Dayi Commodity Index

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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May 29th, '12, 16:50
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Dayi Commodity Index

by apache » May 29th, '12, 16:50

I just saw this site for pu whole sale trading, I think it's a very useful relative price guide. It also gives indication which is market winner or looser.

Most price here is per 84 cakes (some are per 42 or 28 cakes).

One the left hand side box is price changes: green means fall and red means rise. The site cover this year to late 90's cakes.

http://www.donghetea.com/

According to the site, 2003 7542 is 845 RMB per cake. 2008 801 8582 is 69 RMB per cake, almost the same price I paid a few years ago.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The price of your pu could fall as well as rise. You might not get back the money you invested in pu ... :wink:

I changed the title, now it is better represent what it really is.
Last edited by apache on May 29th, '12, 18:14, edited 1 time in total.

May 29th, '12, 17:17
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Re: Pu Commodity Index

by shah82 » May 29th, '12, 17:17

How's that tong of 801 8582 doing?

heh...this is actually fun for me to play with...I love shopping, in the analyzing market sense...

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May 29th, '12, 17:33
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Re: Pu Commodity Index

by apache » May 29th, '12, 17:33

Well, I had a tong plus two cakes, then I finished a whole cake (that was before the day I knew anything about pu, even now I still don't know much ...) and I gave two away in exchange of other cakes with someone. Now, I still have little less than 6 cakes of 801 8582 left. Last time I tried it was a few months ago, I don't think it changes much, not something I crave.

The site only does Dayi, would be nice if it does Xiaguan and Mangku as well. But I think only Dayi will be traded in volume, others are just too insignificant in China.

May 29th, '12, 18:09
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Re: Pu Commodity Index

by shah82 » May 29th, '12, 18:09

This gives a pretty fast way to tell if a Taobao vendor is...off... in some way.

For example, on this site, the 05 Mengsong Peacock is close to $70, when purchased per box of 84. While guys selling it for $45 aren't entirely suspicious, it would call for caution.

It also gives a good idea how dayi products compare to each other. For example, the simplified characters 7542 from '01 is roughly comparable in value to the Menghai One Leaf Yiwu, which is not something I'd have readily though.

While it'd be nice for other makers to be included, this is still bull, ultimately. Fun bull, but bull nonetheless. Anything so liquid as Dayi ultimately is has to incorporate "enhanced value" in the product. I.e., growth in value can only result from big players fixing the market. Otherwise, people would flood the market at any combination of an increase in some degree of stress or longing by the sellers and whatever significant marginal gain (or fear of loss) in cash offered by sellers. Dayi is for suckers, for the most part.

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May 29th, '12, 18:18
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Re: Dayi Commodity Index

by apache » May 29th, '12, 18:18

In some way, I don't think the market is always rational. If blind tasting is used to set the price, surely we would see a very different picture.

May 29th, '12, 19:12
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Re: Dayi Commodity Index

by shah82 » May 29th, '12, 19:12

I don't think blind tasting would really work. I think that puerh has a fairly steep learning curve, due to it's diversity and lack of straight appeal, like soda pop or Earl Grey tea flavors. When I read Jakub Tomek's blog posts, for example I'm reminded of what Hobbe's posts from '07-08 used to be like. I also read Listening to Leaves and other, more recent bloggers (tho Bev has been blogging about her puerh only *slightly* less as long I have drinking!). People go through stages in their puerh experience. After all, I can go back and read all the things I've said that I consider idiocy today.

So there's no real sense that there can be any sort of rational matching of quality and prices. Different puerh are good for different reasons, and people in different phases attach significance to different qualities. There's no time-stopped comprehension available for any kind of sorting and no consistent set of skill available for tasting. Therefore, the market has to be rough and tumble, with the young'uns learning their hobbies (and overpaying), and the grizzled vets looking at it all, and sneaking out the good stuff at good prices.

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May 29th, '12, 19:28
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Re: Dayi Commodity Index

by apache » May 29th, '12, 19:28

Steep learning curve, yes indeed. I don't find it's getting easier, but I'm certainly looking for thing which is very different from when I first started. Still have to pay tuition fee every now and then.

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