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[Gamer79]

The PS5 fiasco seems to finally be over with but we have seen the same practice with the Switch and Series X.(near launch)

I am not talking about selling retro games.(although those prices have gone bat shit crazy)

I am talking about people buying high demand systems and then flipping them for a profit. Some people will literally score dozens or even hundreds of a desired systems and then artificially inflate the price by driving the prices up. I wish my fellow human being would use their brains more and stop buying from these scumbags but it's going to happen. You can argue the true value of an item is whatever somebody is willing to pay for it. I do not agree with the practice and would never buy from any scalper.

The ps5 situation had an extra layer of slime. Many of these jerkoffs were using illegal bots or joining groups and literally stealing systems out of people's virtual shopping carts. There were so many numerous reports that a ps5 stock was being unloaded and then the bots would eat them all up within seconds. (much faster than any human could check out)
I for one am happy to see many of them taking a loss currently on the system. I do not want to see this trend continue and hope we do not deal with this going forward. This generation was especially bad due to the pandemic and supply chain issues.

 

[Neff]

Wankers.

 

[ReBurn]

Being impervious to FOMO I don't care too much. If I want it I'll get it eventually.

 

[SmokedMeat]

I feel that you get a system and decide to flip it versus keep it - I’m cool with that. I’ve done it myself.

But motherfuckers getting greedy buying multiple systems, trying to essentially run a mini flipping business can get fucked.

I was camping out for an Nvidia 30XX series at Best Buy during the mining craze - in other to get a card for msrp. As soon as I got there the line was long as shit, but we had an idea of what was arriving. A couple guys were taking count of the number of people in line as well as what card they were hoping to get.
Come morning my place in line somehow dropped a few numbers. I saw a couple families were camped out, so they could all sell their cards to miners in the parking lot the moment they exited the store. That was shitty. Especially knowing people like myself and guys around me wanted the GPU for gaming.

 

[feynoob]

Rot in hell if you are scalping these products. I don't have any sympathy for people who are denying other people's enjoyment for profits.

 

[Drizzlehell]

Scalpers can go to hell.

 

[Lasha]

The solution to stopping scalping is raising retail prices. Scalping only works because enough people are willing to pay more. I'm happy to eat up difference if manufacturers want to leave money on the table. I made 800 selling two PS5 preorders with a script and a few clicks. I sold a few more consoles with a premium of 200-400 during the window. Easy money.

 

[rabbity-thing]

There are two types of people in this world:

A) People who think scalpers suck.
B) People who are scalpers.

 

[TGO]

As a gamer and a steelbook collector....they can gargle on my balls.

 

[GametimeUK]

Ultimately as much as I can't stand it I can't hold it against scalpers for making easy money.

 

[Fbh]

While I don't like scalpers, I'm more upset about console makers and retailers for not doing more to prevent scalping than about scalpers themselves.
(And I guess idiots buying from them are bad too).

Can't get too angry at people legally making easy money from selling luxury goods to idiots.

 

[TexMex]

Did it once and would do it again. Smooth transaction 10/10 experience.

 

[Kataploom]

People are in their rights to buy/sell as much as anyone else, the reason it exists in first place is because other people is willing to pay them for the hassle of getting the items for them, like, they'd probably get the item next year having to work all week plus home chores, but paying someone else an amount makes it easier for them to get the stuff earlier.

That's a service too, whether some like it or not... And I'm not the type that pays resellers like those, I have that thing called self-control.

 

[IFireflyl]

The solution to stopping scalping is raising retail prices. Scalping only works because enough people are willing to pay more. I'm happy to eat up difference if manufacturers want to leave money on the table. I made 800 selling two PS5 preorders with a script and a few clicks. I sold a few more consoles with a premium of 200-400 during the window. Easy money.

What an absolute shit take.

