Stealing a million dollar painting is useless unless you have someone who can find the right buyer, a fence. They themselves do not commit the crimes, but have access to a network of potential consumers. Utilizing their insight into a network, they are able to choose what items are best suited for their network and which ones don’t make the cut: quality, perceived value, functionality, features.

Why can’t thieves just directly access their market? Consumers of reallocated goods have specific needs: anonymity, privacy, time restraints; they prefer to bypass the promise of a lower price offered by a “direct seller” and pay a premium for their products by paying the middle man who offers them the complete value that they are looking for.