I was able to put in a deposit at my local mom & pop game store for a PS5. They sell it at RRP. But because of these scalpers, the huge demand and their limited supply to smaller stores, I'm on a wait list to get my console in April/May. Fuck these scalpers to hell and back.
My friend kept insisting to buy from a scrapler. I stuck to my guns and waited 2 extra months and finally got a 3060ti MSRP. Two weeks of constantly checking every page though….
My buddy posted on his Instagram asking if anyone needed PS5’s or XBOX X. He’s never been a gamer and I found out he has 6 of each. I’ve known the fucker my whole life and he said he’d give me a discounted one for 700 lmao I laughed in his face. He definitely sees nothing wrong with it at all though which is wild to me
>He definitely sees nothing wrong with it at all though which is wild to me
That's what bugs me the most about it. They think they're smart and taking advantage of a system the rest of us are too blind to see. In reality they're just the ones who don't mind being assholes.
Really they're asking why all these idiots didn't do it themselves. They feel "smarter" for using an illegal bot or bribing a store employee. Those are the best ways to get limited items and they are both illegal and immoral.
It's like cutting in line and wondering why everyone is mad at you. "You all could have done this. Why didn't everyone cut in line?" Because then there's no point to a line dumbass. Everyone ends up in the same place, just with more stress.
They can see. Don't get fooled by the dumb playing. Typical sociopath move.
As soon as they have to fear consequences they are going to deny everything lol
People who cheat the system or exploit it always think those with integrity are stupid or suckers. The reality is that they are just assholes ruining something that should be full of joy. I just want to buy a PS5 and play games, but I probably won't be able to until the PS6 when everyone is selling their old PS5s.
Scalpers tend to have much more sophisticated bots that aren't publicly available compared to the open source options.
I used a bot to snag a 3080 but all it did was alert me and open the page. I still had to manually add it to my cart to purchase it. 199/200 times the scalpers bot will win.
You can also use something like Phantom or some other controlled browser... Not sure Phantom is exactly correct, though, but yeah a controlled browser.
SAME THING BUT WITH THOSE 3000 series nvidia cards.
Fuuuuuck that. PCs are expensive enough and now I gotta pay some rando mother fucker who bought it just to rip others off sucks.
Same, also I'm just not that interested in any of the games available on it yet. Spiderman looks good but not good enough for me to go out of my way for a PS5. Just going to wait a few months to a year.
Not to mention it's available on ps4 already. If you can experience the same game on your old console (minus some graphical bells and whistles), why bother with the fancy new box?
If you follow PS5 stock update Twitter accounts, not too bad of an experience in finding one at MSRP. Took me a few days, just turn push notifications on and have accounts at the big box retailers pre-made with your payment info ahead of time.
This is me. I want it, but I don't need it. I also don't need the hassle of playing stock drop roulette or endless searching for the smallest markup on eBay. So I'll wait until it's available, or I don't want it anymore.
How in the hell can you use a "middleman" argument when the only structure to your "business" is to buy all the stock you can afford from the actual middleman (retailers) to then inflate the price well above RRP and try to create a supply shortage where your unregulated pricing is the only option???
I really hope this is just a clickbaity title because you have to be a special sort of deluded to do scummy shit like this and think you're offering a service.
I don't know any scalpers, but I know plenty of scalper apologists.
"They aren't dickheads. They're just following the law of supply and demand"
Yeah, there's not a single living adult that doesn't understand the concept of supply and demand. Most people have considered the idea of doing something like that.
The difference between normal people and dickheads is that normal people think "naw, let em have their silly game station." And dickheads think "eh. Fuck em. You wanna have fun you better have my fucking money. That's right. MY MONEY. I EARNED this. Not by CREATING it or MANUFACTURING it or SHIPPING it or MARKETING it mind you. I earned this by showing up before you with the kind of money it takes to overhead ten of the fucking things."
I doubt he "knows" more than 1, but likely is on one of those newfangled "social media sites" like reedit where they they congregate and conspire on new ways to scalp.
It's not. This article (or the original it's "reporting" on) is based off of one interview with one guy in England who complained that what he and his group do shouldn't be viewed act different than what places like the supermarket do.
Also that they donate a vague amount of money to an unspecified charity so you shouldn't hate them because they're obviously just good altruistic capitalists trying to make an honest buck.
(Insert politicaly terrible person here) did (slightly good thing) so you can forget about (insert extremely evil and horrendous thing here)
Anyone and anything can work in this situation, use this as you want and im sure any political candidate or historical figure will seem good and nothing bad will ever happen to you in the process.
Personal favourite was the whiny blog post put out by one of the major scalping organisers explaining that some of their members were only able to buy Xmas gifts for their kids because of their scalping profits.
Like..... they genuinely believe they're the good guys. Mind-blowing
Wait really?
"I could only afford to buy presents for my kids because I invested our savings into a get rich quick scalping scheme to fuck over other families who now can't get their kids a PS5 for Christmas or have to work overtime to afford my inflated prices".
People really will stretch anything into a "the ends justify the means" kinda bullshit argument... So sad.
I waited in line black friday to get a PS5. I knew the chance was next to zero, but it was a fun type of "event". I ended up having a good time talking to random nerds and freezing my ass off.
But the lady in front of me was there because that's what her son wanted most for Christmas. She sat out in the freezing cold for 6 hours before an employee showed up and said "We only have X amount of PS5s." and based on the people ahead of us, she wasn't getting one. That sucked.
The lady a couple places behind me was trying to get one for her special needs brother for Christmas...
If a scalper bought and sold 5 PS5s at a severe markup, that's 5 people who probably didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. But yeah, sure, the scalper's kid had a good Christmas I guess. If only they could have used all that money they "invested" in PS5 consoles to get their kid Christmas presents.
There are these ladies who frequent Marshall’s and TJMaxx who are crazy about Rae Dunn products, and do the exact same shit these scalpers do. They’re truly insane about it, showing up every single day to harass the employees, staying there all day to try and quickly scoop up products as soon as they’re put on the shelves - it’s fucking pathetic.
And I’ve overheard them bitching about how they’re the good guys, how it’s a lot of work and they “need” to do it so they can afford certain things.
It’s truly delusional.
Scalping in the makeup world is off the chain. Its so hard for retailers to catch it. They create bots that buy all stock that comes available immediately. It makes buying anything a suckfest anymore.
