Anyone who has intended a sport event, concert, festival, or live show, has at some level interacted

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Anyone who has intended a sport event, concert, festival, or live show, has at some level interacted with scalpers. The people who walk around the entrances to these events claiming to have tickets for sale or merchandise from the event. Situations like this is the general understanding of scalping and although still illegal scalping is viewed as harmless and can be helpful for last minute shoppers. The landscape for scalping has unfortunately changed into a major problem. Scalping has been around for years, only now in the digital age we live in has it gotten out of control. With tools such as "Botting" scalpers can corner the market and control the sales of luxury goods, cheating genuine customers. Some would have you believe it is good for the economy, however this essay will prove how detrimental the practice is too the marketplace.

You may be asking yourself what scalper bots are. Scalper bots are a modern-day automated software used to scour a websites marketplace by sitting in wait to buy out all available product the millisecond it becomes available, leaving even the earliest of birds with nothing to purchase (Kasada). The usage of milliseconds is not hyperbole, the company Kasada states that"to put the effectiveness of AIO bots into context, they can find new inventory, add it to the shopping cart, and complete the checkout process, all within fewer than 0.2 seconds. A human shopper simply would never be able to compete with this" (Kasada). These bots make it impossible for an actual human customer to purchase the product and once sold out, Scalpers will use secondary markets to inflate the price well past the market price often 200-300% times the market value. The epidemic is spreading like wildfire, what was once a market focused on the resale of event tickets has now plagued industries in clothing, technology, shoes, etc. Any company that has a limited supply of goods, A simultaneous "drop" of stock or release of available stock, or high demand for goods, or would preform well on secondary markets are major targets of scalping (Kasada). These terms cast a very wide net of what could be targeted for scalping. I have been affected by bot scalping multiple time by this dilemma in the entertainment/technology industry. A personal example of this is when the PS5 released in the year 2020 I could not get one as the product was affected by scalping heavily for years after. The PS5 shortage was not solely created due to scalping but the other factors led to scalping being the main reason. Many industries where heavily effected by the covid virus, and the microchip industry was one of them. Sony's PS5 product relies on these microchips and because of the shortage, it caused a reduction in product at the release of the product on November 12, 2020. A limited supply of a highly anticipated product was the perfect breeding ground for scalpers and their bots to bring havoc on the industry (Aster). This scalper event held tight grip on the market for almost 3 years as Garth Franklin comments in his article "PlayStation 5 Scalping Is Finally Over" that "Earlier this year Sony declared that the shortage of PlayStation 5 consoles is officially over and now, several months past that statement, the issue of consoles being scalped has also been declared over according to several outlets likeGaming Bible,Playstation LifestyleandThe Gamer" (Franklin). In this time, PS5 where consistently priced on popular marketing websites like eBay for double the MSRP. Dev.to shows the median price of PS5 in a 4-month window around the release, including pre-sales. A Disc version PS5 was listed at $499 MSRP but held a price of $1101 for those 4 months (Driscoll). This is just a slice of market data around the release and held prices like this for 3 years after. No doubt this problem is damaging consumer and business relationships as the targeted audience for a product is being priced out. Some would argue that scalping is a good thing for the economy and shows market growth, economist Paul Crosby and Dr. Jordi McKenzie make a point that scalping has a role in our economy.

Economist view what is happening on the secondary market with bot scalping as a useful tool to understand what markets products "are resold and is a sign that they have been undersupplied, underpriced or a combination of the two" (Crosby, McKenzie). As Industries price their product for what is considered low, it creates an arbitrage opportunity for scalpers that would never happen in a world where these products are plentiful and priced appropriately with demand (Crosby, McKenzie). Using ticket scalping as an example, Crosby and McKenzie make the argument that scalping enhances the welfare of concert goers and sports fans by distributing tickets to fans that value them the most, this increases the allocative efficiency of the market. Allocative efficiency is an economist term defined as "a characteristic of anefficient marketwhere the optimal distribution of goods in aneconomymeets the needs and wants of society. The goal of allocative efficiency is to ensure that resources are used so that their marginal benefit to society is equal to their marginal cost" (Kenton). This means that scalping gives another access way for those that want a product the most to be able to achieve it. This theory sounds good on paper; however, the reality of scalping disproves this ideology.

