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Poll: Should Scalping Be Illegal?
- Thread starter BluRayHiDef
- Start date
brian0057
Banned
Yeah, but if you're at that point, you have bigger problems that supply issues.
Ev1L AuRoN
Member
The government has no business in this matter. Scalping is very anti-consumer, but people are guilty of buying from them in the first place. I know that waiting is difficult, but also the best policy.
No. We aren't talking about food or medicine or similar.
If someone is dumb enough to buy a console for two or three times the asking price now when it'll be easily available everywhere in 6 moths then that's on them.
At least with a concert or sports event they tend to be single events so it's not like you can just attend any time you want next year.
The best thing that can happen here is that nobody buys from scalpers. That way you've got these morons sitting on hundreds of PlayStations that they can't even sell nevermind make a profit on them.
Just don't buy from scalpers and make it impossible for them to shift their stock. No need to make it illegal for people to stock up though.
I do think online retailers should do more to prevent individuals or groups from buying up stock though. Seems daft to have to end up telling your customer that you sold all of your stock to scalpers.
If someone is dumb enough to buy a console for two or three times the asking price now when it'll be easily available everywhere in 6 moths then that's on them.
At least with a concert or sports event they tend to be single events so it's not like you can just attend any time you want next year.
The best thing that can happen here is that nobody buys from scalpers. That way you've got these morons sitting on hundreds of PlayStations that they can't even sell nevermind make a profit on them.
Just don't buy from scalpers and make it impossible for them to shift their stock. No need to make it illegal for people to stock up though.
I do think online retailers should do more to prevent individuals or groups from buying up stock though. Seems daft to have to end up telling your customer that you sold all of your stock to scalpers.
iconmaster
Banned
Not everything you don’t like requires law enforcement.
Trogdor1123
Gold Member
This is the correct answer
Now imagine if we, as a society, decided to just ignore those people and not buy from them.
They'd be sitting there with 3500 PS5 consoles that they can't sell. Isn't that like 1.75 million bucks worth of stock just sitting there? Eventually the scalpers would be forced to sell at retail price. Or might even be forced to sell at a loss if the public decides that a product from a scalper with no refund or return policy is actually worth less than retail.
As long as idiots are willing to buy these non refundable launch PS consoles at 1000 bucks then there's clearly a market for it.
Desudzer10
Member
No. Does it suck? Most definitely. But when there are people dumb enough to spend twice, or in some cases almost 10 times as much as retail value is on something that'll be in stock less than a year from now it's on them. When the biggest selling points for both systems is loading times and playing your old games better, it isn't a must buy.
I don't know why people get hung up over this "group". It is just a Discord channel with thousands of members.
Posted before - think about it, thousands of members and across the pre-order and launch day phases all they came up with was 3,500 consoles? That isn't even one each across both phases.
Hardly paints a picture of people having dozens of consoles stacked up in their garage.
And to compare to "a retailer" is also just being misleading. Some retailers are tiny. Shit there could be 20 scalped consoles and you can still make that claim.
Fact remains - a likely 2+ million consoles sold and people are crying about 3,500 as if they'd personally been able to bag those consoles for themselves if scalping didn't exist.
Which is why the thing people say about scalping stops real people getting items is bullshit.
It doesn't. Real people still get it. They're just stupid enough to pay more than retail value for it.
BluRayHiDef
Banned
Everyone who said no is a disgrace to economic fairness and a disgrace to the gaming community.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Operating a business without a license + not paying taxes is illegal, yes.
mcjmetroid
Member
Problem is.. how do you prove it?
These guys are not idiots
These guys are not idiots
Barnabot
Member
I guess some are
Anyone tempted to scalp their PS5s for a profit
So I bought 2 PS5s, one to sell and one to keep. I assumed I can sell it for £600 max. That's a decent £150 profit. However I just sold one for £700. Now I have played Astrobot getting my next gen hype from the console, and I think I got my fix so I can wait until April or whenever. So I am now...
Nester99
Member
By that logic all retail should now be illegal?
Walmart, Amazon, Target, your Mom and Pop stores... All groups that buy stuff from a 3rd party manufacturer and resell it at a higher price then they bought it.
If Walmart can buy it from Sony, increase the price for a profit, why cant Joe Schomo by it from Walmart and do the exact same? Why is Walmart allowed to profit off a sale but YOU can not? Lets not give mega corporations more power.
Krappadizzle
Member
When there's an emergency(in this area, Hurricanes), it IS illegal to scalp supplies, gas, power, food, water. So there is a precedent. That said, if you are upset that you can't get an entertainment device, maybe take a minute and try some emotional maturity. It sucks, but it is what it is. Life's not fair sometimes.
Some of you that are disappointed now know how your parents feel.
Some of you that are disappointed now know how your parents feel.
BluRayHiDef
Banned
Walmart, Amazon, and target are licensed businesses that buy their products from manufacturers and do so in bulk, sell them at MSRPs, and pay business taxes. Scalpers buy their products from these licensed retailers and sell them above MSRPs, thereby artificially inflating their prices. They also don't pay business taxes, allow refunds, or provide warranties.
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Sleepwalker
Member
Nah, retarded people will always find a way to be retarded.
