What's the problem with scalpers?

[Flannel Jesus]

I was looking at this thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanatte ... l_jordans/

and this question occurred to me:

What's the ethical difference between a scalper and any ol' store that buys goods from wholesale places and sells them for a profit?

Forgive me if the solution is obvious and very basic, I'm just coming up blank here.

[iambiguous]

As usual, out in the real world, there are pros and cons here.

Now, the moral objectivists among us [one way or the other] will insist that only their own take on it reflects the optimal frame of mind. True, their arguments don't necessarily make the other side's arguments go away, but fuck all that. All that is important to them is to sustain the comfort and the consolation that comes from "just knowing" that their own argument is the most rational.


From The Conversation:

The pros and cons of scalping and reselling

But there is an argument that ticket scalping actually enhances the total welfare of concert goers and sports fans. Scalpers act to distribute tickets to those who value them the most, or, as economists’ would say, they increase the allocative efficiency of the market.

Secondary markets for tickets allow potential buyers to indicate how much they want to go to the event – their “willingness to pay”. If tickets can only be bought at a single price on a first come first serve basis, then some people who really want to go will be left out. Secondary markets permit these mutually beneficial exchanges to take place.

Online platforms for buying and selling tickets actually increase this allocative efficiency. These platforms arm buyers and sellers with ever increasing amounts of information, and the time and expenses associated with the purchase of each resold ticket (known as “transaction costs”) are greatly reduced.


But scalping and secondary ticket markets are not without their downsides. Enterprising scalpers may be encouraged to buy up large proportions of available tickets in order to maximise their profits.

This is called “rent seeking” and has been shown to potentially reduce (or even eliminate) any gains in allocative efficiency.

There is also the issue of fairness, and whether “true fans” will be priced out of going to see their favourite performer or team. And then there is the issue that scalpers take away profits that could have instead accrued to the very artists, entertainers or sporting personalities on show.

[Flannel Jesus]

Blink twice if the objectivists are here in the room with us now.

Blink three times if they're actively endangering you.

[Flannel Jesus]

Btw I appreciate the words you wrote that were not a contextless rant about objectivists. Thanks for finding that.

I just don't really jive with people who try to turn every discussion into a chance to rant about some other unrelated thing that's gotten under their skin. It's not a good look, if you have a problem with objectivism, you should talk about that in a thread about objectivism, or in a discussion where that's contextually relevant. It's not becoming to just rant about it every time you get a chance.

[Impenitent]

the best scalpers were slaughtered and their families were forced to live on reservations...

-Imp

[Walker]

I was looking at this thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanatte ... l_jordans/

and this question occurred to me:

What's the ethical difference between a scalper and any ol' store that buys goods from wholesale places and sells them for a profit?

Forgive me if the solution is obvious and very basic, I'm just coming up blank here.

Scalpers are not authorized which means the transaction can't be automatically traced or taxed.

[Iwannaplato]

I was looking at this thread

https://www.reddit.com/r/therewasanatte ... l_jordans/

and this question occurred to me:

What's the ethical difference between a scalper and any ol' store that buys goods from wholesale places and sells them for a profit?

Forgive me if the solution is obvious and very basic, I'm just coming up blank here.

It can be very similar, but the main difference is the scalper is not providing any service at all. A retailer is. They make the products easily accessible - and all the labor that entails.

The professional scalper - not someone whose friend got sick - is buying a bunch of tickets and selling them at a higher price, tickets that you could have ordered exactly like he or she did. They add no service or accessibility. Instead there were less tickets available at the 'wholesale' price. In the scalping situation there is no need for a retailer. The products are nearly virtual. You don't need a storage space near your home where you go and pick out the products you want. Another way to put it is the scalper creates the need for a scalper and gets paid for doing nothing helpful to you (overall. obviously some people who never plan ahead can get the tickets at the last second and be happy and they never would have ordered earlier)

Walker's point is good as well.

I suppose it also opens the door for a con with fake tickets, even if the tickets you are selling are not fake. I think this counts more strongly for those who are in this for money, rather than trying to scalp a ticket that they found out they can't use.

I don't have a problem with people trying to sell the stray ticket they can't use, especially at the going rate.

But people who have it as a black market income, I don't like it.

Currenly where I live wholesalers and retaliers are using inflation and the rising price costs to increase the costs of food beyond what inflation and rising costs of ingredients entail.

That's an opportunism that is similar to scalping. They are scalping themselves.

[Agent Smith]

Americans don't exist!

[Iwannaplato]

Americans don't exist!

Shit, I thought I was losing weight!

[Flannel Jesus]

Americans don't exist!

Shit, I thought I was losing weight!

Don't worry, once you lose a certain amount of weight you cease to be American. Your existence is saved, but you may have to say goodbye to your fupa

[Iwannaplato]

Americans don't exist!

Shit, I thought I was losing weight!

Don't worry, once you lose a certain amount of weight you cease to be American. Your existence is saved, but you may have to say goodbye to your fupa

Oh, my God. How could see my disappearing fupa????!!!

[Walker]

the best scalpers were slaughtered and their families were forced to live on reservations...

-Imp

There's only a problem when they're Literalist barbers. (A little off the top, please.)

[Agent Smith]

Americans don't exist!

Shit, I thought I was losing weight!

[Iwannaplato]

the best scalpers were slaughtered and their families were forced to live on reservations...

-Imp

I don't know how to judge best, but the earliest were probably in Sweden.

[Agent Smith]

"What are you doing Janus?" asked Pete. "I'm eating, can't you see?" replied Janus. Pete looked at Janus' plate. It had nothing on it. "You're kiddin' right?" said Pete. "No, I'm not. In Kirman things are different, did you see the sunrise today?" "Nope, got up only at noon. Besides, the concierge told me it's been raining since 3:00 AM" "A pity. If you had, you wouldn't have asked such a silly question" Janus said, in a rather inscrutable tone.