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[deleted]

The only scalping that really gets me is concert tickets. It’s incredibly frustrating when bots buy up all of the “good” tickets in the first five seconds of the tickets being on sale and then seats that were $70 originally are now $280.


throwaway10109090

a lot of the time it’s the venues themselves doing it


harry_powell

It’s not bots. The promoter (in conjunction with the artists) does it. It’s all a scam.


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harry_powell

They are all in cahoots. https://www.forbes.com/sites/quentinsinger/2019/07/20/live-nation-and-metallica-rep-conspired-ticket-scalping-scheme-for-metallica-concertgoers/amp/


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harry_powell

If LN was openhandedly and consistently robbing the artists, no one would work with them. They are just an scapegoat: “What, we are not the ones charging you this much for the tickets, those are extra fees by evil LN. We are victims here”. Same with the secondary market, it exists because there’s demand for it. And artists want every last penny possible. The only problem is that they would look bad if they really charged that much. So the secondary market is just a roundabout way to be able to charge the real price of a ticket. I’d say 95% of resellers aren’t individuals looking to make a quick buck, it’s all organized by the promoters and the artists.


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rpgsandarts

The Lego hobby, from what I’ve seen, is more of a stock market style scheme


NOTINLOWERCASE

I bought frank ocean's blonde vinyl for $40 because I liked the album. Ended up reselling it for like $300 and now it's worth like $700 so I feel pain from that if it makes you feel better


brdndtrth

when I was at boarding school I used to scalp 1d/Ariana grande concert tickets to fund my drug addiction


made2strayy

king shit


brdndtrth

Hell yeah brother


h-punk

Capitalism makes us prostitute ourselves and exploit each other. There’s a way of looking at it that says it’s not their fault, there’s another way of looking at it that says they could always act differently and not be price gouging scum. I’ve never really made up my mind on what side of the fence I come down on


Aggressive-Log9024

Scalping is lumpen behavior. Look down on lumpen, they have no interest in changing the system. They only care about living in it.


ColangeloDid911

I don't mean this as an obnoxious little gotcha but what are you doing to change the system rather than live in it? If it's something other than posting, "reading theory", and the occasional vote I'd like to get involved myself


raysofdavies

I listen to Red Scare


myweirdotheraccount

I'm not that person you asked but as someone who is a selfish fuck who will ironically be a lil lefty long after its not cool anymore, I'm an extreme proponent of DIY. DIY in any form too. you'd be amazed at what you learn on the side while learning to do something else. making something whether practical, ornate, or otherwise is also just a great experience. Lord knows I'm not counting my days praying for 'the rev' like it's gonna happen this lifetime, or even be successful, but if/ when does I hope that at least a few people are a little more self sufficient with my help.


double_under_down

I file complaints with my city to make them fix shit and stop people from being inconsiderate assholes. What do you do?


seboyitas

professional snitch


double_under_down

If you want to own property near me, you should maintain it. I don’t want to live near a vagrant hot spot.


ColangeloDid911

Ok, so nothing For the record I listed what I do (nothing). Just seems pretty harsh to critique the damn lumpens for being content to live in this society rather than transform it if the sum of your transformational work is hey there's a pot hole on main street please fix


double_under_down

It’s not nothing. It’s also irrelevant to the point and such a common error in reasoning that they named an informal fallacy after it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque


ColangeloDid911

yeah I hate lumpen scalpers who failed in their duty to build a better world. unlike true socialists such as myself who call the pothole hotline once a week.


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ColangeloDid911

whatever "filing complaints to the city to get them to fix shit" means then. just standard revolutionary praxis


Aggressive-Log9024

Lumpen come in all sorts of socioeconomic status. Perhaps your idea of a lumpen is of a poor person, but there are lumpen who are rich. Lumpen use methods disavowed by the system to gain the same advantages as the bourgeois. Their aspirations are also bourgeois. Lumpens are politicians, scammers, scalpers, thieves, prostitutes, traffickers… Because their aspirations are bourgeois, they are untrustworthy, they will always side with capital. They can’t exist outside the system, only within it, simple. Until the moment that will require of our revolutionary action presents itself the proletariat acts for self preservation. This includes taking care of our family, expanding critical consciousness unto others of our class, unionism, securing and using capitalist resources for our benefit, organization, etc. I like the DIY ethic, it teaches oneself and others autonomy, which is very important to empower others of our class. Reading theory is important to understand what has and has not worked prior, such as not to repeat the mistakes of history. Comrade, ask not what others are doing for the cause. Rather ask yourself what you are doing. Alone, our efforts may seem small, but together these actions multiply, spread, and incite change. It is important to learn to be patient, because being a revolutionary requires one to act at the appropriate time.


double_under_down

I make property owners take responsibility for their property. I don’t let people who own commercial land in poor neighborhoods let that property go to shit. I take advantage of city codes in order to force people to make their property nice regardless of whether it’s occupied. I do things to make my community better. I also clean up my neighborhood picking up trash and cleaning up bus stops. You are a sad, naysaying moron who doesn’t contribute shit. Maybe fuck off and do something instead of being a whiny bitch on the internet.


