What constitutes someone as a DC Universe Scalper?

[ARROW]

Not making this personal, but it is very easy to say that scalpers aren´t a big problem or that being patient will get you the stuff when you can go to stores at any day/time you like knowing sooner or later if you keep it up you will find something, but with us international buyers, it is already hard enough knowing that half the stuff we will get will be over priced because most of the time there is little to no distribution outside of the US, so when my oportunity to look for something in the US or at an actual store that handles an exclusive product (case in point walmart's wave 5) taken by a scalper who doesn´t give a crap about the figures other than the money he can get out of them, it does become a problem and a big obstacle to my collecting.

 

Its only an obstacle if you think its an obstacle.

As pat as that sounds, its true.

In my own circumstance, I have lived in lousy areas for hunting collectibles for several years, and yet I was still able to get the stuff I wanted.

Its all a matter of how you approach it, and how resourceful you are.

[arowdygator]

and when it comes down to that like i told you i agree with you, if it doesnt make it to the floor theres a problem..once it hits the floor then all fair in love and war

 

 

I have 2 weeks worth the vacation time coming up. I think I am going to be traveling around the area and hitting up stores.

 

I am also going to be ebaying alot of my old stuff off to support my DCUC habit.

 

Anyone know anyone in search of Marvel Legends figs? LOL

ya knwo what really sucks for me? ill be on vacation the week of oct 15th. mattel of course has the MOTU, but also GB ray and MM batman figs that week...grrrrrrrr....so i might have to result to a scalper cuz i wnat the webstor and of course the GB.

[jjlecaros]

and when it comes down to that like i told you i agree with you, if it doesnt make it to the floor theres a problem..once it hits the floor then all fair in love and war

 

 

I have 2 weeks worth the vacation time coming up. I think I am going to be traveling around the area and hitting up stores.

 

I am also going to be ebaying alot of my old stuff off to support my DCUC habit.

 

Anyone know anyone in search of Marvel Legends figs? LOL

 

 

pm me what you got and maybe we can trade for dc figs you need

[Dragon66]

Am I to understand that the figures aren't even making their ways to the shelves?

 

I don't know about other examples anyone else may have mentioned. But I've had a converstaion or two with employee "scalpers" before. I had one person basically tell me once, more or less, in an obnoxious way, "Yeah, I get first dibs on what I want. tough sh!t, it's my gig not yours". Ok, I guess.

 

OTOH, I know that there are also some employees who are fair, courteous and will help if possible.

 

I have seen it said that store employees are sometimes "paid off" by a non employee so that they can beat everybody else to the punch. Isn't that sh!t illegal? There must be some penalty for it, because I've spoken with a manager of a retail store that I have known who told me it would be grounds for dismissal if an employee were doing that. But I guess it probably happens because the employee can get the item at a discount, plus makes an additional profit.

Well, I feel that is on you to report it to corporate and/or management. If a store is unaware that their customers are unhappy, then they can't correct a problem. Try to catch the name of the A**hole employ who thinks all of the stock is their fair game and mention them in an online survey on your receipt, I promise that you won't see that person as much as you used to. Use the tools that are at your disposal.

Otherwise, I cannot fault someone trying to sell other figures to support their habit. Trust me, if I see one of the McFarlane Barry Sanders Chase figures, I will run straight home and start taking pictures. I saw what the Babe Ruth chase did and not only could that buy the next years worth of DCUC, ML, JLU, DCIH, MU, but put some money in savings, too.

[HarryWildman]

Thank you so much for the input, I'm in the bay area and there are Scalpers everywhere, and they even have a wherehouse where they sell all their items, and when you ask for a price they go on the internet to find out how much is it going for on ebay, sad.