 

[Justin9mm]

I'm on both sides of the fence. Scalpers suck but the companies should do more to stop this, and if they had manufactured enough supply, there wouldn't be scalpers. Scalpers can't 100% be blamed due to shortages through events like covid etc. How do you think Capitalism works? It's supply and demand just on a larger scale. This is not an excuse for scalpers but there is more the industry can do, they just don't want to when it involves more money out of their pocket.

 

[ManaByte]

Scalpers should have their balls cut off with a rusty butter knife.

 

[CGNoire]

Fuck Scalpers to hell and back. Ive said my peace and Im out this thread is not good for my health.

 

[Crayon]

It's all good, they're just correcting supply and demand. It's the invisible fist of the market.

 

[Kamina]

It needs counter measures like “one piece per customer” and anti-bot measures to minimize it. But if something bought and the owner doesn’t want to keep it it’s all good.

 

[Amory]

It sucks and the manufacturers need to figure out a better way for next launch to put an end to it. Do something like what valve did with the steam deck

 

[TheGrat1]

The only reason people scalp consoles is because people are willing to pay for it. They are free to do it obviously but I do not approve of it nor do I acquire mass produced goods that way.

 

[dave_d]

The solution to stopping scalping is raising retail prices. Scalping only works because enough people are willing to pay more. I'm happy to eat up difference if manufacturers want to leave money on the table. I made 800 selling two PS5 preorders with a script and a few clicks. I sold a few more consoles with a premium of 200-400 during the window. Easy money.

Pretty much econ 101. I know I'm a broken record but you would hope people would just break down and take econ 101 instead of inventing new economics but we know they won't.(It's the equivalent of thinking wet streets cause rain.)

 

[GreatnessRD]

I don't mind it. Get ya money, Scalpers. They won't get a dime from me, but I'm no hater. It's the goofies who enable the scalpers who are worst. Most people have that FOMO living rent free in their heads, so that's why scalpers exist. If you're willing to pay double for a non-essential item like a gaming console, GPU, that's your dumbass fault. Someone just took advantage of your impatience. For example, the 4080 wasn't selling to begin with. Then scalpers bought a shit ton of them and had to get rid of them at cost or lower because they thought the market was something it wasn't. Problem corrected on its own because weren't buying.

 

[Justin9mm]

It needs counter measures like “one piece per customer” and anti-bot measures to minimize it. But if something bought and the owner doesn’t want to keep it it’s all good.

There are solutions like having a ticket/order system, you register, it's one per registration per person. You must prove you are that person, and the supply goes down the list from first to last, when your name comes up, you get an email or text or phone call to say you can come pick up. For online orders, it should be at least a simple registration with a phone number and email which you need to verify to be officially registered and then same thing. I'm just spit balling here but there are ways to create hoops to combat bots and people just ordering multiple consoles for scalping. It's just more time, resources and cost on the manufacturer and retailers to implement a better system but they don't give two shits and that's why they don't do it. The manufacturer knowing this is happening and doing nothing is just as much to blame as the scalping.

 

[theclaw135]

Ethical or not, people have the right to resell things.

It'd be price-fixing, if a game company attempted to manipulate second-hand prices. Whether by deliberately shipping too few copies to meet demand, setting an MSRP significantly below market value, or collusion (what if a publisher paid people to horde copies of a game to withhold from the market?).

 

[BennyBlanco]

This was exacerbated by Covid. Tons of people were just sitting home and unsure about their jobs. People have mouths to feed, I'm not mad at anyone trying to make a quick buck under the circumstances. I'm patient enough to never buy anything from them though.

 

[Lasha]

There are solutions like having a ticket/order system, you register, it's one per registration per person. You must prove you are that person, and the supply goes down the list from first to last, when your name comes up, you get an email or text or phone call to say you can come pick up. For online orders, it should be at least a simple registration with a phone number and email which you need to verify to be officially registered and then same thing. I'm just spit balling here but there are ways to create hoops to combat bots and people just ordering multiple consoles for scalping. It's just more time, resources and cost on the manufacturer and retailers to implement a better system but they don't give two shits and that's why they don't do it. The manufacturer knowing this is happening and doing nothing is just as much to blame as the scalping.