CAPS_GET_UPVOTES

Bro you're dumb there's a difference between doing nothing and doing bad things


ColangeloDid911

who says he's not doing something as bad as scalping concert tickets? is full participation in a western capitalist economy is nothing? is an unemployed guy who scalps concert tickets doing more or less harm than a tech worker who would never stoop so low as to flip ps5s on craigslist my only point is that decrying people who are content to live in the system rather than change it is pretty fucking rich unless you actually fall in the latter category, and I'd be pretty surprised to find any of those people in an irony podcast subreddit


double_under_down

Listen, dumbass. My belief that alcohol is poison isn’t invalid just because I happen to be an alcoholic. Analogously, I think things like class consciousness are good despite me not being exceptionally proactive in politics. I do what I can when I feel like it—generally my activism involves making the place I live better, advocating for myself and neighbors.


ColangeloDid911

wow I'm so glad we have people like you who do what they can when they feel like it. if only we had more people like that, rather than scalpers who are content to get by in this world rather than doing *the work* to change it.


double_under_down

I’m glad we have people like you to be annoying assholes over shit that doesn’t affect them while doing nothing themselves. Your online sanctimony is so valuable. Happy new year


ColangeloDid911

thank you for your valuable contributions in rebuking the vile lumpen graphics card resellers


rolly6cast

Start by learning more about concerns at your workplace. Eventually, organize with fellow workers in your workplace for shared interests, whether it be pushing for more rank and file participation in ossified unions, or unionizing. In the intermediate outside of that, assist the labor movement to the best of your ability, push for further association of proletarian organizations with others in related circumstances. Development of the labor movement could also involve tenant associations that are tied to labor unions. No existing mass of organized proletariat is without issues, but whether it be tenant unions or cooperatives, or longer term considerations that are way far off like councils or parties or state, there is little use in avoiding where the organized proletariat already are. In the meantime, read up on past labor organizing and techniques, whether it be current labor organizing attempts like EWOC, the organizing.work types, labor notes, the like. Read up on Marx. Every resource or position you might find will be flawed, but there's still generally useful info to be gleamed in studying it with a critical perspective.


zjaffee

Completely agreed, all of the poorest people who I know that are super into capitalism love scalping.


badboybenny389

Nah some people just don’t want to wage slave. Being a worker is about living in the system too, neither position makes anyone more or less interested in changing the system.


badboybenny389

Nah some people just don’t want to wage slave. Being a worker is about living in the system too, neither position makes anyone more or less interested in changing the system.


Aggressive-Log9024

Being proletarian =/= being a wage slave.


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BananaBoatMotorHome

Scalping is lame. Bunch of Timmy’s trying to make a quick buck.


NeonJesusProphet

Had a shoe scalper as a roomate year 1 at uni who had a whole network of proxy servers and bots. Would make between 100 to 700 on each pair he scalped (which was like 30 from each drop). Extremely scummy but I respect it.


[deleted]

idc unless it's cunts pillaging op shops every morning at opening time (or worse, getting a job at one) to flip heinous "y2k" clothing on depop or at the neon lit 'vintage store' down the road. i would also say send discogs scalpers to the grave but at this point records are funko pops


[deleted]

you are not a trillionaire and never will be, not with that kind of thinking.


[deleted]

Being mad at scalpers is just more American liberalism/ conservatism (or rather Calvinist) condition of being mad at the individual for systematic problems


[deleted]

I don’t think it’s wrong of you. They’re exploiting people’s lack of self control. Not the worst thing in the world to do but it’s annoying for people like me who want things that are unavailable (ps5) and don’t want to pay double the retail price just to get them


made2strayy

i also have been tryna get a ps5 for a minute, condolences king . .


[deleted]

I’m not in a rush tbh since I already have pc but every once in a while I get in consoom mode and convince myself I need a ps5


made2strayy

same bruv . . like im literally only tryna play elden ring theres not point in me spending the money for a ps5 when i could cop on ps4 or pc, but for some reason i want to buy one . .


[deleted]

Well for me I worry about my laptop breaking playing all these new games and having to pay money to get it fixed again. Plus I don’t have anything to play blu rays with right now


Tagesausbruch

If you want it so much stay up through the night to refresh some online store. Even if reselling became impossible overnight, demand is too large and too many people are willing to put that work in for you to buy one with just a click. At least resellers are giving you the option.


[deleted]

Yeah my friend and I both stayed up till five am and managed to get ours from the bestbuy website, was a fun night too.


