Scalpers Brag about How Best Buy’s $200 Totaltech Paywall Helped Them

Tsing

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Image: Best Buy



It didn’t take long for Best Buy’s new $200 paywalled requirement for buying NVIDIA graphics cards to add even more grief for gamers seeking them. Some people had already commented that the retailer’s fee amounted to its own version of scalping, but things only got worse for gamers when real scalpers, and their bots, discovered flaws in the system. As the news of the Totaltech requirement made rounds across the internet, scalpers took to social media in order to brag about how it was actually helping them. At least one, which goes by the name Bipper, managed to snag a whopping 28 GPUs after spending upwards of $20,000.



First time out with @OminousAIO … HOLY CRAP! 28 GPUS, over $17k in inventory! Want to know how I did it? Join our CG...
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I think everyone saw this coming. Apparently the only restriction they have is you can only get 1 of each SKU, but you can order as many different cards as you'd like when they are in stock.

That said, at least now when only the scalpers have bought into this program, it seems to have lightened the load on the server and you might be able to get checked out without a bot? I'm not paying $200 to try it though.
 
Me neither. For months I remember watching different discord channels trying to zero in on the BB drops and the insane battles when they happened. I could not count how many times I got things in the cart just to watch them disappear within one click.
 
What I don't get is who is stupid and desperate enough to buy from scalpers?
 
Grimlakin said:
System integrators I'd imagine.
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I don't think they are buying from sleazy ebay scalpers. They buy in bulk from the horse's mouth. I don't think system integrators have to deal with scalpers, they are above or at least on the same level as retailers.
 
Riccochet said:
new gamers that don't know any better.
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Yup. My bet is on Kids with their parents money, and young folks with no patience and more money than sense - the people who throw money at streamers crowd.

Although I guess if you were young and had just started getting into PC building how would you really know any better?
 
Brian_B said:
Yup. My bet is on Kids with their parents money, and young folks with no patience and more money than sense - the people who throw money at streamers crowd.

Although I guess if you were young and had just started getting into PC building how would you really know any better?
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That's what I'm sayin. So many people just getting in to PC gaming or wannabe streamers that the market for scalped cards is huge. Mommy and Daddy financing it don't know any better either. Probably assume $2500 for 3090 is normal.
 
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