News Scalpers Flip DDR5 RAM on eBay for Up to $2,500

[-Fran-]

You can make scalping illegal if you make the item in question to be a 1st necessity so you enforce price caps and get control over distribution; something that the USA has some experience with. This being said, DDR5 hardly classifies as a "1st need item" xD

Welcome to the "Scalpocalypse Now" xP

Regards.

 

[RodroX]

I would now love to hear Intel's opinion on this.

Sucks to be one of those actually buying for this much.

 

[LolaGT]

A better headline: Dumb people are paying up to $2500 for DDR5 ram on ebay.

Seriously, when the benchmarks show Alder Lake smoking fast with DDR4 there is no real reason for buying early DDR5. You know that it will be refined in the next couple years and be much faster.

I guess maybe humans being impulsive isn't news, though.

 

[RohanWillAnswer]

Mother, I want a scalper for Christmas, and I shall do with him as I please.

 

[GenericUser]

Welcome to the "Scalpocalypse Now" xP

"I love the smell of DDR5 RAM in the morning."

 

[RodroX]

I do not think this will last longer. I mean theres probably a small group of people (compared to buying a new GPU) upgrading their PC to Alder Lake, and from those upgrading I bet a lot of them will stick to DDR4.

So yeah I think this wont last much longer.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Scalping should be illegal

So should stupidity. ¯\(ツ)/¯

FWIW, I suspect most of these "sold" listings that go for more than $1,000 are fake. There's no way to know for sure, but there were zero 32GB DDR5 kits sold on ebay Nov 22-23, and only 14 kits total sold that show up for the month of November. Most real sales are likely happening in the 100% markup range, not 600%.

 

[el.nomikos]

First, gpu makers have seen their profits skyrocket to 400% since this whole thing started. So we have FACT number 1. They're in on all this. Secondly, a question. Why did this scalping practice start just 2 years ago and didn't happen in the past? Lastly, i don't think any goverment or regulatory organization will do anything about this. Too much money involved. It's up to us the people to give them a strong message. Don't boycott until prices drop to msrp, boycott till both nvidia and amd drop to the brink of bankrupcy. That will give them a lesson.

 

[InvalidError]

So should stupidity. ¯\(ツ)/¯

That would be problematic since almost everyone has a range of topics they can be stupid about. Also don't forget that for people with learning disabilities, this can also be a medical condition they can do little if anything about.

 

[TerryLaze]

So should stupidity. ¯\(ツ)/¯

Yikes...
/s
Yes put all stupid people in jail, and while we are at it all those pesky people that have a different opinion from mine as well.
/s

First, gpu makers have seen their profits skyrocket to 400% since this whole thing started. So we have FACT number 1. They're in on all this.

Please explain to me like I'm five how this is 400% higher profit.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NVDA/nvidia/net-income

NVIDIA Annual Net Income (Millions of US $)
2021	$4,332
2020	$2,796
2019	$4,141
2018	$3,047

Secondly, a question. Why did this scalping practice start just 2 years ago and didn't happen in the past?

Do you remember beanie babies? That happened 20 years ago, that was actual scalping, artificial scarcity, from the manufacturer and that wasn't the first time something like that happened either.

Why one man spent $100k on Beanie Babies

Two decades ago, we fought, trampled, and even killed each other over little sacks of beans. Today, we realize how stupid it all was — but our behavior hasn’t changed.

thehustle.co

It's up to us the people to give them a strong message. Don't boycott until prices drop to msrp, boycott till both nvidia and amd drop to the brink of bankrupcy. That will give them a lesson.

Yes, you are paying too much for gpus?
Make it so there is nobody left making gpus, that way you won't have to pay anything for gpus anymore.
Checks out!

 

[mrv_co]

THe other 1/2 of the problem here is the fools paying that price (if there actually are any).

