Current Events > It is ironic how people hate scalpers so much

(+) Yeah! (+)

When all business is essentially the same thing.
Ex: You go to walmart and buy some paper plates.
The price you paid for those are likely double what walmart paid to buy them. It is also likely triple what it cost to make them.

But we are ok with this. Yet if someone buys a ps5 and sells it for double we get upset.

I don't like any of that tbh. I wish the customers who are in a way worse position didn't always have to take the hit. But yay capitalism.

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I don't think you understand capitalist economics, retail, or MSRP.

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Nothing's really stopping you from going to the paper plate factory and buying a pallet at wholesale.

darkphoenix181 posted...

When all business is essentially the same thing.
Ex: You go to walmart and buy some paper plates.
The price you paid for those are likely double what walmart paid to buy them. It is also likely triple what it cost to make them.

But we are ok with this. Yet if someone buys a ps5 and sells it for double we get upset.

If you're paying double what Walmart paid to get a PS5 there, then you're paying quadruple that cost to get it from a scalper.

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Lost_All_Senses posted...

I don't like any of that tbh

Ye. How much does it cost to produce a smartphone?



Getting ripped off is an everday normal thing.

Yet we mad about ps5 scalpers. They just trying to earn a living like everyone else who rips you off.

It's almost as if MSRP is a thing that exists and people get angry if someone tries to sell something far above that number.
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Paragon21XX posted...

It's almost as if MSRP is a thing that exists and people get angry if someone tries to sell something far above that number.

MSRP is a just construct that allows a handshake between them and another entity to both rip you off.

So you are somehow ok with them charging you double for some weird abstract reason.
But if someone else wants a piece of that pie, you are upset.

I know why. It is because you were raised and trained to be ok with MSRP.

darkphoenix181 posted...

MSRP is a just construct that allows a handshake between them and another entity to both rip you off.

So you are somehow ok with them charging you double for some weird abstract reason.
But if someone else wants a piece of that pie, you are upset.

I know why. It is because you were raised and trained to be ok with MSRP.

Scalpers create artificial scarcity to drive up prices and demand. They're nothing more than leech middle-men who have had nothing to do in the way of production or distribution. You're being incredibly dishonest with this argument on every level.

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darkphoenix181 posted...

I know why. It is because you were raised and trained to be ok with MSRP.

The product has to be shipped from the factory to a distribution center, then shipped to a retail outlet, with that warehouse, shipper, and retailer all having employees that need paid, lights that need to stay on, and profit margins that make it all worthwhile.

you did it TC

you destroyed capitalism

time to seize the means of production

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SquirtleSkwad posted...

I don't think you understand capitalist economics, retail, or MSRP.

I don't think you do.

Scalpers exist thanks to capitalist principles.

Supply and demand.

They are just trying to profit same as manufacturer and retailers.

But that gives us an opportunity to see how much we actually hate the idea of someone taking huge profits.
We are ingrained and trained to be ok with retail doing that, but when someone we haven't be programmed to think it is ok does the same thing, our eyes are opened.

darkphoenix181 posted...

Yet we mad about ps5 scalpers. They just trying to earn a living like everyone else who rips you off.

did you buy a ps5 from a scalper?
i'm not mad at them, but i'm not buying a ps5 from them

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darkphoenix181 posted...

I don't think you do.

Scalpers exist thanks to capitalist principles.

Supply and demand.

They are just trying to profit same as manufacturer and retailers.

But that gives us an opportunity to see how much we actually hate the idea of someone taking huge profits.
We are ingrained and trained to be ok with retail doing that, but when someone we haven't be programmed to think it is ok does the same thing, our eyes are opened.

I know like you feel you've made some astounding realization, but economics isn't exactly open to your pseudo-speculations or your dishonest argument. "Supply and demand" has been parroted during the pandemic so frequently by scalpers who haven't taken a college level course in economics.

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darkphoenix181 posted...

Ye. How much does it cost to produce a smartphone?



Getting ripped off is an everday normal thing.

Yet we mad about ps5 scalpers. They just trying to earn a living like everyone else who rips you off.

Tbf, I don't think everything should be in everyones price range. I'm fine with phones being more expensive than others if someone wants to pay it. I didn't even pay the production cost pf any of those for my phone and it does what I need. I think money and working harder should get you access to better stuff, but just not so dramatically. My concern is in more essential stuff and smaller pleasures.

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The Trent posted...

did you buy a ps5 from a scalper?
i'm not mad at them, but i'm not buying a ps5 from them

Most ppl are mad at them, if you are not then good. Please do not project onto me. I just want to examine how we are ok with the formal channels doing something and not ok with informal channels.

