I think you'll see a big variety of answers when it comes to this. As long as the thread remains civil I think it can produce a lot of good discussion about these issues in our hobby.
That said I'll be watching it closely as I know threads about "Scalping" can get out of hand in a hurry. Be nice, be respectful, have fun. 
I personally come from a slightly different side of this than some in that I've been a dealer at local conventions for the past 13 years as well as having run a home based toy business for a few years as well.
That said I was never in the habit of buying figures at full retail to flip them. Sometimes I have taken advantage of sales when they come around to pick up some product, but even then I'd never buy more than one or two of any figure for resale reasons.
I ordered most my carded stuff in from US and Canadian online dealers back when I heavily dealt in the "newer" stuff. Since I've kinda moved away from the "newer" stuff in recent years its not a big concern for me anymore.
I think something to also keep in mind is that a lot of "scalpers" are not nesessarily collectors, they are running a business and looking to make a buck however they can.
It's a buyers market so if they can sell something for a certain price more power to them. I wont be buying it but I don't really feel like they are doing something wrong.
The "scalpers" that bother me the most are not actually those with an actual retail location, but the E-Bay variety. *shrug*, thats just me. I'm not a fan of E-Bay myself, but don't want to discourage anyone who is.
In my experience with toy collecting the regular releases can all be found at regular retail if you put in the legwork. Sure Chase Figures or Variants might be a tougher find but I think if the scalpers don't get them then the regular hoarder does.
Either way I'll never see them at retail, so I was always thankful that I'd at least have the oppurtunity to purchase one at a Flea Market or Toy Show, even at a higher price.
My Winnipeg Jets McFarlane Variants come to mind as stuff I wouldn't even own if not for being able to buy them after retail. Yet I know some "collectors" sittiing on four or five of them waiting for them to go up in value..............
