The specifications of the computer assembled by Lee Jung-woo can be bought for around 1,500,000 won in Yongsan.
If there were enough users, it could definitely rise to a certain psychological price limit.
At least that was what Lee Hyun-woo thought, and even though it was slow, some increasing users confirmed that the price of the assembled PC had risen to 750,000 won after three days, and they were delighted.
“Finally, it’s 750,000 won!”
“It went up to 750,000 won in just three days. Do you think it will reach about 800,000 won by the end of the auction?”
Lee Jung-woo also changed his tone to a more encouraging one.
Hearing that, Lee Hyun-woo made a bold bet.
“I think it’ll exceed 1,000,000 won.”
“Really, do you think so?”
“More people are logging in compared to the beginning. It reached 750,000 won with just a few people competing. If it goes beyond a few hundred, I think it will definitely exceed 1,000,000 won.”
“Not bad.”
“Too high a bid could also be a problem.”
“Huh?”
“Then it won’t create a buzz. It should sell for about 1,000,000 won. If word gets out that they bought it 500,000 won cheaper than the original assembled PC, more users will log in.”
“You’re right, hyung. That could happen.”
As expected by Lee Hyun-woo, the number of users steadily increased, but three minutes before the end, a bidder hit 870,000 won, falling short of 1,000,000 won.
“Will this be the end?”
“No, this is the highlight.”
“Highlight?”
“Watch and see how much it rises at the last moment.”
The essence of an auction is directly proportional to the pressure of time.
In fact, while the two were watching after finishing their conversation, the price rapidly increased.
871,000 won, 875,000 won, 880,000 won.
“Wow…”
“It’s worth 1,500,000 won! Would they miss the chance to buy it cheaply? Moreover, only one unit is listed!”
Lee Hyun-woo raised his voice as if ordering the price to rise further.
Internally, he kept urging the competition and price increase.
‘Go higher, it will go higher.’
It was clear that people using slow modems were frustrated and entering numbers, causing the price to jump quickly as they worried about when the internet might cut off.
Eventually, from 900,000 won, it started increasing in 10,000 won increments.
Finally, ‘Mister 34’ succeeded in winning the bid with 999,999 won.
“Wow, it succeeded, it really did.”
“Ah… it didn’t break 1,000,000 won.”
“I’m satisfied.”
“Where should we deliver it?”
“Wait a moment… it’s nearby. It’s in Seoul.”
“That’s a relief.”
They had initially ruled out going to remote mountainous areas.
However, even non-metropolitan areas were burdensome.
Because they had to move if they wanted to install it directly.
“By the way, my part-time pay is secured.”
“Of course.”
“Should we make more computers then?”
“We don’t have time.”
“We can increase our working hours.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Tch… I don’t know why hyung is acting like this all of a sudden.”
“It’s for your health.”
Lee Hyun-woo had set his brother’s working hours from 9 am to 6 pm.
To claim work-life balance for himself, he thought it would be good to apply this rule to everyone working at 【Jungle】, including his brother.
So, working more was prohibited.
Seeing him strictly adhering to this, it seemed Lee Hyun-woo had trauma from overworking.
“Alright, shall we list another one?”
“Yes.”
“Same price this time?”
“Let’s keep it the same just for this time.”
“Okay.”
The assembled PC was just a bait to promote the website.
Now was not the time to make big money, but to let users experience the fun of internet auctions as the first goal.
But soon, positive signals started pouring out from Lee Jung-woo’s mouth.
“Hyung, it’s different from last time. It’s already starting to compete as soon as it’s listed.”
“Really?”
“And it’s hardly rising by 10 won increments. It’s going up by 1,000 won increments.”
“It might change once we do the installation.”
“I’m excited. Could we become rich like this?”
“Stop counting your chickens before they hatch. By the way, let’s create a section for reviews.”
“Reviews?”
“Auction reviews, bidding reviews, etc., so people can write about their experiences. Can you do it?”
“Of course, I can. That’s quick.”
“Okay. Then I’ll ask them to write well. Seeing the reviews will make people feel more confident and safe to participate in the auction.”
“That’s true, but I’m not good at asking for favors.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll go with you.”
“Alright. I’ll quickly create the review section.”
It didn’t seem as difficult as he thought, and soon there was a place to write reviews on the site.
‘This guy really is a computer wizard.’
But when it came to dealing with people, Lee Hyun-woo was much better than Lee Jung-woo.
Shortly after, when they neatly installed the computer for the winning bidder and mentioned a one-year free after-service (AS), they were very pleased.
Taking advantage of the moment, they asked for a review.
“Sorry, but could you write a review about your experience?”
“Of course. But I’m really satisfied. I’ll write it well.”
“That would be great. Hahaha.”
There was no need to ask the already satisfied customer who was happy with the price and the AS promise.
