Hiding in Plain Sight — How to Spot a Reseller

I hate to break it to you, but you have bought dirty goods. Yes, you, we have all bought from resellers — knowingly and unknowingly. When people think of resellers, they imagine that annoying guy “trying to buy two tickets” at an event who gives off shady, back alley business vibes. Also, the guy trying to “buy tickets” is actually looking to sell those tickets — sneaky, I know.

However, resellers are interested in much more than concert tickets, sneakers, and items with limited quantities. The premise of reselling is pretty basic — buy low and sell high (shout out to my one semester of MBA)! It is something that everyone does, including our tech-illiterate parents, as people are inherently always looking for a deal. Hunting for the best price is fundamentally human.

Unfortunately, reselling is a delicate ecosystem, and this balance has been thrown off, as resellers are causing significant issues for consumers and brands. So let’s take a look at this innocent Grapefruit Liquid Refill.

Amazon is the easiest place to refill as a Nest customer to get that sweet, sweet grapefruit smell. However, when checking out, I noticed the other offers for “New” Items are cheaper than Nest’s price and delivers within the same timeframe. We all love a better deal and same-time delivery, so I am going to take it.

This creates an issue, as the consumer experience is completely different. For the consumer, this reseller does not have the same product guarantee, a website to file tickets, and has an inconsistent track record of success. I doubt many get support tickets or complaints for fragrances, but for other products (appliances, steamers, vacuums), consumers frequently open up tickets. Unfortunately, the consumer will not have the proof of purchase entitling them to support and leads to many unhappy customers. This becomes extremely frustrating, as I experienced when I bought a Sleep Eight via a reseller that broke immediately (yes, I know, I am bougie) –it is currently sitting in the closet if anyone is in the market.

Anyways getting back to the point. Resellers are an active and healthy part of any marketplace, but it has become difficult to discern who is a reseller or not, especially with those enticing deals. So next time you are on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, or any marketplace, take a peek at who is the seller or distributor. It is always fascinating to see who you are actually buying from!