If someone wants to pay $2500 for gen1 DDR5 RAM... then be my guest. This is streamer/YTuber territory, where the purchase is monetized with a click-bait, algo-friendly title.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

That would be problematic since almost everyone has a range of topics they can be stupid about. Also don't forget that for people with learning disabilities, this can also be a medical condition they can do little if anything about.

The point is that trying to make anything you dislike "illegal" leads to nowhere useful. I get that a lot of people don't like Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but outlawing them strikes me as the wrong solution, and trying to outlaw scalping of luxury items will never work. It will only encourage black market and dark web sorts of behavior, sort of like prohibition put the mafia into a position of power. The solution to scalping is to not buy from scalpers, ever. But all it takes is 1% of people willing to pay the premium prices, which is generally enough.

 

[InvalidError]

The point is that trying to make anything you dislike "illegal" leads to nowhere useful. I get that a lot of people don't like Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but outlawing them strikes me as the wrong solution

Some things are demonstrably and objectively bad choices. PoW crypto is one of the worst ideas ever from the point of view of the world's survival as it compounds the energy, climate change, component shortages and e-waste crises. A few people may profit from it but the world as a whole is a worse place because of it.

 

[peachpuff]

This is amd sabotaging intels alder lake launch 😂

 

[Phaaze88]

Some things are demonstrably and objectively bad choices. PoW crypto is one of the worst ideas ever from the point of view of the world's survival as it compounds the energy, climate change, component shortages and e-waste crises. A few people may profit from it but the world as a whole is a worse place because of it.

Wouldn't be an issue if everyone adopted it already. Worldwide digital currency is inevitable. Those who want to control it are resisting.

But all it takes is 1% of people willing to pay the premium prices, which is generally enough.

That's pretty much what it comes down to. Not everyone's doing it, but 'enough' of them are.
Game gets review-bombed. It's rendered useless, because enough bought it and the macrotransactions in it. All the bombing did was draw more people to the game than actually warning people about it.
Gpu prices still up there, because enough are buying and enabling those higher prices.

 

[sgtdragon]

Scalpers can only exist if there is a supply shortage and enough people willing to part with their money to satisfy the demand. Don't forget all the money dumped into markets by the govt - stimulus eventually flows into real world goods. Anti-price gouging laws are actually counter productive because they result in complete shortages and don't send the price signals needed for manufacturers to increase production. Also, be aware that chip makers are not going to flood the market even if they can, to avoid future gluts, which has happened many times.

Ultimately, blame the people who actually buy from scalpers. They are willing to put money into a highly depreciating asset to keep the scalpers in business. Stupid - in a few years you will be able to buy better tech for half the price. So many fab announcements, eventually it will come back into balance.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Some things are demonstrably and objectively bad choices. PoW crypto is one of the worst ideas ever from the point of view of the world's survival as it compounds the energy, climate change, component shortages and e-waste crises. A few people may profit from it but the world as a whole is a worse place because of it.

Look at any big city and you'll see the real cause behind most of those problems. Massive buildings, lights and power in use 24/7, cars everywhere, etc. Yes, Bitcoin network now accounts for as much power use as Thailand. And yet, all of that power compared to the USA represents about 5% of the total US power usage. I don't see anyone calling for an end to big cities, big buildings, etc. Well, okay, I see a few people that would love for that to happen. Shades of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six novel (not the games)...

 

[Eximo]

Look at any big city and you'll see the real cause behind most of those problems. Massive buildings, lights and power in use 24/7, cars everywhere, etc. Yes, Bitcoin network now accounts for as much power use as Thailand. And yet, all of that power compared to the USA represents about 5% of the total US power usage. I don't see anyone calling for an end to big cities, big buildings, etc. Well, okay, I see a few people that would love for that to happen. Shades of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six novel (not the games)...

Not so much the cities, that can actually increase energy efficiency. Compact efficient housing vs discrete homes. Public transit vs individual cars.

It is the lifestyle of on demand food, products, and shipping.

