As an avid collector of special edition books, I have come face-to-face with the most aggressive of sellers—the scalpers.
These types of sellers will buy out all they can on certain collectable items in order to resell them online and hike the price up so much that you would need to take out a loan to afford it at times.
In the instance of special edition books that usually retail for around $35 give or take—the prices can get up to $500!
These prices are ridiculous and these sellers get away with doing this because people will buy the product. Also due to the fact that they buy out almost all the stock so that they are the only option people have to buy from. Collectors are very into their product of choice and many will stop at nothing to get the last piece to their collection.
By buying from these scalpers; however, we are simply feeding into their game. They get to purchase a product for $10-$30 dollars and hike the price into the hundreds and earn a high profit.
Due to this incentive, they will never stop doing what they’re doing—unless we stop buying from them. If we all were to quit buying from these sellers, then they’d be left with an insane amount of stock that they have no desire to keep.
While it can be hard to not buy from these sellers—especially if the item is truly wanted and is no longer for sale—it will ultimately be better in the long run.
If these scalpers were to realize that there is no longer a market willing to buy from them—they would not purchase the items to resell. This, in turn, would free up those items to be bought at market price.
Many scalpers defend their actions stating that they’re simply “businessmen” looking to turn a profit; but, the fact of the matter is they’re taking advantage of people’s situations.
While scalping most items (books, stuffed animals, figurines, etc) mostly just makes collectors sad; some scalpers will buy items needed by others.
For example, during the start of the pandemic, many began to hoard hand sanitizer and soap and sell it at record prices to turn a profit. They didn’t care that these items were desperately needed in circulation—they only cared about getting more cash in their pockets.
If we all were to turn our back on these types of sellers, we could ensure that they leave the marketplace with their tail between their legs. It would make purchasing items easier for the general sale, and make resale a lot more affordable for those looking.
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