Fighting Scalpers -- the thread

[avatar! | 1,827]

A scalper is a collector's worst enemy!

We should all do what the PC gamers are doing - although I would personally do it for console stuff  

https://www.pcgamer.com/frustrated-gamers-are-battling-ebay-scalpers-with-fake-dollar50000-bids-and-rtx-3080-paper-editions/

The first page is almost entirely fake listings, some of which have pretty amusing drawings or photos to drive home the trolling. There aren't currently enough of these fake RTX 3080s to drown out the hundreds of listings from scalpers who bought up the initial stock just to turn around and sell them for a massive markup. But along with negative reviews, they're one way angry fans are trying to mess with scalpers.

[cartman | 195]

I don't think there's a moral right to sabotage someone for treating an item as an investment that doesn't well with me. Everyone decides what to charge for their own item it's not your call to make or have a say in.

[Nintegageo | 582]

12 minutes ago, cartman said:

I don't think there's a moral right to sabotage someone for treating an item as an investment that doesn't well with me. Everyone decides what to charge for their own item it's not your call to make or have a say in.

There are always the exceptions. People who just buy a pre-order to sell to the people they essentially blocked buying it on their own at the MSRP.. yeah, those people are shit.

[cartman | 195]

1 minute ago, Nintegageo said:

There are always the exceptions. People who just buy a pre-order to sell to the people they essentially blocked buying it on their own at the MSRP.. yeah, those people are shit.

It might be in poor taste but it makes no difference. Whether you bought it to resell it or throw it in the garbage, the item is yours. 

[RH | 4,965]

When it comes to the ethics of "scalping", it really is a two-way street and I see zero-problem with it being a potential market dynamic.  I've never bought something from a scalper.  Ever.  I'm not paying more than retail for a new item and that's my opinion and they way I see it.  I don't want to pay someone 2-3x the value of a hot item just because they either stood in line on launch day, or because they got lucky and found 2-3 in Target when they made their rounds.

So yeah, I am frustrated to see scalper prices on items I want but I'm not offended that the dynamic exists because it's a two-sided equation.  The problem is their are two many people who simply can't wait to find an item they want, or they feel like they are letting their kids down if they don't get them what they want, etc. and whatever the reason, they are willing to fork out the extra cash for the item.

It's been said time and again, if people were really offended by this, they wouldn't pay the mark-up.  Yeah, I'm annoyed by scalpers but IMHO, the only real way to get around it is to educate the masses that are willing to buy these items at stoopid prices and they won't just wait.  Stop.  Scalpers will have to return their non-profitable inventory and if we can all just exercise a little bit of patience, the circumstances will get better, faster than rewarding the scalpers.

There's a reason why for some product launches 50%, or more, of the purchases go to scalpers.  It's because more than enough people are willing to fork out the cash for these items.  If enough people were willing to wait, it's a problem that could mostly correct itself.  The scalpers benefit from the impatient and though it sucks for those of us who want to collect or play games for the enjoyment but oh well.  I also see it as a "fool and his money are being quickly parted".  Fine, if they want to be dumb with their money, let them throw it to the wind.

[TDIRunner | 2,771]

I've been saying for longer than I can remember that my problem is not with the scalpers themselves, but the people who buy from them.  If people would stop buying from scalpers, they would disappear overnight.  If people are dumb enough to overpay for something because they are too lazy to get it on their own, it's only natural that others will try to profit off their ignorance, sleazy though it may be.    

EDIT:  I honestly didn't think I needed to add this, but here we are.  There is a huge difference between people making money off video games or other forms of entertainment like concerts, and things people actually need to live. 

Edited September 21, 2020 by TDIRunner

[Gloves | 11,827]

Fighting Scalpers coming this holiday season for the NES!

*insert cool drawing of scalpers literally fighting with baseball bats and chains in a parking lot*

[Hammerfestus | 3,881]

Whoa dude.  That’s not PC

[docile tapeworm | 4,204]

2 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

I've been saying for longer than I can remember that my problem is not with the scalpers themselves, but the people who buy from them.  If people would stop buying from scalpers, they would disappear overnight.  If people are dumb enough to overpay for something because they are too lazy to get it on their own, it's only natural that others will try to profit off their ignorance, sleazy though it may be.    

if your $100 bill is like a $10 bill to me.....dont much mater to me if i overpaid.

i recon thats the type of person willing to pay scalper prices.