While it may be true that a thing like ticket scalping could bring allocative efficiency to the overall marketplace for these goods that ceases to be true once scalp botting was introduced into the market. Back in the days before bots, scalpers had no chance of controlling the flow of goods. Therefore, scalping could be viewed as an alternative to those that missed the sale of tickets and are willing to pay extra for a chance to attend an event even the day of said event. This example would be in favor of economist ideals for scalping as a positive on our economy. Unfortunately, the problem we face in modern day is infinitely worse. With the use of bots, scalpers can now take full control of the market and set any price they want over MSRP. This practice actively hinders allocate efficiency as it prices out most of the products targeted audience to pander to the few willing to pay the exorbitant prices. The situation has effectively flipped on its head. These Instances are referred to as "rent seeking" and has been shown to eliminate any gains made from allocative efficiency and cause harm to customers and companies as the ones who are intended to buy the product can no longer do so (Majaski). This will have a negative affect on future sales of products when scalpers have run the value dry and move onto something better. How is the scalper epidemic ever going to be fix? Its going to have to come from businesses and legislative means.

The strongest tool to combat scalp botting is in the hands of the government and coincidentally they have already made laws in place addressing a portion of scalping. During the Obama administration on December 16^th, 2016, the BOTS Act (Better Online Sales Act) was put in place under federal law. Kasada states that "This act was implemented to prevent attempts by organizations and individuals to automate the process of buying tickets in masse utilizing ticket bots...The BOTS Act outlawed the reselling of tickets bought via bot technology, with a $16,000 fine enforced for violations. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission implements the BOTS Act" Kasada." This piece of legislation was a massive win against the usage of scalping bots; however, it specifically only targets the purchasing of ticket sales. This makes it easy for scalpers to dodge the enforcement of this law as they target the many markets described in this paper. This grey line that the BOTS act has established makes it hard to reason whether botting is illegal or not even if it should do to the ruling on ticket selling. To protect customers and businesses from these unfair practices more laws and regulations need to be put in place to prohibit all forms of bot scalping. In the meantime, businesses need to deploy more effective marketing strategies to protect their interest.

Though legislation is the greatest tool to prevent scalp botting, it is slow and does not keep up with the fast-paced world of technology and the marketplace. It is up to businesses to protect their product and customers for scalpers. Many companies have already made great strives toward this goal. Speaking from my personal experience, the company Steam has done an excellent job using market strategies to combat this issue. Steam released a product called the "steamdeck" and knowing it was going to be a popular item targeted by resellers, Steam set up security roadblocks and marketing strategies to make sure everyone got their chance to purchase one at the price listed. They made it so you could only preorder the product and only one household could purchase the item. This process caused a massive queue line that took a couple of years to complete, but it was accepted by the gaming community to be a greater alternative than how Sony chose to manage this issue. Companies can use many tactics such as not announcing the day sales will be available, putting up fake prices for bots that differ from legitimate customers, or a method called "rate limiting " which limits the amount of request a consumer is making to the site (bots send a great amount of request) to eliminate bot traffic (Kasada). These are just a few suggestions that companies can deploy to get around the issue. Companies like Kasada and Queue-it are splendid examples of cyber security specifically designed to combat the issue of scalp botting that industries can hire to protect their business and consumer Interests. Some companies choose to do the exact opposite of helping the situation and actively encourage it. Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) is a prime example of a company that is more concerned with profits then if their product ends up in the right hands. WOTC has built an empire from there card game Magic the Gathering due to the value their cards hold and how popular the game is. They recently have made a change to how they will sale a certain product that already has a known scalper problem. Matt Bassil claims in his article "Wizards' MTG Secret Lair Change Is Great News... for Scalpers." That WOTC "claims this will "expedite shipping" and allow Secret Lairs to reach buyers more quickly. This is true, but the change will make the Secret Lair experience far worse overall. The only ones benefiting, aside from Wizards itself, will be scalpers looking to make a quick buck" (Bassil). Changing from print to demand to be limited print creates a FOMO (fear Of Missing Out) affect for consumers that must rush to purchase the product without really knowing if it is worth it for them or not (Bassil). This instance Bassil is writing about affected me. This secret lair product sold out in 6 hours of being posted for sale. The MSRP of the product was set at $149.99 and as soon as the product was sold out, the only options available was on the secondary market selling for an average of $300. Tactics like these are extremely damaging to the community and turns away customers from companies that encourage the problem. I for one have decided to give up the hobby.

