This is what a scalper looks like..

[CuriousTomCat]

What would you think about people who are reselling by dozens atm if you were the CEO, or a worker of a well known high street shop which makes business by buying and selling second hand electronic products? Let's be serious, these people pay no taxes, at all. And to think anything else is to deceive yourself, or just trying to defend an illegit business for whatever the reason.

This well known shop has to buy a GPU from a customer, lets say a 3070. they are paying 816 pounds atm. I don't know if they make you prove that the GPU is actually yours, or you have to give them proof of purchase or whatsoever, but I think it wouldn't be rare if they had to charge for VAT again on this card really, how to prove VAT has already been paid? Then they will have to pay taxes, of course: Capital gains, corporation tax... whatever, you name it. You have a local, so you pay rent for it, and don't forget your employees, insurance... they are selling this card for 960£, so with a difference of 144£ in the buy-sell price, they are still making money. How much do you think they can actually make for each card? 25-50-75...100£? And don't forget they still have and do offer you warranty. Or that they are legally obliged to things like accept refunds the first days etc...

Do you think it is fair that people buy them for 700-750, or even 470£ for a FE, by abusing the system and no adhering to the rules retailers are imposing, just to sell them at 1100£? 630£ of benefit, nothing to pay, no obligations. Scalpers are doing unfair competitions even to retailers atm, and ******* the rest of us up on the way. That is my opinion at least, of course other people will have different ones... I am curious what you would think if someone decided to buy all the petrol from the petrol station and you had to decide between not buying petrol in 6 months at all, or having to pay 10 quid per litre... a free market, after all.

Yes it's unfair that scalpers don't pay tax. But huge companies like Amazon operated from an Ireland based office to cheat tax laws. These companies cheated us out of millions.

So are you going to refuse to buy products from everyone who cheats tax?

 

[4k4uNuNu]

Did you just compare a retailer with a scalper?

No one can be that ignorant, surely?

 

[pp111]

I think you got me wrong. I think scalpers are Scum, and I wont defend them. But Im also interested in getting the details right about tax I prefer to attack scalping on genuine information, not misinformation about VAT

I think the most important point here is that the scalpers are ( for the most part ) not getting the tax right at all. Many of the individual scalpers on ebay are avoiding tax. I am sure that many of them don't even realise they are, but that is no excuse. Depending on exact personal circumstances, the tax situation changes, but rarely is there no tax to be paid, and I would hazard a guess that most sellers are not paying any tax at all on the products they are selling.

The same people are in every way establishing themselves as a business yet avoiding taxes and responsibilities. I have no patience with them at all, they seriously damage small businesses who do pay taxes, who do offer the support that products should have.

 

[pp111]

Yes it's unfair that scalpers don't pay tax. But huge companies like Amazon operated from an Ireland based office to cheat tax laws. These companies cheated us out of millions.

So are you going to refuse to buy products from everyone who cheats tax?

Really two separate issues. Amazon follow the tax laws, many scalpers do not. If we have a complaint about Amazon then the tax laws need addressing. The scalpers are just blatantly ignoring the law.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

Really two separate issues. Amazon follow the tax laws, many scalpers do not. If we have a complaint about Amazon then the tax laws need addressing. The scalpers are just blatantly ignoring the law.

So the reason you hate scalpers is because they don't pay VAT? Otherwise you would be happy with what they do?

 

[pp111]

So the reason you hate scalpers is because they don't pay VAT? Otherwise you would be happy with what they do?

They don't have to pay VAT. They only need to pay VAT if they are VAT Registered.

I don't hate them because of that, I just think that many scalpers are avoiding tax and need to be clamped down on. Many scalpers break the law left right an centre without even realising it and people really should think twice before they get involved, but there are scalpers who do follow the law. Even so, following the tax laws is one thing, but, and this comes to the hate part, lol, I don't think that scalpers should be allowed to do what they do - to use bots and and mass purchase cards and then resell them at grossly inflated prices is just immoral in my opinion and should be stamped out.

 

[Stu]

So the reason you hate scalpers is because they don't pay VAT? Otherwise you would be happy with what they do?

Paying VAT and paying income tax are very different things.

 

[Satchfanuk]

They’re not entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs take financial risks in their business plans, these people are not.

They are more like opportunists that anything else. If you're going to call these people entrepreneurs for using software tools to beat the system, we might as well call bank robbers the same thing for using actual tools to break into things

 

[Joeyuk]

Scalping is an issue but I don’t blame people for doing it. I have sold 2 3080’s to the high street trade in store for stupid money. Can you really blame people for buying a 3080fe for £650 and walking into a store to sell it for £1445. Your making £800 for little work and no risks.

 

[FoxEye]

Scalping is an issue but I don’t blame people for doing it. I have sold 2 3080’s to the high street trade in store for stupid money. Can you really blame people for buying a 3080fe for £650 and walking into a store to sell it for £1445. Your making £800 for little work and no risks.

The trouble is nobody can envisage a time when the shoe is on the other foot.

"I really need x, but damnit! Scalpers bought all the x and I can't get one. I guess I understand now why people thought I was a massive douche for scalping those GPUs last year..."

 

[Sam S]

Scalpers aren't adding any value to the chain, just exploiting demand for their own gain. Saying it's just business is a bit of push, I call it closer to extortion.

Meanwhile I'll get back to clicking refresh hoping to get a gpu in the next twelve months.

 

[pieman109]

Just read an article in the Daily Fail that some "gougers" (read scalpers maybe?) are now charging up to 1600% for oxygen in India now, if thats true then I'm speechless, words totally fail me, what next, water?
And people here try to defend them as entrepreneurial? bit different I know, but you get the gist.

 

[pp111]

Scalping is an issue but I don’t blame people for doing it. I have sold 2 3080’s to the high street trade in store for stupid money. Can you really blame people for buying a 3080fe for £650 and walking into a store to sell it for £1445. Your making £800 for little work and no risks.

As has been mentioned many times, the risk is the tax man finds out.

 

[Robi_uk]

Just read an article in the Daily Fail that some "gougers" (read scalpers maybe?) are now charging up to 1600% for oxygen in India now, if thats true then I'm speechless, words totally fail me, what next, water?
And people here try to defend them as entrepreneurial? bit different I know, but you get the gist.

I saw this in the news earlier and was thinking if we did not have consumer laws and better legal protection as we do here would some people decide to do the same for essentials?

 

[Stu]

Just read an article in the Daily Fail that some "gougers" (read scalpers maybe?) are now charging up to 1600% for oxygen in India now, if thats true then I'm speechless, words totally fail me, what next, water?
And people here try to defend them as entrepreneurial? bit different I know, but you get the gist.

I'm confident people do scalp water in parts of Asia and Africa.