So don't buy anything cheap and then sell it later at a higher price because that's scummy or does this only apply to domains; if so, why? Your respect for traders is presumably zero.
Traders arguably add value by adding liquidity and assisting with price discovery. Arbitrageurs do the latter by definition.
Though, these are fairly complex financial concepts, so it's easy for people to jump to the conclusion that large swaths of the financial industry are worthless. (Of course, some are, but many are not)
Is there some reason domain squatters don't help in price discovery? Seems like there are some analogies between the two cases. Or is that what you're actually saying?
Yes, my level of respect for traders is exactly zero. There's a difference between investing and trying to make a profit off short-term trades, arbitrage, and other forms of financial practices that offer dubious value to anyone other than the trader.
The respectable case is traders who transfer good between supplier and buyer because there is no smooth transfer path or when there is significant risk in communicating directly with the selling, such as stocks, grocery stores, and realtors. The non-respectable case is when the trader exists purely to hold onto then profit on the product. This includes domain squatters, ticket scalpers, and those people who buy things from one thrift store to sell back to another thrift store at a higher price. It's the same reason why patent trolls are so disliked.
The standard answer is liquidity, which is a really abstract concept, and one I still struggle to conceptualize (how hft supposedly creates liquidity is still too abstract for me, for instance).
Though, these are fairly complex financial concepts, so it's easy for people to jump to the conclusion that large swaths of the financial industry are worthless. (Of course, some are, but many are not)