New York Congressman Paul Tonko is stepping up his efforts to counter automated software employed by scalpers to buy up Christmas gifts and re-sell them to consumers at outrageous prices.
Tonko appeared Monday at Vortex Video Games in Watervliet with local business owners to promote the “Stopping Grinch Bots Act.”
"They have all gone through the struggles of being able to put on the shelf, hot items that people want for this season," said Tonko. "And sometimes they're just not affordable or available because of these mechanisms that bots utilize."
The Democrat from the 20th district describes bots as self-running programs, automated software that track and purchase inventory online. In a matter of seconds, third-party vendors can use them to buy up trending items until they are out of stock.
“PlayStation Five, I think comes to mind, right? You've probably all had struggles with that, that's a very popular item," Tonko said. "What happens is these bots organizations will purchase large amounts, extraordinary large amounts at that then retail price, Jack up that price, and make it again, unaffordable for the retailer to have, or available for the retailer many times, and this will allow for an issue of fairness, a more level playing ground for the retailer to be able to stock their shelves, with the toys that are most popular.”
In 2016, Tonko’s Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act was signed into law by President Obama to ban “ticket bots” that intentionally bypass security measures online and unfairly outprice individual fans.
Tonko says the law would apply the structure of the BOTS Act to e-commerce sites, empowering the Federal Trade Commission and Attorneys General to enforce consumer protection laws to protect shoppers against their use.
Frank Loya owns Forgotten Freshness, a classic video games shop in Mechanicville.
“And it doesn't just happen with this, the bots are in with collectibles and toys," Loya Said. "Sneakers is another big one. Yeah. Anything like that, we see the graphics cards, the consoles firsthand, sometimes the toys, but there's also, they do it, with Pokemon cards, which are very huge right now. And we sell those in the shop. It takes me, I go six months at a time without being able to get them. And it's because people are using bots to buy them online, to sell them. So it's not even just video games. It's all this stuff that holiday, that kids want for holidays. That parents, they know the parents will spend this extra money. And it's been a problem for a while and it only gets worse as technology for the bots gets better.”
The BOTS Act isn't foolproof. A weekend ticket-scalping incident saw bots sideline fans of pop star Olivia Rodrigo, keeping people nationwide from buying concert tour tickets as it acquired then re-sold them on various websites for as much as $9000 a pair. Tonko urges consumers to report such incidents.
“If that is happening, we need to bring that to the attention of the FEC, because applying the law as legislatively intended, is what we do as watchdogs in the equation,” Tonko said.
The bill may not move in time to affect this year's holiday shopping season.