 

For realz? It isn't shaped like the Legion of Doom's headquarters, is it @loll@ I can see it now, there's a giant object hovering somewhere over Cali that looks vaguely like Darth Vader's head. Inside is an army of scalpers wearing all black and long coats like the Baroness (even though it's one hundred and twenty degrees inside the warehouse), feverishly clicking "refresh" on ebay DCUC listings @loll@

[ARROW]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Let's be honest, I don't NEED an Action Figure. I want the damn thing. I want it bad. That is why I am posting on a Toy website. That is why I have subscribed to MOTUC for the next year and a half. That is why there are action figures on shelves in my house. I LOVE DOING THIS>

 

I don't need comic books but I EFFIN LOVE TO READ THEM! I like chatting about them and wearing T-shirts with super hero logos on them.

 

I get PISSED when I drive all over town and can't find something that I want, much the same way I get pissed if I haven't been laid in a few days. ( today I am extremely happy)

 

I also don't need someone to tell me that I have turned into a victim. I don't need someone to tell me I am "helpless". I don't need a toy collecting sensei.

 

 

arowdygator, thanks for the heads up. This isn't directed at you and I hope someone can sympathize with what I am saying if you can't then I don't NEED your reply.

 

If you are pissed (or frustrated) in doing something that is supposed to be fun, then its likely you are not doing it right , eh?

I mean, isn't frustration a signal to change your approach to try something else to see if it works?

And isn't doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result one of the popular definitions of insanity?

 

Hey, you say you don't need a toy sensei........that's fine. There's a lot of good advice out there from a lot of savvy people that ARE having fun collecting even in scalper-dense areas.

I can tell you I'm one of them, and I've been having fun for years now.

 

Its your choice to live and learn.

[Dragon66]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Let's be honest, I don't NEED an Action Figure. I want the damn thing. I want it bad. That is why I am posting on a Toy website. That is why I have subscribed to MOTUC for the next year and a half. That is why there are action figures on shelves in my house. I LOVE DOING THIS>

 

I don't need comic books but I EFFIN LOVE TO READ THEM! I like chatting about them and wearing T-shirts with super hero logos on them.

 

I get PISSED when I drive all over town and can't find something that I want, much the same way I get pissed if I haven't been laid in a few days. ( today I am extremely happy)

 

I also don't need someone to tell me that I have turned into a victim. I don't need someone to tell me I am "helpless". I don't need a toy collecting sensei.

 

 

arowdygator, thanks for the heads up. This isn't directed at you and I hope someone can sympathize with what I am saying if you can't then I don't NEED your reply.

 

If you are pissed (or frustrated) in doing something that is supposed to be fun, then its likely you are not doing it right , eh?

I mean, isn't frustration a signal to change your approach to try something else to see if it works?

And isn't doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result one of the popular definitions of insanity?

 

Hey, you say you don't need a toy sensei........that's fine. There's a lot of good advice out there from a lot of savvy people that ARE having fun collecting even in scalper-dense areas.

I can tell you I'm one of them, and I've been having fun for years now.

 

Its your choice to live and learn.

Wait a second, you enjoy collecting? @propeller@

Oh, yeah, they are toys.

[Shanks]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Let's be honest, I don't NEED an Action Figure. I want the damn thing. I want it bad. That is why I am posting on a Toy website. That is why I have subscribed to MOTUC for the next year and a half. That is why there are action figures on shelves in my house. I LOVE DOING THIS>

 

I don't need comic books but I EFFIN LOVE TO READ THEM! I like chatting about them and wearing T-shirts with super hero logos on them.

 

I get PISSED when I drive all over town and can't find something that I want, much the same way I get pissed if I haven't been laid in a few days. ( today I am extremely happy)

 

I also don't need someone to tell me that I have turned into a victim. I don't need someone to tell me I am "helpless". I don't need a toy collecting sensei.

 

 

arowdygator, thanks for the heads up. This isn't directed at you and I hope someone can sympathize with what I am saying if you can't then I don't NEED your reply.

 

If you are pissed (or frustrated) in doing something that is supposed to be fun, then its likely you are not doing it right , eh?

I mean, isn't frustration a signal to change your approach to try something else to see if it works?

