Eighteen months ago, Jack White’s record company Third Man Records was having problems with “flippers” – people who buy the company’s ultra-limited-edition releases (the tri-colour vinyl reissue of the White Stripes’ first album, for instance, was an edition of five) purely to sell them on for a profit. His solution? Skip the middleman:
This week, Third Man Records decided to beat the flippers at their own game, listing their own limited-edition White Stripes reissues on eBay. Vault subscribers [a paid members’ service] were directed to these auctions, where bids have soared to more than $300 (£193).
The winning bid ended up being $510, but White had to face down angry fans, writing:
make no mistake, we could make twenty thousand split color whatevers for you, and they’ll be worth 20 bucks, and you’ll pay 20 bucks for them, and you’ll never talk about them, desire them, hunt to find them, etc. why should ebay flippers, who are not real fans, dictate the price, make all the profit (taken from the artist and the label) and take the records out of the hands of real fans. there’s a guy who waits in a black suv down the block from third man who hires homeless people to go buy him tri colors when they are on sale. doesn’t even get out of his car. should he be charged ten bucks or two hundred? don’t be spoiled, don’t insult people who are trying to give you what you want.
Writing at the Guardian, , a staff member at Third Man, even brought some economic theory into the discussion:
Third Man customers take these limited-edition releases very seriously. Hardcore fans are incredibly dedicated and vote with their money. The more hard to find an item is, the more they want it. It’s something of a Veblen good, and that’s not a bad thing. But I understand fans’ frustration when there is something they cannot get, and by us selling items on eBay it appears we are dangling something in front of their noses and demanding they pay more. We are not. These items will end up on eBay regardless. On an auction site, the customers set the price.
So, economics 101 with Jack White: price is a function of supply and demand. If supply is low and demand is high, the equilibrium price will be high indeed. If the merchant keeps the price artifically low, then there is an opportunity for arbitrage – or “flipping”. Either way, the price will end up at its natural level; so you may as well capture that yourself.
Hat-tip to Modeled Behaviour
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