TC really showing his own ignorance on this topic.

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darkphoenix181 posted...

Most ppl are mad at them, if you are not then good. Please do not project onto me. I just want to examine how we are ok with the formal channels doing something and not ok with informal channels.

so you didn't buy a ps5 from a scalper, but you would?

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Difference here is wal mart isn't preventing everybody who wants paper plates from getting them and asking an absurd price for them.

Scalpers are just buttholes.

its similar to how war crimes by America is just accepted.

we are programmed.

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lmfao

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Scalpers are just preying on impatience.
Wait until February or March, and stores will be comfortably stocked with PS5s - and there may even be some games worth playing by then.

darkphoenix181 posted...

Paragon21XX posted...

It's almost as if MSRP is a thing that exists and people get angry if someone tries to sell something far above that number.

MSRP is a just construct that allows a handshake between them and another entity to both rip you off.

So you are somehow ok with them charging you double for some weird abstract reason.
But if someone else wants a piece of that pie, you are upset.

I know why. It is because you were raised and trained to be ok with MSRP.

Production cost only covers the cost of materials and maybe labor. It does not take into account all of the overhead expenses involved in manufacturing (from the source of your own image: "Notice that we dont take into account other costs like marketing, research and development, distribution, staff, packaging, or software, so the manufacturers wouldnt earn that much profit from their products")

all of which probably adds another 50% or more to the real cost of the device and now the manufacturer only has a 20% profit margin or less, part of which is allocated to the retailer (usually 10% of MSRP).
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It's not even remotely the same thing. Businesses are providing you a service by stocking and dealing with manufacturers and providing a convenient location to buy goods. Scalpers are taking away the convenience.

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MKScorpion posted...

Difference here is wal mart isn't preventing everybody who wants paper plates from getting them and asking an absurd price for them.

Scalpers are just buttholes.

Absurd price?
If people pay double for a ps5, then that is what value the market set its worth as.

As for paper plates, if all the stores charge a certain price, it is the same as scalpers.
Put it this way.
If Best buy sells plates for 70% cheaper than walmart. Those sell out super fast.
Now Walmart actually is just like a scalper.
They could lower the price, but why should they?

What is absrud is ambiguous. As long as they make a profit at all, someone can call it absurd.

ModLogic posted...

its similar to how war crimes by America is just accepted.

we are programmed.

Thank you.

lol

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nfearurspecimn posted...

It's not even remotely the same thing. Businesses are providing you a service by stocking and dealing with manufacturers and providing a convenient location to buy goods. Scalpers are taking away the convenience.

Incorrect. They are providing the service to the manufacturer by moving more product and this is why they get a volume discount.

The manufacturer then refuses to sell directly to us because they would rather move a large volume than have the hassle of dealing with us.

Literally the opposite of what you said

darkphoenix181 posted...

The manufacturer then refuses to sell directly to us because they would rather move a large volume than have the hassle of dealing with us.

You're not going to buy one paper plate from the paper plate factory, no. Probably not even one stack.
Show up with the intent to buy a few thousand paper plates, and you'll probably get them.

darkphoenix181 posted...

The manufacturer then refuses to sell directly to us because they would rather move a large volume than have the hassle of dealing with us.

yeah, and guess what happens if they want to sell directly to us? they have to put up a storefront and hire staff to do so which means it'll cost more anyway

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This can be modded for trolling, right?

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This topic reminds me of landlords vs tenants

SquirtleSkwad posted...

This can be modded for trolling, right?

it won't

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Why the hell are people biting on this terrible bait?
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Questionmarktarius posted...

You're not going to buy one paper plate from the paper plate factory, no. Probably not even one stack.
Show up with the intent to buy a few thousand paper plates, and you'll probably get them.

You added nothing.
Literally what I said. The manufacturer and retailer handshakes because retail buying volume helps the manufacturer, not us.

If retail didn't exist, we could buy ps5 directly from Sony.
If we could buy ps5 from sony for the price retail gets them, retail would be hesistant to stock them.
So they bar you and me.

So, you are forced to go through retail. Retail then marks it up, because they can. But yes, they do have MSRP, which is a handshake for these services. Maybe retail isn't always happy but they still get a huge benefit.

Btw S stands for suggested.

Msrp is not law. Giant retailers like Walmart do make agreements to bind them though I think.

sLaCkEr408___RJ posted...

This topic reminds me of landlords vs tenants

It was an interesting thought as CEmen claimed local stores were scamming them by trying to make a profit.
It is like they don't realize walmart is also making a profit. But again, we have been programmed to believe this is just how it works and not question it.