"Welcome to the quasi-underground Trader Joe’s reselling economy"

Refinery29:

Though the chain has 484 stores around the continental United States in 41 states and Washington D.C., it has no international locations or e-commerce business. In that absence, unsanctioned sellers offer popular items like Speculoos Cookie Butter, Dark Chocolate Covered Powerberries, Roasted Plantain Chips, and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups on marketplaces like Amazon, Ebay, and Walmart.com. These treats often come at a significant markup

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There are a couple kinds of customers who buy Trader Joe’s from an unofficial online reseller. The first are those who became smitten with the brand or a particular product while living close to a store — then moved somewhere without easy access, and found themselves willing to pay almost anything to get the goods again. The second group have never experienced Trader Joe’s, either because they don’t live in the US or live too far from a store, but have heard about it and want in.

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The advent of social media and YouTube “haul” videos has transmitted the legend far beyond American shores.

"Inside the black market where people pay thousands of dollars for Instagram verification"

Mashable:

The blue emblem can help people gain legitimacy in the business of influencer marketing and bestows some credibility within Instagram's community of 700 million monthly active users. It cannot be requested online or purchased, according to Instagram's policies. It is Instagram's velvet rope.

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James said he got into the market for verification via an Instagram direct message. Previously, he had been buying and selling Instagram accounts that had popular or one-word names, and he decided to message someone with an interesting handle (a.k.a. username). That someone said they were able to take over that account because he worked at Instagram.

And that was the start of a side-business. James would find people who would pay for verification, and his friend on the inside of Instagram would make it happen.

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Getting that blue check is getting harder. Just a year ago, James said his contact at Instagram was able to do five name transfers a week. Now, it's more like two per week and "maybe one to two verifications," he said.