Identifying Scalpers on Lolita Secondhand Platforms

Identifying Resellers on Lolita Secondhand Platforms

This guide is specifically to help identify resellers - people who intentionally purchase items at a low price, usually on a different platform - and resell at a high price for profit. Someone pricing a treasured item highly (or a longtime owner reselling something that has gained value) is not reselling. 

You may also hear "reseller" in the context of Taobao reseller sites/businesses, some of which are trustworthy and fairly priced for their service (like 42lolita) and some of which range from overpriced to exploitative of the community's goodwill (like DevilInspired). This article is specifically referring to individual resellers on secondhand markets, not these businesses.

All Platforms

Unless you have a really good sense of what prices are like for the item you're looking at across multiple platforms, you should always check out the seller's profile to get a vibe.


If their profile says something like "I don't post everything" "I wear [huge number of unrelated brands]" "ask me if there's something you're looking for " - that's a reseller.


If you see someone selling the original release of honey cake for $600, a NWT bonnet from innocent world for $300, a 2010s laforet usakumya pochette (RARE) (SPECIAL RELEASE!!!) for $400, and a h.naoto GRAMM bag for $250… does that seem like a real person? or a shop?


100+ feedback could be a longtime user or a reseller. Check out the age of the account vs the items bought/sold.

Lacemarket

If a Lacemarket seller is located in China or Japan and only sells on Lacemarket, never buys… that person is almost certainly a reseller.


Always check the sold history of any item you're considering on LM by going into Advanced Search and selecting Auction Status: "Only Completed". Look at listings that sold (not just listings that ended) to see what price it tends to go for. This will usually help you determine whether the listing is reasonably priced - but might not for rare items almost always sold by resellers. (For example, the Shanghai Tea Party exclusive Fallen Angel Kumya goes for $500+ on LM - but is available for a much lower price on Xianyu.)

 

At Cons & Swaps (IRL)

You may encounter lower-end taobao brands, Bodyline, and/or replicas priced as if they were brand pieces. A good rule of thumb: "If it looks cheap, feels cheap, but ain't cheap, don't buy it."