I used the address and details of every person on my floor and the floor above me to get around list restrictions. The method to stop loopholes can't introduce unnecessary friction for regular customers. A better system would be to have a blind auction. Everybody lists their max price. Ditch the outlier bids (high and low) then sell top to bottom from the remainder. No returns for cashm The risk would make scalping untenable since you could end up overpaying.

 

[nush]

It paid off my mortgage so....

 

[Elder Legend]

I was smart enough to secure 4 ps5s at launch. One for myself, one for a relative, and 2 to sell it to morons who don't have any patience. I love money and i love desperate customers. $$$$ all day.

 

[Beastclaw Raider]

I did scalp a few ps5 consoles at launch. I had ordered it from a few places (Walmart, amazon, the source, bestbuy) to be absolutely sure I'd get it so I ended up reselling the extra ones. I got a free ps5

 

[Team Andromeda]

Maybe people should be smarter and pre order their consoles before launch?.
This is nothing new and you'll never stop it

 

[DragoonWalker]

I miss the days when our world wasn't filled with grifters who try to make a living from all the cracks and loopholes in the system. Scalpers are bad, but I hardly encounter them in my daily life. What's really bad to me is every single website, person, and entity out there trying to get me to subscribe to their petty life, "respecting my privacy" by asking me if they can spy on me and have all my data, and trying to lure/bait me into more content.

All these people, just skimming off the top of everyone enough to make a gig out of it. And somehow they survive, because despite the saturation of just about everything in our world, people are thirsty.

 

[Nitty_Grimes]

Nintendo recently were good (I thought) with the ToTK Special Edition pre orders in the UK.

1. Had to register your interest couple of weeks in advance,
2. On the day had to click a link they sent you
3. Re-enter email address
4. Enter the code they sent you
5. Prove you were human with a simple ish capcha puzzle
6. Onto the site order your special edition. One per email.

Dunno how good the bots are but if they are capable of logging in then inputting the code then solving the capcha then obviously I’m barking up the wrong tree.

 

[mrmustard]

Scalpers are no proplem, overpaying ***** are and those are usually not poor and can easily afford it. Scalped a few PS5 and XSX myself and don't feel bad about it.

Strike first
Strike hard
No mercy

 

[mrmustard]

Nintendo recently were good (I thought) with the ToTK Special Edition pre orders in the UK.

1. Had to register your interest couple of weeks in advance,
2. On the day had to click a link they sent you
3. Re-enter email address
4. Enter the code they sent you
5. Prove you were human with a simple ish capcha puzzle
6. Onto the site order your special edition. One per email.

Dunno how good the bots are but if they are capable of logging in then inputting the code then solving the capcha then obviously I’m barking up the wrong tree.

But that would only work if Nintendo would sell it ecxlusively. Meanwhile other retailers sold you multiple editions between 129 and 149 Euro. I could have easily preordered 10 pieces for 129 Euro.

 

[nush]

Scalpers are no proplem, overpaying ***** are and those are usually not poor and can easily afford it.

Exactly, those people that just want something first and not go through all the pre-order/queuing to get it. However even those guys have a ceiling price which is usually just over 2X the retail price.

 

[Chastten]

Honestly, don't really care, especially when it comes to luxury products like consoles or graphics cards. If I had the time, I would probably scalp myself to make some extra money on the side. Morons have proven to be willing to pay absurd prices for their shiny new graphics boxes, so I'd say milk 'em for all they're worth.

Meanwhile, anyone with some sense in them can just wait a few months and get it at MSRP.

