Poll: Game System Scalping

[TPiddy]

It really pisses me off when I see people lining up to buy shit so that they can re-sell it for profit.

I can understand wholesalers and retailers and people who make a business out of doing that, but if you're the kind of person who can sit outside of Best Buy for 5 hours so that you can buy 6 PS3's and put them on eBay for $1000 each back when they came out I personally think you're a douchebag.

This phenomenon is not only present in gaming I know, as I've seen people do it with concert tickets, iPhones and the like. I just have a moral problem with the practice. Am I justified? Or is there another side I'm not seeing here?

 

[thiosk]

Supply and demand

Keep extra bottles of water in your home, so that when the earthquake hits, you can make some phat loot.

 

[Sassafrass]

You are complaining about what the UK calls 'Touting'? It's annoys me a bit but TBH, if someone is willing to pay £3,000 for a PS3, why not take advantage of the idiots who are out there.

EDIT: Just remembered what the UK calls said activity, post changed.

 

[TheLastCylon]

Capitalism FTW!

 

[khaimera]

Its annoying I guess, but why not sell something to someone so stupid or rich that they would pay way more than something costs. It could affect us if we went to buy it and it was sold out becuase of scalpers, but what can you do?

I think I hate scalpers becuase I wish I had the time/lack of a life to wait for hours and make some good easy money.

 

[TPiddy]

Its annoying I guess, but why not sell something to someone so stupid or rich that they would pay way more than something costs. It could affect us if we went to buy it and it was sold out becuase of scalpers, but what can you do?

I think I hate scalpers becuase I wish I had the time/lack of a life to wait for hours and make some good easy money.

Well, for one it makes the product more elitist than it should be. Like tickets for example, the major problem with my local hockey team is that the tickets are so expensive that big business pretty much gets most of the good seats, so the people in the stands aren't true fans and are just business associates.

Why should someone with more money who's willing to pay more than retail ruin it for the rest of us? It just widens the gap between rich and poor. The other problem is that they are far more prevalent now.... I would say 80-90% of all tickets for my local sports team are scalped. Good luck even finding tickets at the box office.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I hate them too. Mostly it's immigrants here in Sweden, almost always teenagers, who spam swedish forums, goes around school and tries to sell shit they've either stolen or gotten from some relative or close friend... who probably stole it.

I know I'm sounding racist, and there are probably lots of swedish people doing this too, but all the immigrant teenagers have put a face on the scalpers by being so god damn persistent and at the same time pathetic in their ways of trying to get money, so whenever I think scalper or the like I think of someone making a profit on selling stuff for a higher prize because they are to shite to manage without it.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Heh so what. If I wanna suffer though waiting in line to by X concert tickets to sell them higher big deal. If it's important for someone to pay "normal" price then they should suffer and wait in line. I've camped out(online) for cubs tix. Its no big deal.

 

[TPiddy]

Heh so what. If I wanna suffer though waiting in line to by X concert tickets to sell them higher big deal. If it's important for someone to pay "normal" price then they should suffer and wait in line. I've camped out(online) for cubs tix. Its no big deal.

See, that's the problem. I can't take 6 hours off work to wait in line for tickets. Most people who are truly interested in seeing these events or getting these items have lives and jobs and aren't in it for the racket.

I still believe that buying something for the sole purpose of reselling it for profit, unless you're a retailer or something similar, is just ruining it for everyone else. If you don't want to go to the damn game don't buy a ticket. Quit trying to make a buck off your fellow man.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Heh so what. If I wanna suffer though waiting in line to by X concert tickets to sell them higher big deal. If it's important for someone to pay "normal" price then they should suffer and wait in line. I've camped out(online) for cubs tix. Its no big deal.

See, that's the problem. I can't take 6 hours off work to wait in line for tickets. Most people who are truly interested in seeing these events or getting these items have lives and jobs and aren't in it for the racket.

I still believe that buying something for the sole purpose of reselling it for profit, unless you're a retailer or something similar, is just ruining it for everyone else. If you don't want to go to the damn game don't buy a ticket. Quit trying to make a buck off your fellow man.

But if something is so important for you to pay the base fee for it then it can be worked out. Most ticket sales start 8am on a certain day, use a personal/sick day, or go in later. High ticket prices limit demand and ensure those who want tickets get them. Concert tickets are what 30 bucks and 50,000 people would want to go to that. Problem is the venue only holds 20,000. Scalping tickets limits the demand to the 20k(or so) and ensures you get one in you want one.

 

[TPiddy]

But if something is so important for you to pay the base fee for it then it can be worked out. Most ticket sales start 8am on a certain day, use a personal/sick day, or go in later. High ticket prices limit demand and ensure those who want tickets get them. Concert tickets are what 30 bucks and 50,000 people would want to go to that. Problem is the venue only holds 20,000. Scalping tickets limits the demand to the 20k(or so) and ensures you get one in you want one.

I suppose that's part of the issue, I'm not willing to wait in line for 6 hours but I still feel that I should be able to buy items at retail value. Is that so wrong? Also, in the case of game systems, do you think they intentionally limit production to increase demand and sale values?

 

[TPiddy]

Why should someone with more money who's willing to pay more than retail ruin it for the rest of us? It just widens the gap between rich and poor.

That's Capitalism for you.

