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[anab0lic36]

I don't know which I find more concerning. Those who seemingly feel no guilt in engaging in such exploitive immoral practices.... or those who are stupid and/or desperate enough to fall victim to it.

Both serve to highlight how many broken people we have within our society.

 

[spookyfish]

I hate it, but no.

Consumer websites should try and secure their networks against bot traffic, though.

 

[Arthimura]

I'm against the government creating a law to make scalping illegal.

However, the companies could and in my opinion should take actions to make scalping inviable, like implementing validations to prevent bots from purchasing the entire stock, and limit the number of consoles purchased by person.

 

[rofif]

manual scalping? No.
Bot scalping? yes.

Just add some fucking annoying captcha to solve this

 

[Hunnybun]

No; I said there are no legitimate scalpers, because there aren't, because none of them pay taxes or follow other laws.

Pretty simple stuff; is it possible to be e legitimate scalper? Sure. Nobody does it though.

If this was your only point I don't know why you aimed it at me.

I said scalping is legitimate. It is. You don't seem to deny it.

You just seem to have wasted my time arguing against something I never said.

 

[IfuckinghateReddit]

The people who voted no are scalpers.

 

[brian0057]

Secondly would you say that food is not a necessity? What if someone was scalping food just to make a huge profit during a food shortage?

I've already seen people scalping for food and medicine (they're called "bachaqueros" in my country) in order to make a profit.
Make that illegal and you go from having access to the product to not having access to it.
Now people wish the "bachaqueros" were back because now access to food is even more limited.

Would you be 100% a-okay with not being able to eat because you can't afford to?

I don't have to imagine it. I've already lived it.
Even if I can't afford it, someone that can, should (Hell, in some cases, those that can, often ended up sharing their food).
And because those "bachaqueros" were competing against each other, the price of food and medicine went down... until the government declared it illegal and that's why 2017 was the worst year for my country.

Again, you'll never get me to agree to price control in any way, shape, or form.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I think it would be very hard to actually make scalping illegal, because how would you even prove it?

However, scalpers break the social contract with their activities. Therefore it is not unreasonable that people who choose to scalp will also lose their natural protections offered by society. So let’s do it like The Purge. If you choose to scalp, you lose your access to emergency services and all crime against you becomes unenforceable. If someone kills you while you are trying to scalp, they cannot be prosecuted. No one’s going to shed a tear for the scalper, and now no one will go to jail either. I think that’s fair.

 

[Arthimura]

Here in Brazil widespread scalping like mentioned in the OP is very much illegal. Vou falar português porque eu nem saberia como traduzir isso, mas ó o que diz a lei de crimes contra a economia popular:

Art. 2º. São crimes desta natureza:
VIII - celebrar ajuste para impor determinado preço de revenda ou exigir do comprador que não compre de outro vendedor;
IX - obter ou tentar obter ganhos ilícitos em detrimento do povo ou de número indeterminado de pessoas mediante especulações ou processos fraudulentos ("bola de neve", "cadeias", "pichardismo" e quaisquer outros equivalentes).

Isso sem falar que o código civil veda explicitamente o enriquecimento ilícito. É que a gente toma no cu de outras formas.

It didn't work very well for Brazilian economy.

There's a reason why countries with more economic freedom are richier.

 

[GeorgPrime]

I thought i a forbidden barbaric method long time ago?

 

[QuantumZebra]

Sounds like a communist/socialist's dream

So, um, no? Hard pass? Wtf, lol.

And I was bitching for weeks about not being able to get a PS5 due to scalpers (I finally got one off Walmart.com last night though!).

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

I've already seen people scalping for food and medicine (they're called "bachaqueros" in my country) in order to make a profit.
Make that illegal and you go from having access to the product to not having access to it.
Now people wish the "bachaqueros" were back because now access to food is even more limited.


I don't have to imagine it. I've already lived it.
Even if I can't afford it, someone that can, should (Hell, in some cases, those that can, often ended up sharing their food).
And because those "bachaqueros" were competing against each other, the price of food and medicine went down... until the government declared it illegal and that's why 2017 was the worst year for my country.

Again, you'll never get me to agree to price control in any way, shape, or form.

With all due respect...a lot more went wrong in Venezuela than bachaqueros and their banning. The government making price gouging illegal wasn't the problem, the problem was the government that brought about the socio-political circumstances that caused the food shortages and allowed for scalping food to even become a thing in the first place. I think you already know that though.

 

[TheMay30thMan]

No, like many other posters have said, not everything needs to be regulated. The anger should be directed to the companies for letting it happen.

Has Microsoft been facing this issue as badly as Sony? All the pictures I've seen are of PS5s. I wonder if Microsoft has better online store policies that help prevent scalping.

 

[Nankatsu]

It's simple: don't buy from scalpers, let them burn in their greediness.

