How to combat scalpers

[DonFerrari]

Shatts said:

ZyroXZ2 said:

I feel like someone already mentioned this, but I admittedly really liked the way Valve handled the Steam Deck. Granted, I do NOT like how it was shipped in its actual box and also labeled with what's inside, but I think Valve actually managed a method that MOSTLY worked. Sure, some people probably conveniently has more than one account that was active for over a month, and some really just purchased it to scalp, but for the most part the Steam Deck has NOT been plagued by the bot scalping issue because their method was actually planned out AND handled at the first party company level.

Soooo, this also means this is possible for the other three as well. Sadly, this would mean many retailers would suffer the lack of "traffic" in the wake of videogame console launches, but if the Steam Deck is managing it, albeit slower than people want, I think it's possible to create a core company-to-consumer logistic that reduces the ability for greedy people to capitalize on demand. AND, truth be told, cutting out retailers likely has some financial benefit, too, that may outweigh the increased cost of handling direct-to-customer logistics. In fact, both Nintendo and Microsoft technically have the infrastructure already in place. Nintendo will have to work on their servers for sure, though, as recent events have proven at such a small scale lol

That's what I said for my first option (using accounts to order one). But like some people say, Steam Deck only works because the demand is significantly less and the targeted audience are niche. Do people really want to wait those long queues. That's why I said prioritize the people in their subscription service or any method that can determine that person really wants it for their own good. Retailers are still important imo so fully online is not really the first choice.

In Brazil your first option would be a violation of the Customer Defense Code, as you can't demand or give privilege to someone who buys one product to buy the other. Sales must be independent.