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How can companies like Nintendo really combat scalpers and their bots?

New002

Member
Agree with several others. Preorders through the Nintendo Store "X" months in advance for "X" weeks. Limit quantity per household/cc/whatever. No cancellations. Advertise this so people know when pre-orders are going up and for how long, along with the fact that they MUST preorder to receive one. Once pre-orders are closed then plan to produce that amount.
 

D.Lo

Member
You think it is physically impossible to meet demand?
Immediately, at a financially viable production cost, yes. You don't set up a production line for something that can make a million a day if you expect the total sales to be 10 million, it would be a colossal waste of set-up costs.

And you can't make 10 million in advance on a smaller line without incurring extreme warehousing costs.

This is not unique to Nintendo, See PS VR.
'Make more' isn't going to work, there's a limit to how many they can make and supply at a time especially if they also need to make other things using the same production lines, as long as there is limited amount there is the possibility of scarcity. Even if they did make more it might not help, they could(and for all we know might have) made the first shipment of Snes Mini double the size of the NM and it could still be brought up by speculators and scalpers.
Selling it themselves isn't going to work, they'd need to massively build up their direct to customer sales infrastructure, which for one product would be much too costly and would draw the ire of retailers.
This too.

Sell them at a higher price.
Sort of, but it could harm perception of the product.
 
Bots exist for sneakers, way worse tbh

Nintendo of America has their own online store, should have opened pre orders back in July with an all sales final to ensure no one returns it if they can't sell it x how many you need to make.
Not that fucking hard but Nintendo loves limited items x false shortages

I like that alternate link Amazon did this morning
Maybe do more like that to help against bots

Something like this might work, but that's on the retailer side of things.

Or make the items 100% only available to purchase in-store.
 

theWB27

Member
'Make more' isn't going to work, there's a limit to how many they can make and supply at a time especially if they also need to make other things using the same production lines, as long as there is limited amount there is the possibility of scarcity. Even if they did make more it might not help, they could(and for all we know might have) made the first shipment of Snes Mini double the size of the NM and it could still be brought up by speculators and scalpers.
Selling it themselves isn't going to work, they'd need to massively build up their direct to customer sales infrastructure, which for one product would be much too costly and would draw the ire of retailers.
If the issue is people buying large amounts then the onus is on Amazon et all to fix their shit to prevent such a thing from happening and the blame for their faults shoudn't be laid at Nintendo's feet. Such stores should long ago have implemented features to restrict the purchase of products beyond a certain amount and if they didn't or if they did but didn't make use of them then that's messed up


Nintendo doesn't have the power to set limits through vendors?
 

bumpkin

Member
Premier Pre-order.

You must have a Nintendo account AND you can only order from your Nintendo Switch. Those with a Switch get to order first. Then a week later open it to everybody else.

This is best.
I like this idea. Even opening it to Wii U and 3DS owners is fine. At least with a My Nintendo account hook, bots wouldn't be able to snatch them all.
 
Premier Pre-order.

You must have a Nintendo account AND you can only order from your Nintendo Switch. Those with a Switch get to order first. Then a week later open it to everybody else.

This is best.

This also works
Must use the switch serial number to order it or 3DS XL since that's $200
Then pay $80
 
Nintendo is not in the business of making retro products, and they want to focus on the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.

They can't just simply "make more". Its not a viable option manufacturing wise.

They got people frothing at the mouth for an emulation box that they could make way more of but, are acting like it's the hardest thing to pull off.
 

Bakercat

Member
1. Open preorders early into production.

2.make enough systems as many preorders plus a little extra.

3.??????

4.PROFIT!!!
 
it's not their job to combat scalpers, they're not your friend.

if they sell you a box of foil for $80 then you can contact the better business bureau. until then, just the way it is

It is there job to make money and if people are going to scalpers instead of nintendo then nintendo are failing at there one job, delivering product to consumers. In what world does nintendo profit off of this? There's no point to increasing demand when you don't eventually have product to meet said demand. You just poss off tour consumers to the point that they stop caring. At this point dumb ass nintendo will produce like 10 million GameCube minis and complain that nobody bought them. No company is better at punching themselves in the face then nintendo.
 
