I have no trouble with any collector selling his stuff for a profit. That's his right. This sort of thing I truly understand. A seasoned seller would know the market value and thus put a reasonable premium on the product he will be selling.

Scalping to me is when any individual/group starts hoarding a particular figure TO CONTROL DEMAND (thus raising the price) for financial gain. Another person can benefit from this when he sells that same figure he got for MSRP. He will be taking advantage of the situation, but this is hardly scalping.

Just my opinion.

 

cant agree more.

 

It is scalping when you buy BULK of one item in order to artifically inflate the price of the product, as you control the stock of the item, generally pretty close to a release.

You could also consider it scalping i guess if you buy something with the sole intent on reselling it at a higher price.

If you buy something, and decide to sell it at the going market price, after a year or so, because you need money, or you just don't want the item anymore, thats re-selling, and uf that going market price is double what the figure was at retail, so be it.

And even then you are going to get people that want you to sell it to them at retail or less, and include shipping in the price...

 

You could also consider it scalping i guess if you buy something with the sole intent on reselling it at a higher price.

This is sort of a grey area for me. People sometimes buy two or three of the same thing; one for display, one to keep in the box and one to sell for profit. They are genuine collectors -- just with more cash. I would imagine they do this so that they can supplement their hobby. Certainly if enough people do this, the supply will quickly dry up and the price will rise as a consequence. Surely I won't blame the guy for having the resources to buy more. But he is partly to blame for the economics of the toy.

 

I agree with Zondi, buying in bulk, making sure there is as little of that particular item easily available and then then a bunch of that at ridiculous prices.

If a collector thinks something will be worth more in the future, buys one for his collection and an additional MIB one to keep for later, as sort of an investment, that's no scalping.

 

I think some of the sellers on ebay lean more towards scalpers, as they break down the figs and sell the parts for idiotic prices, raising the total for said figure way more than retail for it boxed.

 

This is a question I've been thinking on for a while, and with the HK ANICON scalper news only made me think double about it.
The case is this: I wanted an HT figure (not telling which to follow the rules), but the day I wanted to order it from my regular US distributor at $170USD retail, they ran out of stock, I hunted it down for a couple of weeks thru the US Retails and it was nowhere to be found, so I turned to eBay, the cheapest I could find it was at $200USD, so I leaped at the chance, all and all it came about the same price because my regular US distributor would have charged me $60USD for shipping and the HK distributor charged me $40USD, fair deal uh?
The item in question was released in Q3-4 2010; I bought it March 2011, and I haven't opened it yet only because I haven't cleaned shelf space.
Now the question is, MSRP was $170USD, I bought it at $240USD inc/shipping, steep uh?
If I want to sell it, because of the upcoming releases OR, a past, somewhat hard to find 2009 set, would it be fair to sell it at 250-260 to recoup credit card costs and break even?
With shipping, I could send it anywhere for $300USD, but that's nearly 100% over 2010 MSRP, so would that be scalping or just a hobbyist breaking it even?

Thanks for the advice.

Sell it for whatever the market will pay, that's not scalping. As someone mentioned above, controlling demand is the key. Those are scalpers! Other than that, you have a right to make a profit and charge whatever you want for your figure based on the market. If that's considered scalping, then you can apply this logic to a lot things in life, like homeowners and real estate flippers.. wouldn't they be considered scalpers? So don't worry about it. The hot toys guy hiring a bunch of people to stand in line to monopolize the supply, now that's scalping.

 

I can't believe you'd even ask such a question.

Moreover, I can't believe some the responses.

Who are we to say who's a "scalper" and who's not? That's in the eye of the beholder and has nothing to do with market control, supply, demand or any of that other crap.

If the price it too high for your tastes, don't buy it. If you're selling something and you're not comfortable with what you're asking, either keep it or lower the price.

This ain't rocket science nor is it fodder for pontification on market forces and control.

It IS business 101.

 

Thanks for the answers, while it was a no-brainer for some, I just wanted to know what the consensus amongst hobbyists, in regards to recent events and the general feel of the market.

It IS business 101.

As a disclaimer I haven't sold anything of what I've bought since 2009 on the internet, just locally and to some friends...

 

Scalping is what happened to the 7th Cavalry in 1876...............selling a figure for what the market will bear is definately different than that......

 

Scalping is what happened to the 7th Cavalry in 1876...............

:lol:lol

 

I think it's fair to say everyone has their own opinion on what they consider to be scalping,personally i think a scalper is a person who buys a figure to sell on straight away at the maximum profit he can make be it on Ebay or elsewhere....not really a collector at all just a profiteer....wether someone is prepared to pay that price out of desperation is really their choice to make no matter how stupid someone else considers him to be...the fact that you are selling on your older figure at the price you consider fair taking in to account your previous exspense is really up to you....if someone does bid/pay the price you are asking then one would presume they would have probably factored in your original oncost....of course the only thing is they may not realise you paid more than the original price in the first place.
The guy at the HK ANICON is beyond being just a scalper he's a lowlife piece of crap that prevented genuine 1/6th collectors from getting even one of the figures they really wanted at the price they should have been paying.....and was so pleased with himself he rubbed it in to peoples faces....a very very sad individual.....even more so now thanks to Sideshow & HT...LOL's.
Chelseaboy

 

who cares what people sell stuff for. Over at Sideshowfreaks everyone complains about people selling for a profit.