 

[brian0057]

With all due respect...a lot more went wrong in Venezuela than bachaqueros and their banning. The government making price gouging illegal wasn't the problem, the problem was the government that brought about the socio-political circumstances that caused the food shortages and allowed for scalping food to even become a thing in the first place. I think you already know that though.

Trust me, I know we have bigger issues than price gouging.
But my point is that making it illegal doesn't solve the problem. In fact, it makes it worse.

 

[MaestroMike]

No, like many other posters have said, not everything needs to be regulated. The anger should be directed to the companies for letting it happen.

Has Microsoft been facing this issue as badly as Sony? All the pictures I've seen are of PS5s. I wonder if Microsoft has better online store policies that help prevent scalping.

I think its the ps5 that's in higher demand right now and selling more than XsX on ebay.

 

[Gamerguy84]

Scalpers shall be drawn and quartered.

Spoiler

tis but a joke

 

[LostDonkey]

What a ridiculous thought. Making profit on anything should never be illegal. Anyone has the right NOT to buy.

 

[Barnabot]

It's simple: don't buy from scalpers, let them burn in their greediness.

Let them eat their own.

I saw this comic in brazilian portuguese and decided to translate to english.

 

[Gamerguy84]

Maybe we should take our consoles and GPUs out of the conversation and think of concert tickets, limited edition items, etc..

Its a shit practice and I personally hate it. Personally laughed at the hand sanitizer guy.

 

[DogofWar]

"Hey what are you in for?"

- "I bought two copies of the new Playstation and sold one of them for a profit"

Of course it shouldn't be illegal, how would the law even look? Would it only be limited to consoles?

"Thou shalt not ever acquire more copies of a gaming console than though needeth for the households primary needs. If thou accidentially aquire more thouh must sell the copy for no more than market value".

I mean yes. It is defnitely dick-behaviour. But people buying consoles (or other sold out stuff) for ridiculous prices from these people are just as stupid.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

No.

 

[Armorous]

I think companies should put more effort into preventing bots. If that means in store pickup only (and only one order pickup per household with valid ID and address records retained) than I would be for that effort. Online bot purchases are the bane of this market and create an artificial supply shortage.

 

[sid2vicious]

I'm going to go with yes on this. Not because we need more stupid laws, but because it's immoral. I see it like emulation, if it's illegal to sell roms because you don't own the ip, then scalping should also be illegal. However if an item is no longer being sold on the market and it becomes rare, then I think scalping is fine.

Edit: According to YongYea it's a business buying units and making a profit. In this case yeah, it should be illegal for a company to buy from another company and mark the price up 3x the original price. Reputable companies should buy in bulks through contractual agreements, not steal from the common folks with bots under already limited supplies for an item that's high in demand, that just shouldn't be legal imo.

 

[prinz_valium]

Lol.
Sure let the government tell who can sell and resell stuff and what price is allowed. What's that called again.

 

[MeatSafeMurderer]

Trust me, I know we have bigger issues than price gouging.
But my point is that making it illegal doesn't solve the problem. In fact, it makes it worse.

Well yes...but that's because of the specific situation in Venezuela. Most of us aren't living in Venezuela and so making gouging in specific situations that rarely come up and simply don't last when they do (like toilet paper or hand sanitizer shortages) isn't detrimental.

 

[QuantumZebra]

I think companies should put more effort into preventing bots. If that means in store pickup only (and only one order pickup per household with valid ID and address records retained) than I would be for that effort. Online bot purchases are the bane of this market and create an artificial supply shortage.

Nailed it.

I have been trying to buy a PS5 off Walmart.com since release (only company I've seen that announces on their site when stock will be ready), and finally did last night.

If they had just used a CAPTCHA system then bots (theoretically) couldn't spam purchase all the stock before anyone else can.

But off the top of my head - vendors like Walmart and Best Buy don't require CAPTCHA to buy anything... yet Discord makes me do that damned picture puzzle constantly.

I think the vendors are the problem. They don't care who buys the stuff - they just want it sold ASAP.

 

[DESTROYA]

Scalping should not be illegal , if people are stupid or desperate enough to buy at a inflated price thats on them.
Yeah it’s scummy for a person to buy and hoard inventory with bots but if a guy scored an extra unit or two and wants to make a little extra money why not
Why should the government get involved with policing retailers on consumer electronics ?
Thats just stupid.

 

[CircleOfFire]

The people who voted no are scalpers.

This so much!

Was in a group chat with some friends, everyone but one person said scalping is a dick move. Then a little bit later that one person went "Yeah, I'm gonna sell my PS5.".

 

[Kayoba]

No, but retailers needs to change how their sites operates. My suggestion is to have retailers prevent scalping by adding captchas and add a "max one console per customer" policy. Now retailers probably won't do this because they want to maximize their profit.

Other than that it would be beneficial if second hand sites like ebay ban people from selling newly released consoles and other highy anticipated releases like phones or graphic cards. This would remove the profit of scalping.

 

[Armorous]

Nailed it.

I have been trying to buy a PS5 off Walmart.com since release (only company I've seen that announces on their site when stock will be ready), and finally did last night.