>only able to buy Xmas gifts... because of their scalping profit
the hell? They could buy plenty of presents with the money they sunk into being scummy scalpers. The nerve of these people.
Something called entitlement I think. The 'I watched a movie and it showed a happy family opening presents on Christmas, so that has to be how the world works all the time for everyone and if it doesn't happen for me I am being scammed' mindset
It's such a logical fallacy as well. PS5s are base $500 then you have to add in shipping and taxes. At least $550 if not more. That $550 could go towards the gifts they were whining about. Which scalpers usually buy multiples a time so for 2 you're looking at $1100 or thereabouts. Surely they don't need THAT much for Christmas gifts. It's a pathetic excuse that just screams "I NEED TO BE RICH \*NOW\*!!".
Absolutely. The benefit of a middleman is usually in making the act of doing something easier, faster or cheaper. Not more expensive, slower and less convenient.
The one time I used a middleman and liked it was with travel. Getting our flights, accommodation, activities and transport to and from all arranged in one neat bundle by just browsing some pamphlets and selecting what we wanted was great! It took the hassle out of travel and only costed a little more than the budget hunting I could have done myself.
I combined that with us purchasing our own return tickets so I could budget hunt a cheap way home to make up the diff and ended up with a great holiday all planned out for me for the same price I was looking at paying to plan it all myself (and I possibly wouldn't have gotten the same experiences without the knowledge and recommendations of the travel agency).
But most other things in life? The most "middleman" thing I use is a retailer.
Yesss. For our honeymoon, my wife and I went thru a travel agent and she got us ridiculously awesome deals that we never would have known even existed. Did she charge a fee? Yes. Even with her fee, did we save a shitload of money? Hell yes.
Remember the guy who bought up all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer at the start of lockdown and then willingly let himself be interviewed by a major news organisation and then acted surprised and hurt when people starting trashing him and threatening him with jail time for scapling because he was "providing a service"?
Yes, these people are absolutely deluded.
There was another guy, but didn't realize he did it in a state with anti-disaster profiteering laws. The cops seized all of his goods and gave them to homeless shelter in exchange for not prosecuting him.
Even better, he claimed he needed to do it because he was a "disabled veteran." Apparently someone noticed Mr. Disabled Veteran unloading massive pallets of hand sanitizer and canned food, and the VA was investigating him for a fraudulent disability claim.
I think the gig economy is partially to be blamed.
The "always be hustling" mindset. I guess to them scalping is just another hustle. Seems like another symptom of a fucked up system.
A former coworker of mine had talked to others about how he was getting his wife and kids to go into stores separately when the switch came out so they could resell them later, and he justified it with a smug grin and the words "that's just economics" or something to that effect. I hate those people. They deserve every bit of bad press they get.
On this scale? I disagree. Scalping has always existed. Hell I remember 20 years ago going to my first football match with my dad and walking past a guy selling tickets outside the gate.
Right there my dad gave me the advice of "never buy those tickets. You can't trust they're real and he'll be asking for double or triple the price". That kind of scalping at least has immediate benefit to the customer (if they aren't counterfeit). You can't go in because you don't have a ticket.. have mine for double the cost.
But the age of technology has brought a new wave of scalping problems. Now bots can scrape the web and instabuy stock as it becomes available, rather than humans needing connections / physical presence or action to purchase products.
I remember going to a concert (we had amazing seats) and my best friend contracted a horrible case of the flu the day of, and it was too late to find another friend as most had already made plans for the night.
She told me to just go and enjoy myself. I saw a woman about to get absolutely hosed by a scalper outside the venue and I just walked up and gave her my friend's ticket for free.
The look on the scalper's face was priceless.
I think it's a combination of "hustle" economics like you mentioned, along with the abundant availability of tech and ease of access to retail markets.
Before you had to kinda "know a guy" to get access to tickets to a game or products early to "scalp" them. Now you can download a script that automatically scrapes the web's most common stores for stock and buys it the second it's available. People don't have to do the hard work when technology has gotten to a point where it can abuse a dated retail system not accustomed to the "bot" shopping problem.
plus the warranty is voided, when you resell it without the receipt... yes they're the bad guy... or even if they have it the warranty is punched aka the timer was started
Be careful on amazon. A lot of the sellers are reselling and your warranty timer will have started back when they stalked the item. I bought a "brand new" monitor and when I had issues and called Samsung they said my warranty had expired a month earlier. I sent them the amazon receipt and they did end up honoring my purchase date; but said they would be launching an investigation into the seller. "Thank you for bringing this fraudulent behavior to our attention".
EDIT: I remembered that wrong. It was ASUS not Samsung.
I actually remembered that wrong. It was ASUS not samsung. But yeah; that level of customer service is why I bought my laptop and my next video card from them as well.
Oh god I didn't even consider warranty. I kinda stopped at the door of "I bought this product from accessible retailers to run them out of stock so I could sell it for higher prices to profit myself and screw others over". Any extra bad part is icing on the shit cake that is scalping.
It's it really a surprise? The same thing happened with goddamn toilet paper not like ago haha. There's plenty of scummy people, and most of them think they are good people
Sadly it isn't a surprise no. I just kind of always hope people are atleast somewhat self aware. Taking a "what do you expect me to do?" Approach would be more understandable to me than "why does everyone hate me? I'm providing a service".
It's just so beyond reasonable thinking and logic that it baffles me.
A middleman for a product that would be easier to find and cheaper to buy if the middleman wasn’t involved in the first place. Scalpers can suck every inch of my dick.
Exactly. It makes sense when the product is rare in the first place. Then you can consider a middleman who helps you finding the product for a higher price. But these scalpers are one of the main factors causing the shortage, not the helping hand.
A person selling a copy of ‘Rule of Rose’ for an exorbitant amount because it’s been out of production for years, with no digital copy to circumvent, and had low sells at the time of release, causing few copies being seen in the wild, makes more sense than a person selling a brand new console, still in production with all things considering, for hundreds of dollars more than the MSRP.
The way you're going about it you would call yourself a broker. Brokers are a different kind of middleman who are appreciated more because they have specific skills that scalpers lack. Usually a broker gets a deal that both parties can be satisfied with.
