Resale of in-demand goods purchased by automated bots

Early day motion 729, tabled 2 December 2021 by Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party). Signed by 16 members.

That this House believes that the online provision of items should be available to all customers and that items should not be bought in bulk by the use of automated bots which often circumvent maximum purchase quantities imposed by the retailer, and which subsequently distorts the marketplace by creating a scarcity thus enabling the bulk purchaser to then resell the items at grossly inflated prices above the Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price; calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals similar to those introduced for the secondary selling of tickets, thereby prohibiting the resale of items at prices greatly above Manufacturer’s Recommended Retail Price when purchased using automated bots; and further calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals making the resale of goods purchased using an automated bot an illegal activity, thereby denying unscrupulous vendors the chance to make themselves vast profits at the expense of genuine end-use consumers, while also deterring fraudulent cybercriminal activity.

Signatures by party: Scottish National Party 8, Plaid Cymru 3, Alba 1, DUP 1, Independent 1, Labour 1, Liberal Democrat 1.