In the early morning of Suzhou, there was a cold wind blowing, but there was a group of "hot blooded" consumers queuing up all night at Costco in Suzhou - waiting for Costco to issue a code list and rush to buy discounted Apple phones.
On the afternoon of December 8th at around 17:00, a reporter from First Financial came to the second floor of Costco in Suzhou. There was already a long queue in the store, waiting for Costco to issue discounted Apple phone numbers for the next day around midnight. The sales were limited every day, and the specific issuance time and quantity were uncertain. They had to wait for the store's notification.
After conducting on-site interviews with First Financial reporters, it was learned that Jiangsu Province is currently conducting a special subsidy campaign for 3C digital products, with many digital products receiving a 15% subsidy. However, some of Costco's Apple phone products are priced 500 yuan lower than other retail stores. With discounts and subsidies, some Apple phones can be 1500 to 1700 yuan cheaper than the market price. This reflects the price war and customer source competition in the retail channel. At the same time, the low prices have also caused Costco in Suzhou to be crowded with people queuing up to buy mobile phones recently, coming from other places and queuing up all night long, with many people taking about 20 hours overall. There are also "scalpers" who charge 300-400 yuan for outsourcing business.
Overnight at Costco, grab the top 30 number cards
Apple phones are sold everywhere, but only at Costco in Suzhou where discounts are obvious. Jiangsu Province now has digital product subsidies, which could have saved 15%, and some of Costco's Apple phone products in Suzhou are 500 yuan cheaper than their original prices. In fact, everyone is queuing up for the 500 yuan price difference, "a consumer queuing at Costco in Suzhou told First Financial reporters.
On the afternoon of December 8th at around 17:00, a reporter from First Financial came to Costco in Suzhou. There was a notice prominently posted at the store, indicating that a total of 400 national subsidy mobile phone queue numbers were issued on that day, which could only be collected and purchased by members themselves and could not be transferred. The reporter arrived at the second floor and saw that dozens of consumers had already lined up, and they were not in line for December 8th, but in line for December 9th.
After communicating with these consumers, the First Financial reporter learned that Costco in Suzhou has a limited number of related Apple phones available every day, and the daily sales quantity is also uncertain. Due to supply shortages, most consumers start queuing up one day in advance to obtain the phone number list. Only customers who receive the number list can enter the store to purchase the next day, with daily quantities ranging from 100 to 400.
Some people have been scheduled on the same day, but it's not safe because there are too many buyers, and most of the numbers are only around 100 per day. When you come on the same day, you can basically not be scheduled anymore. Of course, you can schedule the number for the next day, "said a consumer at the scene to a First Financial reporter.
Like opening a blind box, the numbers issued every day can only be known the night before, and in order to ensure that they can be ranked, many customers have actually been waiting since the afternoon or even noon of the previous day. The number of numbers on December 9th is 100, and this number will only be announced on the evening of December 8th. In order to grab the front row, many people have been queuing since the afternoon of December 8th.
The guest who ranked first on December 8th told the First Financial Journalist that they started arranging the number list for December 9th around 2 or 3 pm on December 8th, and only found out on the evening of December 8th that the quantity for December 9th was 100. Of course, they were the first and would definitely be able to enter. And it wasn't until after 1am on December 9th that I received the paper version of the number sheet. With this number sheet, I continued to wait until 9am on December 9th when Costco in Suzhou opened its doors to enter the mall for purchase. Including the time spent on the way out until receiving the phone number list, it takes about 12 hours. If we add waiting for the store to open (leaving midway may not count as passing the number), we waited in line for nearly 20 hours inside the store.
I came from Shanghai, and the travel time was longer. A friend of mine had come before, and they started queuing up to get their number the afternoon before. They waited in the store until around 3am the next day to receive the number list, which was equivalent to about 12 hours of waiting in line. Then they continued to wait in the store for the door to open, and the whole process took about 20 hours, "said a consumer on site to a First Financial reporter.
At the queue in the Costco store in Suzhou, First Financial reporters also saw many people who seemed to be very experienced, holding seats, food, thermos cups, thick clothes, etc. and waiting calmly. According to on-site investigations by reporters, some of these people are real consumers, while others are "scalpers".
Don't think that just by being listed on the phone number list, you can buy satisfactory products. This is not necessarily the case. Because the supply of each model, especially popular models, of Apple phones is limited, only the top 30 to 50 are relatively guaranteed. Subsequent customers do have purchasing qualifications, but the models they need may be out of stock. "A consumer who has been waiting in line at Costco in Suzhou for 5 hours told First Financial reporters.
As the reporter was communicating with some queuing customers, a "scalper" took the initiative to greet them. He said that his person had ranked in the top 20 high-quality phone numbers and guaranteed to buy the desired model of phone. Therefore, his number list can be sold at a price of 300 yuan each. One person corresponds to one number, and if customers are willing to buy more numbers, they can get as cheap as 270 yuan per number. There are also "scalpers" who indicate that they are listed in the top three digits of the number list. If you want to be the first to enter, you can do so, but these extremely high ranking number lists cost 400 yuan each.
According to feedback from on-site consumers and "scalpers", due to a shortage of supply in recent times, the business of "scalpers" has also been good. There are many "scalpers" who queue up all night for proxy buyers, and many "scalpers" receive proxy "orders" one day in advance. But the outsourcing business also has certain risks - if consumers suddenly change their minds and don't sell enough, then the "scalpers" will have to buy their own phones, and the government only gives everyone one chance to supply.
How much cheaper?
On the morning of December 9th at around 8 o'clock, the First Financial Journalist visited the Costco store in Suzhou again. At this time, the number of people queuing had exceeded 100. Although the people at the end of the queue knew that there was not much hope, they hoped that someone in front of them would give up or pass the number.