And isn't doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result one of the popular definitions of insanity?

 

Hey, you say you don't need a toy sensei........that's fine. There's a lot of good advice out there from a lot of savvy people that ARE having fun collecting even in scalper-dense areas.

I can tell you I'm one of them, and I've been having fun for years now.

 

Its your choice to live and learn.

YES SENSEI!!!

[synch]

I have two toy senseis pogoman & JJ LOL

[arowdygator]

Thanks for the heads up.

 

Let's be honest, I don't NEED an Action Figure. I want the damn thing. I want it bad. That is why I am posting on a Toy website. That is why I have subscribed to MOTUC for the next year and a half. That is why there are action figures on shelves in my house. I LOVE DOING THIS>

 

I don't need comic books but I EFFIN LOVE TO READ THEM! I like chatting about them and wearing T-shirts with super hero logos on them.

 

I get PISSED when I drive all over town and can't find something that I want, much the same way I get pissed if I haven't been laid in a few days. ( today I am extremely happy)

 

I also don't need someone to tell me that I have turned into a victim. I don't need someone to tell me I am "helpless". I don't need a toy collecting sensei.

 

 

arowdygator, thanks for the heads up. This isn't directed at you and I hope someone can sympathize with what I am saying if you can't then I don't NEED your reply.

 

If you are pissed (or frustrated) in doing something that is supposed to be fun, then its likely you are not doing it right , eh?

I mean, isn't frustration a signal to change your approach to try something else to see if it works?

And isn't doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result one of the popular definitions of insanity?

 

Hey, you say you don't need a toy sensei........that's fine. There's a lot of good advice out there from a lot of savvy people that ARE having fun collecting even in scalper-dense areas.

I can tell you I'm one of them, and I've been having fun for years now.

 

Its your choice to live and learn.

YES SENSEI!!!

 

 

lol!!

this guy cant buy a clue! i wish the people that were irrevalant would just stay in the GD forums...

[jjlecaros]

I have two toy senseis pogoman & JJ LOL

 

 

 

you and met are my padawans

[Shanks]

SCALPING DOES NOT EXIST IN THIS DOJO, DOES IT?

[Dragon66]

Thank you so much for the input, I'm in the bay area and there are Scalpers everywhere, and they even have a wherehouse where they sell all their items, and when you ask for a price they go on the internet to find out how much is it going for on ebay, sad.

 

For realz? It isn't shaped like the Legion of Doom's headquarters, is it @loll@ I can see it now, there's a giant object hovering somewhere over Cali that looks vaguely like Darth Vader's head. Inside is an army of scalpers wearing all black and long coats like the Baroness (even though it's one hundred and twenty degrees inside the warehouse), feverishly clicking "refresh" on ebay DCUC listings @loll@

Amazingly, I caught a brief recording from their sales meeting(pre-SDCC):

"I want you to all stand in line at the Mattel both and get as many Gleeks as possible, so we can sell them for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"

" But Doctor Scalper, Gleeks are Selling for $50 dollars on Ebay."

"Number 2, I don't ask for much, you could not get freakin' sharks with freakin' lasers, so please get me monkeys we can sell for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"

 

Then the audio broke off.

[ARROW]

this guy cant buy a clue! i wish the people that were irrevalant would just stay in the GD forums...

 

Its been pretty well established that your contributions to the forums haven't amounted to a hill of beans.

But keep trying, and like those 10,000 chimpanzees striking all those keys, someday you'll possibly actually manage to write something useful. @loll@

[arowdygator]

this guy cant buy a clue! i wish the people that were irrevalant would just stay in the GD forums...

 

Its been pretty well established that your contributions to the forums haven't amounted to a hill of beans.

But keep trying, and like those 10,000 chimpanzees striking all those keys, someday you'll possibly actually manage to write something useful. @loll@

 

a hill of beans he says? yes oh senior wise one. please enlighten the rest of us with your beacon of crap.

