I have to disagree a bit with the OP. I posted this in another thread, I'm going to put it out here also, tweaked slightly.
I understand in a general sense not liking what you are calling scalping. .I also understand the general sentiment against "profiteering", and in general I think it's a nice thought. But what you are trying to do is get a rule to make supply and demand go away. I suspect no rule you could put into place will make this happen. .Could you push it off of the ECF? Maybe, but just look at government's ability to control black markets, the reason that never works is because the law of supply and demand keeps working just like gravity, wether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not and even if you pass some rules or laws against it. At worst it will have no effect, at best it will be slightly harder and more expensive to buy your high demand items. .For example if you levied a $50 fee on scalpers, the new inflated price for items in high demand would be : the old inflated price plus $50..
At the fundamental level the highly inflated prices demanded and paid are a result of not enough supply. If you feel better blaming them on evil profiteers and bad people who will pay the profiteers price, um ok. Forget limited edition, one of a kind's and collectibles. Those don't count. But, if for instance you are talking about a current attomizer, or device, that has been, is being, and is planned on being made and sold in the future, the ONLY SOLUTION to distorted pricing is to MAKE ENOUGH TO AT LEAST COME CLOSE TO MEETING DEMAND!! I absolutely promise you that if people were able to buy what they wanted at the retail price, very very few would pay 3X that in the classifieds. I could be wrong about this, but I don't think so
If a product in demand continues to be produced in quantities that only meet a fraction of the demand for it, nothing you wish, say or do is going to prevent the distortion of price. No more than if you deny gravity, you will just float away. I suppose it could be argued otherwise but I suspect some vendors know full well that they are ordering a run of 200, when they could easily sell double that. They want to control demand to keep it high, and that is their prerogative, but to then be upset if price gets inflated in secondary markets is just baffling, since their decision caused the inflation!
If you want to argue that it shouldn't be allowed on the ECF, ok fine. That won't make it stop, or go away but I guess it could make it go happen somewhere else so you wouldn't have to see..
Supply and demand in relationship to price is not capitalism, or American, or global, or an opinion it's just a mathematical equation. Unless you can effectively set a price, legislate its adherence and have the ability to enforce it (impossible). It will continue to be so..
