The Crazy "Electronic Moutai": Prices Soar Tenfold, Some Merchants Claim "Earning a Million a Year"

Another "Electronic Moutai" Sets Its Sights on the Wallets of the Middle Class.

Recently, a topic titled "#Prices of Multiple Cameras Soar Nearly 10-Fold#" trended on social media. A netizen found that a Canon compact camera they bought for 2,459 yuan six years ago is now priced at over 4,000 yuan. Another netizen discovered that the Ricoh GR3, which was only sold for over 4,000 yuan five years ago, has now skyrocketed to over 9,000 yuan, and most of them are 9.9 - nine - tenths - new second - hand cameras. People sighed that this price increase has exceeded that of gold.

What's more, the old CCD cameras, which have long been discontinued, have poor image quality, and have disappeared from the market for many years, have now transformed into must - have street - shooting gadgets for young girls on Xiaohongshu. This "old antique" has been hyped up from the original selling price of one or two hundred yuan to over a thousand yuan, with the price increasing tenfold, and has made a comeback from being considered waste to a new "financial management tool".

In an episode of the photography podcast Photo Reason, three photographers took the skyrocketing prices of the Ricoh GR series in recent years as a starting point to discuss the popular topic of camera price increases. In their analysis, the price increase is the result of the combined effects of the global supply chain crisis, brand market strategies, the grass - planting economy on social media, and the subsequent frenzy in the upstream and downstream industrial chains. Among them, the promotion of social media has played an important role. The social attributes of cameras such as Ricoh, Fujifilm, and Leica have even surpassed their functionality and started to enter a more mainstream market.

"Taking photos with a mobile phone is too casual, while using a DSLR is too formal. A compact camera is just the right balance between being serious and casual," someone commented. It meets the dual needs of young people for a carefree and high - quality photo - taking experience. Without the need for large and cumbersome equipment, one can directly take exquisite photos. Thus, the Ricoh GR has caught the new wave.

The market popularity is also directly reflected in the company's performance. Ricoh's performance in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2025 (as of December 31, 2025) shows that the overall revenue has increased moderately, and the operating profit in the first three quarters has significantly improved, reaching 70 billion yen (approximately 3.1 billion yuan), a significant increase of 102.6% compared to 34.5 billion yen in the same period of the previous year. Among them, the camera business has become the core engine of performance growth.

In the secondary market, more and more users have changed from onlookers to participants in this frenzy. Businesses such as camera rental and accessory sales continue to be booming. Under this wave of "hard - to - find cameras", what new business opportunities have emerged, and how long can this phenomenon - level consumer boom in electronic products last?

100% Price Increase in 5 Years, Old Compact Cameras Become New Financial Products

Chen Fei, a girl from Hangzhou, bought a Ricoh GR3 camera in 2023. "I spent 6,796 yuan at the Ricoh Tmall flagship store. At that time, the GR3 was already very popular on Xiaohongshu. I sold my old Canon 600D and added some money to buy this one," she said.

Tianxia Wangshang observed that the Ricoh GR3 was launched at a price of 6,199 yuan in 2019, and its price has fluctuated many times. Some netizens said they bought the camera for over 4,000 yuan, and the price has increased by 100% in five years. Chen Fei told Tianxia Wangshang that she accepted a slight premium to buy the camera, but the whole purchasing process was quite tortuous. "The official website was always out of stock. I contacted the customer service three times a day and asked them to register me so that they could notify me first when the camera was in stock. As a result, it arrived two days later." However, she said that the page showed out of stock again soon after her purchase.

Currently, the standard version of this model has soared to 8,799 yuan, and the flagship store shows it is out of stock. The urban version even reaches 8,999 yuan. In the online stores of major dealers, it is almost impossible to find brand - new GR3 cameras. Most of them are 9.9 - nine - tenths - new or 9.5 - nine - tenths - new, with prices ranging from 7,000 yuan to 8,000 yuan.