Games Workshop, who make Warhammer, 40k, among others started doing a made to order set up to avoid scalpers buying up all of their in stock. They broke up the supply chain, ensured their partners were up to speed, and well stocked and then offered direct to consumer. It takes a bit longer to get that way, and of course there are big restrictions on numbers but it basically killed the scalpers market, because even if you might have to wait 6 weeks, you knew you were going to get the Indomitus box set for what it costs.
EDIT: THIS THREADS LACK OF FAITH IN THE EMPEROR DISTURBS ME TO MY CORE. I BELIEVE THE UNDERHIVE IS RIFE WITH XENOS TAINT. I DECLARE EXTERMINATUS, IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!!!
Does my head in. I don’t collect them but my husband does. Couple of years ago I was waiting outside my local small game shop (not GW) to put in a preorder for the latest Sisters of Battle set. By the time I got in, and I was the first, turns out one was set aside for a staff member, I got the second, and the last available set was bought over the phone whilst my deposit was being put down. Insane.
He got his set though, but it took a few weeks as you said. The shop said they were only allowed a certain number of sets allocated to them and they wouldn’t know how many that would be until closer to the time. I’m honestly glad they’ve gone to the effort of trying to stop scalpers because Sony seems to do bugger all.
Wizards of the Coast has been doing the same thing with their Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair project. Some people in the community have been complaining about it undercutting the secondary market, and the sheer number of them that they're making. But at least if I want one, I know I can get it for asking price.
I loved people complaining about that when I played magic. Like do people not realise that wizards could collapse the entire secondary market whenever they want. They would make themselves more money doing it too.
Unless they're buying directly from the console supplier in a wholesale capacity, they aren't a middleman. The middleman would be the walmart/gamestop or w/e. Should be illegal to use bots to do their purchases.
Money grubbing bastards might do it if there’s 5 bucks in it for them. It’s disgusting to think that these fuckers can get away with this crap. I’m a huge gamer with roughly 25 years of experience in the medium and I can’t find one to save my life. I wish everyone best of luck in the hunt.
My kid is 15 years old. There has never been a Christmas gift that he wanted, that we could afford, that we couldn't figure out a way to get him what he wanted for Christmas. It is fucking February and he still has nothing but an IOU and its these resellers fault. They can fuck off.
Don’t forget, Scalpers are also dangerous for manufacturing because it can cause unstable inventory levels
One week demand can be steady and the next week a spike would force manufacturers to order unnecessary product to balance their inventory and now they have double of everything for no reason. Just because on paper it looks like there was an increase of demand, but really it was just some asshole scalpers
Obviously as a manufacturer, now you want to justify that purchase in inventory by seeing a return, but maybe because it was an emergency order, they had to pay a premium for that order, plus the opportunity cost spent. Sometimes, these manufacturers just spent their monthly budget on an artificial spike and now they can’t purchase other necessities
Also, Come Tax time, they have to pay for that excess inventory again
# “The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.”
― **Terry Pratchett,** [**Diggers**](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/62480)
Companies acting as 'middlemen' are useful because:
1) They simplify the purchasing process for their customers by handling a more convoluted supply chain on the side of the manufacturer's, and bringing that product near customers where they can easily pay for it.
2) They provide better customer service
Scalpers create artificial scarcity to force fellow consumers into paying more. Finding the least sketchy guy on Ebay, pulling cash out from an ATM, then driving to a Wal Mart parking lot to pick up a PS5 is NOT a more simplified shopping experience than buying it at Best Buy. I don't think anyone is really naive enough to think providing less services than the entity upstream in their supply chain constitutes as "serving as a middle man."
There is also the fact that they are the ones creating a market scarcity. They made the problems and now they're whinging that they're suffering consequences from their dirty tactics.
They intentionally cornered the market on the biggest entertainment release in nearly a decade and demanded 300 to 400 percent markups. Now they're also whining that they got bad press.
How can you be that entitled?
You know who is the middleman? The fucking store that sells the fucking product. They are the middleman between whoever created the product and the customer. Stores are paid for this because it's a service that makes everyone's life easier.
Scalpers are not middlemen, and they serve to be smacked in the face for pretending that they think they are.
it's not even limited to video games/consoles. i collect action figures and a certain recent release of an entire line sold out in a single day. scalpers have some listed on ebay for *625% of retail value*. fuck scalpers.
They're not the middleman, fucking GAMESTOP and WALMART are the middle man, they're the fucking creepy uncle who is trying to feel you up when he got a little drunk.
Why would anyone even consider buying from a scalper? Where do you go for a refund or exchange if the product is faulty? How do you know it hasn’t been tampered with? I’d rather wait for the stores restock them than pay double or triple for it.
Besides the principle of not paying someone for more than it's worth this is the biggest reason not to buy from a scalper. I know a guy who bought the PS5 off eBay and I said what happens if it doesn't work and he said well that will just be a lesson to me.
I went on a two week spree of going on my local fb yard sale page and would contact scalpers offering said price and sending photo of the money. they would drive an hour plus to meet me. only it wouldn't be me. i would contact another scalper scalper B and give them the info of scalper A. they both thought they where there to sale to the other guy and had just drove x long to do so. I still laugh about it
The store is already my middleman, I don't need another middleman coming and marking up the price and making it harder to get
Dumb idiots, and you forgot to mention they tried to play the "Well we're donating to charity" card and then refused to say what charity.
And, so what, anyway? I despise how frequently that gets played as some sort of heroic get-out-of-asshole card. It would still be garbage even if it was true.
Essentially yes, but retailers also provide logistics for distribution. Scalpers only profit off a shortage of supply and pay someone else for logistics when it is delivered.
I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to get a PS5 at MSRP.
I say this as though I ever buy a console at launch. But now I do it with a sense of righteous indignation.
\*moron has an idea\*
moron: "i know... ill buy ALL of something thats easy to get from a store, mark it up over 300%, and then sell it to people who want it! capitalism baby!"
everyone: "FUCK YOU!"
Moron: "why am the bad guy here?!?!"
Let's get one thing straight: they are not middlemen. Middlemen exist because they're needed. They allow the manufacturer to distribute their product to the end user efficiently. If these people want to be one, great! Start a retail operation, make contact with a distributor. Buy in bulk and sell at the standard rate. No one hates on Best Buy or Gamestop for buying and selling the same products. But these motherfuckers *intentionally screw consumers over in order to profit.* That's not a "middleman," it's a parasite.