But hey, like someone else said, "Supply and demand."
If you can make money from idiots, do it.

I suppose I would be the 'idiot' in this case, but I just feel that a more appropriate term would be 'victim'. I certainly feel victimized when I have to pay 2.5 to 3 times face value just to see a hockey game, but I really have no alternative. I sign up for email alerts and try to get tickets online, but nothing works. It seems the system is designed to shut out the little guy.

 

[sneakypenguin]

But if something is so important for you to pay the base fee for it then it can be worked out. Most ticket sales start 8am on a certain day, use a personal/sick day, or go in later. High ticket prices limit demand and ensure those who want tickets get them. Concert tickets are what 30 bucks and 50,000 people would want to go to that. Problem is the venue only holds 20,000. Scalping tickets limits the demand to the 20k(or so) and ensures you get one in you want one.

I suppose that's part of the issue, I'm not willing to wait in line for 6 hours but I still feel that I should be able to buy items at retail value. Is that so wrong? Also, in the case of game systems, do you think they intentionally limit production to increase demand and sale values?

I doubt they intentionally limit because your price is 399 for first year(xbox) and is typically just enough to cover cost of manufacturing(or even taking a loss like sony did). So its not a very inflated price. Limiting your sales does nothing to get you more money. If you making 25$ on a 400 console it doesn't do you any good to limit that to X units. Ideally you would want just enough to cover the initial demand.

 

[Space Spoons]

It's not the most honorable thing to do, but an opportunity is an opportunity, and I can't rightly blame someone for wanting to take it, especially in this economy.

This is the way I rationalize it; If you had enough interest to want to buy the console/concert tickets in the first place, you probably knew it was going to be a hot commodity when it went up for sale. At that point, if you made the conscious decision to avoid making the effort to get out there and stand in line to get yours before supplies ran out... Tough cookies. That was your call.

 

[TPiddy]

I guess.
You could always try beating them unconscious and stealing the tickets.
Or just not going.

Well, the problem with not going is that there are thousands of other willing victims that would happily get gouged to go. And for half of these people it's a business expense so they don't care about cost anyways. I don't go to as many games as I'd like but it still hurts to shell out $140 for a ticket and then see $55 printed on the front of it.

 

[FindecanoZz]

It's really dependent upon the context of the sale. For example, if you buy the ticket with every intention of using it but circumstances prevent you from doing so (or you just plain change your mind), then selling it is fine by me. If you think you can get extra for it, then by all means, knock yourself out.

However, specifically buying tickets for the purpose of selling them seems underhanded and rather inefficient. If you're that desperate for money, you'd be better off spending six hours mowing lawns rather than standing in a line to make a 'quick' 50 bucks. It's pretty easy to pick up casual work like that in Australia, at any rate.

 

[TPiddy]

It's really dependent upon the context of the sale. For example, if you buy the ticket with every intention of using it but circumstances prevent you from doing so (or you just plain change your mind), then selling it is fine by me. If you think you can get extra for it, then by all means, knock yourself out.

However, specifically buying tickets for the purpose of selling them seems underhanded and rather inefficient. If you're that desperate for money, you'd be better off spending six hours mowing lawns rather than standing in a line to make a 'quick' 50 bucks. It's pretty easy to pick up casual work like that in Australia, at any rate.

Thank you. I have no problem if someone has to resell their season tickets or something because they cannot go to a game... most of the time these people don't seek to profit, only to recoup their investment. However, the a$$holes who buy 4 PS3's at a time are purely doing it to sell the remaining ones for profit and play off of people. I refused to buy my 360 at launch, even if it meant scouring every store in the country. I eventually found one at a local department store in the suburbs.

 

[Poopie McGhee]

Its annoying I guess, but why not sell something to someone so stupid or rich that they would pay way more than something costs. It could affect us if we went to buy it and it was sold out becuase of scalpers, but what can you do?

I think I hate scalpers becuase I wish I had the time/lack of a life to wait for hours and make some good easy money.

Well, for one it makes the product more elitist than it should be. Like tickets for example, the major problem with my local hockey team is that the tickets are so expensive that big business pretty much gets most of the good seats, so the people in the stands aren't true fans and are just business associates.

Why should someone with more money who's willing to pay more than retail ruin it for the rest of us? It just widens the gap between rich and poor. The other problem is that they are far more prevalent now.... I would say 80-90% of all tickets for my local sports team are scalped. Good luck even finding tickets at the box office.

You never know, the business people may be fans..

OT: I think that while it's not the best thing in the world for people to do, it's their right to do so. That said i almost wish i could, as there's a good profit from it that i could use on more games...

 

[rainman2203]

That's how capitalism works man. What I find even better is the guys who get a newly released system and then smash it in front of the people still in line.

 

[TPiddy]

You never know, the business people may be fans..

OT: I think that while it's not the best thing in the world for people to do, it's their right to do so. That said i almost wish i could, as there's a good profit from it that i could use on more games...

Yes, there are some people in the business seats that are fans, I won't doubt that, but it takes away from the spirit of the game a bit to see a bunch of guys in suits occupying the best seats in the house.

I just have a moral issue with profiting off of someone just because I can. I don't want to claim to be morally or ethically superior to people, but I try to do what's fair. Just because I CAN make money that way doesn't mean I should. Just because prostitutes CAN make good money selling their bodies doesn't mean they should.