A photography enthusiast said that the price increase of the GR3 is mainly due to its discontinuation and becoming a "limited edition". In August last year, the Ricoh GR4 was officially launched. Half a year after its launch, the GR4 also faced a shortage in the Chinese market. Tianxia Wangshang consulted the "Ricoh Imaging Tmall flagship store", and the customer service said that the standard version of this model was launched at a price of 8,999 yuan and is currently out of stock, but it will arrive irregularly and will be automatically put on the shelves when available. The page shows that over 3,000 units of this model have been sold. In the Tmall outdoor observation equipment store list, the "Ricoh Imaging flagship store" ranks first on the hot - selling list and has been favorited by over 5,000 people in the past 30 days.

The official launch price of the Ricoh GR4 is 8,999 yuan, and it is currently very difficult to buy at the original price on e - commerce platforms.

Generally speaking, the launch of a "new model" means the end of an "old model". However, the Ricoh GR series doesn't follow the common rules. Take the "senior" GR2 as an example. This model, which was launched in 2015, saw a sharp increase in its second - hand price between 2022 and 2023, and it even approached or exceeded the original price at one point, becoming one of the "financial management products" among young people.

Ricoh is not an exception. In the world of consumer - grade cameras, there are also phenomenon - level products such as the Fujifilm X - T30 II being hard to find and CCD cameras being hyped up from "electronic waste" worth a hundred yuan to over a thousand yuan. The camera market has taken a different path from smartphones, which follow the pattern of "buying new and discarding old, and continuous depreciation".

The 30 - Yuan - per - Day Camera Rental Service Is Booming, and a Post - 95s Entrepreneur Earns Millions a Year

The second - hand market under the primary market has also started an "electronic frenzy". Xianyu data shows that the search volume for digital cameras in the past week has increased by nearly 100% year - on - year, and the search volume for Ricoh cameras has increased by over 50%.

Not only Ricoh cameras, but the old CCD cameras, which have long been eliminated by the times, were just "electronic waste" worth 100 - 200 yuan in the second - hand market four or five years ago. Now, those in good condition can easily cost seven or eight hundred yuan, and popular models can even exceed a thousand yuan. The price has nearly increased tenfold in five years.

Under such circumstances, new business forms such as camera rental have emerged, and many second - hand digital product merchants have seized the opportunity.

"Shexiang Camera Rental" has opened an account on Xiaohongshu. The introduction says that it is a camera store opened by a "station sister". The founding team has carried more camera lenses than they have passed through airports. Currently, it has 10 stores across the country, with the minimum rental period being one day. In the store located in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, from entry - level mirrorless cameras to professional - grade DSLRs, it covers popular models on the market such as the Sony Cyber - shot DSC - RX100 VII, Fujifilm XT5, and Ricoh GR3. The merchant said that the daily rental price ranges from 20 yuan to 50 yuan per day, and there are discounts for weekly and monthly rentals. Because of its connection with star - chasing, the store also provides flashlights and tripods, and customers who rent cameras in the store can get 20 small photo cards printed for free.

Undoubtedly, the rental model is the best option for consumers in the situation of "hard - to - find cameras". On Xianyu, there are a large number of sellers renting Ricoh cameras. Under the competition, many merchants have directly written "no deposit, rent three get two free, rentable for one day" in the product titles. The message boards of popular merchants are full of inquiries from consumers: "Boss, do you still have availability?"

Many young people have smelled business opportunities. On social media, there is a self - media blogger born in 1998 with millions of followers named "Call Me Senior". In the videos he shared, he said that he started a company through camera rental and now earns millions a year. However, the market has doubts about whether this industry can really be profitable. On the one hand, a large amount of capital is needed to purchase equipment, and it is uncertain whether the cost can be recovered. On the other hand, there is the issue of trust between buyers and sellers. Recently, there was news that a camera owner rented out their idle camera, but the renter did not return it, and the owner had to call the police.