[Aguy | 773]

I think the problem is Nvidia is underpricing their cards. If demand is high and supply is low, than the prices will go up. Obviously people are willing to pay the inflated price, so Nvidia is leaving money on the table. If they priced appropriately, it would be just low enough for people to be willing to buy it but high enough that there would be no room for scalpers to make a profit. Once they run through the initial production and get a steady supply flow going, assuming demand at the high price softens, then you introduce rebates and price cuts.

[RH | 4,965]

23 minutes ago, Aguy said:

I think the problem is Nvidia is underpricing their cards. If demand is high and supply is low, than the prices will go up. Obviously people are willing to pay the inflated price, so Nvidia is leaving money on the table. If they priced appropriately, it would be just low enough for people to be willing to buy it but high enough that there would be no room for scalpers to make a profit. Once they run through the initial production and get a steady supply flow going, assuming demand at the high price softens, then you introduce rebates and price cuts.

In some circumstances, I've made this same point many times before.  People might not also like my argument, but I've said the same thing about HUGE rock star concert tickets.  The reason why scalpers can turn around and sell some tickets for $1000-2000 for standard, decent seats for some venues and musicians is because prices are to low for the market. 

Granted, it could be seen as a "nice gesture" to give average Joe's/Jane's the chance to get "affordable" tickets at $250-500 to see some mega-star but scalpers quickly buy up supply because they know good and well that 25%, or more, of the uber fans out there will pay much more than the going price.

And I'll take it a step further if we talk about gas prices if/when their are hurricane's coming.  No one takes a moment to think critically of why it might be beneficial for local gas stations to charges double, or even triple, per gallon when a HUGE storm is coming into town.  Why that might be beneficial can be left as an exercise for the reader.  But, with that said, I think price locking when a storm is coming is a bad idea.

[cartman | 195]

34 minutes ago, RH said:

In some circumstances, I've made this same point many times before.  People might not also like my argument, but I've said the same thing about HUGE rock star concert tickets.  The reason why scalpers can turn around and sell some tickets for $1000-2000 for standard, decent seats for some venues and musicians is because prices are to low for the market. 

Granted, it could be seen as a "nice gesture" to give average Joe's/Jane's the chance to get "affordable" tickets at $250-500 to see some mega-star but scalpers quickly buy up supply because they know good and well that 25%, or more, of the uber fans out there will pay much more than the going price.

And I'll take it a step further if we talk about gas prices if/when their are hurricane's coming.  No one takes a moment to think critically of why it might be beneficial for local gas stations to charges double, or even triple, per gallon when a HUGE storm is coming into town.  Why that might be beneficial can be left as an exercise for the reader.  But, with that said, I think price locking when a storm is coming is a bad idea.

I don't think you can conclude that. The people who pay the overprice do so because they didn't buy in time and out of desperation rather than being content with it. If the price was 2000$ from day one they might still sell out but then people and the media will shit on the artist for being a cunt, he would have to bare the guilt for fleecing his fans and perhaps feel guilty about it on a personal level. 

[ThePhleo | 2,185]

4 hours ago, TDIRunner said:

I've been saying for longer than I can remember that my problem is not with the scalpers themselves, but the people who buy from them.  If people would stop buying from scalpers, they would disappear overnight.  If people are dumb enough to overpay for something because they are too lazy to get it on their own, it's only natural that others will try to profit off their ignorance, sleazy though it may be.    

for me it’s a matter of life & death (literally) to pay scalpers for PPE.

Im paying triple what I used to pay for my cleaning chemicals, hazmat suits, long nitrile gloves, replacement mask filters, and HEPA vacuum bags specially fitted for my vacuum.

If I don’t then my choice is to abstain from work and lose everything I have, or working without them and getting lead poison leaving my wife and kids without a provider.

