Bracelets, jade, luxury watches, and collectibles should be judged by “how much you spend” rather than “how much you save”

There’s no upfront cost — just don’t justify buying these items by claiming they’ll appreciate in value later. The real challenge is resisting the urge to allocate extra budget for “preservation of value.”

First, look at the purchase side. The tax rates defined in the "Schedule of Consumption Tax Items and Rates" are as follows: "High-end watches" are 20%. Within "Precious jewelry and gemstones," gold and silver jewelry, platinum jewelry, diamonds, and diamond ornaments are 5%. Other precious jewelry and gemstones are 10%. The scope for "High-end watches" refers to "all types of watches with a sales price (excluding VAT) of 10,000 RMB (inclusive) or more per piece." Now, look at the liquidation side, which is based on the "Measures for the Administration of Pawnshops." Article 36: The maximum pawn period shall not exceed 6 months. Article 37 discusses the interest rate on pawn loans, referring to the interest on the money the pawnshop lends to you. This interest is converted based on the 6-month statutory lending rate announced by the People's Bank of China and the pawn period. Interest shall not be withheld in advance; it cannot be deducted from the money given to you beforehand. Article 38: For the pledge of movable property (such as watches or jade), the monthly comprehensive rate shall not exceed 42‰ of the pawn loan principal. Additional monthly comprehensive fees shall not exceed 4.2% of the loan amount. Real estate mortgage is 27‰, and pledge of property rights is 24‰. Article 40: If neither redemption nor renewal is performed within 5 days after the term expires, it shall be considered an abandoned pawn, and the items will no longer await your redemption. Article 43: For abandoned items with an appraised value of 30,000 RMB or more, an auction may be commissioned. Auction proceeds must first deduct auction fees and the principal and interest of the pawn loan. The remainder is returned to the pawner, and any deficit must be recovered from the pawner (nationwide in China). The "Provisional Regulations on Consumption Tax" only stipulate in Article 11 that exported taxable consumer goods are exempt from tax; there is no provision for individuals to receive a refund of consumption tax when reselling purchased items.

国务院 (2008). 中华人民共和国消费税暂行条例（国务院令第 539 号，附《消费税税目税率表》）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2008-11/14/content_1795.htm；财政部、国家税务总局 (2006). 关于调整和完善消费税政策的通知（财税〔2006〕33 号）. http://www.mof.gov.cn/zhengwuxinxi/zhengcefabu/2006zcfb/200805/t20080524_34758.htm；商务部、公安部 (2005). 典当管理办法（2005 年第 8 号令，第三十六、三十七、三十八、四十、四十三条）. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2005/content_93074.htm

When pawning to a pawnshop, you must calculate clearly: the monthly upper limit for comprehensive fees is 42/1000 of the loan amount, which amounts to about 50% of the loan amount per year, and the interest on the loan must be calculated separately. This "50% per year" is a rough estimate calculated by directly multiplying the monthly rate by 12, used to see the order of magnitude, not an exact annual interest rate. The tax rates and fee rates are numbers explicitly written in the text. The conclusion that "this tax cannot be recovered upon resale" is derived from the fact that the regulations contain no refund provisions. There are no official statistics that can be cited regarding "whether these types of items can appreciate in the long term"; this book makes no predictions and does not comment on any category. The only thing to be prevented is the reasoning that treats consumption as an investment. If you like them and enjoy wearing them, buying them as consumption is fine. Increasing your budget based on the reasons of "value preservation" or "being able to sell for more later" is where the loss of money occurs. Gold also has two sides: investment-grade gold bars traded by weight, and jewelry sold by the piece, are not the same thing. The price of jewelry includes design and labor fees, which are usually not included during buybacks. The listed prices on second-hand platforms are not transaction prices; do not treat them as market trends.