My interview with Brandon Taylor: an insight into middlemanning

On the 20^th of December I visited Brandon Taylor at his home in Southampton. At 23, Brandon is a professional middleman as well as a daily vlogger on YouTube and popular figure in the Facebook streetwear turned youth culture group called The Basement (the Facebook group is invite only but you can check out the new and improved website here). It was through this Facebook group that Brandon’s career began.

The main topic of discussion in the group is fashion with members commenting on new releases from popular clothing brands as well as buying and selling clothes from one another. Those in the group also like to trade items between each other but this creates a bit of a problem. Unlike direct purchases where there are multiple ways to claim a refund if the item you have bought does not arrive, trading is different as you have to rely on trust in order to successfully complete a trade. This used to be an issue before Brandon emerged. (Apologies for the terrible quality of photographs produced by my phone).

Brandon deals with over 50 Facebook messages every day 

Brandon began by helping friends, who did not live locally, swap items with each other, for example trading the same pair of shoes but for a different size. He would set up a group message on Facebook and tell both people where to send the items and also to add a note in the parcel containing details of who they are trading with and what items they’re expecting to receive. Once both items had arrived at his house, Brandon would repackage them and send them off to the correct recipient. His middleman service was free and soon Brandon got a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy with a flawless success record. As his popularity grew, Brandon started receiving more and more items to trade to the point where it became too expensive due to repackaging expenses. This led to the creation of a £5 (plus shipping) service fee per item and the first money-making opportunity.

Brandon showing me a parcel he received from America

Some packaged parcels ready to be sent

The parcels filter from downstairs up into Brandon's room

A pile of parcels wait to be repackaged 

Brandon’s service continued to grow in popularity and he now receives an average of 15 Parcels a week and over 50 Facebook messages every day with over 800 references from previous trades. He has also increased his service to £7 plus 1% of the value of the items after receiving a £1400 Nikon camera in exchange for 3 Supreme ‘box logo’ hoodies. This trade adds to some other recent expensive transfers, such as limited edition jackets from the Supreme and The North Face collaboration as well as Kanye West’s Yeezys and even a MacBook.

A Supreme and The North Face 'Nuptse' Jacket worth roughly £500

A Supreme and The North Face Expedition Pullover Jacket worth an estimated £1000

A MacBook. Need I say anymore? 

The service provided by Brandon is another example of the economic opportunities created by the new phenomenon of reselling as, although middlemanning is not explicitly reselling, Brandon is doing something that has never been done before and it is a role that only exists because of the new online clothing culture that is growing more and more with young people.