Console Scalpers Are Being Robbed

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

1 hour ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

The fact that you are causing availability issues for your own profit, is messed up. I've lost any and all respect for you.

Only for products that are necessities. The people who were buying up toilet paper, Lysol wipes, face masks, and hand sanitizer when Covid first hit would fit your description. Game consoles or GPUs? The scarcity of those items aren't putting lives at risk. 

[Letgomyleghoe]

2 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Game consoles or GPUs? The scarcity of those items aren't putting lives at risk. 

it's not the same caliber as scalping necessities, but it doesn't make it respectable either, your participating in decreasing stock and creating higher prices for people who want or need to upgrade for your own personal benefit.

[PlayStation 2]

1 hour ago, Arika S said:

Oh no, they can't get a shiny new <product> on day one, sounds like people don't have any patience. If anything it's beneficial for low income people because it gives them more time to think about if they really need a new <product> instead of making rash decisions based on hype. 

 

 

EDIT: also people in this thread are making out like you HAVE to buy thing from scalpers. There's an easy soloution: FUCKING DON'T, they do it because people buy it, if you don't buy it at their huge mark ups then there will be no reason to scalp. If you're going to blame the scalpers, blame the buyers too, they are just as much at fault for perpetuating the cycle. 

Buh buh we NEED [insert brand new product] on its launch day! 

Everyone loves to be a fucking victim nowadays, especially when they weren't planning on even getting shit on a product's launch day. It's easier to just constantly bitch and moan about something than it is to wait or even take initiative to want something.

[strajk-]

51 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

it's not the same caliber as scalping necessities, but it doesn't make it respectable either, your participating in decreasing stock and creating higher prices for people who want or need to upgrade for your own personal benefit.

There is an easy solution, just don't buy them.

Scalpers are a first world problem because people are actually impatient and stupid enough to buy those products for inflated prices, just like phones people gobbled nvidias 2xxx series or Apple and Samsung with their overpriced products.

 

Consumer demand marks market price, if people are willing to pay for it, then the one you should be getting upset at are the ones enabling this behavior.

Plenty of last gen products you can buy instead, if scalpers see their inventory spike and nobody buys them, then they start selling it back to the market for a loss to even out their expenses, they won't sit on them since that would be stupid due to depreciation of the commodity in hand.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 hour ago, Jet_ski said:

There are two types of people defending scalpers here:

Is there anyone "defending scalpers" at all here?

 

Because, so far, I have only read people refusing to defend thieves, and people defending thieves because "look at the victim".

 

Let me ask you this: if I rob / hit / rape / murder/ threaten / harass someone, do you think that is

A) wrong

B) "well, who did you do it to?"

 

Only one of those is aligned with the laws we live under.

[Bombastinator]

10 hours ago, TetraSky said:

Feeling conflicted on this one...

On one hand, fuck scalpers.

On the other hand... Wtf... This is the kind of shit I expect from the US, not Canada.

They say there was some violence and weapons involved... geez... Just hope no one got hurt too badly. Violence is never the answer, no matter how hateful scalpers are.

Speaking as an American, Gee, thanks.  People are people the world over.  One nationality isn’t fundamentally more or less law abiding than another.  They can have different laws and expectations though. Perhaps those in Canada feel that the scalping shouldn’t happen in Canada but only the US as well, and therefore felt entitled.  

[Crossbred]

See, the difference between property flipping and scalping is that property flipping always involves risk, because prices can change at any moment or demand can fade, while also costing weeks of work and negotiation just to be able to actually make money, over the course of months or years. 

Scalping is lazy and relatively risk-free, because the worst that happens is they can return the items or just drop prices without ever coming near a loss. It's sleazy.

Doesn't warrant violence, but it should be illegal and I'm surprised there isn't legislation or other moderation going on. 

[Dutch_Master]

8 hours ago, Commodus said:

don't take delight in revenge

Well, that's the entire American Judiciary/Legal system in ruins then

[Crossbred]

15 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Speaking as an American, Gee, thanks.  People are people the world over.  One nationality isn’t fundamentally more or less law abiding than another.  They can have different laws and expectations though. Perhaps those in Canada feel that the scalping shouldn’t happen in Canada but only the US as well, and therefore felt entitled.  

Other nations tend to view the US as lawless - they have usually only seen old Western movies, Florida Man memes, or similar media. It's not their fault, just how the world tends to portray us. Having lived in Mexico, some of them genuinely believed that we still own slaves and that we were all horribly racist. Fact of the matter is that in Mexico you hear more racism in one conversation than most Americans do in a lifetime. You can only know what you're told until you see it.

[Crossbred]

4 minutes ago, Dutch_Master said:

Well, that's the entire American Judiciary/Legal system in ruins then

A woman looking for reparations to compensate for emotional trauma after sexual abuse is not revenge, it's logic.

Ok no more politics for today.

[Jet_ski]

12 minutes ago, Crossbred said:

See, the difference between property flipping and scalping is that property flipping always involves risk, because prices can change at any moment or demand can fade, while also costing weeks of work and negotiation just to be able to actually make money, over the course of months or years. 

Scalping is lazy and relatively risk-free, because the worst that happens is they can return the items or just drop prices without ever coming near a loss. It's sleazy.

Doesn't warrant violence, but it should be illegal and I'm surprised there isn't legislation or other moderation going on. 

Totally. Also people flipping properties often renovate the property to add value.

[Dutch_Master]

5 minutes ago, Crossbred said:

A woman looking for reparations to compensate for emotional trauma after sexual abuse is not revenge, it's logic.

No, it's compensation. A financial retribution for what is essentially something immaterial, the feelings about the violation of her body. Those are feelings of revenge, as well as disgust and undoubtedly questions about why she was targeted. But in essence it's still a financial revenge for what the perpetrator has done to her, material and immaterial.

