Collectors Ruined Toys for Everyone!

[Jedifyfe]

it's amazing that this phenomenon stretched across the country. My buddies and I were collecting Star Wars figures form 1995-2000. We saw the same group of guys every morning at TRU, a half hour later at Target and then later at another TRU. The Comic Book Guy look was typical for most of the "collectors" that either owned a toy store or baseball card store. There was a silent, unwritten code, amongst us. We would NEVER run, but walking fast was ok until one day at a Target. We were all waiting, they opened the door and a teenager was there who started running for the toy area. All of the sudden I heard "HE'S RUNNING FOR IT!" and all hell broke loose. Everyone bolted for the toys. I followed the teenager. They must've just polished the floors or something because as the teenager was trying to cut the corner to the toy area, his feet slipped out from underneath him and he slid into the end of another aisle. It was pretty funny.

I LUCKILY ended up selling all my figures in late 1999 and getting back at least what I paid for them and little more. That was just around the start of when the "variants" (half circle Boba Fett, tan vested Luke Jedi, Long Sabers, etc) were not really being bought up for a ton of money. I even had a storage place that I shared with another collector friend of mine. After I sold everything, I started only buying the Vintage Star Wars figures on Mint Cards. I have about 80 of them now along with several of the boxed Laser Pistols along with an almost full set of the Vintage Indiana Jones line.

My buddy and I wrote a screenplay about the underworld of toy collecting. Based it around the same structure as Star Wars, where 4 friends (Luke, Han, Leia and Chewy) have found that there is an evil toy syndicate trying to take over the entire toy collecting "universe". There is an elderly toy shop owner and his fat son (in his late30's) that plan to make sure that every little kid will pay a premium for a rare packed figure. It culminated with a show down at a Wal Mart style store. It was funny and packed with references. Better than Fanboys. Though our title was "FANTATICS".

 

[JoeG]

I was pretty excited for the Black series figures when they were first announced. I managed to score an R2 early on and a friend got the SDCC Fett exclusive for me. Since then, its been pretty hard to find any, so my interest has waned. I'll wait until they are dumped in the clearance bins and pick up a few more then.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

This is partly why I stopped collecting figures around ROTS. I gave all of them to my nephew. If I was looking for a figure and there was a kid there I always asked them if they wanted whichever one I wanted if it was the last one. Some people got too nutty over this stuff.

 

[Figure5901]

I'll wait until they are dumped in the clearance bins and pick up a few more then.

I go to yard sales and buy them for nearly nothing. I keep what I want and sell the rest on Ebay to those collectors.

 

[Vivek]

Tan Djarka Boba Fett is now available for pre-order for $19.99

Star Wars at HasbroToyShop.com | STAR WARS THE BLACK SERIES BOBA FETT FIGURE Product Details

 

[pengbuzz]

Well, at this rate toy scalpers will ruin the toy scene entirely and put themselves out of business.

 

[Wes R]

Almost everyone on the action figure site i am a member of order online even if it's from a local retailer's online store like walmart.com. If it isn't the scalpers it's the stores and toy companies. I remember trying to find transformers and hasbro wasn't shipping any of the new waves of figures to walmart or kmart. they just couldn't get them in stock.

 

[EvilRocketeer]

there are a lot of factors that are ruining the toy industry....high prices, cheaply made figures, videos games, technology, multiple variants of the same dam figure or different packaging of the same figure (star wars) etc etc

toy scalpers are scumbags....is their life so dam pathetic that they have to get up early every morning to get a toy that will only get them a few dollars of profit...factor in time, gas, ebay fees, or booth fees...

i use to collect star wars toys back in the day because they were fun to play with...

there was one pos loser that stores dealt with on a continuous basis..pure scumbag..the local stores here in orange county hated him...he would go to all the main stores and run to the toy section once the store open...there were several times he would sneak into walmart or toys r us before the store opened....a lot of the store managers were getting tired of him, so they stopped stocking the star wars section before store opening...they would stock the shelves at random times throughout the day....he tried bribing some store employees, but they wouldnt deal with him

some stores like toys r us did hide figures in the back...i luck out because the toys r us employees knew i played with the toys and didnt turn around to sell them....so every wednesday i walked in after class...they would walk up to me and hand me the rare figure...really nice guys...saved me the hassle of dealing with scalpers to get the toys i wanted...

other stores would do the same...they would write down my phone number and call me to pick up the figure....they would do anything to avoid dealing with the usual scalpers...

it turns out the scumbag had a booth at Frank and Sons...he would drive to all the local stores to take the rare figures to resell them at his booth for an insane price...



btw....the boba fett black series figure is amazing....i havent bought an action figure for a very long time....i came across him during christmas time at a target and i couldnt resist....it is very well made...

 

[cboath]

I quit about the time of TPM for the very scalper reason.

The TRU i frequented apparently had the same issues most had with scalpers. Odd how the stories do seem the same all over. Initially I was told there was nothing they could do. Then the aparently common story of a few scalpers running the aisles on open and nearly running someone over occurred. So, this TRU stocked everything at night - except - anything they could recall the scalpers being after. At that time hot wheels and SW were their two biggies.

