anthos:

Wait, so if someone bought a PS5 (or an Nvidia card or whatever) and they realized after a few months that they don't have time for it so might as well sell it on (or need the money), well might as well get ****ed?

Yes, lets make rushed decisions because we're young and stupid and don't have a brain to think ahead. Who the f buys a PS5, that in some places costs a monthly wager, to sell it after 1 or 2 months because "they don't have time"? Go away scalper. @Kaarme do scalpers pay taxes for what they earn? I don't think so. It's illegal, the government just didn't bother (yet). @schmidtbag the people who pay over MSRP will not stop unfortunately. They are the: spoiled, have the money, must have the goods kind of people. Those will always exist. @Slammy its more than a video game. What people like you realise to see is that companies use GPUs too. Drawing, rendering and programing software need powerful GPUs to make programs for CNC machines that make the parts for your car, planes, complex machines that run our daily lives. Here in Portugal many companies can't upgrade their ageing systems and its creating problems even for the companies that sell the CAD software. This is more than "UH WE GAMERS CAN'T GET ENTERTAINMENT, F SCALPERS!" The world will suffer long term with this. Some governments in Europe are already trying to stop the scalping on third party websites because of the problems they've induced.

Silva:

@Kaarme do scalpers pay taxes for what they earn? I don't think so. It's illegal, the government just didn't bother (yet).

If your state/country pays income tax then yes, they would pay extra for the additional profit they see. This also depends on whether or not you're in poverty. Now that I say that, I realize now that where I live would be a good place for scalpers to live, since there is no income tax here. I'd be curious if the European scalpers are most commonly found in Andorra and Monaco.

its more than a video game. What people like you realise to see is that companies use GPUs too. Drawing, rendering and programing software need powerful GPUs to make programs for CNC machines that make the parts for your car, planes, complex machines that run our daily lives. Here in Portugal many companies can't upgrade their ageing systems and its creating problems even for the companies that sell the CAD software.

Companies typically go with OEMs, which get first dibs on hardware. They don't usually get affected by scalpers, except when the chip manufacturers decide to release a new SKU at a higher price. That being said, I don't know what the Portuguese OEM market is like.

The trick here is to pretend it doesn't exist until it does.

@schmidtbag depends, not everyone goes to HP, Lenovo or whatever your closest OEM. Because OEM builds systems for profit that has bottlenecks on VRM or PSU, some companies go to specialized shops that buy the parts separately and assemble them. Some companies are big enough to have an IT department responsible for building, upgrading and maintaining the companies computers and machines. Its more complicated than just going to your typical OEM and ask them for computers. Also, when you go to an OEM you're expected to buy large amounts, what if you want to buy 1 or 2? You'll pay much more.

Silva:

@schmidtbag depends, not everyone goes to HP, Lenovo or whatever your closest OEM. Because OEM builds systems for profit that has bottlenecks on VRM or PSU, some companies go to specialized shops that buy the parts separately and assemble them. Some companies are big enough to have an IT department responsible for building, upgrading and maintaining the companies computers and machines. Its more complicated than just going to your typical OEM and ask them for computers.

There are bottlenecks but the PSU and VRMs are actually not really the problem anymore and haven't been for a long while. These companies have managed to figure out how to get cheap and reliable parts, and one of the ways they do this is to also equip cheap heatsinks, which don't allow either the PSU or VRM to get too stressed. That's where those stupid extra-low TDPs come in that we all find annoying. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I've honestly never heard of a large company (as in, hundreds to thousands of employees in a single facility) building their own PCs for all users. That would be horribly cost ineffective, especially considering today's prices.

Also, when you go to an OEM you're expected to buy large amounts, what if you want to buy 1 or 2? You'll pay much more.

Much more than what? Compared to buying in bulk, yes, you'll pay more. Compared to building your own PC, no - you still pay less. Again, we're talking office PCs here. Gaming systems will almost always be more expensive through an OEM because they're low volume and you can't get away with cheapness for long on them.

PS5s are hard to find because demand exceeds supply. Not because of scalpers. People misuse the term scalpers a lot these days. Scalping is when a person conspires to buy up all the remaining stock of a product, to resell at a much higher price, and traditionally describes time-limited or crucial goods. It is only scalping if the supply would have otherwise been high enough to cover demand, had the scalper not interfered to create an artifical shortage. For example, the toilet paper scalpers we saw at beginning of covid. There was more than enough toilet paper supply. However, scalpers would show up at stores and buy ALL the remaining toilet paper. They would then resell it it at an inflated price. Had the scalper not interfered, there would have been no TP shortage. Basically, scalping requires a cornering of the market to create an artificial shortage. Scalpers have not cornered the PS5 or GPU markets, those shortages are not artifical, they really are in low supply, worldwide. Enough are not being produced to meet the demand. We know this because Retailers who have direct access to the supply chain have said so.