At the beginning of November, an announcement shocked the world: Taylor Swift was going on tour again. Her tour, called The Eras, was her latest tour after nearly four years. Although I’m not a fan of Taylor Swift, I can confidently say that I live in a family that is. Once my sister heard the news, she was frantic and stubborn about one point: she was ready to buy a ticket at any price if it meant that she could see Swift perform live. While my sister sat in an online queue for 4 hours and 38 minutes of her time to retrieve a ticket, I had a different thought; What if I sold them? 

My sister is one of the many who lay prey to the simple principles  of supply and demand. Although each ticket came at a hefty cost (around $330), the supply of the tickets was minimal compared to their demand. If I could buy a ticket at that price, sell it for $500, and then keep the profit, what would be the problem? Swift fans are more than ready to pay for those tickets at that price and in the process, I also earn a monetary reward. Why shouldn’t I take advantage of that?

This economic principle, commonly known as “scalping”, has existed for years. Although prevalent in ticket purchases, this process can also be seen with commonly sought products such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X during the electronic shortage. As a society, we have condemned this practice. Scalpers are seen as “cheaters”: unethical individuals whose job is to take advantage of others. However, it’s important to redefine our ideas of scalping. Although it may sound bad on paper, scalping is truly just a new way of utilizing the economic structure already laid out in front of us.

When discussing scalping, it’s important to draw a difference between scalping for “needs” rather than “wants.” Products such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and others which are essential for our safety and survival must be exempt from scalping. These products affect people’s quality of life and increasing the cost of these products would ostracize lower socio-economic individuals from receiving products that are essential to their health. Not only this, but scalping “needs” is a direct violation of ethical morals. God-given rights, such as the right of health and safety, would be violated through the scalping of “needs.”

However, when looking at “wants”, such as electronics and entertainment tickets, the ethics behind scalping fundamentally changes. Items such as these aren’t necessary for our every-day life; they are simply a desire fueled by our greed for more. Common desires, such as those stemming from the electronic shortage, are created with a scarcity of demand. Scalpers see this trend and capitalize on it. Through this lens, it’s clear to see that scalpers should be treated just like any ordinary consumer.

As a whole, “scalping” has dramatically increased in the past five years. More and more people, especially the younger generation, have realized the profit that can be made in this business. This has led to a huge outburst of negative thought when it comes to reselling as a whole. However, maybe it’s time to change our mindset and realize that even though resellers may seem like “unfair competition” to regular consumers, at the end of the day, resellers are people just like you and me trying to make a little extra cash.