[ARROW]

this guy cant buy a clue! i wish the people that were irrevalant would just stay in the GD forums...

 

Its been pretty well established that your contributions to the forums haven't amounted to a hill of beans.

But keep trying, and like those 10,000 chimpanzees striking all those keys, someday you'll possibly actually manage to write something useful. @loll@

 

a hill of beans he says? yes oh senior wise one. please enlighten the rest of us with your beacon of crap.

 

 

Hey, you first. Feel free to share some pearl of wisdom with the rest of us.

 

No?

Not a one??

 

 

Oh, wait..........weren't your first 50 posts in the TNI forums a jump into a thread where the posters were reminiscing about old times on the forums, and wasn't your first post in that thread an attention-getting slam on your fellow posters and collectors?

Gee, you started out openly stating that you didn't care about anyone else on the forums.

 

Hey, its okay if you haven't figured it all out yet.

If you try real, real, REAL hard and try to push push push push push the thought out from a part of the body you are not sitting on, then it might even be a good one. Or you can ask and someone will hold your hand for you.

[HarryWildman]

Am I to understand that the figures aren't even making their ways to the shelves?

 

I don't know about other examples anyone else may have mentioned. But I've had a converstaion or two with employee "scalpers" before. I had one person basically tell me once, more or less, in an obnoxious way, "Yeah, I get first dibs on what I want. tough sh!t, it's my gig not yours". Ok, I guess.

 

OTOH, I know that there are also some employees who are fair, courteous and will help if possible.

 

I have seen it said that store employees are sometimes "paid off" by a non employee so that they can beat everybody else to the punch. Isn't that sh!t illegal? There must be some penalty for it, because I've spoken with a manager of a retail store that I have known who told me it would be grounds for dismissal if an employee were doing that. But I guess it probably happens because the employee can get the item at a discount, plus makes an additional profit.

Well, I feel that is on you to report it to corporate and/or management. If a store is unaware that their customers are unhappy, then they can't correct a problem. Try to catch the name of the A**hole employ who thinks all of the stock is their fair game and mention them in an online survey on your receipt, I promise that you won't see that person as much as you used to. Use the tools that are at your disposal.

Otherwise, I cannot fault someone trying to sell other figures to support their habit. Trust me, if I see one of the McFarlane Barry Sanders Chase figures, I will run straight home and start taking pictures. I saw what the Babe Ruth chase did and not only could that buy the next years worth of DCUC, ML, JLU, DCIH, MU, but put some money in savings, too.

 

Dragon, my comments weren't directed at anything you've said or anyone else directly. I believe that anyone can collect however they choose, as long as one isn't being really obnoxious about it. I don't usually buy stuff just to resell it, but like you said, if the option was there to do something that would help the hobby sustain itself, then I'd probably do so. There was a comment made about selling items to recooperate some of the money that one puts into their hobby. This seems to be what just about everybody does, to some degree or other, or at least thinks about from time to time, whether they admit it or not. So why is there such a resentment to it?

 

Throughout this thread there has often been sentiments expressed that, say, it's ok if you start your ebay item at ninety nine cents and it sells for a hundred bucks, but putting a BIN of $99.99 because the demand is there is wrong? Why? Thats simply economics and capitalism. The idea that once something does not sell for them, then they return the items to the stores in the area is irritating, though.

 

The thing with the obnoxious employee happened a few years ago. The employee was putting the Toy Biz Hulk figures on the shelves, the spin off series from Marvel Legends. The conversation would never have begun if I wasn't a Hulk fan and asked while he was unloading the box, "You haven't seen the Absorbing Man or Abomination in there, have you". He just looked at me and smiled in a way that could only have said, "not for you" lol Then eventually the converstion went into how they bought stuff to resell it.

