A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Monday to stop the practice of cyber thiefs who steal popular toys online and resell them at inflated prices, further compounding supply chain shortages ahead of the holiday season.
There are toys at a Target store. The global supply chain has been affected by manufacturing disruptions related to the Pandemic. Brandon Bell is the photographer.
The images are from the same company.
Chuck Shumer, Richard Blumenthal, Ben Ray Lujn, and Paul Tonko are all Democrats.
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016 made it illegal to sell tickets acquired by bots and banned ticket bots from buying tickets for public events.
The Stop Grinch Bots Act would apply to all online retail stores and the Federal Trade Commission would have to enforce the law.
The lawmakers said in a press release that the bots could make certain toys almost impossible to buy for the average consumer.
The legislation will level the playing field for small businesses who want to ensure they have the best items in stock and will prevent scalpers from sucking parents dry this holiday season.
Susan Grant is the director of privacy and consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America. We support outlawing shady operators who corner the market on popular items and then charge consumers excessive prices for them. Consumer Federation of America was one of the organizations that supported the legislation.
Several popular toys were listed for high prices on resale websites. Target, Best Buy, and GameStop all had out of stock of the Nintendo's NES Classic Edition. It was available on both eBay and Amazon. The Barbie Hello Dreamhouse, which sold for $300 and sold out at Toys R' Us, could be purchased for $1,500 on eBay and Amazon. Schumer's office says the retail price for Fingerlings was inflated to nearly $1,000 each.
The 'grinch bots' are here to ruin your holiday shopping.
Lawmakers want to end online ticket Gouging.
