Majora's Mask 3D coming soon

[Damm64]

Nintendo is no stranger to limiting supply to increase demand

And yet every single time people act surprised. Every. Single. Time.

I believe this comic fits the time

source: http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=211

[Hazerd]

The Legend of Reseller: Supply and Demand's Mask Limited Edition with Scalper Kid!

[BogusMeatFactory]

The Legend of Reseller: Supply and Demand's Mask Limited Edition with Scalper Kid!

They should totally make a Reseller Simulator!

[Vant3c]

The Legend of Reseller: Supply and Demand's Mask Limited Edition with Scalper Kid!

Pretty Much!! You know I see these kinds of things happen to any hot property I try not to get mad but it is hard. I would have liked to get the Major's Mask limited edition, but I was at work and had no way to get it. It sucks that now I can not just pay the $50 for it but at least I will be able to get a copy of the normal game to play.

I always just try and look at the brighter side of picture. What I don't understand is who buy's these resellers insane price hike's? I mean are these real fans or gamers buying this and wanting it that bad, and in turn perpetuating the reseller cycle of price jacking? Or, is it just uninformed people who don't understand that these were just bought up to resell and basically rip you off.

Now some people will bemoan the fact that this is supply and demand, but in reality this is just straight up price jacking and no other way around it. I don't like, but I am not going to lose sleep over it. But, I wish there was a way to stop it and let a more natural after market pricing model take over; instead of the artificial one that these resellers create.

[Cronozilla]

What I don't understand is who buy's these resellers insane price hike's? I mean are these real fans or gamers buying this and wanting it that bad, and in turn perpetuating the reseller cycle of price jacking? Or, is it just uninformed people who don't understand that these were just bought up to resell and basically rip you off.

I think most of the people who pay the reseller prices are resellers themselves trying to increase the value of the item.

Now some people will bemoan the fact that this is supply and demand, but in reality this is just straight up price jacking and no other way around it. I don't like, but I am not going to lose sleep over it. But, I wish there was a way to stop it and let a more natural after market pricing model take over; instead of the artificial one that these resellers create.

It really isn't supply and demand, though. Supply and demand is a way to describe how markets usually work. But what these people are doing is trying to produce an artificial scarcity at every opportunity so that they can price fix items that only they have access to.

To me, what it looks like that happens is

something will get sold through quickly and become a hot ticket item. Most of the time it's a calculated targeting based on what media says and what people in communities say (I very much doubt most resellers give two shits about anything they're flipping).

Then any given individual likely threw down for multiple copies, they'll put one up for auction on eBay and then will have either friends or use other accounts through proxy to shill bid on the item and artificially inflate it.

This will result in an unpaid item. But, by that point in time, it'll create precedent on the item. After that, the buy it nows will come up above that final price. And other resellers (or they themselves) will purchase it at that price and they'll continually do this over and over again, consolidating whom controls the supply and reducing it to demand what price they want until it fails.

Then it'll drop again to some median price point, at which time they start selling them off, and actual people start buying them. Then you're selling something that cost $50 off at $115 or $125.

You'll catch some suckers along the way, but the entire process is to establish a new price point of all the merchandise you have control over.

And I would wager there's communities like ours that are solely built around colluding to ensure this happens with specific items.

An easy way to combat this

from the original manufacturer's end is to, at a very late date, resupply. It completely devalues all of these sold, and they end up making money and making customers happy. Sometimes that happens (Super Mario All-Stars on Wii) sometimes it doesn't.

One thing we could do as enthusiasts is be more vocal with our vote on saying this kind of practice is ridiculous and people shouldn't be encouraged to do it. I think one of the largest issues is it's seen as an inevitability so everyone just rolls over and takes it. They may not pay those prices, but they also don't even try to order things they'd want before resellers get in there. It just makes the opportunity wider for people wanting to take advantage.

That's how I see it.

[Vant3c]

I have to say that I have thought resellers will make account's and buy there own jacked up products to get other people to say" Well look; people are buying it. Better buy before the price goes up more". It makes total sense to me that this happens and I am sure that it happens all the time.

Maybe Nintendo will get some more preorders in stores and limit it to one per customer. That would be a ideal solution to the problem in my book. Limit it to one per customer and allow a chance for people who really want it to get it. Now it would not stop resellers completely but would put more hurdles and a deterrence to it maybe.

[Cronozilla]

I would agree, but sadly official words seem to be "we like how it sells". They don't want a surplus on their hands, I think.

[Tanooki]

Realistically it's a mix. There are some subhuman trash scalpers who do have friends or multiple accounts and they'll sell on one, buy on another and use that to screw with the values and make the appearance of a sale. But you also have the fanboys and the fools who will just roll over and take it out of desperation for their fix (like of like a drug addiction) and they help escalate the problem too. And then you have the fool who doesn't check values and just sees a trend in price and they'll think that's normal and just buy it. You can't just put it on slime who price fix and create a pseudo micro-monopoly like setup with a product to screw people at a price they'd like but it is a factor.

I've got out of buying games that have this happen new and old, it's nothing but pain and regret and on the whole I've more or less stopped buying old games too as I'm no hypocrite about that. The last ebay purchases I did on pre-3D nintendo carts was July/Sept of 2013 as I got fed up and went towards GBA and Famicom. The only time since I got something was local for 2011 and before like pre-scalp pricing.

The last one that bugged me really was the musical 3DS/SD card sized treasure box holder that places the Zelda chest opening theme. I really wanted that, but the scalpers bought them all up and were selling them over $100 on various sites and I was like I'm done with this preorder bonus shit. The only time I got something since, I walked into a best buy, they had one, I got the bravely default box with the art book and stuff and wow -- paid retail!

[Vant3c]

All good points for sure. Maybe I will get lucky here and get one, but if I don't at least I still get to play the game. Speaking of pre orders anybody going to pre order Code Name S.T.E.A.M to get the little Majors Mask item at GameStop?

[ninjainspandex]

Funny thing is after this whole LE fiasco I don't even want to buy a regular edition at launch anymore, maybe I'll just wait to get a cheap used copy.