 

Now, I've got Hulk figures from mego, from Marx, from Hasbro. And of course I've got many of the Toy Biz Hulk figures. I've got Hulk bobbleheads. I've got little Hulks that came from bubblegum machines a long time ago, and Hulks that came with board games. I like my Hulk figures. But the way I asked may have made it sound as if I was looking to scalp the Abomination and Absorbing Man figures since they were the only ones I asked about by name. Maybe he thought I was the scalper, and he was the true collector even though his job gave him an advantage in getting things first?

[HarryWildman]

Thank you so much for the input, I'm in the bay area and there are Scalpers everywhere, and they even have a wherehouse where they sell all their items, and when you ask for a price they go on the internet to find out how much is it going for on ebay, sad.

 

For realz? It isn't shaped like the Legion of Doom's headquarters, is it @loll@ I can see it now, there's a giant object hovering somewhere over Cali that looks vaguely like Darth Vader's head. Inside is an army of scalpers wearing all black and long coats like the Baroness (even though it's one hundred and twenty degrees inside the warehouse), feverishly clicking "refresh" on ebay DCUC listings @loll@

Amazingly, I caught a brief recording from their sales meeting(pre-SDCC):

"I want you to all stand in line at the Mattel both and get as many Gleeks as possible, so we can sell them for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"

" But Doctor Scalper, Gleeks are Selling for $50 dollars on Ebay."

"Number 2, I don't ask for much, you could not get freakin' sharks with freakin' lasers, so please get me monkeys we can sell for ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"

 

Then the audio broke off.

 

@loll@ Number 2 seemed pretty sympathetic to the cause. Damn that Doctor Scalper (shakes fist in general direction of Doctor Ev-, er, Doctor Scapler)

[Dragon66]

Am I to understand that the figures aren't even making their ways to the shelves?

 

I don't know about other examples anyone else may have mentioned. But I've had a converstaion or two with employee "scalpers" before. I had one person basically tell me once, more or less, in an obnoxious way, "Yeah, I get first dibs on what I want. tough sh!t, it's my gig not yours". Ok, I guess.

 

OTOH, I know that there are also some employees who are fair, courteous and will help if possible.

 

I have seen it said that store employees are sometimes "paid off" by a non employee so that they can beat everybody else to the punch. Isn't that sh!t illegal? There must be some penalty for it, because I've spoken with a manager of a retail store that I have known who told me it would be grounds for dismissal if an employee were doing that. But I guess it probably happens because the employee can get the item at a discount, plus makes an additional profit.

Well, I feel that is on you to report it to corporate and/or management. If a store is unaware that their customers are unhappy, then they can't correct a problem. Try to catch the name of the A**hole employ who thinks all of the stock is their fair game and mention them in an online survey on your receipt, I promise that you won't see that person as much as you used to. Use the tools that are at your disposal.

Otherwise, I cannot fault someone trying to sell other figures to support their habit. Trust me, if I see one of the McFarlane Barry Sanders Chase figures, I will run straight home and start taking pictures. I saw what the Babe Ruth chase did and not only could that buy the next years worth of DCUC, ML, JLU, DCIH, MU, but put some money in savings, too.

 

Dragon, my comments weren't directed at anything you've said or anyone else directly. I believe that anyone can collect however they choose, as long as one isn't being really obnoxious about it. I don't usually buy stuff just to resell it, but like you said, if the option was there to do something that would help the hobby sustain itself, then I'd probably do so. There was a comment made about selling items to recooperate some of the money that one puts into their hobby. This seems to be what just about everybody does, to some degree or other, or at least thinks about from time to time, whether they admit it or not. So why is there such a resentment to it?

 

Throughout this thread there has often been sentiments expressed that, say, it's ok if you start your ebay item at ninety nine cents and it sells for a hundred bucks, but putting a BIN of $99.99 because the demand is there is wrong? Why? Thats simply economics and capitalism. The idea that once something does not sell for them, then they return the items to the stores in the area is irritating, though.