I found this out by going in one day after work and seeing the stocker walking out with a fresh box. I was patiently waiting and he asked what I was looking for. I told him and he said middle box help yourself. After a bit of chat he explained why he was stocking at 5pm and I told him that's why i haven't found jack in 3 months This store actually would hold figures for people (no more than 1 of each). Worked just amazingly for about 6 months. Then one day upon asking for something that was on hold, the manager just said check the shelf. When I explained it was supposed to be on hold (raincheck or whatever) he flipped out at me for abusing the system and said people like me are as bad as scalpers. I did check the shelf = it wasn't there. Saw the stocker I knew and asked him WTF happened. He explained that apparently the scalpers whined like the little @#$%&es they are to corporate and the store/manager got reemed by corporate for their 'customer friendly policies'. They still maintained their random stocking times though. My stocker told me if I could just tell him a couple figures at a time, he'd try and hold them in the back for me if he could since he knew I wasn't a scalper. Worked for a good while. But it just got harder and harder over time.

What pissed me off the most was going to flea markets (you know, where people are supposedly selling old junk) and seeing all these boothes with the latest toys marked up 2-4x retail. Apparently people without jobs decided their job would be screwing everyone else by buying up everything new to rip off the people who actually wanted one but had real jobs. Never ever bought jack from any one of them.

In the end I quit because things were too easy on scalpers who'd stick someone in a store for hours and too hard on real people. Hasbro's lying didn't help either "No we don't shortpack".

In the end, it was a toy, designed for kids and not adults. It shouldn't be that hard to buy a toy. Period.

 

[CB2001]

I know how the OP feels. I was lucky to get a Bill Adama from the RIS BSG line on clearance from TRU (it was the last one they had) for only $9.95. Now, I'd like to have one loose so to go with some of the other loose BSG figures I have (and eventually a BSG related diorama I've been considering), but even the loose ones go up for $50+ and still on the card $90+. I'm like "Really? Bill Adama wasn't a rare figure, it was widely available everywhere, and people are asking that price on eBay?" Don't get me wrong, I collect figures, but even $90 is ridiculous.

 

[pengbuzz]

This is the reason I don't have the MP-10 Optimus Prime. Was 80 when TRU originally stocked it, but scalpers got them all and Hasbro stopped making them. Now they have a reissue and a new variant coming out, and they're off the wall expensive. So, I gave up on buying new transformers and hope maybe 15-20 years down the line to find an MP-10 at a thrift shop if I'm lucky. Anything over 5 bucks now is out of my price range in most cases, with bills and other crap.

 

[tubachris85x]

3 stories, 2 really scalpers..

1. Shortly after AOTC came out, I just wanted to get one clonetrooper figure. I was about 12-13 at the time, not too young. I remember getting to the star wars section. I saw a hand full of them left on the rack. I grabbed onto one and stuck around to see what else they had. This guy (think the comic book guy from the simpsons) waddles into the aisle, does a quick look over at the figures, then immediately grabs all of the remaining clontrooper figures. He turns towards me, and without even thinking, just walks up and yanks the figure right out of my hand and speeds off causing a mini-quake in the store.

2. Bungie day. The last and final humpday. Bungie was releasing "swag bags." These were all random. People got unique and one of kind items, for example Marty O'Donnel included a signed copy of the Halo 3 score. Others got really crazy things. Naturally, I wanted one. These were limited (I forgot the number). Everyone was trying to get one. The problem? They allowed people to buy as many as they wanted! One guy came out bragging about how he bought over 20 just for himself. What happened next? Ebay. All of them this jack wagon bought went up on ebay. I was never more pissed in my life.

3. NECA Portal Gun. First pre-order went and poof, gone. The standard white ones. They then announced that they were coming out with the Peobody version. This was the one I was going after. Initial pre-order flew by. Site was crashing, very difficult to get on. Retail was like $125 for pre-order IIRC. People were already putting Ebay listings for them before they were even for sale! Even then, people were listing "buy it now" for $550-$600+. They announced they would be doing a 2nd pre-order, but would not announce when until the day-of. I kept an eye out and everything. Finally, they announced it, bam, finally able to order just one for myself. Sold out in under an hour. I was lucky to get one, but Ebay was absolutely flooded with these portal guns, all of them asking for over $500, which is absolutely ridiculous and in my mind, ruined a lot of this for me...

 

[Monkey67]

You should have wrecked & effect that dude that took the trooper out of your hand. No way I would have allowed that to happen to me. At least kick him in the nuts since he would never have a need for them anyway.

 

[tubachris85x]

You should have wrecked & effect that dude that took the trooper out of your hand. No way I would have allowed that to happen to me. At least kick him in the nuts since he would never have a need for them anyway.

Whenever I think about it, I really wish I did.

