Scalpers Auction StarCraft 2 Beta Keys

[ProfessorLayton]

That is insanely overpriced but... so tempting...

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Those bastards!

I'm pretty sure Blizzard doesn't approve of selling beta keys and can just cancel those keys.

And I am actively emailing them about this.

 

[Moriarty]

[
Scalpers take money from the people who deserve it; the people who actually worked to release the Beta.

how is that even possible?

The developers choose to give away those keys for free because they want beta testers, how can they lose money when a key changes its owner?

Blizzard WOULD be selling those if they thought they could get away with it, how does this influence them?

 

[Sporky111]

Scalpers take money from the people who deserve it; the people who actually worked to release the Beta.

how is that even possible?

The developers choose to give away those keys for free because they want beta testers, how can they lose money when a key changes its owner?

Blizzard WOULD be selling those if they thought they could get away with it, how does this influence them?

To get the key, someone would have had to go to BlizzCon. The scalpers are selling to people who, most likely, never went and never paid admission, etc. So, the scalpers are making the profit instead of Blizzard.

 

[obisean]

I sold my Burning Crusade beta key for $500. Was given to me though a corporate promotion through Best Buy, when I worked for Best Buy. Bought myself an LG 22" monitor (back when it was $350) and never looked back.

 

[The Youth Counselor]

Bidding 350 dollars for a 60 dollar game isn't lunacy. It's Blizzard after all, so we all know they'll take another two years at least to finally release the damn game.

And the news of this thread, made me conjured up the image of hooded figures standing outside Blizzcon whispering "Psst over here."

 

[sidereal_day]

-snip-

You know what, you can make all the analogies and little arguments you want; balance out the value of something given as a prize with the price of attending the event or equate integrity with lack-of-profit, but you're missing my main point:

Scalpers take money from the people who deserve it; the people who actually worked to release the Beta.

They're opportunists, more easily likened to parasites than entrepreneurs.

You may argue that everything is fine and dandy if it nets you some cash but cheating a company out of their hard work and then selling it at drastically high price to people who couldn't otherwise have access to it is morally wrong. Yeah, in a capitalist system it's perfectly legal, but capitalism doesn't make room for valuing anything other than money.

I "missed" your main point because you don't have one. You are saying that those who developed the beta are losing money by giving away the keys. Yeah, probably, considering how much the beta keys are going for. So what's stopping Blizzard from selling the keys at those prices? The scalpers certainly aren't. I have trouble understanding how you are going from "Blizzard gives away beta keys" to "scalpers who resell the keys are jerks." There is a step missing here, and you seem very disinclined to explain it based on your anti-intellectual quips about me "making little arguments" and "doing equations" like making arguments and mathematically modeling things is a bad thing or something. The economic models are not perfect -- but they are better predictors than just random guessing or "wouldn't-it-be-nice" analysis that you seem to be advocating.

You may argue that everything is fine and dandy if it nets you some cash but cheating a company out of their hard work and then selling it at drastically high price to people who couldn't otherwise have access to it is morally wrong. Yeah, in a capitalist system it's perfectly legal, but capitalism doesn't make room for valuing anything other than money.

.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Free market systems make room for valuing everything and anything VIA money. Without free trade, we would not know how much a beta key is worth or how much people like the movie Avatar. Nor would we know how much people are willing to give up for single-payer healthcare or public education. Indeed, we can see precisely how much people value fairness and equality precisely by seeing what they are willing to forgo to attain equality. Without a market system, we would either guess how much people value things, or appoint someone to determine what people OUGHT to value and then price things accordingly. Either option is anathema to most people, regardless of whether or not they think they support free markets. Unless you support random pricing by a government board or a dictator to tell us what we should do with our lives, you support markets.

Regardless, it's not perfectly legal to sell these beta keys as it violates a contract between the beta key recipient and Blizzard, so I have no idea why you even said it was.

 

[sidereal_day]

Because they applied for something they had no intention of using purely to sell to someone who wasnt as fortunate as they were. Its even worse than ticket touting as at least they were paid for, this is just selling something you were given essentially as a gift

So I say again, scum!

