TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A seller on an e-commerce platform has gone viral after she made an estimated NT$10.5 million (US$358,200) from color photocopies of a schoolgirl's handwritten revision notes.
The listing on Shopee, now marked as sold out, had the title, “Taipei First Girls High School — notes for Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students — all subjects (color photocopy), 2019 revision.” The price for the latest version of the notes, printed in two books, was NT$2,600; with a total of 2,653 copies sold, the seller made as much as NT$6,897,800 from the item.
The listing went viral after Facebook user Hung Ching-hsien (洪慶賢) shared a screenshot to a group. “You have to give it to Taipei First Girls High School students for having great business ideas,” he wrote, calling the student a “business prodigy.”
The price of the newest, two-book edition of the photocopied notes is listed as NT$2,600. (Shopee, Cindy91005 screenshot)
Taiwan News confirmed with the seller, "Cindy91005," that the notes were indeed made by a student at Taipei First Girls High School, one of Taiwan's most academically prestigious high schools. The student declined an interview as she wishes to maintain a low profile and prevent her life and studies from being affected by unwanted attention.
According to the listing, the notes had 422 pages and covered all subject areas taught in junior high schools, including Chinese, English, mathematics, history, geography, civics, physics, and chemistry, as well as biology and Earth science as free add-ons. The item garnered a rating of 4.9 out of five stars from 1,401 buyers, and many praised its detail, clear organization, clean layout, good penmanship, and fast delivery.
Aside from selling the compiled notes, the same seller’s online store also featured notes in individual subjects, with prices between NT$200 and NT$600 each, depending on the subject. The seller sold a combined 11,217 copies of all items, and at the time of publication, every item is sold out except for her civics notes.
The estimated sales of the individual subject notes add another NT$3,603,080 to the seller’s income from selling notes, bringing the total to over NT$10.5 million.
Most items in the seller's store are sold out. (Shopee, Cindy91005 screenshot)