1) Based on customer feedback and retailer communication, approximate number of units needed to safely meet demand within 5 or 10%

2) Produce anticipated # of units

3) Profit

There's no reason to make a limited edition of something that has requests in the millions. You're a multi-billion dollar company, it's ancient hardware and games that can be reasonably emulated and downloaded on a phone in minutes. Find a way to make it work.

Nintendo does this because they enjoy being the talk of the town.
 
1. Open preorders early into production.

2.make enough systems as many preorders plus a little extra.

3.??????

4.PROFIT!!!

The flaw with this is Nintendo can't dictate preorder rules and just about every retailer has a non commitment pre-order policy. Pre-orders aren't a guaranteed sale because of that so there is still risk of overstocking.
 
How about no one buys from scalpers, the price keeps dropping until the scalpers are forced to sell at break even or at a loss.

I personally dont have a problem with scalpers, my time is worth more than money. I have no interest in waiting in a line or playing the Nintendo lotto, I would much rather pay someone to wait in line for me.
 

mikeGFG

Banned
Listen Nintendo, we get it, you fucked up and made way too many Wii U's

Things are different now. Make more SNES Classics (and Smash Bros Kirby Amiibo while you're at it)
 

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
If that were the case, why bother making it at all? Switch is in demand too, they may as well put their limited bandwidth to full use and produce a product that stands to earn them more money long term through software purchases.

I'd also argue they've had a year from the NES Classic to know roughly how much product they need to manufacture to meet demand. They're not being taken by surprise this time, they could have found solutions if they wanted to. Surely?

didn't they have some parts shortage issue for Nintendo Switch? Perhaps the parts they get from suppliers isn't enough for all their factories to run full capacity, so they dedicate part of the Switch manufacturing factories (those that are waiting for the parts to come) to pump out SNES Classic in the meantime.
 

Sulik2

Member
Nintendo has two easy solutions.

1) Make more. They don't seem willing to do that so.

2) Raise MSRP and price this as an actual collectors item. Scalpers disappear if MSRP is 150 or 200.
 

jennetics

Member
This is 100000% on Nintendo.

Open pre-orders early on nintendo.com, produce that number of units, rake in money.

Scalpers will always exist to some extent, but Nintendo seems to be the only electronics manufacturer that this continuously happens to. Their supply chain management is non-existent.

Nintendo: "Supply...chain"?

jk Nintendo wouldn't respond
 
Nintendo has two easy solutions.

1) Make more. They don't seem willing to do that so.

2) Raise MSRP and price this as an actual collectors item. Scalpers disappear if MSRP is 150 or 200.

$250 bundles sold out, and preorders are already going for more than $200 on eBay.
 
1) Based on customer feedback and retailer communication, approximate number of units needed to safely meet demand within 5 or 10%

2) Produce anticipated # of units

3) Profit

There's no reason to make a limited edition of something that has requests in the millions. You're a multi-billion dollar company, it's ancient hardware and games that can be reasonably emulated and downloaded on a phone in minutes. Find a way to make it work.

Nintendo does this because they enjoy being the talk of the town.
First off this is much harder than it sounds

Secondly the very existence of scalpers distorts this because if you make exactly the amount of units as the number of people who want them, there will be a shortage since some people will buy several with the hopes of being able to jack up the prices
 
Two options: make more or sell at a higher price. Other than that, I don't see that Nintendo can do much to fight scalping. Anything else would be up to the retailer.
 

JavyOO7

Member
I'd like to see Nintendo improve their shipping infrastructure in NA so they can ship out the next mini classic themselves. Make the person get a my Nintendo account, link it or whatever, 1 person per console, and then pay the entire thing outright.

I really really wish they'd just do it themselves... or tell the retailers to give ample time to consumers that pre orders are coming and just 1 person per console. It was a massive fumble today on Nintendo's part, and hopefully I can get the console on launch day, so... here's to hoping.
 
Nintendo is not in the business of making retro products, and they want to focus on the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.

They can't just simply "make more". Its not a viable option manufacturing wise.

Almost every single thought in this post is wrong.

A: Nintendo is in the business of making money. Nintendo wasn't in the business of making mobile games or plastic toys. But you know what, they are now because it is a revenue stream that generates profits. Adding a retro line makes no less sense than mobile games and plastic toys.

B: Yes, they very simply CAN simply "make more." They have been making things since 1889. I am pretty sure they have figured out how to have things manufactured.
 
