Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox
"Scalping" is now an official job due to eCommerce. Its something we have to get used to. Ive spent about 14 hours in 2 days on the computer f5-ing. Id rather work and get paid for 14 hours than end up with a $12.99 toy. Yes I would pay double. In fact, I would pay $30 for specific amiibos. The reason why I would pay that is because Id rather spew out cash to a scalper and pay them for their time than waste my time getting carpal tunnel lol. The math works out for me.
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I agree so much with this perspective, and it's one I don't see much of among amiibo collectors. An appreciation of capitalist economics.
Work and get paid for 14 hours if you can do that. Comparatively, your time is more valuable than that of the people buying extras specifically for resale, who, I assure you, aren't pocketing much profit once their costs are covered (for the most part it works out to WAY less than minimum wage). Since your time is more valuable and you have the money to spend, your willingness to pay is higher than, say, a high school kid without a job. So it's more worth it to the high school kid to camp out for 14 hours to get an amiibo for $12.99 because their willingness to pay is lower and their time is comparatively less valuable.
This is the same mechanism at work with any mass produced or commodity good for sale in a capitalist economy. So yeah, unless we rise up and commandeer Nintendo's factories to ensure they produce one (or two? or...?) of each amiibo for every collector in the US (or the world? or...?) at a predetermined price point (what price? decided by who...?)...well, maybe you can already see why our little revolution wouldn't fare much better than how Nintendo's already doing. Limited resources, time, and production capacity. In a finite reality, it's way more efficient to let the market determine how many are available at different prices and convenience and cosmetic condition etc. and let people decide for themselves how many, if any, they want at any given price point.
My advice would be to decide what your own personal willingness to pay is for any given amiibo and stick to it. Factor your time searching into that. Thinking about it this way, it actually makes a lot of sense for some people who can afford it to pay above MSRP for the convenience, lower risk, and guaranteed cosmetic condition.
I think what happens is a lot of Americans see the $12.99 MSRP and feel that's the price these should be easily available at. Well, that's not how it works. Nintendo can make as many or as few as they want to and/or as many as they have the resources, time, and production capacity to produce. If what results is scarcity, MSRP goes out the window. The market sets the price. If the price is above your willingness to pay, don't buy it. If you can't afford a complete collection, given the context of supply scarcity and rabid demand, don't blame scalpers out of some sense of entitlement to MSRP. Remember, Nintendo just made that number up; they could have just as easily picked $22.99 or $129.99. As long as, in the end, there are enough sales to cover their costs and earn them a worthwhile return on investment, that's what matters, at least from a production standpoint (and from a reseller/scalper's standpoint).