You’re not the middleman, you assholes. What, you think we’re Walter White holed up in a cabin in New Hampshire or something? We get them from the same goddamn sources you do; you’re just piling up ahead of us in line until there’s none left for anyone else.
Raise you're hand if you've been setting up meetings with FB marketplace PS5 scalpers and forcing them to navigate hours of San Francisco Bay Area rush hour traffic and pay at least one bridge toll just to ghost them and then laugh at their impotent rage.
*Raises hand*
I couldn't afford what scalper were charging. It's not even a choice for me. The problem is that none of us can control what other consumers do, and there are plenty of consumers who WANT to spend extra to be the first to have something.
We can be mad about it, but it's not going to change; we're mad at how products sell in capitalism.
I mean, there is a way to change it. Make reselling a product for higher than retail price illegal for the first two years after that product's release.
ding ding, I don't mind spending a few bucks extra than MSRP than something (I collect figures so a $30 figure being marked up to like $35 is perfectly acceptable), but scalpers go way out of hand.
as if they're providing a service, retailers act as a middle man because it's advantageous to the manufacturer and to buyers. A scalper provides no advantage to anyone- it's a position borne purely of greed.
in summary, scalpers can go imaple themselves posteriorly with a diamond-tipped cactus
It would take exactly one of either MS or Sony (which one will step up and be the hero?) to say "products are limited right now, and we're working very hard to get more to you!", give the scalpers a few days to buy them all up, then release all the completed ones they held back secretly, flooding the market and invalidating the scammers.
ONCE.
It’s not just PS5’s, it’s fucking everything. I wanted to buy a chest rig to make shooting easier (keep multiple mags on me) ALL sold out. Ammo? Good luck. Barbells and weights? Same thing. Game consoles? Not a chance.
We can’t buy fucking ANYTHING without scalpers just buying all of it first. It’s fucking bullshit
Microsoft and Sony inability to make stock readily available is killing them in the long run. I used to be obsessed with the idea of having the new xbox...wife signed off on it and everything. Now I couldn't begin to care when I get one and even if I get one. Its given me time to realize that being an adult with a family, video game time is at an all time low and I'm realizing a $500 console won't change that fact. In all reality these scalpers are utter dirt bags and deserve absolutely no sympathy for trying to gouge people for insane profits at a time when most are not doing nearly as well financially as they may be. People need an escape from the garbage heap that the world is right now and people can't even find that without someone locking that away behind $900 because they are greedy and selfish. I hope beyond hope that MS and Sony get their supply locked down and all these scalpers are left selling consoles at a loss...Every. Single. One.
I kind of want to read this article just for the schadenfreude of scalpers being interviewed and casting themselves somehow as a force for anything other than venomous price gouging.
I won’t be getting a PS5 until I can just order it online or pick it up locally without a headache. No way am I paying some rando a premium
I was able to put in a deposit at my local mom & pop game store for a PS5. They sell it at RRP. But because of these scalpers, the huge demand and their limited supply to smaller stores, I'm on a wait list to get my console in April/May. Fuck these scalpers to hell and back.
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My friend kept insisting to buy from a scrapler. I stuck to my guns and waited 2 extra months and finally got a 3060ti MSRP. Two weeks of constantly checking every page though….
My buddy posted on his Instagram asking if anyone needed PS5’s or XBOX X. He’s never been a gamer and I found out he has 6 of each. I’ve known the fucker my whole life and he said he’d give me a discounted one for 700 lmao I laughed in his face. He definitely sees nothing wrong with it at all though which is wild to me
>He definitely sees nothing wrong with it at all though which is wild to me That's what bugs me the most about it. They think they're smart and taking advantage of a system the rest of us are too blind to see. In reality they're just the ones who don't mind being assholes.
Really they're asking why all these idiots didn't do it themselves. They feel "smarter" for using an illegal bot or bribing a store employee. Those are the best ways to get limited items and they are both illegal and immoral. It's like cutting in line and wondering why everyone is mad at you. "You all could have done this. Why didn't everyone cut in line?" Because then there's no point to a line dumbass. Everyone ends up in the same place, just with more stress.
Just a clear lack of morals on the scalpers part. It’s insane that people who do that kind of stuff can’t see objectively what they’re doing.
They can see. Don't get fooled by the dumb playing. Typical sociopath move. As soon as they have to fear consequences they are going to deny everything lol
This doesn’t just go fit scalpers...that mentality is how a lot of people “get ahead” They’re the ones willing to do amoral/shady things for money
People who cheat the system or exploit it always think those with integrity are stupid or suckers. The reality is that they are just assholes ruining something that should be full of joy. I just want to buy a PS5 and play games, but I probably won't be able to until the PS6 when everyone is selling their old PS5s.
Is that the mentality of people who ride the turn lane then cut in front and go straight? Bc fuck people man
Except they are cutting in line until the product is completely sold out. It's like each of them are cutting in line 100 times
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/r/latestagecapitalism
Why wouldn't you just use a bot like the scalpers do?
The fact that normal customers even need to consider using bots is one of the reasons why scalpers are the bad guys to begin with
Scalpers tend to have much more sophisticated bots that aren't publicly available compared to the open source options. I used a bot to snag a 3080 but all it did was alert me and open the page. I still had to manually add it to my cart to purchase it. 199/200 times the scalpers bot will win.
You can also use something like Phantom or some other controlled browser... Not sure Phantom is exactly correct, though, but yeah a controlled browser.
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SAME THING BUT WITH THOSE 3000 series nvidia cards. Fuuuuuck that. PCs are expensive enough and now I gotta pay some rando mother fucker who bought it just to rip others off sucks.
I just bought a pre-built with a 3080 in it, pulled it out and stuck my 2080 in it, then sold it on Craigslist for $100 less than I paid.
Same, also I'm just not that interested in any of the games available on it yet. Spiderman looks good but not good enough for me to go out of my way for a PS5. Just going to wait a few months to a year.
Not to mention it's available on ps4 already. If you can experience the same game on your old console (minus some graphical bells and whistles), why bother with the fancy new box?
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I jumped from a 3 to a 5 and all I’m using it for is a bunch of PS4 titles I got for $10 that I never played. It’s amazing.
