I want to, but I can't: are brands able to regulate resale
Rare items from limited collections are increasingly disappearing from stores in a matter of hours, immediately appearing on the secondary market at twice the price. For buyers, this means constant frustration with the fact that the only way to get what they want is to overpay. For brands, this is a blow to audience loyalty against the background of the apparent success of the collection. At the same time, they do not have control over the secondary market, and therefore cannot influence the situation. For more information about the intricacies of the modern retail market in Russia— see the Izvestia article.
The disappeared thing: how a special case became a systemic problem
In recent months, buyers are increasingly faced with a paradoxical situation. Items from new collections disappear from official websites almost immediately after release and literally appear on the secondary market on the same day at twice the retail price.
Ushatava gloves remained on the website with the status "soon available" for a long time, but then they appeared on the marketplace for several thousand rubles more expensive. The Lime animalistic set, sold out in a day, and Zarina gloves are regularly found there at twice the retail price. A similar story happened with the Befree leather bomber: in the secondary market, its value has almost tripled. The scenario repeats itself from time to time: release, instant sold out, and then resale with a significant margin.
For consumers, this means not only inconvenience, but also a clash with injustice. The thing they were watching and which they planned to buy at the official price suddenly turns out to be unavailable. At the same time, the brand has formally completed its task, the collection is sold out. But against the background of obvious financial success, customer frustration and unpleasant aftertaste remain.
Alexandra Levitina, an expert in the fashion industry, explains the relevance of such a scheme right now by the coincidence of several factors. The supply structure, customer behavior, and market infrastructure have changed. After the redistribution of demand towards local brands and the capsule drop format, the supply in many cases turned out to be limited, both in production and in circulation. Popular positions are disappearing faster than before, and shortages are increasingly occurring because the volume of output simply cannot keep up with the speed of audience reaction.
— An additional factor is the technological environment. Resale platforms allow you to display goods almost instantly, and the audience of such services has already been formed and is ready to pay for a "missed chance." As a result, it takes a few hours between the official release and the appearance of a thing with a markup," the expert adds.
This is how a private story about "missing" gloves or sets turns into a systemic problem, the brand makes a profit, the reseller makes a margin, and the consumer feels that access to fashion is becoming a matter of speed.
Resale as the new norm: changing the market and customer behavior
The modern fashion market has changed radically in recent years. Clothing has ceased to be exclusively a wardrobe item — today it is an asset, an investment and a status marker. This is especially noticeable in the segment of limited collections, where scarcity is formed not only as a marketing technique, but also as a result of the real speed of sales.
As Alexandra Levitina notes, about one in five customers contact the retailer after the item has disappeared from the official sale. In this logic, the margin is no longer perceived as an unfair overpayment, it becomes a payment for access to the deficit here and now. Resale actually turns into an urgent service to get what you want without waiting or compromise.
The scale of the phenomenon is confirmed by the figures. According to Tatiana Vetrova, Associate Professor of Marketing at the HSE Graduate School of Business, the resale of limited-edition goods has become a significant part of the fashion industry, especially in the premium segment and street fashion. This is a global trend, but it has gained special momentum in Russia after the departure of foreign brands. According to the Fashion Consulting Group, the retail market reached 253 billion rubles in monetary terms in 2025. According to the survey Anketolog.ru 86% of Russians have a positive attitude towards limited collections, 69% appreciate their uniqueness, and about 20% have already resold such items— mainly through marketplaces.
— It is important to distinguish between two different phenomena — speculative resale of new items and resale of goods with a history of use. The Russian market is showing multidirectional dynamics: against the background of high demand, a shortage of limited collections and unhindered gray imports, it is the speculative segment that continues to grow, while interest in used brands is gradually decreasing, the expert emphasizes.
For the brands themselves, the situation remains ambivalent. A quick sold out is an absolute indicator of demand and strong positioning. However, there is a question about the long-term impact of such a model on the brand's image and control over pricing.
Designer Tatiana Parfenova, founder of the Tatiana Parfenova fashion house, notes in an interview with Izvestia that any elimination of residues is primarily the transformation of a product into working capital.
— They can be re-invested in business development. From an economic point of view, the process is rational. But strategically, there is always a question of the brand's reputation and value in the long run," says the designer.
