I hate scalping because it negatively impacts me, but scalpers absolutely provides a service regardless of how scummy we think it is. Objectively speaking, scalping guarantees you a product that would’ve flown off the shelves just as fast at MSRP, but you pay a hefty premium for that guarantee

To give an example with the PS5. Scalpers buy up a whole supply. Middle aged gamer dad who doesn’t have the time to hunt for stock, which he still would’ve had to do without scalpers, sees an eBay listing. He has the money for it, so he says fk it and gets a PS5 way sooner than he would’ve othwrwise

Buying a scalped product is one of a few options for getting something in crazy high demand. You could wait anxiously for each supply drop to get one instantly (which isn’t a given even w/o bots) before they’re sold out, you could go on a waiting list for when the next stock is ready (have to wait for others first) for you specifically, or you could skip all that and pay the premium for one that’s easily accessible on eBay