 

The thing with the obnoxious employee happened a few years ago. The employee was putting the Toy Biz Hulk figures on the shelves, the spin off series from Marvel Legends. The conversation would never have begun if I wasn't a Hulk fan and asked while he was unloading the box, "You haven't seen the Absorbing Man or Abomination in there, have you". He just looked at me and smiled in a way that could only have said, "not for you" lol Then eventually the converstion went into how they bought stuff to resell it.

 

Now, I've got Hulk figures from mego, from Marx, from Hasbro. And of course I've got many of the Toy Biz Hulk figures. I've got Hulk bobbleheads. I've got little Hulks that came from bubblegum machines a long time ago, and Hulks that came with board games. I like my Hulk figures. But the way I asked may have made it sound as if I was looking to scalp the Abomination and Absorbing Man figures since they were the only ones I asked about by name. Maybe he thought I was the scalper, and he was the true collector even though his job gave him an advantage in getting things first?

I didn't think anything was directed at me, I was just giving people whining about employees who they know of holding the good stuff for themselves an option that they are given on 80% of their receipts with the surveys. The corporate higher up's do look at those morepeople think. They look at the feedback like if they were paying secret shoppers.

[HarryWildman]

I didn't think anything was directed at me, I was just giving people whining about employees who they know of holding the good stuff for themselves an option that they are given on 80% of their receipts with the surveys. The corporate higher up's do look at those morepeople think. They look at the feedback like if they were paying secret shoppers.

 

 

Who was doing this "whining" that you speak of? I was just giving one example of how I've known that it can be frustrating to try to purchase something in a store that may never reach the shelf at all.

 

But in regard to the survey, okay, great. Completing the survey that is provided on many receipts is an option that I hadn't considered. Thanks for suggesting it as a way one could voice their concerns. But I'm not the one who said that retailers could care less if a customer is disappointed with their service. It would be nice if someone who worked at a larger retailer that sells these items could offer some insight as to what is policy as far as "customers vs. employees first" goes. If there is no rule against it, then it my be something someone doesn't like, but it's not neccessarily "wrong" and there is little one could do about it other than accept it as part of what goes along with there not being enough supply to meet the demand.

[CybertronianArtifacts]

I look at it this way:

 

Toy Companies make product to be bought.

Retail stores sell said product to be sold.

A consumer buys said product.

After that whiners on the internet are the only ones who care.

 

I think the term "scalper" should be reserved for someone who buys everything just to turn a profit. Previously called out Hot Wheel guys and wrestler guys are this type too. If it is your business to sell toys, you are a scalper. I'll take the hit on the chin, I do not care.

 

On the other hand, if you stay home and support the scalpers, because you are lazy to put the time in or are too busy whining about it in threads like this, thats your own fault.

 

Scalpers won't rape the shelves, if no one buys from them.

 

People buy from me and do not try to cheap me out. They request me to find things for them. In fact a few claim my prices are more fair than other resellers. Why? I mark up only 50%

 

I like the internet, saves me aggravation, time, and resources. I also wish for the old days when TRU had a whole GI Joe aisle, whole Star Wars aisle, etc....

 

I can't wait until Mattel starts to sell their product online. You'll see who rapes your wallet. Whining about BBTS or other online retailers will stop, when you see what Mattel has in store for you.

[arowdygator]

I look at it this way:

 

Toy Companies make product to be bought.

Retail stores sell said product to be sold.

A consumer buys said product.

After that whiners on the internet are the only ones who care.

 

I think the term "scalper" should be reserved for someone who buys everything just to turn a profit. Previously called out Hot Wheel guys and wrestler guys are this type too. If it is your business to sell toys, you are a scalper. I'll take the hit on the chin, I do not care.

 

On the other hand, if you stay home and support the scalpers, because you are lazy to put the time in or are too busy whining about it in threads like this, thats your own fault.

 

Scalpers won't rape the shelves, if no one buys from them.

 

People buy from me and do not try to cheap me out. They request me to find things for them. In fact a few claim my prices are more fair than other resellers. Why? I mark up only 50%

 

I like the internet, saves me aggravation, time, and resources. I also wish for the old days when TRU had a whole GI Joe aisle, whole Star Wars aisle, etc....

