Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

"Grabbing rice fields shouldn't be done haphazardly; it must be done step-by-step and systematically!"

Lin Shu leaned against the table with one hand, the blue light from the computer screen reflecting on his face. In the Wangwang chat interface, messages from several merchants kept popping up.

It must be admitted that in 2012, the logic and difficulty of making money in the game streamer e-commerce industry chain was so simple and crude that it was outrageous—low-threshold dropshipping, one-piece drop shipping.

The livestreamers only need to be responsible for one thing: attracting traffic and selling products.

No need to stock up on goods, no need to ship, and you don't even need to handle after-sales service.

All you have to do is shout "Brothers, we've placed an order!" in the live stream or video, and leave the rest to the merchant. Just lie back and wait to get your share of the profits.

At this point, the industry standard is simply to operate on two legs: "affiliation with Taobao stores plus distribution".

Lin Shu could not escape this rule, nor was there any need for him to try to escape it.

To be honest, as the number one player in the Chinese League of Legends server, he enjoys overwhelming popularity among players and is the biggest beneficiary of this model—the traffic is in his own hands. Now, all the merchants in the chat box are chasing after him, offering whatever terms they want.

"So it's a seller's market now..."

Having a better understanding of the situation, Lin Shu pondered for a few more seconds.

We basically accept all merchants who contact us directly through YY's backend to discuss cooperation, adhering to only one principle: do whatever is easiest, and keep the core profits in our own hands.

However, after chatting with those merchants on Taobao and WeChat for more than half an hour about cooperation methods, he became more and more frustrated.

Without considering building our own factory, stockpiling, packaging, and shipping, we adopt a dropshipping and consignment model for everything. There are only three cooperation methods.

The first type is where the merchant has a mature Taobao store, a stable source of goods, an existing warehouse, professional customer service, and a logistics system, all packaged together.

What Lin Shu needs to do is to post exclusive redirect links in the live stream, fan groups, and channel announcements, or create exclusive Taobao affiliate codes and exclusive category columns so that fans can place orders through these channels, and the system will automatically count the sales.

This is the legendary "store affiliation and distribution".

Lin Shu's depression largely stemmed from this.

Simply put, this model is just too awesome.

As for how great it is?

To put it another way, as a live streamer, he only needs to promote and attract traffic; everything else, such as stocking up, shipping, after-sales service, and returns, is handled by the merchant.

Zero risk, pure profit, making money while lying down.

Looking at the cooperation proposal sent by the other party, Lin Shu's heart skipped a beat... It was so convenient, so convenient that he couldn't help but want to sign it directly.

pity.

He bit his lip, forcing himself to suppress the impulse.

He has further plans; no matter how comfortable this path is, it's only temporary comfort.

If you hand over your lifeline to someone else now, you'll have to start from scratch later.

I may be tempted, but I'll let it go.

Besides these, joint ventures are the second most popular option.

Merchants handle sourcing, warehousing, operations, and customer service;

Lin Shu contributed his personal brand, image, name, and live stream traffic.

However, although both parties share a Taobao store, which appears to be a "business partnership," a closer look at the terms and conditions reveals that the store's ownership belongs to the merchant.

As a streamer, he only enjoys permanent co-branding rights, plus exclusive revenue sharing.

To put it bluntly, you're just someone else's brand name; the sign has your name on it, but the shop isn't yours.

If we don't even consider the first option, let alone the second one?

Lin Shu didn't even reply; he just swiped away.

Therefore, only the third option remains that suits me.

Open an exclusive platform store under your own name, sign a distribution agreement with a merchant, and cooperate by using traffic generation and dropshipping methods.

The store is owned by the owner, the goods belong to the merchant, and payment is settled on a per-sale basis. The owner controls the customer resources and the ownership of the platform brand.

It's a bit troublesome, requiring you to handle the connections, upload the products, and deal with various minor details yourself—but it's worth it in the long run.

"laugh--"

Lin Shu shook his head and smiled, then put his phone on the table.

After going around in circles, isn't it still the same original plan?

Indeed, the word "capital" should not be associated with "friendliness".

Even though he insisted on distribution cooperation and dropshipping from the start, he could still use his silver tongue to come up with two other options.

He talked a lot of nonsense, from shop affiliation to joint ventures, making it sound so convincing that he almost confused himself.

If he were truly in the mind and body of an eighteen-year-old boy, and his will were a little weak, he might have signed countless "indentures" today.

If you don't make much money and there are quality issues, you'll have to take the blame.

jingle!

My phone vibrated.

A4Tech messaged first: "Emperor, we've sent you the detailed cooperation plan. If everything is fine, we can sign a letter of intent online first, and then we'll add product links to your store."

Lin Shu opened the file and scanned it.

The terms are clear, the responsibilities are well-defined, and they basically match his requirements.

The joint store operates on a dropshipping and sales model, where the second party (the seller) does not stock, store, ship, or provide after-sales service.

