“Companies to disincentivize scalpers through negative discounts”

There are a few product categories where scalping is common – usually popular products that get released once in a few years, which are affordable yet in high demand, and where supply chains take a while to catch up to actual demand. A classic example is Playstation – their latest consoles usually struggle to have enough supply on day 1 of release (or day 60) for that matter.

Sometimes, people who scalp have managed to get their hands on products by being the first to buy them online or offline when stock hits – and because they are first in line, they are able to buy all the units that exist, effectively leaving none for those who come after them. Their tactic is to themselves act as sellers to these buyers that come after them, so that they can make profits by overcharging other buyers who really want the product.

One of the ways scalping could be discouraged for products like Playstation is for companies to charge more for multiple units. The way this could work is –

• You pay 100% of MRP / MSRP if you’re buying only 1 unit (0% premium)
• You pay 110% of MRP / MSRP if you’re buying 2 units (10% surcharge)
• You pay 120% of MRP / MSRP if you’re buying 3 units (10% surcharge)
• You pay 130% of MRP / MSRP if you’re buying 4 units (10% surcharge)

Basically, this acts as a negative discount as volumes increase.

Needless to say, this will work well in cases where 1 is a reasonable number of units to buy – it might not work as well if you typically need to buy half a dozen units of X, and you start adding a surcharge for anything above 1.