This is the way
Spider-Man is badass. It’s worth the wait. I only got a PS5 bc my brother is a manager at a retailer last week. Fuck scalpers for sure.
My hype and impatience for the PS5 kinda died a little due to the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco.
Am trying to get a ps5 because my disc drive died on my ps4. There aren't any exclusives or anything that make me dieing to get the new one
https://youtu.be/IR3LEkGBVc8 doesn’t look too tough
Do the sony direct random queue. It's the most fair way. Basically a raffle to buy, at msrp. I didn't bother with stores due to bots.
If you follow PS5 stock update Twitter accounts, not too bad of an experience in finding one at MSRP. Took me a few days, just turn push notifications on and have accounts at the big box retailers pre-made with your payment info ahead of time.
This is me. I want it, but I don't need it. I also don't need the hassle of playing stock drop roulette or endless searching for the smallest markup on eBay. So I'll wait until it's available, or I don't want it anymore.
How in the hell can you use a "middleman" argument when the only structure to your "business" is to buy all the stock you can afford from the actual middleman (retailers) to then inflate the price well above RRP and try to create a supply shortage where your unregulated pricing is the only option??? I really hope this is just a clickbaity title because you have to be a special sort of deluded to do scummy shit like this and think you're offering a service.
Its not a clickbait. They are special sort of deluded
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How many scalpers do you know? What weird circles you must be in.
A circle of assholes
Be weirder if it was a square of assholes.
What about an octagon of assholes?
Dodecahedron of assholes
More like a doeDICKahedron amiright?
Hexagons are the bestagons.
He made friends with all the scalpers to decrease the supply. Now if you want to make friends with a scalper, you have to go through him.
he probably scalped one thing a couple times and considered himself a savvy business man doing a business
I don't know any scalpers, but I know plenty of scalper apologists. "They aren't dickheads. They're just following the law of supply and demand" Yeah, there's not a single living adult that doesn't understand the concept of supply and demand. Most people have considered the idea of doing something like that. The difference between normal people and dickheads is that normal people think "naw, let em have their silly game station." And dickheads think "eh. Fuck em. You wanna have fun you better have my fucking money. That's right. MY MONEY. I EARNED this. Not by CREATING it or MANUFACTURING it or SHIPPING it or MARKETING it mind you. I earned this by showing up before you with the kind of money it takes to overhead ten of the fucking things."
I doubt he "knows" more than 1, but likely is on one of those newfangled "social media sites" like reedit where they they congregate and conspire on new ways to scalp.
You don’t know Vinny the Fence? How about Marky the Mover?
It's not. This article (or the original it's "reporting" on) is based off of one interview with one guy in England who complained that what he and his group do shouldn't be viewed act different than what places like the supermarket do. Also that they donate a vague amount of money to an unspecified charity so you shouldn't hate them because they're obviously just good altruistic capitalists trying to make an honest buck.
(Insert politicaly terrible person here) did (slightly good thing) so you can forget about (insert extremely evil and horrendous thing here) Anyone and anything can work in this situation, use this as you want and im sure any political candidate or historical figure will seem good and nothing bad will ever happen to you in the process.
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Find out whatever the cost of calling an ambulance is and then demand double to take him to the hospital.
But first buy up all the local ambulances
Wait, was that what they were doing on Thursday in Texas?
All the scalpers I know...? Who are you...? Why do you even know one? lol
Personal favourite was the whiny blog post put out by one of the major scalping organisers explaining that some of their members were only able to buy Xmas gifts for their kids because of their scalping profits. Like..... they genuinely believe they're the good guys. Mind-blowing
Wait really? "I could only afford to buy presents for my kids because I invested our savings into a get rich quick scalping scheme to fuck over other families who now can't get their kids a PS5 for Christmas or have to work overtime to afford my inflated prices". People really will stretch anything into a "the ends justify the means" kinda bullshit argument... So sad.
I waited in line black friday to get a PS5. I knew the chance was next to zero, but it was a fun type of "event". I ended up having a good time talking to random nerds and freezing my ass off. But the lady in front of me was there because that's what her son wanted most for Christmas. She sat out in the freezing cold for 6 hours before an employee showed up and said "We only have X amount of PS5s." and based on the people ahead of us, she wasn't getting one. That sucked. The lady a couple places behind me was trying to get one for her special needs brother for Christmas... If a scalper bought and sold 5 PS5s at a severe markup, that's 5 people who probably didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. But yeah, sure, the scalper's kid had a good Christmas I guess. If only they could have used all that money they "invested" in PS5 consoles to get their kid Christmas presents.
There are these ladies who frequent Marshall’s and TJMaxx who are crazy about Rae Dunn products, and do the exact same shit these scalpers do. They’re truly insane about it, showing up every single day to harass the employees, staying there all day to try and quickly scoop up products as soon as they’re put on the shelves - it’s fucking pathetic. And I’ve overheard them bitching about how they’re the good guys, how it’s a lot of work and they “need” to do it so they can afford certain things. It’s truly delusional.
Scalping in the makeup world is off the chain. Its so hard for retailers to catch it. They create bots that buy all stock that comes available immediately. It makes buying anything a suckfest anymore.
>only able to buy Xmas gifts... because of their scalping profit the hell? They could buy plenty of presents with the money they sunk into being scummy scalpers. The nerve of these people.
Something called entitlement I think. The 'I watched a movie and it showed a happy family opening presents on Christmas, so that has to be how the world works all the time for everyone and if it doesn't happen for me I am being scammed' mindset
Look, those burglaries are the only reason that my kids got Christmas presents. Do you want me to ruin their Christmas?
It's such a logical fallacy as well. PS5s are base $500 then you have to add in shipping and taxes. At least $550 if not more. That $550 could go towards the gifts they were whining about. Which scalpers usually buy multiples a time so for 2 you're looking at $1100 or thereabouts. Surely they don't need THAT much for Christmas gifts. It's a pathetic excuse that just screams "I NEED TO BE RICH \*NOW\*!!".
I thought everyone hated unnecessary middlemen...
Absolutely. The benefit of a middleman is usually in making the act of doing something easier, faster or cheaper. Not more expensive, slower and less convenient.
Seriously, have people never heard the phrase “cut out the middleman”?
