- name
- shopping-merchant
- description
- 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.
Shopping Merchant
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.mdfor merchant-type comparison rulesreferences/risk-thresholds.mdfor when higher trust should outweigh lower pricereferences/output-patterns.mdfor result structure
Workflow
- 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.
- 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
- Judge the trade-off.
Weigh: - authenticity confidence - return and warranty expectations - shipping and fulfillment stability - seller quality consistency - price gap versus risk gap
- 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