It’s no mystery that stores mark up prices to turn a higher profit.

Most people would probably be okay with that if they were just marking up the wholesale price.

But if people find out you’re actually marking up the retail price, meaning they could get that lower price by buying from that store directly, they will not be pleased.

TikToker @allyviccaro17 has a “secret” about this she has “been hiding for years and I think it’s time I finally share it.”

Her video is a Stitch in response to a video about a store marking up products by the brand Shein, which is known for being lower quality clothing, by four times their original retail price.

(A Stitch is when you take part of someone’s video and create a response to it and you mention the handle of the person whose video clip you’re sharing.)

OP shares some inside information on how another store resells Shein products.

“In college, I worked at a restaurant and we shared a dumpster with a pretty big boutique. It was constantly filled with thousands of Shein bags.”

So what does that mean for customers?

“The pieces in this store are like $30, 40, $50 a piece.”

It means that a lot of customers got screwed.

It’s also a lesson in branding: people who have the money and want a certain image are willing to pay more if something is branded as being expensive and great quality.

Here is the video.

@allyviccaro17

#stitch with @Lauren i hate that they are such a big boutique now nationwide and get away with this #shein #boutiqueclothing

♬ original sound – Avic1217

And here is the video that was Stitched to it.

@laurharr22

Like who do they think they are fooling #shein #boutique #bikini

♬ original sound – Lauren

Check out what people are saying.

Most of the comments were about the Copper Closet chain. It was fun to see all the tea that spilled.

This commenter left quite a cliffhanger. I was invested.

It was great to see the consumer advice. Good idea!

Apparently this is pretty common. I’m not surprised.

This is partly why I don’t shop online unless I’ve been to the store in person and know what quality to expect.

Maybe this is why I usually only shop from the same three stores.

If you liked that story, check out this video from a former Chipotle employee who reveals how the company cheats customers out of food.