http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/13/mom-and-pop-plot-to-screw-you-out-of-a-ps3-and-put-food-on-thei/

 

I'm thinking of pre-ordering a couple (if I don't get screwed out of THOSE) and doing the same.

If people are willing to pay huge amounts, why not cash in?

 

Well, isn't that nice to know, but come on, is it really any surprise?

 

As much as I loath to give sony any of my money I might as well cash in on their brainwashing of the consumer mass. The way I see it I'm not scalping if I'm selling my only one. I have no intention to play the thing.

 

Let's say a small game store, like the one mentioned in the article, lists their PS3's on eBay rather than selling them to the public.

Let's assume that they have a starting price on the auction at or below MSRP. Let us also assume that there's no tinkering with the auction on the part of the store, and any price increase beyond the starting MSRP will be consumer driven.

Is it unethical?

 

If they took preorders for the PS3. Yes. It is VERY unethical.


This sickens me as how gamers will do this to fellow gamers. Its one thing to pre-order maybe two so that you are guarenteed one if there are mass shortages. Then you can either sell to a friend or ebay it. But to buy one with the sole intention to resell at a much higher price is just scalping.

 

Did this conversation really need to start again?

 

Considering that these are units meant for retail, being sent to retailers for retail, yes. I mean, I think that's how most of us here already feel about the scalpers who buy out an area's entire stock of a shortpacked transformer for ebay. I'd say this is no different, but it really is. If the consumer got to the store before the scalper, they could still have a chance to buy the transformer. These consoles are being snatched away before they even hit store shelves.

That said, it doesn't affect me, because I don't plan on getting one. Moreover if it makes Sony's launch even messier than it's already likely to be, so much the better.

 

It's a little unethical, but it's more ethical than say, a manager from a corporate chain doing the exact same thing. These people are paying out of their pocket for the consoles so they have a right to sell them how they wish. It's a little unethical, but I still think that people buying extras at retail cost and scalping them or the aforementioned corporate store doing the same thing are doing something way more unethical.

 

Supply and Demand baby.

 

You know what these small retailers ought to do? Sell the empty box for the idiots on ebay (because we know now they'll buy it without reading) and sell the boxless console at a discount to the loyal gamers that support their local shops.

 

That's how capitalism works.


That said, the idea of a seller not getting paid for the item in question because such items are prone to bids from deadbeats makes me laugh.

 

If they've taken preorders, I would have thought they would have an obligation to fill them first. After that eBay is just another way of selling stock, inflated prices or not. Plus, if people are desperate/stupid enough to pay a ridiculous price for one on eBay, that's their call.

 

For some reason when i read this thread i remembered an episode of Seinfeld with a Mom & Pop shoe store.

 

Shop owners are people just like everyone else, and as such are just as greedy. Sure they could list the things with a buy-it-now price at retail. Of course this would be dumb as hell because the price will skyrocket beyond retail in a normal listing. I don't think there is really any wrong doing by them to sell them on ebay though with a normal opening bid. Hell, if I could get my hands on them I'd do it in a heartbeat. Easy money.

 

At my old TRU one of our managers did that with the Nintendo DS's and the 360's...He bought them by the CASE. He also bought EVERY Marvel Legends variant and Star Wars figures by the case (Including the giveaway figures since they rang up at .01 and avery last one of the sneek peek assortment) People complained...a LOT. The people who complained (myself included) are now GONE, and he is the new store director!

 

Now thats abusing power.

I see nothing wrong with selling PS3's on Ebay though. Once you've bought it, you have right to re-sale it for whatever price someone is willing to pay.

 

That's funny, because last time I checked TRU has a pretty strict policy about doing just that when it comes to employees.
It should have been his scalping ass that should have been fired...the dick.

-Shifty

 

Astoria, that's near where I live. Grabs baseball bat. Just kidding. I wait a few years until the hardware drops in price and when games are plentiful before I buy anyway,