 

Don't get me wrong, if proven in Court, she has every right to be compensated for her ordeal!

16 minutes ago, Crossbred said:

Ok no more politics for today.

Well, OK, I'm off to bed shortly anyway

[kaiju_wars]

I have compassion and empathy.  My career requires it to some degree.  But here, I look at both scalping and robbery as the same thing, theft.  Now you can be like, "it's just capitalism!  They bought it fair and square and only marking it up 85000%!!"  Well, yeah, that's some shit.  They can do that.  Doesn't make it right.  We have laws set in place to not scalp goods during a state of national emergency.  Such as how that dude got put on trial for buying up states' worth of hand sanitizer and marking it up way beyond MSRP.  Now you can say, "well a game console isn't a good."  You're right.  But it's the same concept.  These people are buying up consoles in the middle of a recession/pandemic effecting production, and marking up consoles in what would have probably been a chance for people to otherwise buy them.

 

Two wrongs don't make a right.  And the people robbing the scalpers should be prosecuted as a result.  But I don't really feel upset that the scalpers got robbed themselves when they do the same thing.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Jet_ski said:

Totally. Also people flipping properties often renovate the property to add value.

Well they attempt to pretend to anyway.  One of the dangers of buying a property that has been flipped multiple times is a lot of the “renovations” are either fake, or done so badly they might as well have been.   My sister bought a house the downstairs bathroom for which had a toilet that was put together without an actual toilet gasket and merely caulked to the floor.

[bit]

itt people conflating legality with morality. legally the robbers were wrong yes. but just because it's legal to scalp doesn't mean it's morally right. if you really wanted to make a profit buying new products and selling them then why not just start a retail business? It's the same thing isn't it?  It was legal for corporations to take back the "hero pay" in the summer then increase their shareholder dividends. It's fine. No one can get angry. The people who got that raise taken back should just get another job at higher wage if they don't like it. Or maybe two jobs! God bless capitalism.

 

 

In regards to people saying low income people shouldn't be buying a new console well. Lol. Sorry master I won't attempt to buy anything but ramen. 

[Silentprototipe]

Well thats Karma, They rob people the opportunity for people to buy things at fair prices only for them to be robbed of the thing they robbed other people of. Hopefully no one gets hurt tho 

[S w a t s o n]

shout out to the 6ix for keeping it real. fuck the scalpers

[TargetDron3]

15 hours ago, Sakuriru said:

They bought it for the sole purpose of making someone else pay more than they did. They take away stock from people who could have otherwise afforded an item. It's just how the nature of supply and demand works, but it's still an asshole thing to do, especially when there is no risk to yourself. So people feel like they've been deprived of a product (and some people have been flaunting that they have tens of consoles hoarded away that they're selling for twice as much).

 

I don't feel bad for them for being robbed, because that's effectively what they're trying to do to other people.

Should just start reporting scalpers to the tax collecting agency in your country. Sure they would like to collect on lift revenue. 

[PineyCreek]

I'd much rather scalpers effectively rob themselves by way of people simply not buying what they're trying to sell, not through violence.

[Dylanc1500]

7 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

Buh buh we NEED [insert brand new product] on its launch day! 

Everyone loves to be a fucking victim nowadays, especially when they weren't planning on even getting shit on a product's launch day. It's easier to just constantly bitch and moan about something than it is to wait or even take initiative to want something.

I see a gap in the tech YouTube market. There needs to be a whistlindiesel of the tech world.

[Bombastinator]

7 hours ago, handymanshandle said:

Buh buh we NEED [insert brand new product] on its launch day! 

Everyone loves to be a fucking victim nowadays, especially when they weren't planning on even getting shit on a product's launch day. It's easier to just constantly bitch and moan about something than it is to wait or even take initiative to want something.

Preassumes effort was not made.  Loving being a victim is so rare it’s it’s own extremely rare mental disorder.

[dizmo]

7 hours ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

The fact that you are causing availability issues for your own profit, is messed up. I've lost any and all respect for you.

It's a luxury item, not something you need to live. Get over yourself. Either way, I really couldn't care less what you think.

[LogicalDrm]

*** Thread locked ***

 

This is more preemptive lock than anything else. These new launches, pandemic and issues highlighted because of those (I've watched bad 80s or 90s movie about scalping, so the act is just highlighted, not new thing). There are some posts in this thread that walk the line of what we expect from our community. Which is sad to see. Couple of moderation actions have been made because of that.

 

Touching couple things:

14 hours ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

retailers sell at MSRP prices and provide a service, this is someone being a dick wad, buying tons of product contributing to stock issues, then selling it at higher prices than MSRP.

MSRP is price manufacturer says item should cost. So maybe what they sell it for in their own store. Its hardly ever what retailer asks. Usually, when production is high, retailers get stuff by lots and cheap, so they can sell under MSRP. Sometimes, and mainly in areas where shipping even lots becomes expensive, they sell it over MSRP. The key being that retailer expects getting some profit from every sold piece.

 

There was already thread about retailers themselves being scalpers because they dared to sell something over MSRP. Its still suggested retail price, not absolute.

 

10 hours ago, Arika S said:

EDIT: also people in this thread are making out like you HAVE to buy thing from scalpers. There's an easy soloution: FUCKING DON'T, they do it because people buy it, if you don't buy it at their huge mark ups then there will be no reason to scalp. If you're going to blame the scalpers, blame the buyers too, they are just as much at fault for perpetuating the cycle. 

This applies to all pricing. Why do consoles cost some $100-150 more than what they did 10 years ago? Why do GPUs cost $400 more? Why do games cost double? Because people keep buying them at those prices. If you disagree with pricing, don't buy something. Your wallet has always been strongest opinion any manufacturer or retailer will listen.