The cooperation period is one year, and Shuangfeiyan has the priority right to renew the contract 30 days before the end of the contract period.

The first 15 days are for trial operation, during which either party may terminate the cooperation without liability.

It was spotless, with no hidden pitfalls.

"Okay, I'll get back to you after I read it." He typed a few words and sent them over.

In fact, among all the businesses that discussed cooperation, A4Tech was the first to readily accept this form of cooperation.

Their leader seems to have a very clear understanding...

Although I don't quite understand why this rising star in the gaming industry insists on setting up an empty shell store to act as a middleman for similar platforms, instead of directly endorsing products, attracting traffic, and selling goods to make money in a more worry-free way.

But for them, there is no financial loss regardless of the cooperation method. Whether it's direct sales to drive traffic to the store or dropshipping, they are responsible for the after-sales service of the sold products.

It's just an extra step, and it doesn't require much effort.

Since it's not a loss for me, I'll just agree.

Who would turn down money and performance?

"Manager Liao, there's one thing I have a question about in the plan."

Lin Shu placed his phone on the table, turned on speakerphone, and crossed his hands in front of the keyboard.

The other party was the head of the distribution department of Shuangfeiyan, surnamed Liao. He sounded like he was in his early thirties and spoke very politely.

"Please speak."

"Your company requires a uniform price across the entire network, and price reductions or increases are prohibited unless absolutely necessary," Lin Shu highlighted in red on his computer screen. "I would like to add a supplementary agreement."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by Manager Liao's slightly curious voice: "Oh? I'd like to hear more."

Lin Shu organized his thoughts briefly: "Manager Liao, as you know, what I do here is fan economy, which is quite different from traditional e-commerce."

"The viewers in the live stream and the fans in the comments section are here for me as a person, not for the 'A4 Swallow' brand—of course, I'm not saying your brand is bad, please don't misunderstand."

"I understand, I understand. You mean to say that fans don't care which brand it is... Please go on."

"If I just list a uniform price across the entire network, in the eyes of the fans, that would be a complete failure."

"They'll think—oh, Emperor just took a commission, promoted a link, and made a Google fee. What's the difference between that and me buying from JD.com or Taobao? I might as well search for it myself and maybe find something cheaper."

This statement is, of course, somewhat paradoxical.

The price you find online is the same as the price on the livestreamer's page, and fans can of course prioritize ordering from their favorite livestreamer.

The difference simply depends on how you think about it.

Lin Shu knew the other party could understand, so he continued:

"Therefore, there must be a sense of 'exclusivity' and 'discount'. The price can't be fixed; there needs to be room for maneuver. But this isn't just about lowering the price—lowering the price damages your company's brand and also my own reputation. If you lower it by five yuan today and ten yuan tomorrow, fans will think you're inflating the price, and who will trust you in the future?"

"So what's your suggestion?"

Group buying.

Lin Shu uttered two words that were extremely familiar to people of later generations, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, "It's not a direct price reduction for the goods, but rather a form of 'group purchase by multiple people' combined with the name of 'live streamer benefits'."

"For example, the Bloody Ghoul, which originally costs 159 yuan, can be bought by three people together for only 139 yuan each. This 20 yuan price difference is not a discount from the merchant, but a benefit that the fans have 'pooled' together and that the streamer 'fought' for."

Manager Liao did not answer the phone immediately.

The faint sound of keyboard typing could be heard, as if something was being recorded.

"Secondly, it's viral. If one person sees it and wants to buy it, they need to invite two more people to form a group. They'll shout it out in group chats, post it on forums, and spam the chat in live streams—'Anyone want to group buy the same Emperor mouse?' You can imagine how much free exposure that one order can bring."

"Third, there's a sense of urgency. Group buying is usually time-limited and limited in quantity, so fans will have the mentality of 'I'll miss out if I don't participate.' The conversion rate is much higher than that of regular links. This isn't just something I made up; you can have someone verify it."

Lin Shu's emotions inevitably shifted at this point.

Yes, that's why Lin Shu insisted on running his own store and adopting a distribution and dropshipping model, rather than affiliating with or jointly opening stores.

Group buying!

Or rather, a certain desperate attempt!

A brand-new e-commerce platform that was only established in 2015, but broke through the defenses of Taobao and JD.com in just three or four years.

Lin Shu is currently a streamer, and he even plans to try his hand at professional streaming in the future to further expand his fan base, but he doesn't want to be just a streamer forever.

With esports, a genre unique to young people, in his hands, and the trust of his fans, he has the most precise user base and the most direct reach. What he wants to do is to solidify all of this and turn it into his own e-commerce platform.

The first step is to negotiate group-buying discounts with Double Swallow.

Run it on a small scale first. Once it's working and fans get used to the idea that "it's more cost-effective to buy in bulk at Emperor's store," the rest will be much easier.