8 ms·

Chains in Manhattan put stickers on the merchandise that tell you where it came from. While you could remove them, it’s a PITA and cuts into your margins. If

Chains in Manhattan put stickers on the merchandise that tell you where it came from. While you could remove them, it’s a PITA and cuts into your margins. If you don’t remove it, there is a clear signal to Amazon that these are stolen goods.

MichaelCollins 4y ago
> cuts into your margins It's not as though the thieves hire workers to do this for them. It's something they can do themselves while tweaking.
notch656a 4y ago
Is it illegal to sell deodorant you got from the store after they put a tag on it?
- lisper 4y ago
  Of course not. But it is really hard to turn a profit reselling a product you purchased at retail.
  - birdman3131 4y ago
    The trick is to get it on clearance. Some local stores will sell for a massive discount off amazon. I do more ebay as I won't touch selling used on amazon but in the past I have bought pallets of new stuff at local auctions and sold them on amazon for significant profit. Ended up with several cases of Ember mugs once. Forget the price per mug but think I paid ~$600 and sold em for ~$2400 on amazon.
  - lupire 4y ago
    ...which means if Amazon wants to avoid criminal behavior, they could ban such objects and not hurt legit sellers. But if Amazon doesn't care, this system is not enough to convict a criminal.
    - prvit 4y ago
      OTOH my friend has spent the past 5 or so years earning high six figures hunting good deals from big retailers and reselling on Amazon. I’m sure he’s only one of many. There’s nothing Amazon can do without banning such sellers.
  - notch656a 4y ago
    Sometimes consumers sell something they decided not to use. Either directly to another consumer, or to an aggregator who can turn a profit on the consumer's loss by obtaining lots of previously retail bought goods. It's sunk cost fallacy to just think "I must use this thing if I can only sell it at a loss."
  - bombcar 4y ago
    You can make a small but moderate side income reselling clearance LEGO on eBay. Even with the Walmart sticker still on it, no theft involved.
    - Scoundreller 4y ago
      Or international arbitrage. Lots of stuff sold cheaper in USA than other places. Even stuff like a big bottle of ibuprofen or allergy pills are much more expensive in Canada. While arbitraging deodorant sounds silly, I have bought EU roll-on deodorants online before because they're not much of a thing in North America. And they don't melt into a mess in a hot car. Deodorants are hardly a thing in SE Asia, partly because of biology/genetic differences: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/china-consumers-deodorant.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/china-consumers-...
      - bombcar 4y ago
        There can also be customs arbitrage as small packages from little sellers can slip through.
      - midasuni 4y ago
        Usually because you avoid tax legitimate business pay (import tarrifs, vat) Tax evasion may be profitable, so is shoplifting.
  - lostlogin 4y ago
    Scalping deodorant as a startup?
adrr 4y ago
There’s a whole industry based around arbitraging price differences between Amazon and brick and mortar merchants. Just search YouTube for “get rich with FBA”. How would Amazon know if it was stolen or retail arbitrage?
- JCharante 4y ago
  Wow this opened me up to a whole new world. Even managing to flip items with a 1% loss would let you spend $25k for only $250 (the amount of spend you need on delta co-branded cards to hit the MQD waiver for up to platinum).
  - tehwebguy 4y ago
    Yeah and AA’s new system barely requires any flying, you can hit top status with $200k in CC spend
- anonu 4y ago
  Who wants to buy a $10 deodorant from a NYC CVS when you can buy the same thing for much cheaper online. The thieves are only accelerating the demise of overpriced brick and mortar stores. Plus the experience of going into a CVS and having to press a button and wait for an employee to hand you a deodorant is horrible. (Not condoning theft, but at least the free market is speaking here somewhat)
  - adrr 4y ago
    I challenge you to find deodorant for under $10 on Amazon.
    - superhuzza 4y ago
      I just checked Amazon UK and I can buy 6 sticks of Sure deodorant for £6. Or one stick for £3.
    - prepend 4y ago
      The first result on Amazon searching “men’s deodorant” is 4 for $15.66 [0] so less than $4 per stick. These are about $10 in a bodega or cvs in Manhattan. [0] Dove Men+Care Antiperspirant Deodorant With 72-hour sweat and odor protection Extra Fresh Antiperspirant for men formulated with vitamin E and Triple Action Moisturizer | 2.7 Ounce (Pack of 4) https://a.co/d/dR2J1B0 https://a.co/d/dR2J1B0
deadbolt 4y ago
I've found these in CVS's near Detroit. I had no idea it was due to people stealing them and reselling on Amazon.
prvit 4y ago