So by your logic, someone who wins the lottery and uses that money to open a business is a scumbag because he is selling to people who weren't as fortunate as they are.

You guys have some weird sense of morality.

 

[Pipotchi]

Because they applied for something they had no intention of using purely to sell to someone who wasnt as fortunate as they were. Its even worse than ticket touting as at least they were paid for, this is just selling something you were given essentially as a gift

So I say again, scum!

So by your logic, someone who wins the lottery and uses that money to open a business is a scumbag because he is selling to people who weren't as fortunate as they are.

You guys have some weird sense of morality.

Thats not an extension of my logic in the slightest, my logic is that if I ask for something (in this case a beta) of which there are a limited number, only to reveal that I have no interest in the item and that I only wished to re-sell it at an inflated price Sure I would be a model capitalist but I would also be a complete tool. Someone who genuinely wanted the product to enjoy/use it now does not have it because I saw an opportiunity to make a bit of money

You seem to equate good business practice with good ethics and they dont always intersect and in the case of scalping they dont at all

 

[sidereal_day]

Because they applied for something they had no intention of using purely to sell to someone who wasnt as fortunate as they were. Its even worse than ticket touting as at least they were paid for, this is just selling something you were given essentially as a gift

So I say again, scum!

So by your logic, someone who wins the lottery and uses that money to open a business is a scumbag because he is selling to people who weren't as fortunate as they are.

You guys have some weird sense of morality.

Thats not an extension of my logic in the slightest, my logic is that if I ask for something (in this case a beta) of which there are a limited number, only to reveal that I have no interest in the item and that I only wished to re-sell it at an inflated price Sure I would be a model capitalist but I would also be a complete tool. Someone who genuinely wanted the product to enjoy/use it now does not have it because I saw an opportiunity to make a bit of money

You seem to equate good business practice with good ethics and they dont always intersect and in the case of scalping they dont at all

That is an extension of your logic. Let's say someone entered a lottery just to open a business and sell stuff at "inflated prices" (whatever that means). That person is a complete tool, right? Because you were denied the use of the money to buy Starcraft II beta keys or something. All that greedy bastard wanted to do was make money! Whereas you wanted to spend it because you saw more value in a specific good than he did! What a jerk!

Do you see why your position makes no sense? You obviously put a price on the beta. Everyone does. My dad would probably pay negative 80 dollars. I would probably pay 5. Maybe you would pay 100. Whatever. If I got the beta for free, my economic profit would be 5 dollars. Yours would be 100. My profit, your profit, and a scalper's profit are indistinguishable. Why does the scalper making a profit get a scolding, but a person who wants to play SCII and makes an economic profit doing so not get one? Just because the transaction isn't obvious, or what?

I don't equate good business practices with good ethics; I just don't think there are any ethical considerations when talking about the business of allocating beta codes for a computer game. When we're talking about life-saving operations or something, I might be less inclined to say "who cares?" When equality of access isn't paramount, it's best to let the most efficient way possible go ahead.

 

[Sporky111]

I "missed" your main point because you don't have one. You are saying that those who developed the beta are losing money by giving away the keys. Yeah, probably, considering how much the beta keys are going for. So what's stopping Blizzard from selling the keys at those prices? The scalpers certainly aren't. I have trouble understanding how you are going from "Blizzard gives away beta keys" to "scalpers who resell the keys are jerks."

You're getting a little too worked up. I admit that you are making valid points and strong arguments but what it comes down to, and what you are failing to grasp, is that it comes down to a difference in morals. Since I didn't back up moral opinions with facts and figures, like your so inclined to, you aren't understanding my stance.

I don't agree with scalping, and I listed all the reasons why I don't agree with it above. Since I need to make it incredibly clear for you, I'll boil it down to my most basic point and even put in flow chart form for you since you requested it so nicely:

Blizzard worked to release the beta, therefore they should be gaining the benefits of doing so.

Blizzard gives away Beta Keys as a gift to their customers, who were so nice as to attend BlizzCon

These customers then took this gift and sold it, rather than taking it and enjoying it for themselves.

