally conversed. I thought everyone with the same experiences will have the same feelings.

Before I set up Fourp.org, I thought most Americans don’t really know China, Like we Chinese don’t quite understand American, either. And I also believe that many Americans want to know China, they want to know what Chinese people are thinking and doing, especially those who were born in 70s and 80s of last century. From now on, I will write some articles about China that Americans may be interested in. But there maybe not so many related introduction articles, as I plan to focus on commercial phenomenon in China at Fourp.org. Before long, a American reporter of TIME wrote an article about China’s Me Generation by interview XiaoJingzi, who is a media worker and the actress of Surrounded By Women.But after the article was published, XiaoJingzi argued in her blog that the article had distorted some facts. That is not because the dishonesty of the American reporter but the difficulty for Americans to understand Chinese culture correctly. Now I want to talk about my impressions toward America. From Chinese county to city, and form Inland China to coastal China, my opinion only represents certain class of Chinese people, and even different from the mentioned interviewee XiaoJingzi, although we are in the similar age.

From Elementary School to High School

America is a paper tiger, America is not strong neither terrible

Form elementary school to senior high school, all my knowledge about America comes from books, especially my textbooks from school. And the contents of our textbooks are full of political senses then. From the geography textbook of the elementary school, I know where America locates, and America has many states; Form the history textbook of the junior high school, I know many American famous images including Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt, and I also know the short history of America. Although the area of America is as vast as China, the history of America is much shorter than China. If China is an old man, USA is just a baby. So the conclusion is that we have enough reason to become a big and strong country, and we are really proud of our advantages.

My forever loved Chairman Mao had said that: “All reactionaries are paper tigers(一切反动派都是纸老虎)”, and America is a representative noun of imperialistic countries, so is the biggest enemy. Karl Heinrich Marx had also said that imperialistic is the highest period of capitalistic, which means capitalistic society is ruining. So although America is the strongest capitalism country, it just a paper tiger. There are also some facts to prove this conclusion, America was defeated in the Korean War. Although the loss of China was big, but we succeed in the end with simple and crude weapons and forced America to sign ceasefire agreement. So we can conclude that America is not clever enough as they can’t expect that Chinese will support Korean, and America is not strong as it was defeated in the end.

(the Korean War was stopping.)

Chairman Mao’s words and practices had hugely enhanced our confidences to fight difficulties and to recover our economy. Until now, I till can’t imagine how our Chinese people in that period face so many difficulties with great passion under such poor condition. When I was born, Chairman Mao has already past by, but his thoughts still influence me a lot, when I read his articles, I still can feel the great force that drives me to go for success.

At that time, I believe that it is impossible for America using weapons to conquer China, but then I was taught that America tried to use “peace evolution” to conquer China, to make China another capitalistic country. But what does “peace evolution” mean, how will America do? I have to confess that I am not quite clear even now.

America is better than China!? Capitalism is better than Socialism!?

When I was studying in senior high school, one day in 1997, a classmate told me seriously that America is better than China, and Capitalism is better than Socialism. I was very angry and surprised when hearing his words then. Although our leader Deng Xiaoping persuaded us to focus on economy not politics, but I still believe socialism is much better than Capitalism, but why some one believe capitalism and America is better? Then a comprehensive discussion started in my class, many classemates joined the discussion. But we can’t get a common agreement in the end as both of the sides have their reasons. But from then on, I tried to redefine America and Capitalism, I tried to rethink my thoughts and concepts, and suddenly found that many of my thoughts do not come from my real practices, and they are in fact not belong to me.

Loving your country, No Strike but study harder!

(an indignation procession against NATO and USA in 1999)

Not long before my college exam, a chagrining event happened. NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organization) leaded by America bombed some Chinese reporters in South Lebanon. As the president of USA then was Clinton, so my whole class stopped classing and find pictures of Clinton everywhere, put the pictures in the trees, blackboards, and walls, then we scratch on these pictures to express our revenge. We even planed to start a procession which was stopped by our Class teacher in the end. Our Class teacher persuaded us to back to the classroom, and said that he really understand our feeling, but what can strikes do? We have our government to deal with this event, and all you guys needed is to study hard as the college exam is coming, you should convert your feelings into bigger motives to study harder and harder. I remember one of my classmates who called himself war party didn’t agree with our teachers and suddenly stood up and tried to argued with him, but was finally stopped by other students. So our loving country strike was cracked down.

From College to Society

Many people have went to America, and there are more people intend to go to America

When I entered college, I found that many people have went to America for study or work, especially those who study trade and English. And there are more people want to go to America. I have never thought to go abroad, firstly because my poor English, secondly because there are so many great places in China that I haven’t experienced, and I want to know more about my home country first. But I will not give up studying English. Many students like me who come from little counties of China are poor at spoken and listening English, instead we are good at reading and grammar. So I often join ”English corner” to practice my oral English, I also bought a Panasonic personal stereo to practice my listening ability. At that time there is neither MP3 nor MP4, and Internet is not popular, either. I have also tried to listen to American Voice according to my classmates suggestion, but the signal is so bad that I finally give up, too. In 2000, the first internet café opened near the college, so I have the chance to know internet, and I also tried to know more about America through internet. I usually use Yahoo to chat with American friends.

No politics, the differences of regimes have desalted, and America is deserved experiencing

(The consumption level and the house prices are very high in Hangzhou.)

Form College to now, I rarely have the same hot political feeling as when I was in senior high school. I always avoid to talk about politics. Politics is not my main business. And I also feel that the differences between regimes have desalted a lot in China. Most of the people around me are busy with earning money, striving for better life or enjoy themselves. My dreams become much smaller and more realistic. All I want now is to earn more money and own a house in this city, have a baby and live a peaceful life. By now, I don’t have any hated feelings towards America any more. Instead I want to have a look at America, I want to know how they are living and what they are doing. Now Fourp.org is a place for foreign friends to express their opinions, but we are not talking politics here. (author/Bill Han  translation/Betty Liu)

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Fourp.org

More than a month ago, I registered a domain name fourp.org in domainsite.com. After that, I purchased the host in bluehost.com, so finally I can manage the website fourp.org. These days, I am thinking how to design the fourp.org. First, it should be a blog written in English. Because the form of blog website is suitable for me. Second, it’s target is people knowing English, especially for Americans. By fourp.org, I want to introduce Chinese commerce, marketing and Internet to the foreign people. These are true things, happening besides me, so it is personal, having my own opinion and comments. Since my English is not that good, it may have some errors.If you find some errors, please contact me and I will correct them and improve my English. That’s also one of the reasons I open this website.I want to thank Kelly who helps me to translate this article.Thank her!(Author/Bill Han  Translation/Kelly)

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