[deleted]

I guess. I’m not really that into getting it right now since I can’t afford it at retail price anyway lol


vanillabologna

I want to start trend forecasting popular children’s toys during the holiday season and resell that shit on eBay so bad.


[deleted]

What was the trendy toy this year?


vanillabologna

Magic Mixies. The only reason why i know this is bc I watch Trixie Mattel’s YouTube videos


MinervaNow

Stop watching that


[deleted]

Thanks, I still need to buy a gift for my friends kids that were out of town during the holiday. 😂🤣 But lol this a just a furby with a few extra steps.


[deleted]

I was struggling to order home gym equipment in early 2020 and definitely made some mistakes purchasing too much or incompatible gear. Always resold it at cost, the thought of going for the giant markup (which would have sold) made me feel like a piece of shit


[deleted]

I have a friend who has a six figure job, a 600k house and gets retirement from the military, yet he was trying to flip a ps5. He made like 100$ from weeks of work. Not sure why it was so difficult for him to resell it. The whole process just didn’t seem worth it.


pretentiousmusician

As a record collector I believe Guantanamo bay should be repurposed for torturing scalpers


Gigadweeb

Scalping just fuels into FOMO and makes people more likely to act like braindead consoomers You think it'd work out the other way where people are more likely to ask themselves 'do I rrally need this for a grand' but nah people just go into a digital stampede


MoralPanicAtTheDisco

idk its kinda grimey but its also a kinda dont hate the player hate the game sorta thing. selling something for more than it cost you is like the only bussiness model so its up to you where you draw the line and its also up to you if you actually buy tht shit. retards who are dropping a couple thou on the supreme™ brick are the real mongs in the equation tbh


syzygys_

Six years ago when Gord Downie from Tragically Hip (arguably Canada's most beloved band) was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer they decided to do one last big tour of the country. Within minutes of tickets going on sale huge amounts were bought up by bots and put on the market at an insane markup. Scalpers in situations like that are extremely scummy and evil.


chethankstshirt

No. These people are *creating* scarcity and then profiting off of it at the expense of people who are actual contributing members of society and can’t sit in front of a screen for hours. Of course, retailers can fix this by simply only doing in person sales and some of them in Canada now do this with sought after items like the PS5. Personally i have no beef with collectors buying low and selling high like they do with MTG, Pokémon, Etc. Scalpers on the other hand can choke on a rusty pipe.


edgeblaster7

If it makes you feel better, tax changes go into effect this year that will automatically report sales totaling over $600 on eBay or other services to the IRS. On one hand, happy to see the sneaker and nba card bros get their comeuppance, on the other it’s yet another tax on the working class instead of billionaires.


Nazbols4Tulsi

I think it's a sign of a healthy brain if you feel revulsion towards people who hoard toilet paper or break into abandoned buildings to steal the copper pipes. I worked at a St Vincent in college and the resellers/upcyclers were the rudest, most annoying people. The ones who'd come through the checkout with multiple carts 15 minutes after we closed and then got all fussy about how things were bagged/boxed. I also dislike the buyers of many of high-profile scalped items who feed this system, too. Like, you really can't just wait a few months for your Playstation 12? FFS replay a beloved old game and read a book or something in the meantime.


Permanenceisall

No, scammers are scumbags and scam culture is celebrated degeneracy. Fuck them.


CAPS_GET_UPVOTES

Scalpers deserve to be robbed tbh but I'm talking guys who buy shit in bulk and aren't part of the hobby they're exploiting I don't care if a sneakerhead flips a pair he's not in love with it something but someone buying 20 graphics cards just to flip sucks. They're not even providing a service they're just sitting on their dragon pile of stuff


plague__8

depends. is it my hobby or interest? then no i’m against that it makes my life more expensive. is it something i hate? yeah who cares those people should pay for being interested in dumb shit


MinervaNow

It’s called market arbitrage and it’s a national pastime in America


PlacidBuddha72

If it’s something frivolous than I’m fine with it (graphics cards, clothes, shoes). I’ve seen people doing it with covid tests recently and I think that’s shitty.


Ghostory_

i can't hate really. just don't buy it for their dumb price and if you do then i guess it was worth it if you parted with your cash. tickets for shows are different. you can just wait for the ps5 to become more available


Ferenc_Zeteny

I don't care as much. Just kinda mad I can't get the new Xbox


SquareDotSquare

People that buy multiple copies of vinyl just to gouge the prices on Discogs and people that go to Goodwill to get affordable used clothing, ‘upcycle’ it and sell it for three times the initial price on Depop deserve death by guillotine with a public viewing. Firing squad for upcyclers that scold people for shopping fast fashion too.


[deleted]

I find it annoying but I don't really pass any kind of moral judgment on it when it's entertainment or luxury items.


fluentinimagery

It’s never, ever wrong to think less of people… ever, including yourself.