As for resale, Parfenova did not encounter a massive appearance of her works on the secondary market. But she knows the opposite cases, when the customers themselves refused to part with the thing, despite persistent offers to buy it. For example, ballerina Diana Vishneva said that in 2008 in Monaco she was actively persuaded to sell a dress with embroidered landscapes inspired by the embroidery on Catherine II's skirt made of Chinese silk. Later, this outfit entered the top ten of the best haute couture dresses according to one of the Parisian publications, and demand for it persisted even after its public appearance.
Is it possible to regulate the resale
Today, brands are increasingly trying to control the flow of purchases — they are introducing "one-handed" restrictions, launching waiting lists and pre-orders, building digital queues and creating their own retail platforms. However, it is precisely such tools that create an environment in which resale becomes almost inevitable.
As Tatiana Vetrova notes, several factors influence the resale growth at once. First of all, the technical one.
— The massive development of online platforms, including for retail, has greatly simplified the process of purchasing and reselling fashion goods. A deal that used to require time and personal contacts is now completed in a few clicks," she emphasizes.
The emotional aspect is equally important. According to Ipsos Comcon, 43% of residents visit marketplaces and online stores to improve their mood. Vetrova says bluntly: "Shopping today is becoming therapy and a new way of entertainment, an escape from reality." At the same time, branded items, according to her, allow a person to show individuality and stand out.
Against the background of the absence of a number of foreign brands and developed gray imports, purchases from resellers become an opportunity to get unique things, the expert believes.
In addition, limited collections create artificial scarcity and programmable hype. Market logic completes the picture: participants see an opportunity to earn significant amounts by quickly reselling scarce goods. An additional driver is promotion: the growing popularity of bloggers and influencers, their collaborations with brands stimulate demand for limited capsules.
According to Vetrova, the social dynamics are contradictory. On the one hand, the sharing economy and the environmental agenda support the development of the secondary market. On the other hand, new generations often prefer new clothes to second—hand goods, she emphasizes. As a result, speculative resale of new items is growing more actively in Russia, while interest in used brands is decreasing.At the same time, according to Vetrova, the modern buyer pays not only for the product, but also for the feeling of uniqueness and the opportunity to possess a rare thing immediately.
Experts agree that it is impossible to fully control the secondary market. Restrictions and digital mechanisms can only mitigate the consequences, but not eliminate the fundamental causes of resale development. In the context of technological accessibility, emotional consumption, and a culture of scarcity, this model has finally become entrenched as part of a new fashionable reality.
Influencers and social networks: the engines of resale
In the current reality, it is no longer possible to talk about the fashion market outside the context of social media. Influencers are becoming not just trend guides, but full-fledged demand catalysts. They largely determine which item gets the status of "the one."
A revealing story happened with a cream-colored leather bomber jacket from Befree. After the model appeared in the bloggers' feeds and received the unspoken title of "the main jacket of the season," it almost instantly disappeared not only from the brand's official website, but also from major marketplaces. One of the influencers publicly confessed to subscribers that she did not have time to buy a bomber jacket: by the time she made the decision, all sizes were sold out. The only option was the secondary market, but there the price was almost three times higher than the original one.
This case vividly illustrates the modern chain of hype formation. The influencer sets a visual reference point and assigns the must have status to the item. The audience reacts instantly, demand is concentrated in the first hours, and then the second wave begins — resale. Resellers closely monitor such bursts of attention and actually learn to predict which positions will fire.
As Tatiana Vetrova notes, the influence of influencers has a dual effect. On the one hand, their activity increases brand awareness, creates a scarcity effect (the so—called FOMO - fear of missing something), enhances the perceived value of the product and builds audience loyalty. On the other hand, such dynamics can lead to negative consequences.: the growth of counterfeits, opaque pricing in the secondary market and the gradual erosion of exclusivity.
— Some brands are trying to maintain control over the situation. They launch their own platforms for resale and authentication, enhance direct interaction with customers through official websites, applications and private club projects. This is an attempt not only to protect the image, but also to maintain the manageability of pricing policy in an environment where the media effect can create a deficit even without deliberate marketing calculations," she explains.
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