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How do you feel about the practice of scalping videogames?

How do you feel about people scalping systems?

  • Thumps Down! I do not support this practice at all!

    Votes: 73 67.0%
  • I am all for it. Do not knock my hussle baby!

    Votes: 11 10.1%
  • don't care

    Votes: 25 22.9%

  • Total voters
    109

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
I have paid scalper pricing for years for tickets to sporting events when I decide to go last minute so paying prices here doesn’t matter to me if I want it bad enough
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
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.

But at least you have a better shot going to an actual store or camping out, versus an army of bots that instantly buy up all the stock the millisecond it’s available. Stock being spread out across different stores makes it even better so even more people have that fair chance.

You can’t possibly argue that it’s the same level of opportunity to get what you’re after, because you’re flat out wrong.
 

0neAnd0nly

Member
No fan of scalpers, especially for something that is marketed heavily towards kids/ families for enjoyment -

But the way to stop this is up to retailers and manufacturers.

There needs to be a better system to prevent the abuse online. Keep light inventory online and flood most into retail. It helps retail brick and mortar, as well as makes it a bit harder for someone to buy multiples if there is a “1 per person” or “per household” limitation.

Costco, Sams, BJs, etc were able to use this and it helped keep stock for a few weeks at my local stores.
 
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Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
By no means am I a scalper, but I DO buy multiple copies/qty of "hot shit" when it comes out. I mostly do this so folks around me can enjoy the stuff as well (most of them have kids or an actual life and have ZERO time to fuck around with a PS5 queue).

If I do sell the stuff I buy (a lot of it is given as gifts), it is at retail plus tax. I am more of a "friend reseller" and don't consider it scalping at all.

For example....those DAMN Xenoblade amiibo sold out faster than the zelda totk collectors edition when they dropped at gamestop yesterday.

Also all the folks complaining about "army of bots" (I can only speak for the US here) that was never an issue for me. I have the gamestop, bestbuy, walmart, costco, and target apps on my phone. I was able to secure 5 PS5's at launch for folks at our company with some effort. YES, I had to sign up for notifications from those apps for when items were going to be available, but actually getting them wasn't this dystopian nightmare people like to act like it was (basing this off of my experience of course).
 

HeisenbergFX4

Gold Member
By no means am I a scalper, but I DO buy multiple copies/qty of "hot shit" when it comes out. I mostly do this so folks around me can enjoy the stuff as well (most of them have kids or an actual life and have ZERO time to fuck around with a PS5 queue).

If I do sell the stuff I buy (a lot of it is given as gifts), it is at retail plus tax. I am more of a "friend reseller" and don't consider it scalping at all.

For example....those DAMN Xenoblade amiibo sold out faster than the zelda totk collectors edition when they dropped at gamestop yesterday.

Also all the folks complaining about "army of bots" (I can only speak for the US here) that was never an issue for me. I have the gamestop, bestbuy, walmart, costco, and target apps on my phone. I was able to secure 5 PS5's at launch for folks at our company with some effort. YES, I had to sign up for notifications from those apps for when items were going to be available, but actually getting them wasn't this dystopian nightmare people like to act like it was (basing this off of my experience of course).
Same here being in the US I never had any issue getting launch day PS5s or Series X

Heck my local GameStop had PS5 preorders open for several days if not a week before launch

I will admit I have intentionally bought items to resale as well so I guess it sort of makes me a scalper to a degree
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
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?).
That's all that need be said...people have the right to resell things. Scalpers are going to jack up prices because they're going to turn over a percentage more or equal to retail and...there are those desperate enough to buy an inflated console. There are also those particularly obsessive collectors out there who will buy two or 3 PS5's or what have you and just not play them at all. Okay? That's a waste but then again, it's not my problem.

Where I live, there are second hand video game stores that buy PS5's and other modern gen consoles and sell them back at their original retail...despite clearly being used, without box and all. Is that ethical as a business practice? No. Can they do it? Yeah.
 
It's called Economics 101. If someone is willing to pay exorbitant prices for something because they suffer from FOMO or whatever, someone else with sell that product at that price point. Being immune to FOMO, I don't care either way. But if you want to eliminate scalping, stop buying from scalpers.
 

Monokrom

Member
To all scalpers out there:

80d819e6-f734-4f2c-aeb9-d05dce621752_text.gif
 
It's all good, they're just correcting supply and demand. It's the invisible fist of the market.
lol theyre not correcting anything.
theyre buying up tons of stock, which creates artificial scarcity, which drives prices up, which only benefits them.

let me say that one more time unless it's confusing: what scalpers do, ONLY BENEFITS THEM.

theyre a visible fist up the market's ass.
 

hemo memo

Gold Member
It is illegal in my country actually. For the best. As selling large quantities means you are a reseller that must get a license and oblige by the rules. You can’t buy whatever and sell whatever just because you can.

Basically something like this:


CEWKlMNl.jpg


Wouldn’t be allowed.
 
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