[Coda]

Artificial inflation didn't originate with Gaia. :/ It's been studied in economic theory for nearly a century.

But perhaps what you're looking for, then, isn't the term "artificial inflation" but rather "anti-trust legislation". Lucid's description VERY MUCH fits the definition of price fixing: An individual or group of individuals act to purchase goods at a value other than the normal market price, causing a direct influence of that market price to align with what those people with the buying power are paying.

You pull that stunt in the real world, at least in the US, and you're going to find yourself in a lawsuit. Microsoft's been staring down the barrel of THAT gun for years because they have the buying power to pay hardware manufacturers more than their competition in exchange for selling computers with Windows preinstalled at prices that Microsoft dictates.

Now, I'm not accusing you of price fixing, but the effect is much the same: By willingly paying so far above the market value just for the sake of making sure you get one, the sellers will raise their prices to meet the demand. You are inducing an artificial change in the supply-and-demand curves, to the detriment of the less fortunate users -- users that are the lifeblood of our site; we MUST NOT develop a reputation that our users are separated into the rich and the poor and you have to be rich to buy anything.

And before you say that isn't going to happen, observe that this thread even exists.