If you buy a figure and resell it a few years later at $200 more then you paid do to appreciation and you are making a good profit who cares. If the buyer is happy with the deal and you made a profit who cares. l will be selling my PF collection and will be making a profit on some of them since l have some grails people will really want. I will not sell them for the price l bought them for when l know l can get much more. I am not in the hobby of collectiing to make money of course, but if l have a chance to get much more then l paid, then l will do that. if you see an item with a way to high price tag, dont complain just don't buy it, simple as that.

l also don't care if people buy something just to flip it for more, (so called scalpers.) If you don't like that then don't buy it. if someone sees they can buy an item and resell it and make a profit good for them. We are humans and making and wanting money is what separates us from the animals.lol

l have bought fixed up and flip classic cars a couple of times and made very good profits in a short amount of time. does that make me a (scalper), no. I am a business man.

 

l have bought fixed up and flip classic cars a couple of times and made very good profits in a short amount of time. does that make me a (scalper), no. I am a business man.

If you can find me a cheap 32 ford roadster...

 

Capitalism: a true love story...

 

once you buy it you can do what ever you want with it sell it at what you desire . plain and simple

 

once you buy it you can do what ever you want with it sell it at what you desire . plain and simple

This sums up my thoughts about the topic exactly.

 

this came up for me years ago when I was into collecting smaller action figures like Star Wars, Spawn , Toy Biz etc... There where all the guys who bought up all the so called "Rare" one per case figures only to re-sell them on evilBay (there choice for sure) but at the time I didn't like it at all, I didn't want to have to resort to finding the toy elsewhere other than on the retail shelves, It's what turned me off to collecting the smaller lines, I eventually found more peace with the 12 inch collectors (way before we became cool and said "they're called 1:6 scale models") fast forward to today and it appears there are way more into "1:6 scale" for the sheer profit of it all than there is for the sheer love of the 12 inch action figure. (ok yes I might be exaggerating just a tad bit but still...) nowadays if you are not part of a pre-order then you risk missing out on a certain figure you may want. I don't have the DEEP pockets many of you seem to have so i must really pick and choose. If your buying wholesale and dealing in toys, I agree they can sell for market price after the figure is released. (I might not be able to afford the price the second time around but that's my problem and not theirs) Scalpers , hoarders, dealers , re-sellers whatever the word is you want to call yourselves, whether we like it or not it's their choice. Buy when you can afford and simply dream and wish when you cannot. This will forever be a part of our hobby. sad but true.

 

Scalping in 1/6 is pretty hard to do. I'm actually LOVING Sideshow Toys right now....want those elusive Batman or Predator figures? Man go ahead, pre order em! Right there, help yourself!

Even the Guardian Predator that looked to be so elusive really wasn't, and the batman/scarecrow 2 pack? Man order all you want at just a slight markup.

Scalping in the 1/6 world is almost impossible because the companies dont treat us as badly as collectors who really THRIVE on shortpacks/scalping, like Star Wars for example.

How to you get a planet full of fans RABID to pay "any price" for some crappy repaint or sloppily sculpted 4" figure? Just tell them its a shortpack or a limited edition...BOOM, instant buying frenzy.

 

Let them be bankrupt.

 

If its too expensive don't buy the scalpers stuff. Anyways sooner or later down the road more of the same figures will be reproduced and at better qualities from other companies.

 

Back before Ebay local scalpers used to go to the local toys suppliers when they opened, or in the case of wallmart opened packages, pick out all the good figures, then mark them up double or triple the price. In the case of rare figure you could see them going for as much as a HT figure(This was a 5 or 10 dollar figure). Back in the day they had no competition outside of conventions and had the local market cornered. If you really wanted that figure, you had to pay their prices. If you thought ebay prices were bad.....

Now...well they do the same thing, but they sell them on ebay. I mean I even saw two of them fighting over a figure at wal-mart at midnight one time. They were about to go at each other when security showed up. It was some rare star wars figure, Mara Jade I think. Most have no other job, this is how they make a living. But if your a Kid, or a college student, they are the bane of your existence. If you really wanted a figure you had to get up as early as they did and hunt for figures every day off you had(No online ordering back in the 90's)(luckily gas was cheap back then)

One time I had a day off went to a toys r us when they opened. I saw this kid pick up a figure that just came out. This very large man comes by with a cart. goes to the isle, litterally rips the pegs off the shelf with all the new figures and fills his cart with all of them. Then grabs the rare figure from the kids hand saying "This is mine!" and proceeds to leave, the kids mother didn't take it too well, the kid's crying his head off, I'm shouting at the guy, and some lady behind me grabs his arm. He pushes her away and proceeds to the register.

Here's what happened, the manager arrived, the kid got the figure back,(Took all 3 of us to convince the manager what happened) but the guy bought all the rest. Leaving screaming at the manager that that brat was lying the figure was his.

