There are companies that buy up returns and resell them, but I don't get the impression that these make up any significant part of that chain. Unsold lots from

There are companies that buy up returns and resell them, but I don't get the impression that these make up any significant part of that chain. Unsold lots from liquidations or just unsold remainders from large retailers: sure, those can be sold without too much hassle. But the heart of the matter seems to be that returned items will apparently quite quickly cost more than their worth to handle for eventual resale, and just shredding them (and not spend any time at all beyond unpacking, registering, and then dumping it in a bin) is cheaper. The only exceptions seem to be high-end items where a limited investment can make them suitable for resale as a discounted refurbished item, and even then there are reports of brand new televisions and tablets just ending up in a landfill¹. 1: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/23/charities-call-for-amazon-anti-waste-law-after-firm-denies-destroying-in-date-food https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/23/charities-c...