Im currently low on hazmat suits and I can’t believe that I’m gonna have to pay $300+ For a small box of them, but I have no choice.

[TDIRunner | 2,771]

5 minutes ago, ThePhleo said:

for me it’s a matter of life & death (literally) to pay scalpers for PPE.

 

That's 100% different and you know it.  

We are talking about video games here.  I almost added a disclaimer to my previous post that there was a difference between video games and actual necessitates, but I figured no one would try to compare the two.  That's what I get for making assumptions.    

[ThePhleo | 2,185]

5 minutes ago, TDIRunner said:

That's 100% different and you know it.  

We are talking about video games here.  I almost added a disclaimer to my previous post that there was a difference between video games and actual necessitates, but I figured no one would try to compare the two.  That's what I get for making assumptions.    

You know what they say about assumptions!!! ;) 

I do agree that video games and necessities are completely different ballpark though.

I was trying to to illustrate that scalpers do serve a purpose though. As much as I hate them, they’re the only avenue I can take right now to get my work supplies...even though it may or may not be their fault (in part) that the supply is low to begin with.

[RH | 4,965]

35 minutes ago, cartman said:

I don't think you can conclude that. The people who pay the overprice do so because they didn't buy in time and out of desperation rather than being content with it. If the price was 2000$ from day one they might still sell out but then people and the media will shit on the artist for being a cunt, he would have to bare the guilt for fleecing his fans and perhaps feel guilty about it on a personal level. 

But that's just a load of BS pressure from the media and people who just seem to hate that people can charge for their success in whatever arena people simply like and appreciate what they do.  The "desperates" as you put it, I don't think are really desperate.  If you are willing to drop $2,000 for a ticket to a concert (or $10,000 to a major sporting event like the super bowl) you'll pay that whether it's a scalper OR TicketMaster.  However, if you increase your prices to match the top-tier payers, what you'd actually see is that the prices could push the scalpers out of the market and still sell below what they charge.

A better consumer market is to stop selling tickets where they sell out in minutes or seconds.  I think music companies like it when it happens because it makes a band/musician look "really, really hot!!" and it get's peoples attention when they hear that two-towns-over that concert immediately sold out.  However, a better approach for the market is to price the tickets where they sell out a week or two before the event in the best case and in the worst case, nose-bleeds are still available the day-of the show.

But, again, having a non-sold out show doesn't look good into today's market economy for musicians.  As long as the music production companies like the free advertising of quickly sold out arenas, they will under price their tickets.  And to be clear, probably 95% of the bands out there that are hot today have nothing to do with the pricing of their tickets.  That's between the accounts, managers and executives.  Only the really big, long lasting names like The Stones, Madonna or Taylor Swift can actually dictate what their prices will sell for.  Even then, if free marketing wasn't built into the sell-out approach, believe you me they'd justify, some how, the reason why they charge $350-1,000 per ticket to their show.

[cartman | 195]

40 minutes ago, RH said:

But that's just a load of BS pressure from the media and people who just seem to hate that people can charge for their success in whatever arena people simply like and appreciate what they do.  The "desperates" as you put it, I don't think are really desperate.  If you are willing to drop $2,000 for a ticket to a concert (or $10,000 to a major sporting event like the super bowl) you'll pay that whether it's a scalper OR TicketMaster.  However, if you increase your prices to match the top-tier payers, what you'd actually see is that the prices could push the scalpers out of the market and still sell below what they charge.

A better consumer market is to stop selling tickets where they sell out in minutes or seconds.  I think music companies like it when it happens because it makes a band/musician look "really, really hot!!" and it get's peoples attention when they hear that two-towns-over that concert immediately sold out.  However, a better approach for the market is to price the tickets where they sell out a week or two before the event in the best case and in the worst case, nose-bleeds are still available the day-of the show.