The problem was my mentality at the time. I was already 6' by 5th grade. Teacher/administrators always saw me as a "threat" because of my size. Get bullied/assaulted by others and get told I'm wrong by authority figures all throughout gradeschool? That really fu**ed up my head and made me more reluctant to be confrontational. Looking back on all of that? I really wish I didn't give 2 flying Fu**s at the time and just beat the crap out of these people when I had the opportunity.

 

[D00M99]

Time to post an unpopular opinion.

There's a reason scalping and reselling works - it's because the consumers are willing to put up with it. Even if it's not you personally, someone somewhere within the target audience is willing to cough up double or triple to get it. That's how it works! Without the demand, there is no reason to provide the supply, and since the demand is strong many find that making money off of this market is worth their time.

And that's one of the things these people are selling - their time. They are providing a business "service" at a price some people are willing to pay for - a service that provides a guarantee purchase of the item, something that cost the reseller their time, gas, money, and in many cases, chance! For those unwilling or unable to put in what resellers put in to get that item, they have the option of a secondhand market that provides all of that to them at a higher price. How high the price goes, is entirely up to the consumer and the consumer's history. For Star Wars, unfortunately, both demand and the history of secondhand market prices are against the collector looking to buy in the aftermarket.

For the majority, we are not willing to pay for that higher price. But the world (and the internet) is big, and somewhere out there there is someone who will.

In terms of opportunity to purchase, there is very little that differentiates a scalper from a normal consumer. The only differences are the aforementioned costs. Here's a theoretical example with a real product - the Walgreens release of the Black Series White Prototype Boba Fett. I know of various ways resellers got notified of its release - some people put up basic scripts that notify them when a certain code field changes that tells them when it's available, or some check up on forums centered around deals, collecting, or reselling. Some call to check availability, some keep a page open and an auto-refresher to watch for the checkout to go live, some stay up late, some wake up early, but the point is, that time and effort is just as easily put in by a collector as by a scalper. Both are capable of acquiring the same product, except one is in it to keep for themselves and one is in it to charge for the "service" provided by his/her efforts to acquire the product.

I'm not saying "Go and adopt scalper-level watch-hawk skills" because it's understandable that people have lives, and you don't have time to stay vigilant on the checkout button or the money to purchase at an instants notice. I just wanted to give a different opinion on what reselling is as a legit market before everyone simply says "scalpers are scum of the Earth" without thinking a little deeper about it.

That being said, there are people who are complete d*cks about it, and then we have a problem.

Hope this brings some insight to people. I'm hoping people's understanding about reselling and scalping goes beyond "scalpers are scum" and "life isn't fair" on both sides of the argument.

 

[Funky]

You should have wrecked & effect that dude that took the trooper out of your hand. No way I would have allowed that to happen to me. At least kick him in the nuts since he would never have a need for them anyway.

Yeah, I'm with you on that. Again, the stories of "Some mean ole scalper just SNATCHED a toy out of my hand and headed for the register!" are a bit hard to swallow...unless of course he ran out the door without paying, in which case that would be shoplifting. Matbe it's just me, but when I was five or six (and of course as I got older) if I had something IN MY HANDS that I was going to purchase and some stranger yanked it out of my hands and took off, by god I would have been hot on their heels. I would have confronted them for taking my toy or at the VERY least told the person at the register while he was paying causing them to call the manager!

 

[brandomack]

I just don't get it....they're...toys.

 

[CB2001]

I just don't get it....they're...toys.

Let me put it to you like this: You know how people want a Blade Runner PKD gun replica? Basically, that's a collectable (which in some cases, toys are collectable depending on a wide variety of details). Yet, it's a particular niche that people fall into when it comes to collecting. We here are the RPF have people collect prop replicas, or in some cases actual screen used items. People collect comic books, or trading cards, or even 1:18 scale die-cast replicas of vehicles or model kits with the same mentality as the people here at the forums wanting to collect replicas or screen-used props and costumes from movies. And scalpers are in the same class as recasters: people who want to exploit those collectors for money, knowing that if they really wanted it, they'd paid for it. I don't know if that helps out in the understanding. I hope it does. If it doesn't, maybe someone else here can explain it better.

 

[Ronan87]

I just don't get it....they're...toys.

It's just a model, it's just a car, it's just... well it can be 'just' anything. So what? That doesn't define it's worth for individuals.

I'v built some tedious model kits, with complete lighting and weather, some took a LONG time and i'v received comments as 'so those are like toys you paint or something?'. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but that's just fine

 

[Funky]

I just don't get it....they're...toys.

And we have a winner! Yes, you are correct. They ARE just toys. However many people see this as a way to make money, pay their rent, feed their kids, etc.
One would argue, "Get a freakin' job!"
With that, I agree.
This is a hobby and adults should treat it as such. Hey, I've got nothing against buying a toy for five bucks, sits in your collection for ten years then one day discovering that you can sell it for 100.00! Go for it! Take the money and take your girl out for a nice steak dinner! AWESOME! I've discovered, when you have to flip it for a profit to make rent...time to re-look at your priorities.