In Conclusion, Scalping has evolved into a monster that is controlling the market for luxury goods and is killing their value through artificial price inflating. Jason D. Goode speaks on the consequences of bot scalping as "It erodes the trust between luxury brands and their clientele, tarnishing the reputation of brands that pride themselves on exclusivity and authenticity. It alienates loyal customers who are left feeling cheated and frustrated, undermining the brand's emotional connection with its target audience" (Goode). Legislation from the government needs to be set in place to stop the injustice caused by bot scalping. Until that day, the situation is in the hands of Businesses to use market strategies to protect against the scalping epidemic.

the body of research in your peer's essay. A good starting place is the Works Cited page; give your opinion on the sources listed there and how they are cited throughout the essay as well. Are any dictionaries, pro/con statements, or encyclopedias included on the Works Cited page? If so, those sources do not count toward the minimum of 6. State which 1 or 2 sources are the most important to the research essay.In addition, please state whether the research is current or if the writer needs to include at least 1-2 additional current sources.

Are there any sources listed on the Works Cited page that are not cited in the paragraphs of the essay (whether through signal phrases (i.e., Smith stated or pointed out, etc., or with an in-text citation)? If so, please do your best to identify each of those sources using information provided in the citations on the Works Cited page. Be clear and specific in your answer.

Any suggestions for additional sources to strengthen the essay? You are not required to look up a source. Just suggest any type of sources in general that you think the writer should consider. If you do not have suggestions for other sources, are there enough scholarly (peer reviewed) sources, or does the writer need more for a stronger argument?

the thesis statement for its argument, its tone, and its potential to sustain an argument throughout the research essay. Paste what you believe to be the thesis statement, quote it, and provide your analysis. Is the thesis too broad, too narrow, or just right? Explain your reasoning.

Discuss the incorporation of evidence in the essay. This analysis will include any summaries, paraphrases, and quoted material you find in the essay. In answering this question, you will focus only on two body paragraphs of your choice: (1) Analyze the body paragraph you find most effective at evidence incorporation, and (2) Analyze the body paragraph you find least effective at evidence incorporation. Be specific in your discussion.

Discuss the writer's use of their main argument throughout the essay. Is the argument clear, or do you have questions after reading the essay? Even if the argument is clear overall, please point to any paragraph in which you think the argument is less clear. In addition, is there a discussion of a least one counterargument in the essay? If not, please state that to the author. Be concise in your discussion. Provide examples from the paper to discuss your points.

Discuss the conclusion paragraph. What is its relation to the introductory paragraph? Does it refer back to the thesis statement? Is the thesis statement stronger in the introductory paragraph or in the conclusion? Does the conclusion provide any evidence or information should have been presented earlier in the essay? If so, please specify.

a. Identify paragraphs in which you believe the writer put sources in conversation. Only list those paragraph numbers for part "a."

Select the paragraph that does the best job at putting sources in conversation and state why. Be specific in your argument.

**Another way of stating "sources in conversation" is to find a paragraph in which the author cited at least two or more sources and stated the relationship of those sources to the topic of that paragraph. (i.e., do the sources agree, complement each source, or are the sources in disagreement: all of those approaches can be effective, depending on the purpose of the paragraph)

Discuss two of your favorite elements or parts of the essay. Where does the writing work best? Provide specific examples from the essay to support your points.

Provide any additional advice for revising the essay based on what you believe to be the writer's intentions in their writing and research. Is enough background information provided for the reader to follow the writer's argument? Were there any places in the writing that confused you or that were less clear than they could have been?