Cyber bots blamed for snatching up popular holiday toys to resell

<p>Consumers are being warned that online bots who snatch up concert tickets are now buying up popular toys and reselling them at outrageous prices.</p>

News 12 Staff

Dec 7, 2017, 1:10 PM

Updated 2,494 days ago

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Consumers are being warned that online bots who snatch up concert tickets are now buying up popular toys and reselling them at outrageous prices.
For example, a popular Fingerlings toy could be bought by a bot and then resold for three to 10 times the price on third-party sites.
According to officials, the bots use complex programming that can locate the product page of a popular toy even before the item goes on sale.
Then, the software scoops up thousands of products before a potential customer even has the time to manually type in shipping and payment details online.
Sen. Chuck Schumer and groups like NYPIRG and Consumers Union are calling on trade groups to stop the 'Grinch bots' from scooping up the hot holiday items.