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NWR Interactive => Podcast Discussion => Topic started by: TalkNintendoPodcast on November 17, 2016, 11:17:32 AM

Title: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: TalkNintendoPodcast on November 17, 2016, 11:17:32 AM

Nes Classic for $500?! We weigh in on the morality of scalping.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/talknintendo/43694/episode-7-dirty-rotten-scalpers

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You might be asking, "Another episode already?!" That's damn right! We're happy to announce we'll be going weekly from this point moving forward. We'll likely be alternating weeks where we talk about what we've been playing, but we'll always have a fresh fun new episode for you each week!

Do you want to hear about all sorts of Mario games? Well we hope the answer to that question is yes because that's exactly what we have in store for you. Ironically though we start off the segment with a non Mario game as Perry cracks open some Splatoon amiibo to see what they add to what is already his favorite game possibly ever. Afterwards Casey starts off the Mario block by rolling the dice on Mario Party Star Rush. The game touts a new fast paced mode, but does it miss the mark? Perry continues his trend of revisiting older games by playing some Super Mario 3D Land. Is it as much fun now as it was originally when released back in 2011? Would you believe Casey if he told you Paper Mario Color Splash was one of his top 5 Wii U games? He wouldn't have thought so either, but the game really knocked his socks off. Perry also weighs in as his wife and him play through this adventure together.

This week's news includes even more Mario! The details on Super Mario Run have been revealed and the guys talk about their hopes and expectations. What would a week in the life of a Nintendo gamer be without some juicy Switch rumors. We touch on some of the latest.

The NES Classic is sold out everywhere and scalpers are once again at it again selling the hot item for five times the amount. This sparked an interesting discussion of what we think makes someone a scalper and if there is a difference between selling or trading for more than what the retail price is. And as always, we wrap up the show with the Good Ol' Craiglist Finds! Perry has been busy scouring the listings, but did he find anything worth while this week?

Friendly reminder there is still time to enter our Pokemon Sun and Moon Giveaway! But hurry, not much time remains. We'll select a winner 11/18/16 at 8pm Eastern!

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Title: Re: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: Darth Asterix on November 18, 2016, 02:18:16 AM
From a purely morality perspective, I have no problem with scalpers whatsoever. Welcome to the wonderful world of a free market.

I mean, it's a huge dickface move, yes, but I don't have a morality problem with it.
Title: Re: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: Mythtendo on November 18, 2016, 03:15:31 PM
I have a huge problem with scalpers, they have no morals. This is not a case of someone re-selling something they no longer want. This is people buying something they had no intention of using, purely so they could then force someone who actually wants it to pay far more than the MSRP. It's like those scum who would buy dozens of rare Amiibos so they could then charge $100+ for them on eBay to those who actually want them. I'm glad eBay is at least limiting how many of them a person can list (so you can't do something like list 10 at once), these scalpers were even listing them on eBay over a month before it even came out.
Title: Re: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: ejamer on November 18, 2016, 07:24:13 PM
Quote from: Darth Asterix on November 18, 2016, 02:18:16 AM
From a purely morality perspective, I have no problem with scalpers whatsoever. Welcome to the wonderful world of a free market.

I mean, it's a huge dickface move, yes, but I don't have a morality problem with it.

I always have a hard time understanding this line of thought: something is clearly a dick move, but you have no moral objection to it.  So your morals don't suggest that acting like a dick to other people is a bad thing?  Or maybe you just value money over people - after all, it is a capitalist society we live in. Either way, I'd like a better explanation of how you can so easily justify the action.

Legally, there is usually nothing wrong with scalping (except for those times when it actually is illegal... which happens more often than you might think but is usually just ignored).

But from a common decency standpoint, I can't support people who regularly buy goods for the sole purpose of scalping them later.  Actively and intentionally denying things to your peers out of a hope that you can then extort more money from those same people for your own personal gain is incredibly asinine.
Title: Re: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: Darth Asterix on November 19, 2016, 01:07:26 AM
Quote from: ejamer on November 18, 2016, 07:24:13 PM
I always have a hard time understanding this line of thought: something is clearly a dick move, but you have no moral objection to it.  So your morals don't suggest that acting like a dick to other people is a bad thing?  Or maybe you just value money over people - after all, it is a capitalist society we live in. Either way, I'd like a better explanation of how you can so easily justify the action.

Depends how one defines morality, I guess. I view it more of an objectively bad or objectively good (or somewhere in the middle) action, and the direct impact it has on somebody else. I have difficultly placing scalping on the scale at all, because it doesn't explicitly harm anybody / any group straight out of the gate. The item is still getting sold to somebody who wants it, one way or another. That's how, for things like this, I can differentiate between dickish but not immoral (see: NES Classic scalpers) vs both dickish and immoral (see: the guy who was hogging Rosalina amiibo explicitly to stop people who wanted them from having them and for no other reason, with no intention of selling them to people who wanted them, even at a markup). Now, in the case of a perfect or functional monopoly (see: if it's true that for a while Gamestop was taking all of their new copies of Xenoblade Chronicles, opening them all, and then selling them as "used" for double the original price), I would obviously place that on the dickish and immoral side of things, even though the item is still entering the marketplace eventually.

Quote from: ejamer on November 18, 2016, 07:24:13 PM
Legally, there is usually nothing wrong with scalping (except for those times when it actually is illegal... which happens more often than you might think but is usually just ignored).

Oh, I know all about that. That's how you get things happening like in places where it's illegal to sell sporting tickets above face value, scalpers will instead sell you a basketball card (for example) for $350 and just happen to be so kind as to give you a pair of tickets with it for free. Happened a TON around here during a certain sporting playoff run around a decade ago.
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Quote from: ejamer on November 18, 2016, 07:24:13 PM

But from a common decency standpoint, I can't support people who regularly buy goods for the sole purpose of scalping them later.  Actively and intentionally denying things to your peers out of a hope that you can then extort more money from those same people for your own personal gain is incredibly asinine.

I didn't saying I supported the scalping at all, I just don't know that I have a problem with the morality of it. I agree it's asinine, though.
Title: Re: Episode 7 - Dirty Rotten Scalpers
Post by: ejamer on November 19, 2016, 08:06:28 AM
In support of your argument, it's probably also important to note that NES Classic units are essentially luxury items - not having one won't cause physical harm to anyone.

I still have a hard time with it, but can understand your point much better now.

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By the way, this was a really enjoyable podcast! I spent a lot of time renting and playing NES games when I was young so could strongly identify with the discussion.

It was so exciting to rent an NES game, because there were many games to pick from and you usually didn't have much to base your choice on other than the box art on display.  Sometimes you'd end up getting a great game, sometimes not so much. In either case you'd only have a short time to see as much of the game as you could - so it wouldn't be unusual to have late nights or marathon sessions.

Lots of great games mentioned: TMNT 3: The Manhattan Project, Snow Bros, Mega Man, Bubble Bubble, Darkwing Duck, and more... Really took me back! Some NES games could have a lot of jank, but still be really interesting and exciting experience once you get the hang of them. Did any of you guys ever play Nightshade or Metal Storm? I was also a huge fan of renting Maniac Mansion and trying to beat the game with different endings.