Capitalism and ?-ism

[mistaforty]

Is there a difference? Please speak freely this isn't targeting or related to anyone here although some may feel it will apply Im just asking for opinions. If this is what you do cool I'm trying to "get it" not judge you nor do we have to agree.

What's driving this is recently I went to purchase some limited edition Air Force 1 nikes. I'm NOT a sneaker head but these caught my eye so I wanted them. I've dealt with the industry so I knew to be online for the release. They were sold out @ $150 in 7 minutes. In 10 minutes they were on eBay for $400 the following week I saw them in LA for $500.
Our bro DSCL hooked us at his cost for uf4s. the next day I saw them elsewhere offered at 7 and $10 more per stick than what he asked for. To me buying at retail and marking up with out having done a damn thing is not capitalism. If you buy in bulk at wholesale from a manufacturer for resale at retail price ...that's different. I didn't get a pair of shoes because someone with no intention to wear them has 10 or 15 people online scarfing them up for resale. A product he neither created marketed nor is affiliated with.
Is it just me? Do you guys chalk that up to creative business/capitalism or what?

 

[Craig Mac]

I chalk that up to greed, but it is also the supply and demand factor of a capitalist society that allows it

 

[TonyRome]

It's a perverse twist of capitalism. I am a sneakerhead and the price of shoes has skyrocketed in the last couple years. Even spawning resale shops now I will pay for original release stuff you can't get anymore. But to pay markup price for a general release is crazy. There has to be a market because like I said some of these guys went from ebay to B&M stores.

 

[Gerbs]

I do sympathize. I dislike this practice and refuse to purchase from flippers.

In a socialist economy, you'd have the same issue, except merely for an extra loaf of bread. I'm not sure capitalism is to blame. I'd say the opposite. The distribution channel isn't capitalistic enough. The price signal is broken.

For example, Bourbon enthusiasts have the same issue as us with limited release cigars being flipped. A bunch of hucksters looking to turn a quick profit, hunt down and scoop up rare bourbon releases. They then try to sell them at double the price at the very least. Clearly the market sets the price. But the ability to flip is afforded to these opportunists by the distillers. The bottles should be priced at the higher market clearing price, not the much lower MSRP. This would put more money back into the pockets of the distiller rather than the flipper who adds nothing to the value chain. The flipper would be out of business. With the extra money, which would be at least double the current MSRP, the distiller can produce fewer low aged bottles and age bottles longer to obtain the higher price. So instead of producing more barrels of Eagle Rare aged 10 years (sells for $29 in PA), Buffalo Trace can reserve more in the warehouse for the Antique Collection which is aged 17 years (sells for $80 retail and much more in 2nd market). Regardless, with the demand and supply imbalance (supply deeply constrained by the time it takes to age bourbon), price must adjust. So the desperate folks pay double, triple, quadruple MSRP to a flipper who is given a price signal to keep flipping, perpetuating and increasing the imbalance. Moreover, with people calling liquor stores daily, trying to get on lists, trying to figure out when this stuff will hit shelves, there's a deadweight loss to the economy because this time spent isn't productive. It's not productive for the bourbon hunter and it's not productive for the distributor to answer the phone for a hundred times for a product that he received 6 bottles of and could sell in 1 hour to walk-ins or VIP's. In a purely capitalistic framework, the distiller would raise prices, then production. The bourbon enthusiast would devote his marginal time to his most productive skill instead of the bourbon chase. He would therefore earn more money. He'd use a portion of that extra money to buy the longer aged bourbon which is now appropriately priced and with more inventory to allow distributors to keep some on shelves, he can just pick it up any time. And with more production, the market clearing price may come down! The flipper would be out of the game alleviating his drag on the economy.

Capitalism is actually the answer to the problem, not the cause.

 

[Highlander]

PT Barnum put it best when he said "There's a sucker born every minute."

The greedy people that flip know that someone will spend the extra money just because they want the item. That's pretty much why i don't collect anything, If I spend $40.00 on sneakers it's too much. rare cigar at twice the original price? I'll pass.
Same goes for Pipes or anything else. As long as there are people that will spend the money this will go on.

 

[Sirspanksalot]

The shoe flipping game just keeps getting worse and worse. Especially for the sought after colorways on Jordans.

 

[Hoshneer]

This is a rather complicated question to me. Now if the guy bought them from DSCL and resold them then that is a douche move IMO but if he bought them himself then that is fine. I believe if someone is willing to pay for it and you are willing to give it then it's between those two parties and nobody else's business. People that have a lot of money and want something will do anything to get it and people that struggle with money are willing to sell it. Now it gets more complicated when it comes to friends. I would not sell something and gouge anyone on Botl but at the same time if I need groceries and I have a medical payment for $300 due that month and someone on eBay is super excited about getting an ultra rare Nike and I buy it, then I don't really have a moral objection.

I hope that doesn't make me an a-hole.

 

[mistaforty]

To flip a pair in dire need is one thing. The after market in shoes has become its own industry. I limited release comes out and they pay a buncha people to stand in lines/go online to get a whole lot of "limited to one pair per customer" shoes in as many sizes as they can and literally create a secondary market because now the shoe is sold out and the only way to get it is through them. I didn't need any help lol I could go get em at the regular price. going to a retail store and buying things to sell just isn't a business to me but it apparently is the way of things now.

 

[Ducttapegonewild]

The bottom line is that as long as there is someone willing to pay the price, there will always be someone to sell it to them at that price.

It seems a general consensus that the process isn't liked, but, how many of us have bought tickets from places like "Ticketmaster"" or "StubHub" over the years? Is this not the same thing?

Granted, in a perfect world, things like that wouldn't happen, but we don't live in a perfect world, do we?

 

[3/5King]

All I have to say about it, is that all of these things being bought and resold are unnecessary, non essential items. If it were happening with necessities like food, water, medication. I'd worry about it. Otherwise, it's just a mad grab for products that in the grand scheme of things are meaningless. I think the real problem is with the mindset of the common people that they "Need" those Jordan's or need Beats by Dre or rare aged bourbons etc. etc. etc.

 

[SouthernerInSask]

Our bro DSCL hooked us at his cost for uf4s. the next day I saw them elsewhere offered at 7 and $10 more per stick than what he asked for.

This is wrong...the first word of the BOTL acronym is supposed to be BROTHER, and BROTHERS should not be done that way.

As far as the shoes go, theres always enough crack dealers to afford the high priced shoes

 

[mistaforty]

This is wrong...the first word of the BOTL acronym is supposed to be BROTHER, and BROTHERS should not be done that way.

As far as the shoes go, theres always enough crack dealers to afford the high priced shoes

Well no HE didn't offer it some where else nor was it someone from here. Just saying someone some where else bought em and jacked em up.

 

[mistaforty]

I swear it just happened again. Goose island dropped a BCBS snifter and posted it. I went directly to the site put 2 in my cart got directed to create a damn profile and when I finished cart empty and sold out. I swear if I see em on eBay next week for triple the price ....