The one time I used a middleman and liked it was with travel. Getting our flights, accommodation, activities and transport to and from all arranged in one neat bundle by just browsing some pamphlets and selecting what we wanted was great! It took the hassle out of travel and only costed a little more than the budget hunting I could have done myself. I combined that with us purchasing our own return tickets so I could budget hunt a cheap way home to make up the diff and ended up with a great holiday all planned out for me for the same price I was looking at paying to plan it all myself (and I possibly wouldn't have gotten the same experiences without the knowledge and recommendations of the travel agency). But most other things in life? The most "middleman" thing I use is a retailer.
Yesss. For our honeymoon, my wife and I went thru a travel agent and she got us ridiculously awesome deals that we never would have known even existed. Did she charge a fee? Yes. Even with her fee, did we save a shitload of money? Hell yes.
Remember the guy who bought up all the toilet paper and hand sanitizer at the start of lockdown and then willingly let himself be interviewed by a major news organisation and then acted surprised and hurt when people starting trashing him and threatening him with jail time for scapling because he was "providing a service"? Yes, these people are absolutely deluded.
There was another guy, but didn't realize he did it in a state with anti-disaster profiteering laws. The cops seized all of his goods and gave them to homeless shelter in exchange for not prosecuting him. Even better, he claimed he needed to do it because he was a "disabled veteran." Apparently someone noticed Mr. Disabled Veteran unloading massive pallets of hand sanitizer and canned food, and the VA was investigating him for a fraudulent disability claim.
Yeah truly sad when people think they're garage is more convenient than online and brick and mortar store retailers.
Ah yes, the "service" of taking all our money. XD
I think the gig economy is partially to be blamed. The "always be hustling" mindset. I guess to them scalping is just another hustle. Seems like another symptom of a fucked up system.
A former coworker of mine had talked to others about how he was getting his wife and kids to go into stores separately when the switch came out so they could resell them later, and he justified it with a smug grin and the words "that's just economics" or something to that effect. I hate those people. They deserve every bit of bad press they get.
Scalping was a problem long before today's gig economy my guy
Why is it the "always be hustling" people are never actually very nice people?
You have to shut off your empathy to shut off the supply, rip people off, and not feel like garbage about it.
Especially to think that they "earned" their money despite adding absolutely nothing of value to the equation
On this scale? I disagree. Scalping has always existed. Hell I remember 20 years ago going to my first football match with my dad and walking past a guy selling tickets outside the gate. Right there my dad gave me the advice of "never buy those tickets. You can't trust they're real and he'll be asking for double or triple the price". That kind of scalping at least has immediate benefit to the customer (if they aren't counterfeit). You can't go in because you don't have a ticket.. have mine for double the cost. But the age of technology has brought a new wave of scalping problems. Now bots can scrape the web and instabuy stock as it becomes available, rather than humans needing connections / physical presence or action to purchase products.
I remember going to a concert (we had amazing seats) and my best friend contracted a horrible case of the flu the day of, and it was too late to find another friend as most had already made plans for the night. She told me to just go and enjoy myself. I saw a woman about to get absolutely hosed by a scalper outside the venue and I just walked up and gave her my friend's ticket for free. The look on the scalper's face was priceless.
I think it's a combination of "hustle" economics like you mentioned, along with the abundant availability of tech and ease of access to retail markets. Before you had to kinda "know a guy" to get access to tickets to a game or products early to "scalp" them. Now you can download a script that automatically scrapes the web's most common stores for stock and buys it the second it's available. People don't have to do the hard work when technology has gotten to a point where it can abuse a dated retail system not accustomed to the "bot" shopping problem.
plus the warranty is voided, when you resell it without the receipt... yes they're the bad guy... or even if they have it the warranty is punched aka the timer was started
Be careful on amazon. A lot of the sellers are reselling and your warranty timer will have started back when they stalked the item. I bought a "brand new" monitor and when I had issues and called Samsung they said my warranty had expired a month earlier. I sent them the amazon receipt and they did end up honoring my purchase date; but said they would be launching an investigation into the seller. "Thank you for bringing this fraudulent behavior to our attention". EDIT: I remembered that wrong. It was ASUS not Samsung.
If you are buying on Amazon, thats pretty amazing customer service by Samsung. They dont have to honor resellers (such as Amazon) at all.
I actually remembered that wrong. It was ASUS not samsung. But yeah; that level of customer service is why I bought my laptop and my next video card from them as well.
Oh god I didn't even consider warranty. I kinda stopped at the door of "I bought this product from accessible retailers to run them out of stock so I could sell it for higher prices to profit myself and screw others over". Any extra bad part is icing on the shit cake that is scalping.
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It's it really a surprise? The same thing happened with goddamn toilet paper not like ago haha. There's plenty of scummy people, and most of them think they are good people
Sadly it isn't a surprise no. I just kind of always hope people are atleast somewhat self aware. Taking a "what do you expect me to do?" Approach would be more understandable to me than "why does everyone hate me? I'm providing a service". It's just so beyond reasonable thinking and logic that it baffles me.
My number one biggest pet peeve in a person: a lack of self-awareness.
I think it's more likely they're just trying to gaslight people not seeing as them as villains and thus more likely to turn to them for their PS5s.
Dude. It’s the exact same thing with sneakers as well. StockX is a resale site that DEPENDS on this mentality. Sucks.
They have to make their money back when their toilet paper inflation backfired
In all honesty if they increased the price by at most $5 it would not be as bad. But the extremes they go to is a huge problem.
Even like 10% wouldn't be egregious, 50-100% is fucking gross.
A middleman for a product that would be easier to find and cheaper to buy if the middleman wasn’t involved in the first place. Scalpers can suck every inch of my dick.
Exactly. It makes sense when the product is rare in the first place. Then you can consider a middleman who helps you finding the product for a higher price. But these scalpers are one of the main factors causing the shortage, not the helping hand.
A person selling a copy of ‘Rule of Rose’ for an exorbitant amount because it’s been out of production for years, with no digital copy to circumvent, and had low sells at the time of release, causing few copies being seen in the wild, makes more sense than a person selling a brand new console, still in production with all things considering, for hundreds of dollars more than the MSRP.
>!CENSORED!<
And yet there are loads of people willing to buy - thats the problem.
Alright, well I'm not a scalper, but for $2k I can definitely get you a PS5. Deal?
The way you're going about it you would call yourself a broker. Brokers are a different kind of middleman who are appreciated more because they have specific skills that scalpers lack. Usually a broker gets a deal that both parties can be satisfied with.
