"150 Manwon Leaf for Sale"... This Generation's Investment Method These Days [Heo Midam's Youth Report]

From Shoes to Plants and Lego: Diverse Resell Items from 'Shoe-tech' to 'Plant-tech'
Experts Say "Resell Market Size Will Grow Even Larger"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] 'Resell tech (resell + investment)'?buying scarce or popular products and reselling them at a premium?is gaining popularity mainly among young people. A few years ago, resell items were limited to luxury goods and sneakers. However, recently, the range of items has diversified to include rare plants, Lego, and more. Resell tech is analyzed to attract young people's interest because it allows them to engage in hobbies and investment simultaneously.

Compared to stocks or virtual assets, resell tech offers more stable returns and can be easily traded through online platforms without specialized knowledge, drawing attention mainly from young people.

The representative investment method is sneakers. The compound word 'shutech,' combining 'investment' and 'shoes,' refers to buying highly scarce shoes such as limited editions and reselling them at a premium. The method involves purchasing sneakers priced between 100,000 and 200,000 KRW and making profits ranging from tens of thousands to millions of KRW.

In particular, sneakers limitedly sold by sports brands like Nike and Adidas are mostly released through a lottery system. With just around 200,000 KRW in spare money, one can enter the lottery, and if selected, resell the shoes at prices easily two to three times higher than the retail price.

Photo by Screenshot of the secondhand trading platform 'Danggeun Market'.

Recently, as indoor time increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 'plant investment' (sikteck), which involves growing and selling rare plants, has also gained attention. The most traded plant in the secondhand market is the 'Monstera Albo.' It is a type of Monstera characterized by white patterns on its leaves. Also called 'Albo Mon,' this plant's value increases the clearer or more unique the white patterns on the leaves are. Leaves can sell for 500,000 to 1,500,000 KRW each, depending on their condition. Buyers of the leaves propagate them by water cutting (immersing the stem in water), and once roots grow sufficiently, they replant them in soil. After new shoots grow, they cut and resell the leaves one by one.

There is also 'letech' (Lego + investment), which generates profits through Lego. Letech is considered a promising investment method because there is steady demand for limited editions that are hard to find in regular stores, resulting in high returns. According to the British daily The Telegraph's comparison of average annual returns over 15 years for stocks, gold, and Lego, letech (12%) was the only one to achieve returns exceeding 10%. Stocks rose by only 4%, and gold (9.6%) fell just short of 10%.

The reason why many young people flock to the resell market seems to be that they can earn high returns with relatively little money. Also, the fact that they can engage in hobbies and investment simultaneously and that the risk of loss is practically low attracts young people's interest.

Office worker Im (27), who has tried entering various events to buy limited-edition sneakers, said, "I enter every time an event is posted, but I have never won. The competition rate is several hundred to one. Since winning guarantees a profit, I keep participating." He added, "I will keep entering until I win."

Experts predict that the resell market will grow even larger. Professor Lee Eunhee of Inha University's Department of Consumer Studies said, "Young people are a generation familiar with the internet, so they consider various ways to earn profits online. One of these is resell." She added, "In the past, resell focused on luxury goods, but now the range of items has diversified. Many also buy and resell airline tickets, travel vouchers, and concert tickets."

Professor Lee added, "An environment where demand and supply can easily meet through the internet has been established. As the variety of resell items increases, the resell market size is expected to grow further."