ShockedIO reselling community has made founder $4.4 million, Fortune reports

ShockedIO, a subscription-based reselling community, has generated $4.4 million since its 2020 launch, according to documents reviewed by Fortune. Its 24-year-old founder, who goes by JS and declined to give his full name, sells members access to fast alerts on online retail deals that can be flipped or used for savings.

The Wyoming-based LLC now charges $100 a month, up from an early price of about $25, JS told Fortune. He said the service has about 850 paying members and a team of roughly 30 to 50 developers, researchers and administrators.

JS told Fortune he previously belonged to a paid group for sneaker resellers and decided he could build a similar operation after bringing over a developer. The project began as a free server before becoming a paid membership business, he said.

How does ShockedIO work?

ShockedIO does not operate as a store or marketplace. Fortune reported that the service gives members real-time notifications about restocks, limited releases, discounts, pricing gaps and promotional offers across many retailers.

JS said the operation relies on software monitors built by outside developers hired over time. Those tools check retailer product pages around the clock and notify the group when inventory or prices change, he told Fortune.

He cited examples including PlayStation 5 consoles listed for $50, laptops priced at $100 and, in some cases, free laptops. JS said retailers sometimes cancel orders tied to mistaken prices before the products ship.

Within the resale community, profitable finds are often called “cooks,” according to Fortune. For members, the value is speed: an alert can arrive before a wider audience notices a restock, a markdown or a promotional giveaway.

Is ShockedIO legal?

JS told Fortune that ShockedIO’s methods are “100% legal,” and said many opportunities come from promotions companies make available publicly. He gave the example of Fanatics giving away gift cards for an event, saying ShockedIO members found the offer before the broader public did.

Fortune reported that the business model sits in a gray area. Walmart’s terms of use bar applications from scraping or datamining site materials to train artificial intelligence, but the terms cited by Fortune do not specifically refer to monitoring the site for purchasing.

Reselling retail goods can also fall under the First Sale Doctrine, which generally concerns a buyer’s right to resell a lawful copy or item after purchase. Fortune noted that ShockedIO’s model depends on that resale market rather than on holding its own inventory.

Why the resale-alert market grew

JS launched ShockedIO in the early months of the pandemic, after graduating high school in 2020, he told Fortune. He said supply-chain problems made some products scarce while many people stuck at home looked for ways to earn money online.

Gian Luca Clementi, an economics professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, told Fortune that technology has expanded side-hustle opportunities by helping people find demand, build trust and coordinate payments. He said resale markets have changed because sellers can now reach buyers far beyond their local area.

ShockedIO’s current membership is below its high point, JS told Fortune. He said the group previously reached 1,500 members when resale conditions were stronger.

An internal ShockedIO survey shared with Fortune found that 40 of 44 new members said they recovered the cost of the subscription during their first week. JS said the group includes people trying to increase their net worth as well as parents looking to save money on household items or products for children.

JS said he keeps his full identity private because of financial privacy concerns, including crypto trading and a public crypto wallet tied to his legal name. He told Fortune that paid resale groups have become more accepted in recent years as more people see them as a way to find opportunities.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.