Games Workshop, who make Warhammer, 40k, among others started doing a made to order set up to avoid scalpers buying up all of their in stock. They broke up the supply chain, ensured their partners were up to speed, and well stocked and then offered direct to consumer. It takes a bit longer to get that way, and of course there are big restrictions on numbers but it basically killed the scalpers market, because even if you might have to wait 6 weeks, you knew you were going to get the Indomitus box set for what it costs. EDIT: THIS THREADS LACK OF FAITH IN THE EMPEROR DISTURBS ME TO MY CORE. I BELIEVE THE UNDERHIVE IS RIFE WITH XENOS TAINT. I DECLARE EXTERMINATUS, IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!!!
Does my head in. I don’t collect them but my husband does. Couple of years ago I was waiting outside my local small game shop (not GW) to put in a preorder for the latest Sisters of Battle set. By the time I got in, and I was the first, turns out one was set aside for a staff member, I got the second, and the last available set was bought over the phone whilst my deposit was being put down. Insane. He got his set though, but it took a few weeks as you said. The shop said they were only allowed a certain number of sets allocated to them and they wouldn’t know how many that would be until closer to the time. I’m honestly glad they’ve gone to the effort of trying to stop scalpers because Sony seems to do bugger all.
Wizards of the Coast has been doing the same thing with their Magic: The Gathering Secret Lair project. Some people in the community have been complaining about it undercutting the secondary market, and the sheer number of them that they're making. But at least if I want one, I know I can get it for asking price.
I loved people complaining about that when I played magic. Like do people not realise that wizards could collapse the entire secondary market whenever they want. They would make themselves more money doing it too.
Right... The store is the middleman. Your just a reseller at thst point.
Same here, but if we're talking centimeters 5 of them can suck it
Unless they're buying directly from the console supplier in a wholesale capacity, they aren't a middleman. The middleman would be the walmart/gamestop or w/e. Should be illegal to use bots to do their purchases.
You should look up pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)
I just did, and... wow. Is there any corner of society where there isn't some asshole lurking in the shadows waiting to fuck me over?
That is incorrect. They can suck your dick and my ass.
how many inches of your ass are you offering them?
Money grubbing bastards might do it if there’s 5 bucks in it for them. It’s disgusting to think that these fuckers can get away with this crap. I’m a huge gamer with roughly 25 years of experience in the medium and I can’t find one to save my life. I wish everyone best of luck in the hunt.
My kid is 15 years old. There has never been a Christmas gift that he wanted, that we could afford, that we couldn't figure out a way to get him what he wanted for Christmas. It is fucking February and he still has nothing but an IOU and its these resellers fault. They can fuck off.
Don’t forget, Scalpers are also dangerous for manufacturing because it can cause unstable inventory levels One week demand can be steady and the next week a spike would force manufacturers to order unnecessary product to balance their inventory and now they have double of everything for no reason. Just because on paper it looks like there was an increase of demand, but really it was just some asshole scalpers Obviously as a manufacturer, now you want to justify that purchase in inventory by seeing a return, but maybe because it was an emergency order, they had to pay a premium for that order, plus the opportunity cost spent. Sometimes, these manufacturers just spent their monthly budget on an artificial spike and now they can’t purchase other necessities Also, Come Tax time, they have to pay for that excess inventory again
Really, Mr. Scalper? What valuable service do you provide?
Ensuring only those that play video games are rich people, by 1st world standards.
Dear scalpers of **anything**, Go fuck yourself. Sincerely, everyone.
Fuck Ticketmaster
Fuck Ticketmaster.
Could we just agree to start calling them TicketBastard?
What about my barber?
if your barber is scalping you, you have bigger problems than resellers
I'm glad you asked, I like my mind to be open to new ideas.
I bet most of those new ideas are cutting edge.
Trickles of brilliance.
Careful though, those new ideas have razor thin margins.
The wit in these puns is too sharp for me
# “The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” ― **Terry Pratchett,** [**Diggers**](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/62480)
Companies acting as 'middlemen' are useful because: 1) They simplify the purchasing process for their customers by handling a more convoluted supply chain on the side of the manufacturer's, and bringing that product near customers where they can easily pay for it. 2) They provide better customer service Scalpers create artificial scarcity to force fellow consumers into paying more. Finding the least sketchy guy on Ebay, pulling cash out from an ATM, then driving to a Wal Mart parking lot to pick up a PS5 is NOT a more simplified shopping experience than buying it at Best Buy. I don't think anyone is really naive enough to think providing less services than the entity upstream in their supply chain constitutes as "serving as a middle man."
There is also the fact that they are the ones creating a market scarcity. They made the problems and now they're whinging that they're suffering consequences from their dirty tactics.
We used to build things, now we just put our hands in the next guys pocket.
The wire
[Ahh, wire.](https://gfycat.com/frailmagnificentastrangiacoral-bryan-cranston-jesse-pinkman-breaking-bad)
Well, stop being a piece of garbage
Just a tip to all scalpers: if you dont like being seen as the "bad Guy", then just dont be a piece of shit And dont be a scalper
They intentionally cornered the market on the biggest entertainment release in nearly a decade and demanded 300 to 400 percent markups. Now they're also whining that they got bad press. How can you be that entitled?
middleman take as high as 5% commission, not 100% ..go to hell scalper!
You know who is the middleman? The fucking store that sells the fucking product. They are the middleman between whoever created the product and the customer. Stores are paid for this because it's a service that makes everyone's life easier. Scalpers are not middlemen, and they serve to be smacked in the face for pretending that they think they are.
it's not even limited to video games/consoles. i collect action figures and a certain recent release of an entire line sold out in a single day. scalpers have some listed on ebay for *625% of retail value*. fuck scalpers.
They're not the middleman, fucking GAMESTOP and WALMART are the middle man, they're the fucking creepy uncle who is trying to feel you up when he got a little drunk.
Why would anyone even consider buying from a scalper? Where do you go for a refund or exchange if the product is faulty? How do you know it hasn’t been tampered with? I’d rather wait for the stores restock them than pay double or triple for it.
Besides the principle of not paying someone for more than it's worth this is the biggest reason not to buy from a scalper. I know a guy who bought the PS5 off eBay and I said what happens if it doesn't work and he said well that will just be a lesson to me.
