# Legality of buying stuff in bulk and reselling it myself? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436 "2013-08-16T18:00:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/21 "2013-08-17T01:34:11Z")
A note regarding Costco: I am recalling noticing in past at least one time when I was at a Costco cash register waiting to check out, someone rolled up to a neighboring register with considerable multiples of something, and that cashier asked “Will that be for resale?” (or something like that.) I have no clue what followed the question… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/22 "2013-08-17T01:36:52Z")
At that point, the customer will present the paperwork necessary not to pay sales tax. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/23 "2013-08-17T01:43:46Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > At that point, the customer will present the paperwork necessary not to pay sales tax. Understood - thanks ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/24 "2013-08-17T02:26:58Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Not necessarily. Even if you can go direct to a manufacturer, many will have minimum order sizes, which may well be out of reach of a small business. Even if you can meet the minimum, your pricing as a small purchaser is going to be substantially different (higher) than what they charge, say Trader Joes or Costco. So much so, that it could be cheaper to buy from one of them and resell. I remember reading that one small bookshop owner said she went to Costco to stock up on the Harry Potter books because she couldn’t get them that cheap from the publisher. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/25 "2013-08-17T04:10:15Z")
There’s good money to be made buying bulk OEM pack of Windows or Office and selling individually on Ebay or other markets. Ebay requires a piece of hardware with the sale. An old junker hard drive is the most common or even a junk video card. Seems like lately Ebay insists on a hard drive that goes with the sale. It CYA to meet Microsoft’s OEM requirements. ---
**Author:** ![ryanl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@ryanl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryanl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/26 "2013-08-17T16:29:46Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Let’s say I go to REI or something and buy thousands of dollars worth of stuff, then go down to Mexico, open a shop called SFJ, and resell all of it at a markup. What are the legal issues here? > > I ask b/c I just read an interesting [article](http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Trader-Joe-s-drags-a-pirate-to-court-4736782.php) about a Canadian guy who is doing exactly that - buying thousands of dollars of Trader Joe’s items around Seattle, then reselling them at a store back in Canada, and is getting sued. > > I’m not sure that Trader Joe’s has a case, but I’m not sure about the legalities involved. As mentioned by someone else, the First Sale Doctrine generally protects your ability to resell goods without violating the protected rights of trademark holders. However, the only claim were the First Sale Doctrine may be at play here is trademark infringement, which appears to be the weakest in the complaint. Nonetheless, I can see trademark dilution and unfair competition surviving pre-trial motions, particularly in light of Hallatt’s use of the name “Pirate Joe’s” (and the subsequent “Irate Joe’s”). According to the article: > [@](#): > > The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington state, alleges federal trademark infringement; unfair competition, false endorsement and false designation of origin; false advertising; federal trademark dilution; injury to business and reputation; and deceptive business practices. Earlier this month, Hallatt’s Seattle lawyers filed a motion to dismiss. Overall, it appears that the lawsuit stems not so much from Hallatt’s reselling of products as it is about his use of a name that closely resembles the trademark (“Trader Joe’s”) and the alleged dilution of the mark. The OP can buy REI products from their retail stores and resell them in “Morbo’s Outdoor Goods.” But the OP risks a potential infringement of the trademark holder’s rights if he names his store “RIE,” “RAI,” or any other closely-related derivative that may appear to create a dilution of the REI trademark. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/27 "2013-08-17T22:15:39Z")
Thanks for the replies everyone! > [@ryanl](#): > > The OP can buy REI products from their retail stores and resell them in “Morbo’s Outdoor Goods.” Heh. “Do you take Discover?” “I WILL DESTROY YOU!” “I bet those Windmills keep your store cool!” “WINDMILLS DO NOT WORK THAT WAY! GOODNIGHT!” ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/28 "2013-08-17T22:19:21Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wonder if Costco would care if I resold Kirkland-branded merchandise. Kirkland coffee was available at a coffee shop in Esfahan, Iran when I was there in 2011. There were several cans of it on the shelf behind the counter. I am quite sure that Costco does not have any stores in Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/29 "2013-08-18T18:33:49Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I remember reading that one small bookshop owner said she went to Costco to stock up on the Harry Potter books because she couldn’t get them that cheap from the publisher. Unless it was a very tiny bookstore, they _could_ get them that cheap from the publisher, but only if they pre-ordered. Costco bought tons of them and put them out at cost as a loss-leader, so there were also a lot of stores that ran out and just bought boxes of them from Costco to restock. Costco’s price was actually a bit below what distributors were charging. ---
**Author:** ![ryanl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@ryanl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryanl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/30 "2013-08-18T18:57:30Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:29, topic:666436”] Unless it was a very tiny bookstore, they _could_ get them that cheap from the publisher, but only if they pre-ordered. Costco bought tons of them and put them out at cost as a loss-leader, so there were also a lot of stores that ran out and just bought boxes of them from Costco to restock. Costco’s price was actually a bit below what distributors were charging. [/QUOTE] Appropriately enough for this thread, a retailer’s sale of books below the publisher’s designated price was the event that led to the articulation of the first sale doctrine by the [US Supreme Court](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbs-Merrill_Co._v._Straus), and which was later codified by Congress. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436/31 "2013-08-19T02:36:07Z")
Nothing important to add but the linked article said: > [@](#): > > In the Bay Area, \*\*Hallatt became a Trader Joe’s fan when he was working in Emeryville \*\*for the search engine then known as Ask Jeeves. (Bolding mine.) I used to live near and work in the same shopping center where that particular Trader Joe’s opened. Oh the college years! Cool. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legality-of-buying-stuff-in-bulk-and-reselling-it-myself/666436.md?page=1)