At 9 o'clock, Costco in Suzhou opened its doors on time. Under the guidance of the staff, customers who received the number list entered the store in batches, with 30 customers in each batch (the so-called "most valuable" number list by "scalpers" refers to the first batch of buyers).
The first financial reporter saw on site that these customers continued to queue up in the store one by one, went to the registration office to collect a number sheet again, filled in their personal information, that is, they guarantee not to purchase on behalf of others, only for themselves once (the real buyer needs to arrive before the store opens and make a "handover" with the "scalpers" to ensure that the buyer entering the store is themselves).
Subsequently, the guests enter another queue channel for model selection and payment. After completing this step, the guests go to the pickup location to pick up their phones and unpack them on the spot according to regulations. Finally, take the unpacked phone to another area for on-site installation and take photos to record. After entering the store, it is necessary to make the purchase in person, and on-site unboxing and installation are also to prevent someone from reselling the original phone through other channels.
In Costco's customer group in Suzhou, the first financial reporter saw that there were even "scalpers" selling number lists directly in the group. This move has currently caught the attention of Costco in Suzhou. On December 9th, there was feedback from "scalpers" that from now on, all queue participants must register their ID information, which means that it will be difficult for "scalpers" to take advantage of loopholes in the future.
Is it worth waiting for 20 hours to purchase an Apple phone?
On December 9th, some consumers who purchased discounted Apple phones told First Financial reporters that the discount varies depending on the model, but it is at least 1000 yuan cheaper than the market price. Customers who have been queuing for such a long time usually buy newer and higher configured Apple phones. Based on Costco's already 500 yuan cheaper price in Suzhou, combined with subsidies, it can be 1500 to 1700 yuan cheaper than the market price. A consumer posted a bill showing that an iPhone they purchased at Costco in Suzhou was about 1700 yuan cheaper than the market price.
According to the operational guidelines for the 3C Digital Product Subsidy Special Activity under Jiangsu Province's Enhanced Policy, the activity will be held from November 27th to December 31st, 2024. If the subsidy amount is used up, it will end early. The subsidy scope includes mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras (including body and kit, excluding accessories such as lenses), smartwatches, study machines, translation machines, and wireless Bluetooth earphones. The subsidy standard is 15% of the product transaction price, with a maximum discount of 1500 yuan. Consumers are limited to purchasing one item of each product category and are subject to real name management.
On December 9th, a reporter from First Financial visited some Suning stores in Suzhou. There is also a unified 15% subsidy in Suning stores, but due to the fact that the original price of Apple phones from Suning and other brand retailers is the normal market price, which is 500 yuan higher than Costco in Suzhou, some price advantages have been lost.
We are equivalent to an 85% discount on the normal market price. Suzhou Costco is 500 yuan lower than us, but consumers have to queue up all night. Moreover, Costco is a membership store, and you must first apply for a membership, which is equivalent to a cost of about 300 yuan. In fact, it may not be suitable for everyone, "a Suzhou Suning store clerk told First Financial reporters.
According to Costco regulations in Suzhou, only the member themselves can purchase the relevant subsidy products. If they are already a Costco member, there is no problem. However, if they apply for a membership card to purchase a discounted mobile phone, it is equivalent to paying a membership fee of 299 yuan first, so the price difference advantage is around 200 yuan.
At the Costco store in Suzhou, reporters saw that some consumers returned their membership cards on the spot after purchasing discounted Apple phones. According to regulations, the 299 yuan membership fee can be fully refunded, so customers still have a 500 yuan price difference advantage. However, the shop assistant stated that multiple card returns may also cause difficulties in obtaining a card in the future, so it is not recommended to return the card.
Behind the scenes, business wars have emerged
Costco revealed that currently all stores in the Jiangsu region have the same promotional activities mentioned above. As for why they can be 500 yuan cheaper than other merchants, it is because they have an advantage in purchasing prices.
Apple phones used to control market prices, as these products were standardized and unified. However, in recent years, the sales of Apple phones have also declined, so the market price difference of hundreds of yuan is not strictly managed by Apple, as long as it is conducive to sales. If Costco in Suzhou can control costs and sales, then a 500 yuan discount will not be subject to too much control. This depends on the purchasing ability of major retailers themselves, "said a person who has long been exposed to mobile phone products to First Financial reporters.
From the recent Costco mobile phone queue purchase incident in Suzhou, it can be seen that for products with certain market appeal, price is still one of the sensitive points, and this is also the key to competition between member stores and retail stores. High cost-effectiveness and relatively low prices are the rules to attract customers, especially for member stores, where purchasing power is the core, and both Costco and Sam's Club have this advantage. This is a test of the retailer's supply chain capability. Another point is to compete for customer sources. Member stores must first apply for membership cards. Through this discounted mobile phone purchase activity, we believe that Suzhou Costco has recently gained many new card users, and the effect of attracting new customers is significant. Even if there are some customers who have returned their cards, there will always be consumers who keep their membership cards. Using a hot selling product as a way to promote profits, attract new customers, and drive the purchase of other products is a very cost-effective business for merchants Senior retail industry analyst Shen Jun believes that competition among major retailers will become increasingly fierce in the future, from new products to pricing and cross-border cooperation.
It is worth noting that relevant subsidies and policies such as exchanging old appliances for new ones have also to some extent stimulated the consumer market and brought business opportunities to merchants. According to the National Home Appliance Trade in Data Platform of the Ministry of Commerce, as of 24:00 on December 6th, 29.638 million consumers have purchased 45.85 million units of eight major categories of home appliances, driving sales of 201.97 billion yuan, of which sales of first level energy efficiency products account for over 90%.