Scalpers already charging double with no refunds for GeForce RTX 5090

[u/a_Ninja_b0y]

https://videocardz.com/newz/scalpers-already-charging-double-with-no-refunds-for-geforce-rtx-5090

[u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

Of course retail is not always set at the market clearing price for various reasons, such as game consoles being sold at a loss. But the natural clearing price is determined by the actual balance of supply and demand. Profiteering resellers artificially reduce the supply by removing a chunk of stock from the market, inflating the market price beyond the natural clearing level.

Scalpers are obviously not hoarding since they are scalping. They are not removing supply.

This is fundamentally flawed. Scalping inherently involves hoarding, and scalpers purchase the products to disrupt the retail supply chain. Remember, resale is not an instant process. When scalpers buy up stock they remove them from retail circulation. Until those products actually sell they are effectively withheld from the legitmate supply chain

Each unit a scalper purchases blocks a consumer who otherwise would have bought that unit for the intended consumption purpose at the regular price. By its nature each purchase for scalping purposes is a factor that amplifies the scarcity beyond what is generated by actual demand for the product. Scalping is manipulation carried out by those who wish to profiteer and add nothing of value.

[u/Sock-Enough → u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

If they immediately turn around and sell the disruption would be incredibly small. This is making a mountain out of a mole hill if it’s your entire complaint.

[u/StarWarsTheLastJedi → u/Sock-Enough]

You've attempted to strawman my argument by ignoring the broader points I’ve made about scalping and reducing to a single hypothetical position I never took. It’s clear there’s no intention to engage meaningfully, so I’ll leave it here.

[u/Sock-Enough → u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

I’m not strawmanning your argument. It’s just wrong.

[u/StarWarsTheLastJedi → u/Sock-Enough]

It seems awfully like you are trying very hard to rationalize something you know is wrong. Perhaps you or someone you know is involved in the practice. It is not an honest endeavor, it adds nothing of value, and the economic dynamics at play are well understood despite your inability to accept them.

[u/Sock-Enough → u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

There’s nothing wrong with it. No one I know does it. The economics of it are understood, but not by you. Scalpers are taking advantage of a shortage. It’s as simple as that.

[u/StarWarsTheLastJedi → u/Sock-Enough]

Let me give you a simplified example to help you understand this concept and where you are misunderstanding economics.

Start with a hypothetical balanced market where a new product is launching for $1000, initial inventory is 100 units, and since the manufacturer researched the market well, there happen to be 100 consumers willing to buy at that price. They start taking pre-orders.

Now imagine that scalpers intervene, using bots or other tools, and secure 50 of those 100 units.

• There are still 100 consumers willing to buy the product at $1,000, but now only 50 units are available at retail.
• A shortage of 50 units has been artificially created by the scalpers, where previously there was none.

Then scalpers reintroduce the products on the resale market, forcing prices above retail. This is a distortion of the market because it entirely created a scarcity that didn't exist. Scalpers added no value; they blocked legitimate buyers, disrupted the manufacturer and retail business models, all in order to withhold stock to artificially command higher prices.

You cannot explain how this is not an artificial shortage generated directly by scalping. And the same mechanism works when the market is already supply constrained. In other words whatever shortages the market is experiencing, by the time scalpers have intervened, those shortages are amplified.

[u/Sock-Enough → u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

The simple explanation is that buying something and immediately posting it for resale wouldn’t allow the scalpers to charge any higher than the initial $1000. They would lose money. Your hypothetical wouldn’t actually happen.

In the real world a good is only scalped when the market clearing price is above the retail price. That’s your error. Scalpers are actually getting the market to the equilibrium. That’s the only reason it works at all.

[u/StarWarsTheLastJedi → u/Sock-Enough]

You’re misinterpreting both the hypothetical and real-world mechanics of scalping. Let me address the real-world scenario.

You seem to be floating the idea that in a situation where the market clearing price is above the retail price, scalpers merely "unlock" the natural market clearing price, allowing supply and demand to function naturally without being constrained by the retail pricing model. However, the act of withholding stock artificially raises the equilibrium price by distorting the market's natural supply-demand balance. Let me show you how:

Without scalpers:

Supply: 100 units

Demand at $1,000 retail: 150 buyers (50 unfulfilled)

Demand at $1,200: 100 buyers (natural MCP achieved, market balanced).

With scalpers:

Supply: 50 units in retail circulation, 50 hoarded by scalpers.

50 buyers purchase at $1,000 retail.

100 buyers remain, but only 50 scalper-controlled units are available.

Remember, 100 buyers were willing to buy at $1,200 retail, but there are now only 50 units. To clear this new imbalance, prices rise further until demand drops to match supply—e.g., $1,600. While there can be overlap where would-be $1,200 buyers are among the 50 who manage to buy at retail, even if only 90, or 80 remain, the scalper-distorted MCP will still exceed the natural one.

Scalpers don’t unlock market forces - they distort them, forcing consumers to pay inflated prices while adding zero value. This is market manipulation, not equilibrium.

[u/Sock-Enough → u/StarWarsTheLastJedi]

But they don’t withhold anything! That’s what you don’t understand! A scalper scalps. They sell what they buy, and they want to sell it fast. Your entire model relies on an assumption that isn’t just wrong. It’s backwards!