Scalpers are jerks​

I'm starting to think that you're just out to disagree with all my points, because you even backtracked on yourself to prove me wrong.

Indeed, we can see precisely how much people value fairness and equality precisely by seeing what they are willing to forgo to attain equality. Without a market system, we would either guess how much people value things, or appoint someone to determine what people OUGHT to value and then price things accordingly.

Regardless, it's not perfectly legal to sell these beta keys as it violates a contract between the beta key recipient and Blizzard, so I have no idea why you even said it was.

So you concede that what scalpers do is illegal because is violates the contract, yet justify that they are right because we are this is a free market economy?

I support equal reward for equal work, a principle of mixed-free market economy (which is what this is. There is no purely free market). Scalpers make more money per unit than Blizzard, and they put no more work into it than "Win prize -> Sell on eBay".

 

[sidereal_day]

You're getting a little too worked up. I admit that you are making valid points and strong arguments but what it comes down to, and what you are failing to grasp, is that it comes down to a difference in morals. Since I didn't back up moral opinions with facts and figures, like your so inclined to, you aren't understanding my stance.

If you're disinclined to prove that your position is correct (with facts and figures), then we obviously have nothing more to discuss on that subject.

So you concede that what scalpers do is illegal because is violates the contract, yet justify that they are right because we are this is a free market economy?

I support equal reward for equal work, a principle of mixed-free market economy (which is what this is. There is no purely free market). Scalpers make more money per unit than Blizzard, and they put no more work into it than "Win prize -> Sell on eBay".

I certainly concede what they are doing is illegal. But illegal hardly means wrong. Especially if the contracts are silly attempts by a company to try to limit what a customer can do with something that the customer legally owns.

And I am not justifying what they are doing because things are free market; I am justifying what they are doing because things such as SCII beta keys OUGHT to be determined by a free market.

I support equal reward for equal work, a principle of mixed-free market economy

So if computer programmers were scarce in Montreal, it would be unethical for them to be paid higher wages than in, say, Los Angeles? Not at all an unusual position, but certainly one that would lead to massive shortages of programmers in Montreal and massive surpluses of them in Los Angeles. Now replace programmers with "food" and you'll see why equal reward for equal work can and probably will kill people.

 

[In Limbo]

there's no game that I want to play so much that I'd be willing to pay five times the retail price just to get into the beta.

I concur. I'll either wait for my beta key in the next waves or kick back and enjoy the full version of SC2 when it hits shelves. No skin off my nose either way.

Much concurrence, both wise.

Similarly:

I "missed" your main point because you don't have one. You are saying that those who developed the beta are losing money by giving away the keys. Yeah, probably, considering how much the beta keys are going for. So what's stopping Blizzard from selling the keys at those prices? The scalpers certainly aren't. I have trouble understanding how you are going from "Blizzard gives away beta keys" to "scalpers who resell the keys are jerks." There is a step missing here, and you seem very disinclined to explain it based on your anti-intellectual quips about me "making little arguments" and "doing equations" like making arguments and mathematically modeling things is a bad thing or something. The economic models are not perfect -- but they are better predictors than just random guessing or "wouldn't-it-be-nice" analysis that you seem to be advocating.

...

Wrong, wrong, wrong. Free market systems make room for valuing everything and anything VIA money. Without free trade, we would not know how much a beta key is worth or how much people like the movie Avatar. Nor would we know how much people are willing to give up for single-payer healthcare or public education. Indeed, we can see precisely how much people value fairness and equality precisely by seeing what they are willing to forgo to attain equality. Without a market system, we would either guess how much people value things, or appoint someone to determine what people OUGHT to value and then price things accordingly. Either option is anathema to most people, regardless of whether or not they think they support free markets. Unless you support random pricing by a government board or a dictator to tell us what we should do with our lives, you support markets.

Thread won.

 

[Pigeon_Grenade]

where theres a Market, theres a profiter, just look at all those who Ebayed there ps3 when That came out

 

[SweetWarmIce]

Wait a second, won't the game cost 100$ when it is released, not 60$ ?