If they had just used a CAPTCHA system then bots (theoretically) couldn't spam purchase all the stock before anyone else can.

But off the top of my head - vendors like Walmart and Best Buy don't require CAPTCHA to buy anything... yet Discord makes me do that damned picture puzzle constantly.

I think the vendors are the problem. They don't care who buys the stuff - they just want it sold ASAP.

Glad someone here was able to get one last night. I tried and failed unfortunately. But if I see any more in stock I am going to keep trying for one!

 

[Umbral]

I understand the urge of those who said yes, but absolutely not.

Scalpers are slime. Patience will diminish their existence.

 

[jadedm17]

Nah, making money off of idiots is how great civilizations are built.

Sadly true.

Scalpers suck, but those who support them suck more; They exist because people allow them to exist.

 

[Gamerguy84]

Walmart, BB, Amazon should get in on the act and sell them at 1,000 minimum until the holidays are over.

 

[alabtrosMyster]

That's because you probably live where you belong, my guess would be dumbistan

Given how you have been arguing I'm not so sure about that... But I have to admit there are tons of dumb people here, it must be confirmation of your in depth analysis (a single point in depth analysis, made with strange assumptions to begin with. However, I am the one living in Dumbistan, so I should not presume to understand the depth of your knowledge, or anyone's knowledge really).

I'll write to all politicians in my country so they do something against people selling stuff to others, this is unacceptably dumb, even here!

 

[alabtrosMyster]

Sadly true.

Scalpers suck, but those who support them suck more; They exist because people allow them to exist.

They exist because people have no control over their urges .

 

[Sean Mirrsen]

I am not sure about legal/illegal. However I do believe that some regulation is in order regarding resale prices.

Major sites like ebay (and whichever else there are, I am not a frequent user of them) should have systems in place to report current and recently-released products being sold at artificially inflated prices, and should have a means to, not remove the offending items, but to force the seller to match MSRP. A user will not report an overpriced product he can't get elsewhere, if it just means the overpriced, but available offer will be taken down. But if the system operates such that a user can report an obvious scalper and force them to match MSRP, thus saving money and not losing the offer, people would use it far more readily. At least, in theory.

 

[NullZ3r0]

I want the government to be as little involved in people's lives as possible. Their track record of doing anything right is not exactly stellar. When you can't even get the DMV or USPS right, that doesn't instill confidence that they know how to do anything well.

This goes beyond the government simply fucking it up or falling short. We need to worry about them abusing it maliciously for political reasons.

After 9/11 we were told FISA courts would only be used against terrorists. Then we find out that the FBI used it to spy on a Presidential campaign because they didn't like the guy. They don't need anymore power.

In 2006, I over estimated the popularity of the PS3 and underestimated the popularity of the Wii. I was looking to flip my PS3 for $1200. Demand was way lower than expected. I couldn't sell a PS3 at cost. I ended up trading it back to GameStop for a Zune. If people want to spend $1200 on a PS5, let them do it. Once supply catches up, the market will correct.

 

[Lionel Richie]

It didn't work very well for Brazilian economy.

There's a reason why countries with more economic freedom are richier.

Yeah like China.

 

[plip.plop]

I blame people willing to overpay for something creating this market. The solution is simple, stop buying from these dildos and they will be forced to eventually sell at cost to reduce their inventory.

 

[Edgelord79]

You wanted capitalism, you got it

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Is it a vital, life saving piece of equipment that your life depends on?

No?

You can wait for it to be available then.

 

[Arthimura]

Yeah like China.

Yes?

China has one of the most free economies in the world. That's why they were able to create so much wealth in the last few years and decades.

Communism there affects more the personal freedom, not economic freedom.

 

[dead_lighter]

Scalping is Ok, they take their risks by storing this amount of products. The issue is on the people who don't care to pay double to fulfill their buying impulsion.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Should eBay be illegal?

Why is it fair the guy who pays the most wins?

If there's a dining room table that has a original price of $500, why should the seller sell it for a parity price of $500 if there's people willing to bid it up to $800?

 

[taizuke]

Maybe we should use bots to secure one for us? If you can't beat'em join them, right?

 

[brap]

It should be illegal to be so fucking stupid you pay more than you have to to play the shittiest newest ass creed game or BLM Presents: Spider-Man.

 

[Pallas]

No, since you technically own the property you’re selling but I think stores and online sites can do better With helping prevent it.

 

[BluRayHiDef]

Karma or injustice?

 

[Teslerum]

No, but it probably should be regulated in the sense of incentives to discourage it and better protection policies by stores themselves.

Legal measures should only be invoked when the market itself is actively hurt by it, and can't flow freely anymore(which may become a problem if scalping continues to grow at the rate it already does. ).

But when that happens there are already plenty of laws in place in alot of countries to prevent it. Of course most of em' are a joke because they get circumvented constantly by big corporations and corrupt politicians, but that's another issue.