Globalization is part of the problem. It is cheaper to ship scrap metal from the US, to China, to be smelted, turned back into finished goods, shipped back, distributed and sold. That is inefficient and wasteful. But it is cheaper, so the corporations will do it to remain competitive.

Green energy production is only half the equation. A major change in how and why goods are manufactured, and where, needs to be considered. Eliminate some of the wealth disparity between the various countries would make a good start to encourage local production.

Also, all our big container ships should totally be nuclear powered, add a little government oversight, maybe Navy personnel. Silly to have those monsters burning oil and gas. Small scale nuclear reactors are good idea too, just no one wants the risks. Building I work in has a 1MW solar installation, it accounts for about 1/8 the power we use, everything else is coal and NG.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, all our big container ships should totally be nuclear powered

I can't see that flying, at all.

 

[Eximo]

I can't see that flying, at all.

I know, it is sad. They are the biggest polluters, despite their decent efficiency, they are just massive.

 

[InvalidError]

I can't see that flying, at all.

The new sub-300MW "micro-reactors" might change that if the tech lives up to the hype.

 

[USAFRet]

The new sub-300MW "micro-reactors" might change that if the tech lives up to the hype.

The No Nukes crowd will have something to say about this. No matter what the tech.
Hard enough getting a new land based one.

Also, a nuke cargo ship would have restrictions on ports where it can dock.

Maybe we'd see one in 2050.

 

[Dean0919]

Scalpers are cancer on market. The only way to fix this situation and fight against scalpers is to NOT buy those overpriced items from them. This is the only way. Boycott them! If no one buys from scalpers they will go bankrupt and lose more than win. These people are vultures. Don't let them thrive!

But sadly world is big with lots of different people with their different opinions and priorities and there will be always someone who will still buy those overpriced things. You can't fix stupid, but what you can do is to encourage people to not buy those overpriced products from sculpers if they want to pay less in the future. If we allow scalpers their current practice, this situation will be never fixed and it will only worsen. It's really simple - want to pay normal price? Don't buy from scalpers. Buy from scalpers and soon you will be overpaying almost on everything. It creates imbalance by ripping you and buy making those scaplers rich.

 

[TerryLaze]

Scalpers are cancer on market. The only way to fix this situation and fight against scalpers is to NOT buy those overpriced items from them. This is the only way. Boycott them! If no one buys from scalpers they will go bankrupt and lose more than win. These people are vultures. Don't let them thrive!

But sadly world is big with lots of different people with their different opinions and priorities and there will be always someone who will still buy those overpriced things. You can't fix stupid, but what you can do is to encourage people to not buy those overpriced products from sculpers if they want to pay less in the future. If we allow scalpers their current practice, this situation will be never fixed and it will only worsen. It's really simple - want to pay normal price? Don't buy from scalpers. Buy from scalpers and soon you will be overpaying almost on everything. It creates imbalance by ripping you and buy making those scaplers rich.

Even if every single scalper gets the price they want to get, ddr5 is going to be mass produced and is going to have a normal price in stores.
Of course there is no reason to buy from scalpers but it will also have no effect on market prices for any mass produced item.

This is just about getting it before anybody else instead of waiting for it, that's a luxury plenty of people will pay a premium for, no matter how stupid that is.

There is no effective limit on how many ddr5 can be produced = no effective way of keeping prices high by scalpers.

 

[Dean0919]

Even if every single scalper gets the price they want to get, ddr5 is going to be mass produced and is going to have a normal price in stores.
Of course there is no reason to buy from scalpers but it will also have no effect on market prices for any mass produced item.

This is just about getting it before anybody else instead of waiting for it, that's a luxury plenty of people will pay a premium for, no matter how stupid that is.

There is no effective limit on how many ddr5 can be produced = no effective way of keeping prices high by scalpers.

Okay, good to know about ddr5, but my statement still applies for GPUs.