直到最近，发展中国家的水资源转售和销售在很大程度上一直被公用事业、政府和外部支持机构忽视。私人关系的所有者将水转售给前来取水的顾客。小贩们挨家挨户运送水或者批发。转售和自动售货表明消费者购买水服务的能力和意愿。最近的例子和两个案例研究表明，这些实践可以作为公用事业服务的设计标准，尤其是在城市周边地区。虽然消费者可能会花更多的钱购买更少的水，但他们也可能更喜欢只购买他们收到的水，而不是固定的每月金额。讨论了水的自动贩卖和转售问题，以及自动贩卖和转售制度化所涉及的问题。 包括29个参考文献、表格和图表。

Until recently the reselling and vending of water in the developing world has largely been ignored by utilities, governments, and external support agencies. Owners of private connections resell water to customers who come and fetch it. Vendors transport water door-to-door or sell it wholesale. Reselling and vending indicate consumers' ability and willingness to pay for water service. Recent examples and two case studies suggest that these practices can be used as design criteria for utility services, especially for peri-urban areas. While customers may pay more money for less water, they may also prefer paying only for what they receive rather than a fixed monthly amount. Problems with vending and reselling water and issues involved in institutionalizing vending and reselling are discussed. Includes 29 references, tables, figures.