70,000 paintings, 500,000 dolls, "circle" custom goods chaos

70,000 yuan for a painting, 500,000 yuan for a doll... In the world of "two-dimensional", such high-priced "customized products" have become the object of some young people and even minors.

The reporter's investigation found that the "set circle", "painting circle", "baby circle", "celebrity effect", "profit-seeking impulse" and "hunger marketing" and other routines that are popular among young people are intertwined, and sky-high prices of commodities have attracted some people to impulsive consumption, blind consumption and even borrowing consumption.

"Set a circle" to buy paintings for 6 months to spend 700,000 yuan

In order to create the "perfect image" of the virtual characters he conceived, he spent a lot of money chasing custom character cartoons, dolls, dolls... Mixing "setting up circles" has become a fresh fashion for some young people.

The reporter learned that "setting" refers to the setting, character image design, in simple terms, it is to draw character images according to the setting. "People who set up circles will cultivate the virtual characters they imagine and create as children, called 'raising babies'. Some buyers will also carefully craft the character, personality, and world view of the 'baby'. Si Xuan, a 12-year-old anime fan, said.

A "painting circle" enthusiast introduced that most of the buyers in the circle are young people, the sellers are mostly painters, and the paintings are cartoon floor plans similar to the covers of character magazines. Buyers and sellers can dock through apps such as Meter Painter and Half Dimension, and the specific trading rules are subject to the negotiation result. In the "painting circle", a painting is hundreds of yuan or thousands of yuan, while the price of paintings by "top painters" can reach tens of thousands of yuan.

In addition, custom clay dolls, cotton dolls, spherical joint dolls, etc., are also highly sought after by young people. The reporter saw on some social platforms that bloggers with millions of fans constantly updated the content to introduce the knowledge of "raising babies", and the dolls, eye lenses, pull rings, wigs, clothes, shoes, furniture and other commodities are expensive.

Under the pursuit, there are many kinds of huge consumption. In April this year, a 13-year-old girl bought a painting at a maximum unit price of 70,000 yuan, spending a total of 700,000 yuan in 6 months, and was later asked by her parents to cancel the transaction with the seller, which caused a heated discussion on the Internet. These high-priced paintings are "two-dimensional" paintings that "cannot be commercialized or disseminated, but can only be appreciated by oneself". In addition, the finished doll made by a certain "big god" was originally 1,000 yuan on a platform, and the number of bids was as high as 200 times, and finally it was auctioned to more than 500,000 yuan, which was staggering.

After all, the buyers who can spend huge amounts are a minority, and the "top painters" have also begun to target buyers with low and medium consumption capabilities and launch the "Giant Car" contract.

"The 'giant car' is equivalent to 'crowdfunding', that is, dozens or hundreds of people share the cost, buy together, and share the right to use." A buyer introduced that there are more "giant cars", and some painters ask for money to add money, such as 10 people plus 50%, 20 people 2 times, 30 people 3 times, etc. Finally, the turnover of a painting can also be as much as tens of thousands of yuan.

The "dream-making" space is losing flavor

"The entry of 'raising a baby' was a few hundred pieces at the beginning, but with the help of various sellers and bloggers, the price has risen repeatedly, especially those high-end customized makeup and clothing, which has continuously raised the psychological expectations of consumers." Guan Guan, a 16-year-old "baby circle" enthusiast, said.

A fan who did not want to be named said bluntly, "After a long time in the circle, you will find that the commercialization trend of the circle is serious, and 'dream-making' has become a 'luxury'." In the circle, the most powerful painters and the richest group of gold owners continue to push up prices, and ordinary people can only be wrapped up and follow the tide. ”

In various "circles", the production standard of some works has been questioned.

"Whether it is a 'painting circle' or a 'baby circle', it is full of a large number of homogeneous creations, and the requirements for painting ability are not high, and some will be pieced together with ready-made materials." Creator He Ye said, "'Painting circle' popular cute girl head plus exaggerated decoration, as long as a large number of cute elements are piled up, creating a delicate small head with a super head wrapped face, coupled with a cute and cute expression, you can accurately snipe the 'gold lord'." ”

Some "big god" level painters, many of their works are highly similar in content and style. A certain style sold for a good price, and immediately other painters followed suit, and plagiarism also appeared endlessly.

"Price gouging" is also a common marketing tactic. "As long as a certain work is on fire, the value of the painter will rise sharply. Some painters will use the marketing number, the propaganda and hype of the water army, and then fake auction at the 'sky-high price', and since then they have become among the 'hot' ranks. An industry source said.

Some enthusiasts revealed that because most of the "contract drafts" and "customizations" do not have formal transaction contracts, the pricing is arbitrary, the after-sales service is difficult to guarantee, and the disputes are continuous. Some painters "maliciously drag the manuscript", and even tax evasion is more common.

Whether there is an inducement for minors to consume

Some experts have analyzed that the reason why there is a market for "circled" customized goods is because many comic characters and dolls can meet the "psychological projection" of some children who are not yet mentally mature and not deeply involved in the world. They hope to "project" their emotions, impulses, and desires that they have not been able to achieve in real life on other things, and find insider players with common hobbies in the niche world, and obtain psychological satisfaction and show off social experiences.

"The art market is full of chaos such as the difficulty of identifying artistic value, speculation, and price gouging." The audience of the 'circle of painting' and 'baby circle' is younger, the trading rules are more arbitrary, and the legality of transactions, whether there is an inducement for minors to consume, and whether the income is taxed according to law are more worthy of vigilance. Zhu Guowei, a professor at the School of Business Administration of Hunan University, said.

Li Bin, a professor of sociology at Central South University, pointed out that the celebrity effect in the "circle setting", the principle of business profit-seeking, coupled with the "hunger marketing" with low output, have created a "gold worship" and "extravagant" atmosphere among minors, which has made many young people who have not yet had economic ability fall into it. This cannot be understood as just an individual trading behavior of "one willing to fight and one willing to be beaten", and it is urgent to educate and guide young people and minors to polish their eyes and consume rationally.

Zhu Guowei suggested that the "two-dimensional" world sought after by young people is not an "extralegal place" for gray commercial transactions, and should also follow the laws of real transactions. Relevant departments should strengthen supervision, on the one hand, study the characteristics of such behavior transactions, introduce normative rules, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers and sellers; on the other hand, management departments should also have more guidance and supervision over the pricing of similar commodities, and set thresholds for the amount of transactions for minors. In the event of a large amount of irrational consumption of minors, the merchant should open a complaint channel and withdraw the transaction or refund. (Minors interviewed are pseudonyms)

Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph