Scalpers are illegal online individuals who can be the
bane of your existence at a time of popularity surging items.
In an act of anti-consumerism, scalpers
go through illegal and policy bending routes to buy products in insane amounts of bulk with digital softwares such as
bots before the product is
even months away from release. Then, in a fruitful attempt to gain money through unofficial means, they sell company items for twice the price and have their listings on seller-acceptable websites.
Those with a large amount of inventory through illegal measures have their items on online listing, and when consumers cannot turn to official methods of getting their product, they lie in wait, hoping that a
desperate buyer would have no choice but to submit to their prices, which are normally about 2-3 times higher than company price.
While scalpers are mostly to blame for the shortage of products in the online
era, retailers are also to blame. Some retail workers are scalpers or spies themselves for
one.
Two, online retailers do absolutely nothing in their power to defend against bots. Some, like Best Buy, have taken some security measures to allow 5 minute
windows when
something is in stock, as well as 1 per buyer, but it's still not enough to counter scalpers. Websites like the famous Amazon and eBay allow for scalpers to show off their ridiculous listings.
