Since the release of the new generation, system scalpers are on the rise. We have to stand up to them by making it illegal.
It was towards the end of 2020 when the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X systems were made available for purchase. In October, PlayStation stores and the website were attacked by bots – computer programs designed to mass buy items for those who control bots, called scalpers – and these bots bought many systems.
Scalpers are individuals who buy products to resell them later for a large or quick profit. Sure enough, a few hours later, on websites like Ebay, there were posts of the next-gen systems for $ 1,800, instead of the original $ 500.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of some countermeasures on the PlayStation site and was able to get a PS5. We need to prevent scalpers from buying items in bulk only to sell them at a price much higher than the original price.
This begs the question, why did Sony and Microsoft need something to stop bots? As PerimeterX says, scalpers are no longer looking for niche items.
There was a time when people scalped only the basics, such as sports tickets or Beanie Babies. However, times are changing. Scalpers buy items that the general population is ready to buy.
It is the start of a terrible change in our society. Products like the PS5 and Xbox Series X weren’t meant to be bought and sold for outrageous amounts. They were meant to be played and owned by the people who would actually buy games for it.
Ideally, Sony and Microsoft can take a few hits by lowering the prices of their systems. Most of their money comes from selling video games. However, if the systems end up in warehouses or not in use, they make less money.
It also hurts video game producers. With fewer people able to buy games, it can push release dates back as video game producers try to sell as many of them as they can.
On the production side of new generation systems, the pandemic poses a growing problem. Computer chip shortages affect many different industries, and games are one of them.
Without the chips to properly manufacture the next generation systems, the supply diminishes. With scalpers buying every unit they can get their hands on, that leaves little to no supply for the general population. The general population, of course, is always very keen on getting the next generation systems, so there is always an extremely high demand.
What can people do against robots and scalpers? One response they are using in the UK is to make scalping illegal. In 2018, the UK banned the purchase of event tickets only to sell them for well beyond what they were bought for. In December 2020, calls were made to ban bots for the mass purchase of tech products like the PS5. As of now, no new laws have been passed in the UK, but petitions have called for two different ideas.
The first is to prevent or discourage the massive purchase of products, often to the point of depleting stock. This could possibly fix technical issues caused by bots. It would also solve the social problems induced by scalping.
The second is to ban all bots from shopping online. Since the first petition didn’t ban bots outright, this allowed this to continue to be a problem. With a ban on all bots, that would completely eliminate the problem of scalping.
There have been many solutions to the growing scalping problem, but with recent petitions in the UK we are well on the way to solving it. An outright ban on bots and scalping, especially with tech products like the PS5, is the best solution.
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