Question?

Why is it that members of this board are so quick to jump all over eBay scalpers who sell pieces before they are even shipped, but when it is a board member, everyone is so quick to understand about "funding the collection" or "bills to pay"???


Fact: at least 1/3, if not more, of the board members who pre-ordered the Grey Hulk, have already sold, traded or offered to sell/trade theirs.


Go ahead Dave... I fully expect this thread to get deleted...

I think it is an issue not worth all the attention it gains and flaming wars it causes.

pixletwin said:

I think it is an issue not worth all the attention it gains and flaming wars it causes.

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I agree.... It's not like any of us are scalpers or anything. Most times it's just a way to fund more collecting or to pay the bills when need be. The sane ones here understand that...

DarkArtist81 said:

I agree.... It's not like any of us are scalpers or anything. Most times it's just a way to fund more collecting or to pay the bills when need be. The sane ones here understand that...

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So a $350 Patient Zero isn't scalping if the seller needs the funds then?

lcummins said:

Why is it that members of this board are so quick to jump all over eBay scalpers who sell pieces before they are even shipped, but when it is a board member, everyone is so quick to understand about "funding the collection" or "bills to pay"???


Fact: at least 1/3, if not more, of the board members who pre-ordered the Grey Hulk, have already sold, traded or offered to sell/trade theirs.


Go ahead Dave... I fully expect this thread to get deleted...

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I say, good question.

Edit: let me rephrase that: I say, that's a just question.

Personally I see the distinction between good and bad as - if you buy it and turn around and sell it the next day - you're ONLY motivation was to make money on it - BAD because it deprived someone who actually wanted it a chance to own it at the manufacturers price. If you decide after a while that you'd rather have something else so you sell it to finance your new acquisition that's fine. To me it really depends on why you sell - and the time period you hold the piece for gives a good indication of what that intention was.

Patient Zero isn't a new figure - so if you can get $350 for it now good on you. If you see someone flogging items from pre-order that haven't even been shipped yet for the same sort of dollars - that's the sort of thing that pisses me off.

lcummins said:

Why is it that members of this board are so quick to jump all over eBay scalpers who sell pieces before they are even shipped, but when it is a board member, everyone is so quick to understand about "funding the collection" or "bills to pay"???

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IMO, scalpers are those who buy SS exclusives EVERYTIME and also states that they have 5 !!to sell and sell them for higher price. They are not true fans and don't keep half of what they buy from SS.

I rarely see the same board member sell every exclusive figures.

On this board, at least they allow US, board members to get first shot at what he or she is selling and if no one wants it then ebay it goes.

lcummins said:

So a $350 Patient Zero isn't scalping if the seller needs the funds then?

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Nope... That's the price it's going for...

I mean, to do otherwise would be to sell an original Balrog for the price it cost originally.... and that would be pure madness. Especially if you need the money.

LordAzrael summed it up pretty well, I think.

Now if I may ask you a question: What did you mean by this?

Lcummins said:

Go ahead Dave... I fully expect this thread to get deleted...

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I agree. This is a good question. If a member needs money and the item hasn't even shipped yet, just cancel the item and save the money that way instead of paying for it and then reselling it. It's not like cancelling will deprive collectors because there's always the Wait List.

Now, I'll be honest...I have sale lists over at Rebelscum and Yodasnews because money's tight and I need to generate funds for 12 inch figures, but all of my items are coming out of my existing collection. I'm not offering up my yet-to-be-shipped Kenobi exclusive for sale though. If it came to it, I'd just cancel and let someone on the Wait List have a shot.

Mind you, I think this is a good question and aimed at board members who are reselling pre-orders at a markup. Someone selling for cost...that's fine but why not just cancel and not have to pay for it at all??

pixletwin said:

LordAzrael summed it up pretty well, I think.

Now if I may ask you a question: What did you mean by this?

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Probably he expected it to be viewed as a personal attack on other board members. However, I personally don't see it that way because no names were mentioned. If anything, that statement was the only red flag that I saw. It would've been better not to send out that message for Dave. It's aggressive.

Originally Posted by lcummins
Fact: at least 1/3, if not more, of the board members who pre-ordered the Grey Hulk, have already sold, traded or offered to sell/trade theirs.

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Whatcha gonna do about it?

pixletwin said:

LordAzrael summed it up pretty well, I think.

Now if I may ask you a question: What did you mean by this?

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Well, the Grey Hulk hasn't shipped yet, so I guess LordAzrael summation does fit pretty well!

As for that line, I expect the thread to get out of hand because some people will get angry and start name calling, etc. so Dave will have to lock or delete it.

DarkArtist81 said:

Nope... That's the price it's going for...

I mean, to do otherwise would be to sell an original Balrog for the price it cost originally.... and that would be pure madness. Especially if you need the money.

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DarkArtist81 said:

GOOD GOD!

That's a lot for Zero IMO.... I mean, way to take advantage of low edition sizes and popular demand!

Glad I got mine!

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DarkArtist81 said:

Yeah, I figure... I mean.. I could be nice and offer it here, but so many people are wanting it. And I also have to make my money back (wedding woes... my customs did not sell)

So I think that would be the best bet. I can just post it here as a gesture to all of my fellow Freaks, at least to give everyone a shot. But I really need the money....

It's not like it's not for a good cause or anything...

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.

TheWitchKing said:

So whatcha gonna do about it?

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Nothing... I can forgive, but I will never forget.

Name calling? Never, I say!!!! But if it does come to that at least we can all sit back and watch.

pixletwin said:

Name calling? Never, I say!!!! But if it does come to that at least we can all sit back and watch.

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Ask Bodie to pass the popcorn...

pixletwin said:

Name calling? Never, I say!!!! But if it does come to that at least we can all sit back and watch.

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I love threads like this just so I can sit back and watch! Nobody ever agrees on this subject.

Sith Lord 0498 said:

...Probably he expected it to be viewed as a personal attack on other board members. However, I personally don't see it that way because no names were mentioned. If anything, that statement was the only red flag that I saw. It would've been better not to send out that message for Dave. It's aggressive.

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You are probably right, and I should have just left that off...

I knew what he meant. We've seen these types of thread degenerate into name-calling, which isn't allowed.


But let me ask a hypothetical question.

If someone had a gray hulk on order but decided they didn't want it and was morally opposed to flipping, what should they do?

1) Cancel and let the first waitlister get it (who could be a flipper).

2) Handpick someone to buy it at cost (plus shipping).

3) Have a contest for someone to win the opportunity to buy it at cost.

lcummins said:

You are probably right, and I should have just left that off...

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The best defense is a good offense...or is it vice versa?

I think people tend to be more accepting when the scalper or flipper or whatever you want to call them is a board member because they're not out there doing this all the time, whereas someone on ebay could not give two cents about collecting other than it is a good way to make money. I guess its something of a honor among thieves mentality.

As to Dave's question I am inclined towards the third option, I feel we are something of a community and doing a contest here is a nice way to keep good relations, however I would want to make sure it was completely fair so no one gets upset if they lose. On the other hand the first option does make life easier all around since you don't have to do the contest or ship it.