How 'Grinch Bots' Are Ruining Online Christmas Shopping (nypost.com)

Yes, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer actually called them "Grinch bots." From the New York Post: The senator said as soon as a retailer puts a hard-to-get toy -- like Barbie's Dreamhouse or Nintendo game systems -- for sale on a website, a bot can snatch it up even before a kid's parents finish entering their credit card information... "Bots come in and buy up all the toys and then charge ludicrous prices amidst the holiday shopping bustle," the New York Democrat said on Sunday... For example, Schumer said, the popular Fingerlings -- a set of interactive baby monkey figurines that usually sell for around $15 -- are being snagged by the scalping software and resold on secondary websites for as much as $1,000 a pop...

In December 2016, Congress passed the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which Schumer sponsored, to crack down on their use to buy concert tickets, but the measure doesn't apply to other consumer products. He wants that law expanded but knows that won't happen in time for this holiday season. In the meantime, Schumer wants the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association to block the bots and lead the effort to stop them from buying toys at fair retail prices and then reselling them at outrageous markups.

Comments

Yeah.... but....

[gfxguy]

The shoppers are idiots, and they largely get what they deserve - anyone paying more than retail is exacerbating the problem, but god forbid your child doesn't get the latest gadget for Christmas. Anyone who has paid more than retail for a gaming system, or anything else that will eventually be available for the retail cost, is NOT A VICTIM, they are the PROBLEM.

Re:Yeah.... but....

[antifoidulus]

They actually are creating problems not only for consumers but for manufacturers and retail outlets as well. I think a lot of people are missing the asymmetric risk aspect of what these things are doing. Most retail outlets have relatively generous return policies meaning that bots buying up tons of these items assume almost no risk, if they can't scalp them they simply return them for a full refund.

Meanwhile retail outlets and especially manufacturers are stuck in a shitty situation. They can order/produce more to meet "demand"(even though the bots may still be able to sap up all the supply) but if they overshoot they simply cannot return the "unused" product for a full refund, they have to sit on the unsold inventory until it sells(if it does).

Re:Yeah.... but....

[ShanghaiBill]

There are plenty of solutions to these problems that do not require new federal laws.

1. They could change return policies on an item-by-item basis. Plenty of websites already do this.
2. They could require that scarce items be ordered as part of a larger order with a minimum purchase amount.
3. They could only display scarce items to online customers that have a qualified ordering history.
4. They could limit how many scarce items can be ordered by shipping address.
5. They could charge higher prices, and then adjust those prices downward on a daily or hourly basis until the inventory is cleared.

None of these solutions require help from Chuck Schumer.

Better idea...

[CrimsonAvenger]

Let's try something novel - if you can't find it in stores, just don't buy it.

Trust me, your little darlings aren't going to be scarred for life.

And even better, the so-called Grinch-bots will then be left holding the toys when noone is willing to pay $1K price tags for a $15 toy....