The significant price gap between the "i Moutai" platform's selling price and the market price, especially for the new Horse Year Zodiac Moutai, which carries a premium of over 700 yuan per bottle, has created an arbitrage opportunity.
The phenomenon of products selling out instantly within seconds on "i Moutai" for many consecutive days has turned purchasing Moutai into a lucrative business once again.
It is understood that popular products on the "i Moutai" app have been selling out in seconds for 19 straight days. Due to the arbitrage opportunity between the platform's price and the market price, particularly with the new Horse Year Zodiac Moutai commanding a premium exceeding 700 yuan per bottle, scalpers are employing scripts and software—referred to as a mix of "technology and sheer effort"—that enable automatic purchasing and even "early access."
Today, observers noted on the i Moutai App that as soon as the clock struck 9 AM, the purchase page for the Horse Moutai displayed "too many users," refreshing momentarily to show "sold out," achieving an instant sellout. Simultaneously, the Feitian Moutai, priced at 1499 yuan, also sold out after several rapid sellouts. It was noted that some consumers have complained on social media about participating in the daily lottery for over ten days without any success.
On various secondary market platforms, services offering to secure Moutai purchases on behalf of users are priced between 20 to 50 yuan per attempt. Some scalpers claim to "guarantee success," showcasing numerous successful order records. One scalper mentioned that while Horse Moutai is currently a hot commodity and cannot be guaranteed 100%, the success rate for regular Moutai is considerably higher.
According to scalpers, the relatively high success rate is backed by "technology and sheer effort": partly relying on manual operation based on experience, and partly assisted by specialized software and scripts. In videos shared by scalpers, multiple phones are shown running scripts that automatically refresh the purchase page and attempt to buy the product. It was discovered that such auxiliary software was not originally designed specifically for Moutai but was commonly used for scenarios like snatching concert tickets; however, due to the arbitrage potential of Moutai, scripts specifically tailored for it have emerged.
For hot items like Horse Moutai, some software vendors claim their tools can provide "early access," thereby increasing the chances of a successful purchase. From a product demonstration video shown by one vendor, the i Moutai purchase page initially displayed "sold out," but after running the script and returning to the page, the status surprisingly changed to "buy now."
After following a vendor's tutorial to install a script, it was confirmed that one could indeed enter a purchase-ready state early. However, clicking the button resulted in system prompts like "insufficient inventory" or "event has ended." The vendor explained that the script's primary function is to "enter the order page without available inventory" and does not guarantee a 100% purchase success. Nevertheless, if the merchant restocks or there is returned inventory, users are significantly more likely to proceed directly to payment faster than consumers waiting for the page to refresh normally.
A liquor merchant indicated that recent Moutai market prices have been relatively stable, with retail prices around 1550 yuan per bottle, leaving little arbitrage room. However, the arbitrage potential for varieties like Horse Moutai remains substantial. Data from third-party platforms shows the wholesale price for the basic Horse Moutai (MSRP 1899 yuan) is approximately 2600 yuan per bottle, while the wholesale price for the Zhenxiang Edition reaches 5400 yuan per bottle—more than double its 2499 yuan launch price.
Regarding these issues, multiple attempts were made today to call the i Moutai customer service hotline, but the line consistently indicated too many users waiting. Even after repeatedly choosing to continue waiting until the call disconnected automatically, the line could not be connected. The online customer service chat similarly showed a busy status.
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