 

[Justin9mm]

I used the address and details of every person on my floor and the floor above me to get around list restrictions. The method to stop loopholes can't introduce unnecessary friction for regular customers. A better system would be to have a blind auction. Everybody lists their max price. Ditch the outlier bids (high and low) then sell top to bottom from the remainder. No returns for cashm The risk would make scalping untenable since you could end up overpaying.

I didn't explain exactly how to do it and not talking about a simple take your name and details down on a list, just an example at things they can look at. There are ways to verify someone like sms code to phone etc. I don't believe that is unnecessary restriction to consumers. Just saying there is something they could do more to improve how they sell them. The fact you did what you just said is concerning and stupid if that's all you need in your country without any ID checking. Because where I live, you need to prove you are the name you put down by ID.

 

[Lasha]

I didn't explain exactly how to do it and not talking about a simple take your name and details down on a list, just an example at things they can look at. There are ways to verify someone like sms code to phone etc. I don't believe that is unnecessary restriction to consumers. Just saying there is something they could do more to improve how they sell them. The fact you did what you just said is concerning and stupid if that's all you need in your country without any ID checking. Because where I live, you need to prove you are the name you put down by ID.

ID checking is more difficult with data protection laws. Stores cant retain national ID numbers or other PII without checking. Its SMS OTP only. Pre-order lists are online only. My neighbors know I used their address and I cut them in if I got one to their unit. Your idea is noble but simply a bandage on the issue: the console is worth more than the price it was originally sold for. Individuals will still put their name in and try to scalp once they see the sale prices.

 

[Braag]

It's a disgusting practice that is aimed at taking advantage of people by helping to create a scarcity.
I remember there being some talk about creating laws around it which I'm all for.
Of course it can also be funny when the scalpers end up with a ton of inventory when the product is suddenly available in abundance in stores and people rather buy it there than from some weirdo in his garage.

 

[GymWolf]

Better than scalping humans i guess?!

 

[Chronicle]

Thumps up!

 

[SmokedMeat]

The solution to stopping scalping is raising retail prices. Scalping only works because enough people are willing to pay more. I'm happy to eat up difference if manufacturers want to leave money on the table. I made 800 selling two PS5 preorders with a script and a few clicks. I sold a few more consoles with a premium of 200-400 during the window. Easy money.

A partial solution is putting your product in your brick and mortar stores.
All that online bullshit just hurts the regular Joe hoping to get a new piece of hardware. He’s up against impossible odds. But releasing a product in stores with a one per person limit at least gives that regular Joe a chance to get that new piece of hardware, because those fancy bots can’t wait in line at a store.

 

[BlackTron]

Making a business out of scalping systems en masse is shitty. Supply and demand is a natural market force, but scalpers can be so aggressive that they artificially keep the price high by removing supply. Which is just scummy.

That being said. If you know an item is in demand and you find it for retail price, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one and flip it. But I'm talking as an opportunist, not driving up the market price yourself by buying up all the available stock as an enterprise. That's some shady shit.

 

[Lasha]

A partial solution is putting your product in your brick and mortar stores.
All that online bullshit just hurts the regular Joe hoping to get a new piece of hardware. He’s up against impossible odds. But releasing a product in stores with a one per person limit at least gives that regular Joe a chance to get that new piece of hardware, because those fancy bots can’t wait in line at a store.

The consoles end up in stores where they are snapped up just as quickly. That's why you hear the stories where people walk in and see a pile of x. Chances of getting a console are even lower since supply is spread out. It really is an issue of supply and demand.

 

[Puscifer]

Can't deny I've done it, made some decent profit for PS5s but back then people wanted me to do it lol

 

[mrmustard]

Better than scalping humans i guess?!

Don't judge before you tried it.

 

[justiceiro]

If you are too stupid to hold out buying something that will eventually be available everywhere, you are too stupid to hold that amount of money anyway so, better give to someone who knows what to do with money.

 

[MudoSkills]

Scalpers are worthless, and people who buy from them are idiots.

 

[64bitmodels]

The people who buy from them are worse. They're enablers