TL;DR
Legit Method? Yeah with the right products
Legal...yes, but potentially room for litigation.
I don't think it is illegal. However if it was proved you are intentionally buying and returning and abusing a system or marketplace, an individual might try and sue you or the marketplace might try. I don't have any idea how successful they would be but they might try and that could bee a headache.
I don't think it is viable without a lot of leg work like creating accounts, doing research. buying and returning. doing this maybe only 2 or 3 times per account. so to have enough stuff to have a stall at a market you would probably need hundreds of accounts on a continual basis. not to mention the cost of IP's, and someone to manage all the account creation and management.
I just dont think it is viable. It would be easier to just open a store on etsy dropshipping jewelry from china. I can reference several shops doing this that make 7 figures. you are not going to do that at a market.
Also people go to etsy to buy nice things, people go to markets to buy cheap things. you cant expect to buy a piece of jewelry that is already over priced on etsy and then charge double or triple for it. you can do this but there are easier ways to make a buck. Markets and reselling in general is a marvelous way to get cash flow as Bass pointed out, so I am not knocking markets in general but i dont see this particular idea doing well. As for whether this is moral or not that is up for each individual to decide.
It is not something I would invest money or time into but the idea is sound for other applications and potentially other products. High end furniture might be a better idea or high ticket one off items that dont require you to have more than 3 or 4 at a stall. The idea could definitely work fro some items. I just think jewelry is a hard one to do well at. dont forget that a return policy does not mean for any reason. you would have to have a valid reason and more than just a "I don't like this" reason. I think there are quite a few gray areas that it is not worth doing given the work involved. Keeping track of dates, dealing with irate sellers. Seems like a boat load of stress.
I anyone want's shit to sell at a flea market, go buy out a closing down store for 1c or 2c on the dollar and take that stuff there instead.
Good points. You think Etsy would ban buyers who systematically do this?
Yes, however that said only if they get reported. Etsy do not seem very proactive at all if not for reports and even then it is hit or miss if people get to them.
It’s not robbing if the person is quite literally following a policy all parties have agreed to, once the product is purchased you can do whatever you damn well please with it and get your refund just as you please too. To me that somewhat sounds like a loophole so fits the bill for being a blackhat method.
I’m not saying it’s morally right but it’s by no means illegal and wrong in accordance with the law, probably no worse than what bigger corporations do to everyone else.
I would not be so sure as to say it is 100% legal. different states and different countries have their own laws and regulations. I could see this getting someone in hot water if not out of pocket.
20 accounts using different payment methods, different IPs and variations of their receiving address buying from 2 or 3 buyers and one can probably bypass any security measures as they are most likely automated.
Selling at flea markets that are a decent size would generate solid cash as I've done that with a variety of products and even services as there is good traffic walking the aisles there. I've sold VHS tapes (super profitable as I had a good wholesale connection), high pressure hot water cleaning services (also very profitable and got some serious commercial accounts as well as residential accounts), commercial janitorial services (good profit there too), Bottled water services (gosh that business beat me up but the money was spectacular) as well as cookies, stuff I bought from yard sales and all kinds of things.
It's perfectly legal to sell there in the USA as long as you are not selling knock offs (they do check for that in the States) and you could probably make a buck or two doing this.
I would not but the idea is an interesting one and with a little bit of kicking the idea around it could be something one could implement.
Screwing the individual sellers on Etsy is really not something I see here as they are offering to refund inside a particular period if you return the product and they can just sell it to someone else.
I agree, there is definitely something to this idea. Not something I would do but I agree it is worth thinking about and possibly applying to other ventures.
It sounds like you put some thought into it. The people who are going to screw it up probably won't.
Isn't that the truth!
