Swim knows someone who bought the sassy from the business at that online auction. He bought from them only once, before he even knew about the hive, security, etc. He watched the auction site to see if this place still sold it, and noticed for a while that they didn't seem to sell anymore. Swim stopped looking and thought nothing more about it. Then, months later out of the blue, they send him an email saying "We have Sassafras back in Stock!" It was really quite disturbing, and swim obviously ignored the email.
Have you ever known a shady guy who disappears for a while, then comes back with a strange story about where he's been? Then, he wants you to get involved in some funky stuff? Well, that's exactly how swim felt when he saw that email.
"No...why would I need a fire extinguisher?"