4 ms·

This creates artificial inflation for the cost of the product which does nobody any good. Look back to the launch of the PS5 or the switch for a great example

This creates artificial inflation for the cost of the product which does nobody any good. Look back to the launch of the PS5 or the switch for a great example of what happens.

josephcsible 2y ago
Sure, they raised the price, but I wouldn't call that artificial inflation. Isn't it more like, the launch price was artificially low, and the scalpers brought the price to the true market price?
- ffsm8 2y ago
  By your logic, buying all food in a region, monopolizing it and then reselling it at a 1000% margin is fine, after all, that's the real market price now. I get where you're coming from, but it's a morally bankrupt viewpoint, honestly. These kinds of actions are usually called profiteering, and while it works and is absolutely highly profitable, it's also easy to leave your humanity behind. While this article (car) isn't quiet es problematic if scalped as it's essentially a luxury product, the argument you made to justify it would also apply to everything else, and that should tell you that the action itself is at the very least morally questionable.
  - josephcsible 2y ago
    > By your logic, buying all food in a region, monopolizing it and then reselling it at a 1000% margin is fine, after all, that's the real market price now. The market price wouldn't go up like that if you did that. Other people would import food into the region for a much smaller margin than that, and you'd be left with nothing but empty pockets and a lot of spoiled food.
    - ffsm8 2y ago
      Oh boy do I have news for you: It does work, and has been done before. It's just illegal now. It's also a lot harder to pull of in today's hyperconnected world with easy travel between towns etc in the context of food, but the strategy works.
      - antisthenes 2y ago
        > Oh boy do I have news for you: It does work, and has been done before. It's just illegal now. It's also easier to impose limits on purchase now, in the digital era. Both online and physical stores tend to have limits on in-demand items (not sure if these are imposed manually or automatically, based on demand), so you're unlikely to be able to purchase anything but a few % of the total available inventory, at least not without significant time investment and involving other people.

This creates artificial inflation for the cost of the product which does nobody any good. Look back to the launch of the PS5 or the switch for a great example of what happens.

josephcsible 2y ago

Sure, they raised the price, but I wouldn't call that artificial inflation. Isn't it more like, the launch price was artificially low, and the scalpers brought the price to the true market price?

ffsm8 2y ago
By your logic, buying all food in a region, monopolizing it and then reselling it at a 1000% margin is fine, after all, that's the real market price now. I get where you're coming from, but it's a morally bankrupt viewpoint, honestly. These kinds of actions are usually called profiteering, and while it works and is absolutely highly profitable, it's also easy to leave your humanity behind. While this article (car) isn't quiet es problematic if scalped as it's essentially a luxury product, the argument you made to justify it would also apply to everything else, and that should tell you that the action itself is at the very least morally questionable.
- josephcsible 2y ago
  > By your logic, buying all food in a region, monopolizing it and then reselling it at a 1000% margin is fine, after all, that's the real market price now. The market price wouldn't go up like that if you did that. Other people would import food into the region for a much smaller margin than that, and you'd be left with nothing but empty pockets and a lot of spoiled food.
  - ffsm8 2y ago
    Oh boy do I have news for you: It does work, and has been done before. It's just illegal now. It's also a lot harder to pull of in today's hyperconnected world with easy travel between towns etc in the context of food, but the strategy works.
    - antisthenes 2y ago
      > Oh boy do I have news for you: It does work, and has been done before. It's just illegal now. It's also easier to impose limits on purchase now, in the digital era. Both online and physical stores tend to have limits on in-demand items (not sure if these are imposed manually or automatically, based on demand), so you're unlikely to be able to purchase anything but a few % of the total available inventory, at least not without significant time investment and involving other people.