When they got home, the review was already written.
<Originally, my computer was in poor condition, and it was time to buy a new one when I stumbled upon the ‘【Jungle】’ site. At first, I thought it was too late because there were only a few minutes left. I bid in a hurry, but my heart was pounding because of the slow computer, and this succeeded. Just a while ago, they kindly installed it, so I’m writing this review. With a one-year free AS, I really feel assured. The best part is that the internet is fast with the new computer.>
Is he a writer? Leaving aside how well it was written, he got the spelling and grammar right.
Anyway, due to the influence of the review, the auction finally started to heat up.
By the third day after listing the new PC, it had already reached the 900,000 won range.
Seeing this, Lee Jung-woo said,
“Hyung, I’m getting greedy.”
“About what?”
“I’ve said it a few times, but if we assemble it properly, I think we can sell more than the sellers in Yongsan.”
It was Lee Hyun-woo’s job to always calm down his excited brother.
Shaking his head, he calmly stopped him.
“Jung-woo, that’s greed.”
“I think we can sell in bulk if we assemble with friends. Anyway, we have to do AS, right?”
“You can do it.”
“If the site users explode, I have to keep managing it.”
“I know.”
“And you’re saying we should also do AS?”
“We’re only selling three units, can’t we handle that? If it’s really necessary, we can pay someone who knows computers well to do it temporarily.”
“Why won’t you do it when we see money?”
“Man, think bigger. If we get into manufacturing, we need a place to assemble, right? Do we have the deposit and rent? You’re talking about friends, but how much will you pay them? It’s all labor costs. Moreover, if we want to install it in bulk, we need to transport it. Do you have a car? This time, we had no choice but to borrow Dad’s car to do the installation.”
Everything Lee Hyun-woo mentioned would raise the unit cost.
Of course, if they achieved economies of scale, it could be manageable, but the world isn’t so easy.
The process of ‘investment’ is necessary, and no matter how much they relied on their parents, they wouldn’t have that much leeway.
So, Lee Hyun-woo kept his focus and explained again.
“The best thing is for us to be in the middle. Soon, the number of people wanting to sell and buy items will increase. Just the commission from sellers will be enough. I guarantee it.”
Finally, Lee Jung-woo calmed down and nodded.
Then he said,
“But really, why aren’t sellers appearing? Should we list more items?”
“Let’s wait a bit. They’ll show up soon.”
The website had only been up for a little over a week, and hearing Lee Jung-woo’s impatience, Lee Hyun-woo couldn’t help but laugh.
Lee Hyun-woo was convinced that sellers would soon appear.
Because there was no commission for auctions starting below 10,000 won.
For anything above, they took 2.5% of the amount exceeding the starting bid.
‘In fact, real profit starts from then.’
However, for that time, another investment was needed, and at this point, something came to his mind, so he asked his brother.
“Hey, what about the server? If users increase, we need to set up a server, right?”
“Huh? Hyung knows about that too?”
“You mentioned it before, when talking about your club.”
“Did I? Then do you also know that servers are expensive? They’ll cost at least a few million won.”
Of course, he knew.
When they checked in Yongsan, the highest specification was 9 million won.
But for the scale of 【Jungle】, it was too expensive, so he thought they should look for a cheaper server.
Then he remembered a conversation with his brother.
“Hey, didn’t you say your club could make servers?”
“Of course. Why buy it when we can make it?”
“You keep surprising me. Can you really make a server?”
“Yes, we can. With the components, I can make it with the friends I mentioned. But not a high-spec medium server, just a PC server that can run for now.”
Lee Hyun-woo, who thought his brother was very capable even in his past life, didn’t expect him to be this good.
Nodding immediately, he said,
“Alright, let’s start preparing in case the traffic becomes unmanageable.”
“What about the cost of components? No matter what, it’ll cost some money.”
“We’ll have to ask our parents for help one more time. But this will be their last investment.”
This was something Lee Hyun-woo vowed to himself as a last resort.
Initially, they had no choice but to rely on their parents, but if they kept getting investments, the house foundation would shake.
Fortunately, the parents had enough leeway to invest another 2,500,000 won.
‘Total 4,000,000 so far…’
Vowing to repay it within this year, Lee Hyun-woo was determined.
Signs of that becoming reality started showing after the second auction.
Although the review wasn’t as perfect as last time, another short review of satisfaction caused a surge in traffic.
Finally, auction items starting below 10,000 won were listed, and there were inquiries for items above that.
Money matters are sensitive, so it was just before execution.
Lee Jung-woo responded to each message, but Lee Hyun-woo judged it was now difficult for his brother to manage alone.
“We need to hire one of those friends you mentioned. Find someone who can work from 9 to 6.”
It was time to use the club friends his brother had mentioned.
