Four major difficulties in replacing old furniture with new ones

Bringing in new furniture, pulling away old furniture, and receiving replacement subsidies are the three processes consumers will experience first-hand in this furniture trade-in event. "Why does it seem to be such a simple thing? Why haven't you done it until now? You haven't made sure to do it well?" In the face of doubts from most consumers, participants from stores and merchants and other parties were unable to say anything.

In fact, the above three processes that consumers are exposed to are just the most basic work in "trade-in", and this matter will also involve more practical problems in operation. Therefore, whether it can be implemented efficiently is definitely a technical task. For example, how to classify and recycle used furniture, how to formulate a systematic recycling price system, whether we can find a way to make high-quality furniture, and how to avoid good policies being used maliciously by merchants and becoming pure "promotional helpers" Hidden in the "trade-in" reform, it is difficult to break through.

No one wants furniture to be replaced with new one just as a tool to drive consumption, always staying at the stage of "only talking, not hands". If it can become convenient and beneficial to the people through development and improvement, and even has a long-term interest in reducing secondary pollution and increasing resource recovery and reuse, it will be a victory.

Trouble 1: High-input, low-return, classified recycling is not easy

When the reporter interviewed two consumers who participated in the furniture trade-in last week, they both asked: Where are the old furniture that the workers took from my house? What is it for? This simple question in the minds of most consumers reveals the five major problems that must be solved by the event implementers in the process of "trading the old for new"-logistics, labor, warehousing, classification and reuse.

As early as last year, there were a series of reports on the problems of "furniture replacement and difficult recycling". Many people in the furniture industry have reported that the hidden problems caused by furniture replacement are more complicated, so they have always been an industry stubborn illness. Wen Shiquan, general manager of Yifeng Furniture, said frankly that as a processing industry, furniture brands are basically useless to recycle used furniture. And this seemingly simple "recycling" action will also bring pressure on enterprises in logistics, labor, warehousing and other aspects; Jia Kaicheng, after-sales manager of Nettler also said that for furniture brands, old furniture is recycled, decomposed, The cost of recycling is much higher than the cost of direct production from raw materials, but the use value is very low. It is a thankless job; Zeng Xianchao, chairman of Century Jingzhou Furniture, who has proposed to implement the "furniture for old" service, has also spoken bluntly In addition to the cost of recycling and post-processing of old furniture, consumers must also be compensated when collecting furniture. These "no-pay first" practices are also one of the main reasons why most businesses are reluctant to visit this muddy water.

Difficulties 2: It is difficult for buyers and sellers to "work together"

Actually, Home Furniture ’s “trade-in” campaign started last year. After collecting the old furniture at home, it will provide consumers with a 5% cash subsidy for the entire purchase of furniture; Red Star Macalline invites experts to come to estimate the old furniture based on the material and the old. , And in the form of consumption vouchers, the recovery costs will be returned; in addition to finding a furniture appraiser to estimate this year, Jimei Home Furnishing will return vouchers of 2-3 times the market value of old furniture to consumers. "Voucher" can be exempted from 100 yuan if it is over 1,000 yuan ...

It's a good thing that furniture "trade-in for new" is put on the agenda. However, on the one hand, it is a store that pays for the price of "old furniture", and on the other hand, consumers are only worth three or four hundred yuan for used furniture. This kind of interaction means something different.

In fact, in terms of "new bargaining", both buyers and sellers have their own selfishness and difficulties, which undoubtedly makes it more difficult to formulate a price recycling system for old furniture. In this regard, both consumers and merchants hope that the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce will give a more complete and objective price recovery system when this pilot "trade-in for new".

Difficult three: the chance of making high-quality furniture is low, and the efficient use is a hurdle

The problem of how to efficiently recover the waste heat from the used old furniture has almost become a dead spot for the entire furniture industry. After being classified and dismantled, it becomes reusable energy. After a round of refurbishment, it is put back into the market as "new furniture". Although the above method is easier to achieve, it is by no means the best solution.

According to many industry insiders, the use of "old furniture" in various countries is very diverse, among which the most important is the re-combination of materials into high-quality furniture. However, this approach requires quite a lot of furniture raw materials, environmental protection and renewable aspects. high. This comes from the domestic furniture industry and is still in the "dream" stage.

There are not many uses and operability of old furniture in China, which is why the furniture industry has been reluctant to involve the project. As Zhou Kaijun, the general manager of Feimei Furniture, who knows a lot of production technology common sense and also has research on materials, said that there are two fate of old furniture in China at present: First, they can no longer be used as raw materials for new furniture, and are finally classified as garbage. The possibility of processing the recycled furniture into new products with environmental protection, quality, and styles that meet the sales standards is basically zero. Because no matter the quality of the plate, solid wood or upholstered furniture is good or bad, the price is high, once the material is shaped, manufactured and used, it is difficult to be made into new furniture. The whole board that has been cut, the corners and the holes The traces that have been glued directly affect the secondary utilization of raw materials. Second, it can be used to make packaging boxes or construction materials. Recycled furniture that can no longer be used in the furniture industry can be crushed to form whole boards, but the best use of this whole board is to make packaging boxes or use it in outdoor buildings.

Difficulties 4: Good policies are "used" and businesses are operating in secret

Since the furniture trade-in was replaced last year, and it has been led by the major home furnishing stores, many businesses have secretly launched a "latent war" in the name of "trade-in for new" and "real promotion".

According to an industry source who did not wish to be named, the subsidies or equivalent vouchers provided by the store to consumers are on the one hand for the convenience of the people and benefit the people, on the other hand, it is indeed to help merchants drive sales. However, the sales staff of some brands have set a private threshold for "new replacement". "Fooling" or "threatening" consumers can only participate in the event if they buy the latest regular-priced products or buy enough furniture. This undoubtedly caused the original good policy to be "used".

However, after carefully considering the "trade-in" conditions set by the store, it can also be "finished" in actual operation. For example, the author called the switchboard of the store last week on the grounds that he wanted to participate in a store trade-in event but some conditions did not match. Mr. Li who answered the phone said that it does not matter if the "replacement" conditions are not met. solve.

It can be seen that these methods of "having policies on the top and countermeasures underneath" will undoubtedly also become one of the "culprits" that hinder good policies.