So I think the consensus in this thread is that yes, scalping is indeed seen as an ugly practice by many, but illegalising it might be too much of a deal because a) there will be workarounds and b) 'weaker' countermeasures might be much more effective.
I don't think that we can blame the people who buy from scalpers here, though. I understand that video games and consoles are unnecessary luxury items, but especially during these times when people need to spend more time at home it's the entertainment industry that's booming quite a lot. As strange as it may sound but the video game market has benefitted from the pandemic. That is one reason why the demand is high. Another thng is that the prospect of owning these consoles creates desires and emotions. If you ever attended a marketing course you'll learn that emotions are a main driver of an items' demand, and we all know that video games can create enormous emotional attachments. So of course the current marketing campaigns are trying to evoke the people's emotional responses. They always have been doing that. So in conclusion, I can understand why someone who was really looking forward to buy a XSX or a PS5 is extremely dissapointed and frustrated if he can't find one regularly, and then considers buying it a higher price instead.
If you happen to be one of the more reasonable people who has a better self-control then bravo, I applaud you, but I think it's clear that not all people are like that. It's also not appropriate to laugh at those buyers and make fun of them. These people are not stupid, like someone might think, they are merely frustrated.