Sneakers companies have been trying to fight this forever. It isn't something you will solve overnight. Or if they even care to solve it.
 

watdaeff4

Member
Immediately, at a financially viable production cost, yes. You don't set up a production line for something that can make a million a day if you expect the total sales to be 10 million, it would be a colossal waste of set-up costs.

And you can't make 10 million in advance on a smaller line without incurring extreme warehousing costs.

This is not unique to Nintendo, See PS VR.
This too.


Sort of, but it could harm perception of the product.

I agree with what you are saying about the initial production.....

However, don't you think a lot of this craziness could have been avoided if Nintendo had not have basically said "Hey, we know there is still a LOT of demand for the NES classic, so in light of that, we are going to stop production" (i'm being sarcastic of course, you get my point)

If they would have continued production of that product to make supply more in line with ongoing demand, then people wouldn't be freaking out (as much) of securing a preorder of the SNES. (and also thus putting a huge dent in the scalper market)
 
Sneakers companies have been trying to fight this forever. It isn't something you will solve overnight. Or if they even care to solve it.


They don't give a shit about wasting the time to solve the problem because there is no downside for them. We are all here raging and complaining for we'll also all be here again next year for the N64 Mini doing it all over again.
 

rackham

Banned
Open pre orders

Make enough for pre orders and then more. Why is this thread even still open? It's not a debate or science. It's common sense.

Fuck Nintendo.

Also, I got an SNES classic. Fuck em for life.
 

D.Lo

Member
I agree with what you are saying about the initial production.....

However, don't you think a lot of this craziness could have been avoided if Nintendo had not have basically said "Hey, we know there is still a LOT of demand for the NES classic, so in light of that, we are going to stop production" (i'm being sarcastic of course, you get my point)

If they would have continued production of that product to make supply more in line with ongoing demand, then people wouldn't be freaking out (as much) of securing a preorder of the SNES. (and also thus putting a huge dent in the scalper market)
That's true, the one thing they could have done is keep selling the NES classic.

I honestly think they should have released an NES classic 2 with more games and hacking protection this year instead. If people can eventually get one (like they can with Switch etc), then all the whining is moot, it's just a delay, not a limitation.
 

watdaeff4

Member
That's true, the one thing they could have done is keep selling the NES classic.

I honestly think they should have released an NES classic 2 with more games and hacking protection this year instead. If people can eventually get one (like they can with Switch etc), then all the whining is moot, it's just a delay, not a limitation.

Yep, and while I still enjoy Nintendo products, I don't have a lot of faith in their lip-service of "oh, don't worry, we made more this year"
 

Anth0ny

Member
Premier Pre-order.

You must have a Nintendo account AND you can only order from your Nintendo Switch. Those with a Switch get to order first. Then a week later open it to everybody else.

This is best.

Yup.



Or at the very least, take pre-orders in April for 30 days, then manufacture only the number of units equal to the number of pre-orders they receive. Everyone who wants one, gets one. If you miss out on the 30 day window, obviously you don't want one that badly.


They can do this literally every year. Print fucking money.

Sneakers companies have been trying to fight this forever. It isn't something you will solve overnight. Or if they even care to solve it.

they're not trying to fight shit. they purposely release less sneakers than demanded to create hype. and it WORKS. I'm pretty damn sure Nintendo has figured it out and is bringing the same practice to games with the way they do LEs and now these Mini consoles.
 
Only way to do it is to release a large, large, quantity in a short timespan.

Even if the scalpers return theirs the demand for the product will be fulfilled for weeks/months after, killing off the resale value.
 

rackham

Banned
It's not so simple is the point.

It's actually very simple. You're the one making it out to be complicated. You act like Nintendo needs to sell every single one on release day which is just straight up stupid. They'd sell for months and right through the holiday
 

Ridley327

Member
Nintendo has two easy solutions.

1) Make more. They don't seem willing to do that so.

2) Raise MSRP and price this as an actual collectors item. Scalpers disappear if MSRP is 150 or 200.

ThinkGeek had a forced bundle for the SNES Classic that came with a $250 poster that sold out. That only emboldens scalpers, not dissuade them.
 
Lol in an industry where preorders are common practice...

"Buuuu buuu how could they possibly ever meet demand? It's just not possible!"

And I'm talking about a preorder in the true sense of the word not "we already have a certain number made and a preorder is nothing more than people buying those and giving us money early.
 
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