It shouldn't be illegal. It's a legitimate but scummy part of the market economy.
People should really be blaming MS and Sony for not coming up with better distribution solutions. If they just allowed people to claim a pre-order through their online Live or PSN accounts (presumably verified via bank details, Paypal etc) then they could then allocate to those people via their retail partners.
It really wouldn't be that hard.
People should really be blaming MS and Sony for not coming up with better distribution solutions. If they just allowed people to claim a pre-order through their online Live or PSN accounts (presumably verified via bank details, Paypal etc) then they could then allocate to those people via their retail partners.
It really wouldn't be that hard.
JimboJones
Member
It's shit but no, unless it's like hoarding medical or hygiene supplies or something.
It's somthing for stores to police.
It's somthing for stores to police.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
There are no "legitimate" scalpers. A legitimate business is one that has a license, offers consumer protections, and pays taxes.
I don't know what the rules are in the states, I'm in the UK.
Here it would depend on whether you'd be identified as carrying out a trade. That's a bit subjective but roughly boils down to an intention to make a profit.
If they're determined to be trading then they're subject to income tax.
That's it. You wouldn't (and imo shouldn't) be subject to BS regulations like licensure and mandatory warranty provision etc.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
I can't imagine Sony or Microsoft liking the scalpers. How many units are sitting in storage right now waiting to be sold when they could be played by gamers who buy games and accessories?
BluRayHiDef
Banned
How do you guys think President Trump feels about scalping? I have a feeling that he's in favor of it.
Hendrick's
If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
It probably should be, but I just don't know how you enforce this or whether it's worth the effort. Ultimately, as long as there are people willing to pay a premium for something in order to get it sooner, there will be scalpers.
Zekra Dezivad
Member
Maybe not completely illegal, but at least they should pay taxes on top of it
Hendrick's
If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
It's a luxury item. So affordability is a non-factor.
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
Sure; depending on where you are, the requirements are different.
I was listing examples of things that make a business "legitimate" depending on where you live; scalpers do not fit that definition in 1st world countries.
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BluRayHiDef
Banned
The taxes should be equal to their profit.
They do here as long as they pay tax on their profits. But that goes for all businesses.
Essentially they're doing nothing 'wrong' in the eyes of the law. It's just scummy.
But lots of commerce is scummy.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
IntentionalPun
Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
There are zero scalpers who pay taxes.
"Well they'd be legit, if they didn't commit this major crime" is not how being legit works lol
Fine me a scalper with a real return policy too.. that is not legal in the UK lol
They aren't selling slaves or murdering anyone.. but they are not "legit" businesses. It's the wrong word to use.
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I managed to get both consoles. I’ve always had trouble with Nintendo stuff in the past though. I’ve waited a few months for the Wii, Switch and Classic systems until I could get them at retail price. People just need to wait a few months and stop buying from scalpers. Right now there isn’t even a huge reason to own the new stuff other then hype.
It would be nice if stores would do a better job. Maybe lock an item for five mins if it goes into the cart. It sucks when someone else gets an item out of your cart due to being quicker or being a bot. I doubt stores care much though since a sale is a sale. They’d probably sell more games and other stuff though if less bots were buying up the stock.
It would be nice if stores would do a better job. Maybe lock an item for five mins if it goes into the cart. It sucks when someone else gets an item out of your cart due to being quicker or being a bot. I doubt stores care much though since a sale is a sale. They’d probably sell more games and other stuff though if less bots were buying up the stock.
Illegal? No.
Should retaillers have better infrastructure to catter to legit buyers? Yes.
Should scalpers who make thousands in profits pay taxes like they were a regular shop? Yes.
Should be people be more patience nd just wait for supply to reach demand? Yes.
Let`s get real, consoles are mass market products designed to sell in excess of 100 million units and they aint going nowhere.
We arent talking about a NBA Final, a once in a lifetime concert or a limited edition item. This is not like Fredie Mercure reincarneted just to give one last show with the original Queen formation.
Should retaillers have better infrastructure to catter to legit buyers? Yes.
Should scalpers who make thousands in profits pay taxes like they were a regular shop? Yes.
Should be people be more patience nd just wait for supply to reach demand? Yes.
Let`s get real, consoles are mass market products designed to sell in excess of 100 million units and they aint going nowhere.
We arent talking about a NBA Final, a once in a lifetime concert or a limited edition item. This is not like Fredie Mercure reincarneted just to give one last show with the original Queen formation.
This is just capitalism. People pay prices they are willing to pay. Simple as that. People should just stop buying those overpriced things.
I really don't like this behavior but it is not illegal and shouldn't be.
But I really don't think that many of those who sell their console(s) on ebay for a high price are willing to pay the taxes of their country. At least here in germany, prices for the PS5 are so high, you have to pay the taxes (and I doubt many will do this).
I really don't like this behavior but it is not illegal and shouldn't be.
But I really don't think that many of those who sell their console(s) on ebay for a high price are willing to pay the taxes of their country. At least here in germany, prices for the PS5 are so high, you have to pay the taxes (and I doubt many will do this).
HerjansEagleFeeder
Member
Just out of sheer curiosity, can you give some historical examples of these "idiots"?
