Time matters, yes. The more you wait for a title is a really sought after, the more price you have to pay (revaluation).
But "time" doesn't not take part of this ecuation, because of an easy fact than scalpers put the editions for sale right away after they make the editions sold-out, making up "there were a lot of demand".
The real problem is when you can't not buy the edition FROM the retailer (when DIRECT shipping option) because there were no enough stock - GB's are guilty of this matter, because GB host orders them IN ADVANCE (before pre-order time).
So there are only 2 options, as 3 used to be:
- Buying direct from the retailer.
- Buying from GB's whose takes the editions from the retailer, and cost "bit more" (fees)
- Buying from eBay, paying x2 or x3 the retailer prices.
As I said, GB are responsable to push people to buy from them, leaving the option "going DIRECT" voided.
Futhermore, considering that "demand" was demanded by those whose intentions was to sell them (offer them in the second market - supply for higher price),
it's not hard to think that the people who always have these editions to sell on EBay are the ones who had "priority access" to buy multiple editions.
AND, the more people join to GB's (more demand "in advance"), the more fees they have to ask for "securing a copy".
It's up to people who wanted to join to GB's. The bubble would soon burst.
So your explanation doesn't have much sense (under my opinion) for a market ruled by supply and demand, because the market is corrupt whenever somebody is manipulating both, supply and demand:
- Scalpers can join to multiple GB's. They may be even some GB runners or hosts.
- Scalpers firstly buy a lot of premium editions, as demand.
- They don't keep the edition for themselves but they try to put them in the second market to gain a big profit, considering the high demand (asked by themselves).
- High demand fed by the own people who wants to offer in the second market after the sold-out (scalpers)
- With the retailer supply to 0, the price went up as fast as the demand makes unavailable the purchase from the retailer.
- Once the market is manipulated (supply exhausted), they are "entitled" to sell their editions (multiple units purchased in different GB's) for higher prices and said: "supply and demand".