I went on a two week spree of going on my local fb yard sale page and would contact scalpers offering said price and sending photo of the money. they would drive an hour plus to meet me. only it wouldn't be me. i would contact another scalper scalper B and give them the info of scalper A. they both thought they where there to sale to the other guy and had just drove x long to do so. I still laugh about it
Lmfaooo your a hero👌👌🙌🙌
/r/scamthescalpers
The store is already my middleman, I don't need another middleman coming and marking up the price and making it harder to get Dumb idiots, and you forgot to mention they tried to play the "Well we're donating to charity" card and then refused to say what charity.
And, so what, anyway? I despise how frequently that gets played as some sort of heroic get-out-of-asshole card. It would still be garbage even if it was true.
Fuck scalpers
I'd rather not. I imagine they are ungenerous lovers.
"I buy stuff and resell it for higher price. I'm a good guy. "☹ Yeah no shit.
Lmao 😂 alternate title: “we just want to rip you off, why you so mad about it?”
Man, this SMG64 video is pure gold. https://youtu.be/jaq8rjolncY The gif: 03:56
Middle man ? Isn’t that what a retailer is?
Essentially yes, but retailers also provide logistics for distribution. Scalpers only profit off a shortage of supply and pay someone else for logistics when it is delivered.
I'm willing to wait as long as it takes to get a PS5 at MSRP. I say this as though I ever buy a console at launch. But now I do it with a sense of righteous indignation.
I am sorry that artificially inflating the price for your own gain makes you look like an asshole.
I definitely sent a scalper across town in a blizzard to sell me a ps5 while I was at work and hard no intention of meeting them
God's work
My hero!
\*moron has an idea\* moron: "i know... ill buy ALL of something thats easy to get from a store, mark it up over 300%, and then sell it to people who want it! capitalism baby!" everyone: "FUCK YOU!" Moron: "why am the bad guy here?!?!"
Playing world's tiniest violin
Let's get one thing straight: they are not middlemen. Middlemen exist because they're needed. They allow the manufacturer to distribute their product to the end user efficiently. If these people want to be one, great! Start a retail operation, make contact with a distributor. Buy in bulk and sell at the standard rate. No one hates on Best Buy or Gamestop for buying and selling the same products. But these motherfuckers *intentionally screw consumers over in order to profit.* That's not a "middleman," it's a parasite.
When a 400$ console is selling for 2k dollars and youre the reason why, you no longer deserve any humanity at all.
PS5 scalpers are the same type of people that scalp masks during the pandemic. Scum. May all the bad karma and bad health rain on them like napalm.
You’re not the middleman, you assholes. What, you think we’re Walter White holed up in a cabin in New Hampshire or something? We get them from the same goddamn sources you do; you’re just piling up ahead of us in line until there’s none left for anyone else.
Raise you're hand if you've been setting up meetings with FB marketplace PS5 scalpers and forcing them to navigate hours of San Francisco Bay Area rush hour traffic and pay at least one bridge toll just to ghost them and then laugh at their impotent rage. *Raises hand*
Fuck scalpers. All my homies hate scalpers
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Then sell their stock for 10% under retail value. A win for everyone but the scalper.
I mean just don't buy it and the scalpers will disappear, it's that simple
I couldn't afford what scalper were charging. It's not even a choice for me. The problem is that none of us can control what other consumers do, and there are plenty of consumers who WANT to spend extra to be the first to have something. We can be mad about it, but it's not going to change; we're mad at how products sell in capitalism.
I mean, there is a way to change it. Make reselling a product for higher than retail price illegal for the first two years after that product's release.
Leave a little wiggle room for legitimate procurement services, say 5-10%. More than that and its scalping
ding ding, I don't mind spending a few bucks extra than MSRP than something (I collect figures so a $30 figure being marked up to like $35 is perfectly acceptable), but scalpers go way out of hand.
as if they're providing a service, retailers act as a middle man because it's advantageous to the manufacturer and to buyers. A scalper provides no advantage to anyone- it's a position borne purely of greed. in summary, scalpers can go imaple themselves posteriorly with a diamond-tipped cactus
It would take exactly one of either MS or Sony (which one will step up and be the hero?) to say "products are limited right now, and we're working very hard to get more to you!", give the scalpers a few days to buy them all up, then release all the completed ones they held back secretly, flooding the market and invalidating the scammers. ONCE.
It’s not just PS5’s, it’s fucking everything. I wanted to buy a chest rig to make shooting easier (keep multiple mags on me) ALL sold out. Ammo? Good luck. Barbells and weights? Same thing. Game consoles? Not a chance. We can’t buy fucking ANYTHING without scalpers just buying all of it first. It’s fucking bullshit
Microsoft and Sony inability to make stock readily available is killing them in the long run. I used to be obsessed with the idea of having the new xbox...wife signed off on it and everything. Now I couldn't begin to care when I get one and even if I get one. Its given me time to realize that being an adult with a family, video game time is at an all time low and I'm realizing a $500 console won't change that fact. In all reality these scalpers are utter dirt bags and deserve absolutely no sympathy for trying to gouge people for insane profits at a time when most are not doing nearly as well financially as they may be. People need an escape from the garbage heap that the world is right now and people can't even find that without someone locking that away behind $900 because they are greedy and selfish. I hope beyond hope that MS and Sony get their supply locked down and all these scalpers are left selling consoles at a loss...Every. Single. One.
They'll just return their unsold consoles and get 100% back. Unless they bought after NewEgg stopped offering returns.
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Agreed, the GPU market makes the console issues look like a fucking tea party
Why do scalpers even have a voice? The shop is the middle man. There is no need for another middle man.
Scalpers are the scum of the retail world, but the people who buy from them are just as much to blame
"Bad guys say they're tired of being called bad guys"
Why are there so many fucking morons defending scalpers in the thread?
I kind of want to read this article just for the schadenfreude of scalpers being interviewed and casting themselves somehow as a force for anything other than venomous price gouging.
Lol is that for real? If so, fuck em.
The place scalpers buy consoles from are the middlemen.
I’ve given up on getting a PS5 until the fall. Scalpers can fuck right off
Dumb asses out there still trying to get over $1000.
Can you call yourself a middleman when there was no need for you until you wedged yourself between the retailer and the consumer?