I really hope that you are wrong. I am already pissed about it only including Terran campaign, if they'll charge 100 USD for it to boot, I'll just have to ignore the game altogether.

If you're in Australia then it'd be $100 (AUD). I'm guessing the author means 60 USD.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

I hope all these auctions get sabotaged with million dollor bids. Scalpers are the scum of the earth regardless of what their scalping.

For shame I say!

Why? Because they are selling things people have a demand for?

They are selling things that people have a demand for, sure, but it isn't really that simple.

Firstly, they had to buy a 2008 BlizzCon Ticket to get the beta code. Now, I don't know if you know how much demand there are for BlizzCon tickets, but as an example, BlizzCon '08 tickets were sold out within seconds of them going on sale. In fact, there was so much demand for tickets at BlizzCon '08 that the website servers crashed when they put the sales up. Multiple times.

Okay, so what's the big deal? They just wanted to goto BlizzCon, right? Wrong. They scalped the $100 BlizzCon tickets for $500 and up, and that was for ONLY the ticket, they kept the Beta keys and grab bags (they also sold the grab bags, though those didn't sell for quite as much). So right off the bat, these people are buying a high demand item FROM the people who are demanding it, then directly re-selling a fraction of that purchase back to the people who demanded it for 5x the cost. In effect, it's like they stole approximately $400 from these people and made-off with the goody bag, too.

So now these people are back, and they're making even MORE profit off of this high demand item which they only have in their hands in the first place because they effectively stole them from the very people who demanded them in the first place. I'm sure that there's a fraction of those auctions that are people who actually went to BlizzCon because they wanted to goto BlizzCon, but have little to no interest in Starcraft 2 so they're deciding to sell the beta key... but I can assure you it's a minority. Most of those auctions are scalpers who bought the BlizzCon ticket purely so they could mark it up and sell it for a gross profit.

 

[Bat Vader]

So the finished product would be around $60.00 and they are charging the beta of the game for over $300.00.

If the finished product is around $60.00 than charge $60.00. Charging something 5 times the retail value is just silly. Especially if the game isn't even completed yet.

 

[Lillowh]

I certainly concede what they are doing is illegal. But illegal hardly means wrong. Especially if the contracts are silly attempts by a company to try to limit what a customer can do with something that the customer legally owns.

The second sentance in the quote quickly shows me that your morals are either on vacation, or they moved out, and so does the fact that you seem to support scalping, which is also morally wrong. If something is illegal than 99.9% it's wrong. Blizzard is not limiting what a customer can do with something that they own because said "customers" do not actually own the keys. Blizzard is more or less lending them the keys to their program so they can get public opinion and testing on it. Blizzard has full ownership of the keys, which you can prove because they have the power to legally veto the keys from use. It is not a silly attempt by the company to limit what people can do with their property because it is, and will always be, Blizzards property and they can do whatever they please with it.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Well, if people are willing to pay through the nose to play early, it's their right. But, I think that it's really a dick-move on the part of the scalpers when they got the codes directly from Blizzard and are making the profit instead of Blizz.

Neither Blizzard nor their parent company, Activision, are shy about asking for money. If I had a beta key for the game I'd sell it too, not because I like scamming my fellow man but because I have no interest in the product. Being an enterprising twenty-something in a capitalist nation, it would go against my civic duty to just give the code away however.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Do these morons not realize Blizzard can just ban the codes AND track them down? I'm pretty sure law enforcement will be glad to help considering shit like this is illegal.

Actually, in many parts of the US, it is not. It may however be a violation of the terms of use of said product meaning possible civil repercussions.

The best most places have managed to do is prohibit scalping at a given location. For example, most stadiums where professional sporting events are held have a prohibition against anyone but the ticket counters selling tickets to an event. In cases such as this, there is often a local ordiance against such things.

More interesting is the simple fact that purchasing a ticket, even in places where scalping is illegal, is generally not a crime. There's actually a LOT of legal grey area to play in, and chances are quite good that any actions that may be taken will be done by blizzard/activision and not law enforcement.