MichaelCollins 4y ago

> cuts into your margins It's not as though the thieves hire workers to do this for them. It's something they can do themselves while tweaking.

notch656a 4y ago

Is it illegal to sell deodorant you got from the store after they put a tag on it?

lisper 4y ago
Of course not. But it is really hard to turn a profit reselling a product you purchased at retail.
- birdman3131 4y ago
  The trick is to get it on clearance. Some local stores will sell for a massive discount off amazon. I do more ebay as I won't touch selling used on amazon but in the past I have bought pallets of new stuff at local auctions and sold them on amazon for significant profit. Ended up with several cases of Ember mugs once. Forget the price per mug but think I paid ~$600 and sold em for ~$2400 on amazon.
- lupire 4y ago
  ...which means if Amazon wants to avoid criminal behavior, they could ban such objects and not hurt legit sellers. But if Amazon doesn't care, this system is not enough to convict a criminal.
  - prvit 4y ago
    OTOH my friend has spent the past 5 or so years earning high six figures hunting good deals from big retailers and reselling on Amazon. I’m sure he’s only one of many. There’s nothing Amazon can do without banning such sellers.
- notch656a 4y ago
  Sometimes consumers sell something they decided not to use. Either directly to another consumer, or to an aggregator who can turn a profit on the consumer's loss by obtaining lots of previously retail bought goods. It's sunk cost fallacy to just think "I must use this thing if I can only sell it at a loss."
- bombcar 4y ago
  You can make a small but moderate side income reselling clearance LEGO on eBay. Even with the Walmart sticker still on it, no theft involved.
  - Scoundreller 4y ago
    Or international arbitrage. Lots of stuff sold cheaper in USA than other places. Even stuff like a big bottle of ibuprofen or allergy pills are much more expensive in Canada. While arbitraging deodorant sounds silly, I have bought EU roll-on deodorants online before because they're not much of a thing in North America. And they don't melt into a mess in a hot car. Deodorants are hardly a thing in SE Asia, partly because of biology/genetic differences: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/china-consumers-deodorant.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/china-consumers-...
    - bombcar 4y ago
      There can also be customs arbitrage as small packages from little sellers can slip through.
    - midasuni 4y ago
      Usually because you avoid tax legitimate business pay (import tarrifs, vat) Tax evasion may be profitable, so is shoplifting.
- lostlogin 4y ago
  Scalping deodorant as a startup?

adrr 4y ago

There’s a whole industry based around arbitraging price differences between Amazon and brick and mortar merchants. Just search YouTube for “get rich with FBA”. How would Amazon know if it was stolen or retail arbitrage?

JCharante 4y ago
Wow this opened me up to a whole new world. Even managing to flip items with a 1% loss would let you spend $25k for only $250 (the amount of spend you need on delta co-branded cards to hit the MQD waiver for up to platinum).
- tehwebguy 4y ago
  Yeah and AA’s new system barely requires any flying, you can hit top status with $200k in CC spend
anonu 4y ago
Who wants to buy a $10 deodorant from a NYC CVS when you can buy the same thing for much cheaper online. The thieves are only accelerating the demise of overpriced brick and mortar stores. Plus the experience of going into a CVS and having to press a button and wait for an employee to hand you a deodorant is horrible. (Not condoning theft, but at least the free market is speaking here somewhat)
- adrr 4y ago
  I challenge you to find deodorant for under $10 on Amazon.
  - superhuzza 4y ago
    I just checked Amazon UK and I can buy 6 sticks of Sure deodorant for £6. Or one stick for £3.
  - prepend 4y ago
    The first result on Amazon searching “men’s deodorant” is 4 for $15.66 [0] so less than $4 per stick. These are about $10 in a bodega or cvs in Manhattan. [0] Dove Men+Care Antiperspirant Deodorant With 72-hour sweat and odor protection Extra Fresh Antiperspirant for men formulated with vitamin E and Triple Action Moisturizer | 2.7 Ounce (Pack of 4) https://a.co/d/dR2J1B0 https://a.co/d/dR2J1B0

deadbolt 4y ago

I've found these in CVS's near Detroit. I had no idea it was due to people stealing them and reselling on Amazon.

prvit 4y ago