 

I can't wait until Mattel starts to sell their product online. You'll see who rapes your wallet. Whining about BBTS or other online retailers will stop, when you see what Mattel has in store for you.

mattel said they would be around 12.

bbts prices arent that bad. its usaully not hat much over reatil and you get them fairly quickly

[Wheeljack35]

I look at it this way:

 

Toy Companies make product to be bought.

Retail stores sell said product to be sold.

A consumer buys said product.

After that whiners on the internet are the only ones who care.

 

I think the term "scalper" should be reserved for someone who buys everything just to turn a profit. Previously called out Hot Wheel guys and wrestler guys are this type too. If it is your business to sell toys, you are a scalper. I'll take the hit on the chin, I do not care.

 

On the other hand, if you stay home and support the scalpers, because you are lazy to put the time in or are too busy whining about it in threads like this, thats your own fault.

 

Scalpers won't rape the shelves, if no one buys from them.

 

People buy from me and do not try to cheap me out. They request me to find things for them. In fact a few claim my prices are more fair than other resellers. Why? I mark up only 50%

 

I like the internet, saves me aggravation, time, and resources. I also wish for the old days when TRU had a whole GI Joe aisle, whole Star Wars aisle, etc....

 

I can't wait until Mattel starts to sell their product online. You'll see who rapes your wallet. Whining about BBTS or other online retailers will stop, when you see what Mattel has in store for you.

 

 

How true this is

 

If I buy online mostly its from an online store

[Donovan]

Scalper : anyone selling higher than retail.

[ARROW]

I think the term "scalper" should be reserved for someone who buys everything just to turn a profit.

 

But you say that like its a bad thing.

Profiting isn't a problem, because you and I are allowed to profit as well, so to exclude anyone else from that means to excludes ourselves as well.

What seems to be the problem is with scalpers "buying everything".

 

The simple fact of the matter is they can't.

Its impossible.

 

Oh, sure, they can buy up a local supply, but not a regional or national supply. They simply do not have that kind of reach.

 

So knowing that, the key to beating scalpers is to simply buy in places where they cannot reach.

 

Scalpers won't rape the shelves, if no one buys from them.

 

True. Scalpers will also not buy up stuff that is stocked in abundance, because they depend upon restricted access ( and ignorance about access to flourish). The solution is mentioned above.

 

 

I can't wait until Mattel starts to sell their product online. You'll see who rapes your wallet. Whining about BBTS or other online retailers will stop, when you see what Mattel has in store for you.

 

The fallacy in this is the assumption that Mattel will try to fleece the market for all its worth.

I disagree with that notion. They WILL seek to profit, but they also know there's a price threshold where interest will drop off.

There's LOTS of models for this kind of thing, in many failed collectible ventures that over charged for their figures. My guess is that a $20-perhaps a $25- price for a 6" figure is about the limit of value collectors will go for, at the extreme. Beyond that, the majority of collectors buying Mattel products on-line will simply balk at paying more--especially if they perceive they are getting less.

The collecting demographic is small.........do not kid yourself...........Mattel is only making about 10,000 tops of these collectible ( re: MOTU etc) figures for Matty. Considering retail orders usually amount about 10 TIMES that unit allotment, and action figure sales have dropped steadily since the 90's--there's not a lot of great margins built in for to those numbers.

Mattel has to balance the risk of charging too much, versus charging too little, and having stock left over. They CANNOT warehouse leftover stock over a long-term--to make the exercise viable they have to sell-out and keep costs down on production.

There will come a point, if interest wanes just enough where Mattel will look at possibly raising the cost to $30 per, and will probably just call its quits because asking that will not be sustainable.

 

And if, by some outrageous fluke that collectors will bend over for that price level, then collectors will justly deserved to get their wallets raped out the ying yang--simply because they asked for it.