But, again, having a non-sold out show doesn't look good into today's market economy for musicians.  As long as the music production companies like the free advertising of quickly sold out arenas, they will under price their tickets.  And to be clear, probably 95% of the bands out there that are hot today have nothing to do with the pricing of their tickets.  That's between the accounts, managers and executives.  Only the really big, long lasting names like The Stones, Madonna or Taylor Swift can actually dictate what their prices will sell for.  Even then, if free marketing wasn't built into the sell-out approach, believe you me they'd justify, some how, the reason why they charge $350-1,000 per ticket to their show.

I think availability is the biggest problem not the buyers or price. It's better for the availability to be large enough than for the creator to get the money in place of the scalpers because i do think there's such a thing as fairness and that the regular man should be able to access things as far as it is possible to accomodate. Ofcourse we can't all have private jets but that's fine. 

[a3quit4s | 4,124]

If something comes out I want that I know will be reseller fodder I try to get it, if not I just wait for it to come back in stock or wait till the hype dies down.

I would ask people to not buy from resellers in hope for a better tomorrow but I wouldn’t hold it against them if they bought whatever, it’s their money to do as they wish. I do think companies could do better to combat this but they don’t care, they have made their acceptable profit margin and are onto the next “limited” item. 

[Doctornick | 419]

I honestly feel bad for the people who resort to scalping.  They are probably making something like $30-40 grand a year and that extra $50-100 goes a long way for them.  A lot of us don't have the luxury to go wait in line at launch for something or check a store daily.

If I can't get something I want at launch, I'll usually try to wait for it to come back around.  If not I just live without it, most recent example being the RE3 Collector's Edition.  

[Andy_Bogomil | 815]

2 hours ago, a3quit4s said:

If something comes out I want that I know will be reseller fodder I try to get it, if not I just wait for it to come back in stock or wait till the hype dies down.

I would ask people to not buy from resellers in hope for a better tomorrow but I wouldn’t hold it against them if they bought whatever, it’s their money to do as they wish. I do think companies could do better to combat this but they don’t care, they have made their acceptable profit margin and are onto the next “limited” item. 

The only reason stores limit the number of something you can buy is just to get more people through the door (or site). They're not deliberately helping the customer. It seems like flooding the market is the only way to combat it. 

[Sumer | 221]

An example today:

The Super Mario 35th Anniversary Pin Set was released for purchasers of Super Mario 3D All-Stars game for Switch.  The pin "redemption codes" were gone within a half hour to an hour.  I managed to get one, thanks to telework.

The scalpers are in full force on eBay for this "freebie" item from Nintendo.  As an example, someone is offering to sell his confirmed order for $1250.  Many others range from $100 on up to $1000.

 

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,614]

15 minutes ago, Sumer said:

An example today:

The Super Mario 35th Anniversary Pin Set was released for purchasers of Super Mario 3D All-Stars game for Switch.  The pin "redemption codes" were gone within a half hour to an hour.  I managed to get one, thanks to telework.

The scalpers are in full force on eBay for this "freebie" item from Nintendo.  As an example, someone is offering to sell his confirmed order for $1250.  Many others range from $100 on up to $1000.

 

 

Yeah, I missed out on getting a code for one of those since I couldn't be on right as they were initially being given out. Plus they started giving them out almost a full hour before they said they would, which probably didn't help. So now I'm just hoping that once the hype dies down, I'll manage to snag a set for $20 or $25, as unlikely as that is given the current going prices on eBay.

[captmorgandrinker | 1,650]

10 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

Yeah, I missed out on getting a code for one of those since I couldn't be on right as they were initially being given out. Plus they started giving them out almost a full hour before they said they would, which probably didn't help. So now I'm just hoping that once the hype dies down, I'll manage to snag a set for $20 or $25, as unlikely as that is given the current going prices on eBay.

They've had other collectible pins over the years (30th anniversary ones come to mind) that aren't really worth a ton.

Depending on how many of these they really made, you might get your wish.

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,614]

5 minutes ago, captmorgandrinker said:

They've had other collectible pins over the years (30th anniversary ones come to mind) that aren't really worth a ton.

Depending on how many of these they really made, you might get your wish.

 

Hopefully, yeah.

[Sumer | 221]

Apparently, there was a sale on eBay for this pin set for $150 already tonight.  No patience these days.