Well!! Merits can be traded in exchange for USD

14$ seems a lucrative deal for anyone, and there is a discount as well when looking for >5 merits.

In the Russian section prices are lower

There are also user who have started a thread looking to buy Merit and even Jr. Member accounts on the Chinese section too.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5033177.0
https://web.archive.org/web/20180922192449/https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5033177.0

And they are using QQ which is an instant messaging software commonly used by the Chinese citizen in China to discuss on deals between the buyers and sellers for selling Merits and Jr. Member accounts.