The "Three - Piece Set" for the New Literary Middle Class, Young People Pay for "Photo - Taking Success Rate"

At a time when the prices of consumer electronics are generally in fierce competition, why do the prices of the Ricoh GR series cameras keep rising?

Some industry insiders analyzed that the short supply of Ricoh cameras is related to brand strategies and supply chain control. On the one hand, the company controls the shipment volume and uses scarcity marketing to maintain the high - end image and premium ability of the products. Besides Ricoh, Fujifilm also adopts strategies such as limited - edition sales and live - stream flash sales for popular models. It has become normal for consumers to queue up in offline direct - sale stores. The arrival time, quantity, and models of the products are all unknown, and consumers even need to wait for ticket - drawing and lottery.

On the other hand, it is a business model with high profit margins. It is reported that in fiscal year 2024, Ricoh's global camera sales were only about 70,000 units. However, through the high pricing of products such as the GR4 and a gross profit margin of over 30%, Ricoh achieved its highest net profit performance in history. With limited sales volume, high customer orders, and high profits, Ricoh has good financial data. At the same time, the official channels often bundle the camera body with high - priced original batteries, special flashlights, and other accessories to promote the sales of higher - profit packages.

More importantly, social media has played a promoting role.

Now, in the shopping lists of young photography enthusiasts and "newcomers", the DJI Pocket 3, the Ricoh GR series, and Fujifilm cameras have become the "three - piece set for the new literary middle class". The common features of these devices are: portability, direct - output of high - quality original photos, and social attributes. They are not only shooting tools but also gadgets that can provide emotional value and help users take great photos.

The direct reason for Chen Fei to buy a Ricoh camera is the recommendation of bloggers on Xiaohongshu. She said that she is a photography novice. "The Ricoh camera has built - in filters, and the positive and negative film effects are great. It can basically output high - quality photos directly from the original. Moreover, it is smaller than a mobile phone and can be put in a pocket, which is a great street - shooting camera. These advantages immediately attracted me." At the same time, in the early days of Xiaohongshu, pictures were king. In order to make the first picture more click - worthy, many bloggers competed to upgrade their production tools.

On Xiaohongshu, there are more than 30,000 notes about the Ricoh GR3. Many photography bloggers have accumulated thousands of followers by focusing on posting photos taken with Ricoh cameras. Countless users interact and ask for shooting parameters under a popular photo. Social media recommendation is also promoted by the official Ricoh account. Currently, the Xiaohongshu account of Ricoh Imaging has over 83,000 followers. The official will post photos and list the parameters for the public to learn.

In addition to the recommendation of bloggers, the star effect has also fueled the popularity of the Ricoh GR series. Stars such as Li Xian, Edison Chen, Ouyang Nana, and Wu Bai have directly "promoted" the cameras, making them even harder to find.

For consumers, a portable device with a retro filter that can directly take photos to be posted on social media such as WeChat Moments can meet their emotional needs. Data shows that the market scale of the emotional economy in China reached 2.3 trillion yuan in 2024 and is expected to exceed 4.5 trillion yuan in 2029. Young people are paying for their emotions.

This change in consumer psychology reflects a deeper market logic: consumers are more pursuing a ritual - filled creative process to record the moments of life that were previously not captured. According to data from Lotu Technology, in the first six weeks of 2026, the online sales volume of sports cameras in China reached 331,000 units, and the growth rate of emerging categories such as panoramic cameras and wearable cameras exceeded 50%. The photo - taking needs of consumers during outings have changed from "recording" to "taking great photos".

However, it is hard to say how long this high - premium trend built on traffic and sentiment can last. After all, the essence of photography lies in the eyes that dare to record the truth and discover beauty behind the images, rather than the tools themselves.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Tianxia Wangshang" (ID: txws_txws), author: Ding Jie. Republished by 36Kr with permission.