PS5, XBox Series…: these bots that kill the game


Stock shortages persist and acquiring a console or graphics card is often an obstacle course. But what’s behind the bots grabbing inventory? Newspaper.

Sony’s PlayStation 5, Microsoft’s Xbox Series, Nvidia’s graphics cards… how difficult it has been to obtain these precious high-tech products in recent months. In a detailed investigation published on Wednesday May 25, 2022, The Verge took an interest in the world of bots and flipping which are seriously disrupting the market for these products which have become rare. Starting from the observation that it is always difficult to buy certain coveted goods and often monopolized by a few buyers equipped with bots, the online magazine conducted the investigation in order to discover the behind the scenes of these tools that kill the game.

The Covid, an accelerator

Asked by The Verge, Fuat, the creator of a bot called Dakoza, talks about his personal experience and explains the path that led him to embark on this type of business. Knowing the world of sneakers well, he once found himself queuing up to acquire a limited-edition pair of sneakers (doomed to increase in value) for a friend who offered him a commission for the service. rendered.

An anecdotal story which, combined with the boredom created by the confinements due to COVID-19, ended up pushing the creator to take a closer look at the world of bots. With a few simple lines of code, his first shopping bot was born and an opportunity took shape in his mind.

Resellers are not the real problem

To use a buying bot, the reseller must pay a certain initial sum (300 dollars in the case of Dakoza) and then pay a monthly fee (50 dollars/month). This makes the reseller a mere intermediary in the market, the root of the problem comes from the service.

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Far from the image of the seasoned and selfish computer scientist, many Dakoza customers use bots as a way to breathe and live a little better. Fuat said he receives several messages from people who have been able to finance their wedding, their extras or simply prepare a beautiful wardrobe for an upcoming newborn thanks to their solution.

The Verge also raised the question of the operation of this type of bot. Obviously, the creators were careful not to go into detail, but one of them was kind enough to roughly summarize the operation.

When you buy a product through a website, your computer sends requests to the site’s servers. These requests are instructions on what the server should do and send you as information.

To save time, the bot sends the requests directly, simulating the actions of a human being while overcoming the latency specific to the display of a browser. Adding to cart, validation, contact information, payment… everything is sent in a package to save a few seconds on a human buyer and therefore win the bet.

Scarcity, goodwill

You should know that today, it is almost impossible to buy one of these bots directly. A potential customer must go through an endless queue before being able to acquire a license. While this may seem strange at first (selling the bots automatically would generate a lot of profit in a short time), it is a well thought out business strategy.

A service like Dakoza is not just a piece of code. The company voluntarily reduces its number of customers to offer a quality local service. Many human moderators are also involved in the process to notify the company’s customers of the ideal time to launch the bot.

If the distribution of this program were completely open, many people would pay several hundred dollars for a program that, in the end, would not have much better chance of making a purchase than a standard Internet user. Limiting access makes it possible to offer a sustainable service and to perpetuate the company. It should be noted that other sectors are adopting the same approach, such as the Nielsen consumer panel, which offers very good rewards, but whose entry wait can be up to a year.

Another element to be taken into account in the current situation is production lines. Resale bots have been around for a long time, but the health crisis has triggered (or precipitated) that of components resulting in a lack of supply compared to demand. This is what allows this kind of program to be so profitable at the moment and to generate a hundred dollars in profit on a machine like the PS5. But what would happen to all these bots if the supply suddenly became abundant again?



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