A business sells returns from Amazon and has gained some fame because of it. But why do so many people flock to old returns from Amazon?
What kind of business is this? The colleagues from Xataka report that they visited a store near Madrid where old returns from Amazon are sold. The catch is this: On Mondays, prices for all items start at 15 euros and get cheaper each day. By Friday, everything goes over the counter for 1 euro.
“Crazy Day Factory” has already gained regional fame according to Xataka. Some interested parties even sleep in front of the store so they can browse the fresh goods first.
However, there is a catch: The origin and reason for the return of the products are unknown, so you have to try out the devices on a whim in the store to see if they really work. Therefore, there is also no guarantee that the purchased television, which worked in the store, won’t give up the ghost at home a week later.
The best items are already gone after the first two days, and in the end, you really only get what no one wanted for 1 euro. The colleagues report, for example, about a television that a lucky person allegedly bought for 15 euros. Whether other valuable hardware like PS5 consoles, mobile phones, or graphics cards were included is not known.
Trading in returns is a big business, but you need a lot of luck
What are these returns? Millions of people shop on Amazon every day, and some of them are returned. Either because they are defective or because the buyers do not like them after all. In jargon, this is referred to as “returns.”
Meanwhile, there is a proper market for returns: Retailers specifically buy returns in large quantities and hope to sell the stuff profitably.
Influencers and YouTubers also regularly promote it, showing how they open large return boxes on camera and wanting to encourage viewers to buy such things as well. By now, there are even streamers who specialize in this kind of content.
However, the colleagues from Xataka report that they have spoken with some of these resellers. And many of them say: In many cases, it is not worth it or they have even incurred significant losses.
- For instance, a retailer bought used toys for 1,000 euros only to find that almost all of them were no longer usable.
- Another one explained: He bought returns and then refurbished them with a colleague. This cost him more money and time than he would have paid for the returns.
Fraudsters sometimes exploit the return policy
Amazon’s return policy is also regularly exploited by fraudsters to enrich themselves. For example, they buy products and then send back tampered boxes filled with sand or heavy bricks.
It happens again and again, that a family man received a fake graphics card. The problem here is that it is difficult to track down the actual fraudster. In the worst case, Amazon even suspects the person who reports the error or the fake.
Some users accuse Amazon of not properly checking the returns. But there are also people who say that Amazon cannot do it: Because there are not enough experts in shipping who can distinguish two graphics cards or processors and can determine whether they have a fake or an original in front of them.
Criminals exploit the return policy: Three Spanish teenagers took advantage of Amazon’s return policy to enrich themselves by almost 350,000 euros. Now the three individuals have been convicted and must pay a fine: Three teenagers deceived Amazon for years with a trick – earned almost 350,000 euros and then got caught