And it's stories and experiences like this that you'll hear which is why people hate scalpers.

In the case of convention only figure, in order to get the one you want you often spend 5 to 8 hours in line just to get up to the counter and find the scalper and 5 of his friends just bought 10 to 20 each of that rare figure and it's sold out. He then turns to you and says that' he's selling them for twice the price at his booth over there. But if you wait till after the con, it'll be 4 times the cost on ebay, so he's offering you a good deal.

And this is why people hate scalpers.

 

And this is why people hate scalpers.

Damn, that is scary, to take toys from kids and leave them crying.

 

Unfortunately scalping although immoral is not illegal. I don't think what your proposing is immoral. I agree with the other poster about those who hoard and inflate. But if you are trying to recoup your expenses ( your shipping + new shipping + packaging etc) nothing really wrong with it. Further I would say if you had bought one fig and sat on it and its value appreciated (like gold, antiques etc) ----fine. Heck you had to live with it for X number of years. However you may find that the fig has depreciated over time. Some examples : Some vintage GI Joe stuff came down in value when quality repros hit the market a few years ago.
I think I have a clue about which HT movie character you are referring to. If I am right when the new one comes out (maybe even before) the old version is going to loose value. In that case we might be lucky to get 75% of its original cost to apply to our new aquisition.

 

The majority of Hot Toys figures actually appreciate in value because of the collectible nature. A few months down the road, and you want to sell for a bit more than you paid? Go for it. It's yours, and you can do what you please with it. If it's a high price it won't sell. It's that simple.

What ever blows your hair back man.

 

i allways buy like 12 or 24 of ea figure and sell them later on :doh guess it makes me a scalper

 

To me, scalping is what this idiot (below) does. Notice the bulk buys and legions of hirelings that helped him buy the toys.

 

I see people preaching Capitalism 101 since it is legal but here is what you guys missed out at HK Anicon:

- 100 people line up a week before opening day with more than 20-30 real scalpers in line. No problem, thats just 20-30 out of a possible 600 exclusive figures.
- People in line wake up the day before's morning (camped out for nearly a week) suddenly find ~ 350 MORE people in front them?! This was confirmed by the guy at ~ 100th spot when he woke up and saw a LOT more people in front of him and his queue ticket was 450, not 100 ish where he should be.
- Some of those who cut in basically told everyone behind them to go home, don't bother and eff off since they will eat up the figures from HT.
- HT passes out queue tickets to first 600 people for the 600 pieces of limited edition figures.
- Punk azz thugs literally grab,take,steal the queue tickets out of fans hands, but not from the 350 who cut in line. Cops are called in but some poor SOB just got jacked.

The guy on TV was actually fairly orderly but and it is heresay that his scalper army cut in line, no video proof of it. But the Punk thugs are definitely related to LAST YEARS group of punk azz thugs that rioted at HT's booth and ruined it for everyone.

There are of course other scalpers there but they line their own azz up and waited like everyone else to get in, and could only buy at the limit - 1 set per person, just like everyone else.

So tell me in this situation, those 2 guys with their scalper army / punk azz hoodies are pure capitalists and have done nothing wrong.

This is why people hate scalpers because they use immoral and unethical means for financial gain at the expense of others.

It also boggles the mind that why didn't those punks just rob all the legit fans in line since it would have been easier to grab cash (HT required cash that day) over waiting in line to pay for toys, then sell it to make a profit.

There is no difference between mugging a queue ticket vs cash or that fat basterd who took an action figure out of some kid's hand to citizens and the law.

 

This is why people hate scalpers because they use immoral and unethical means for financial gain at the expense of others.

Who cares, in this day and age and in this world economy people can do what ever they want to make an extra buck. Who cares if they offend a guy who collects toys, as long as it's legal.

Basically 1/6 toy stores or members here are scalpers. They buy lots of box figures, part them out piece by piece and make a profit in the end. You think they are suppost to buy all these figures then part them out then just break even in the end, that would be pretty dumb.

If you buy a collectible and are happy wih the price from a scalper, who cares, if you see a crazy price from one, again who cares don't buy it.

l have a LOTR Berserker PF EX l paid $250 for it all together, before the end of the year l will try and sell it for $500. Doesnt make me a scalper, just selling it for what it is worth, doesn't matter if l paid much less.

 

People are showing this guy a lot, but he pales in comparison to some people you see at other conventions. Not saying he's not bad, or wrong for scalping, but I've see far bigger piles.

This guy had so many exclusives from Mattel at comic con, he built him self a fort, no I'm serious there are several off frame and behind him you don't see.

 

i dont really see why they are idiots for buying them up if they have the money and thinks he can turn it around go right ahead buy all of them. if you guys are steam up about it join them and buy more

 

This I disagree with, but that is not what this thread was originally about.

 

To me the crossover point is when somebody systematically purchases something in multiples that has a limited quantity, for the intended purpose of then controlling that item and reselling it at a higher price. I think that's scalping. Dealers parting out figures... No. You eventually reselling your singular items that you purchased for more after they appreciated... No. But bottom line, scalping wouldn't happen if people didn't buy it.

 

It is what it is...