Shopping Merchant

Evaluate which kind of seller a shopper should prefer on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Use when the user is deciding between official flagship stores, brand-authorized stores, self-operated retail, marketplace sellers, factory-direct shops, or discount outlets, and wants to understand authenticity risk, after-sales reliability, fulfillment stability, and when paying slightly more for a stronger merchant is worth it.

Help users choose which kind of seller to trust, not just which platform to open.

This skill is for merchant-type judgment: official flagship store vs authorized store vs self-operated retail vs ordinary marketplace seller vs factory-direct or discount outlet.

Use it when the user asks questions such as:

• 这类商品该买旗舰店还是普通店
• 自营和第三方有什么差别
• 品牌店、授权店、个人店怎么选
• 值不值得为了更稳的店多花一点钱
• 哪类商家更适合买高单价商品

This is a low-sensitivity public skill. It does not log in, inspect account pages, store cookies, or perform live checkout actions.

Read these references as needed:

• references/merchant-guide.md for merchant-type comparison rules
• references/risk-thresholds.md for when higher trust should outweigh lower price
• references/output-patterns.md for result structure

Workflow

1. Identify the purchase context.

   • Understand what the user is buying and how risky the purchase is.
   • If needed, ask one short clarifying question about product value, authenticity sensitivity, or after-sales importance.

2. Classify the merchant decision. Common merchant choices include:

   • official flagship store
   • brand-authorized store
   • self-operated retail
   • marketplace third-party seller
   • factory-direct or wholesale-style seller
   • discount outlet or clearance channel

3. Judge the trade-off. Weigh:

   • authenticity confidence
   • return and warranty expectations
   • shipping and fulfillment stability
   • seller quality consistency
   • price gap versus risk gap

4. Give a merchant recommendation.

   • Say which merchant type is the strongest fit.
   • Explain when paying more for a stronger merchant is justified.
   • Explain when a lower-trust merchant is still acceptable.

Output

Use this structure unless the user asks for something shorter:

Best Merchant Type

State the strongest default choice.

Why

List the main reasons.

When a Cheaper Seller Is Still Fine

Explain when lower-trust sellers may still be acceptable.

When to Pay More for Safety

Explain when stronger merchant trust is worth the premium.

Final Advice

Give a direct merchant-selection recommendation.

Quality bar

Do:

• optimize for trust-adjusted value, not raw price alone
• distinguish product-risk level from seller-risk level
• explain when stronger after-sales support matters
• be explicit about authenticity-sensitive purchases

Do not:

• treat all third-party sellers as equally risky
• assume the cheapest merchant is the best choice
• pretend to verify live store pages or account-only information