Jump to content

Do We Overvalue Our Hobby?


madman1366

Recommended Posts

Last night, I was looking through convention pics of the dealer room floor and looking at insane stacks of "rare" figures...boxed, carded, bagged you name it. When I see quantities like that piled up from big sellers, even when a lot of it had been "sold out" some time ago it made me think.

 

 

Second hand prices are sometimes NUTS, but that is assuming there are none left other than 2nd hand. Well, if the online retailers hold back from selling all of their supplies of figures (especially after declaring them "sold out) to lug around to conventions, then how rare are they really?

 

Are we paying insane prices for some MISB figure on the assumption the figure is very rare when in reality there are still plenty nobody ever bought and are sitting in mass in some retailers warehouses?

 

 

 

 

 

Now I'm not saying we don't still enjoy a nice fandom here. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks that certain aspects have been a bit overinflated or not. I suppose an online retailer who is doing very well can afford the luxury of stashing quantities of certain items to let time work a little magic on the prices from the 2nd hand market. But if certain EXPENSIVE figures are so rare simply because some online retailers are holding back too many, then who is really setting the market prices? Are the online retailers purposely indirectly influencing the market? And to what degree?

 

I think it's a good question for debate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 31
  • Created
  • Last Reply

It does seem that these days it's more about making a quick buck then sharing a common hobby. Between said deaers that hold stock back, and Toy aisle lurking scalpers, it makes me both sad and annoyed that you have to pay out the ass for most figures these days.

 

I especially feel sorry for kids that try and get hld of their favorite TFs or whatever figures they're inot, as they have to fight off hoarders that are buying these toys not to enjoy, like a kid would with said toys, but to sell them on at a higher price on auction sites such as ebay.

 

I don't mind if you pick a figure up to sell on at retail to others that can't find em locally, but when you buy mass quantities of certain figures to sell on at whatever x price. That drives me nuts....

 

 

End rant...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel that. Unless it's a figure over 20 years old and legitimately rare I can see. But I fear seeing a day where we experience the comic collector effect.

 

I just don't think, save for customs, unreleased stuff and a smattering of exceptions, there are hardly any figures that one could really classify as "rare" that's been in general release over the last 20 years. I guess it's a matter of how serious future generations of collectors are going to be. Right now it's pretty strong between the ages of 25-45, but more older collectors will drop out in the upcoming years. Will there be enough young blood to take their place?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

seriously. I think TFSource had well over a handful of the first crossfire set which has been supposedly sold out for ages. Even their webstore says they're sold out. not cool. I already have the set and i'm pretty sure i paid a premium for it but it's upsetting to even think of the price gouging thats going on here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

seriously. I think TFSource had well over a handful of the first crossfire set which has been supposedly sold out for ages. Even their webstore says they're sold out. not cool. I already have the set and i'm pretty sure i paid a premium for it but it's upsetting to even think of the price gouging thats going on here.

 

 

Another debatable issue, how moral/ethical is that? If Walmart and Target do it, we'd call it price gouging and they'd probably get in some big trouble for that. Amazing how that gets overlooked in a collectors realm. What was more sick to me was when TRU jacked the MP Grimlock by $20 within a couple of weeks. Same rules don't always apply, but that doesn't make it any better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

seriously. I think TFSource had well over a handful of the first crossfire set which has been supposedly sold out for ages. Even their webstore says they're sold out. not cool. I already have the set and i'm pretty sure i paid a premium for it but it's upsetting to even think of the price gouging thats going on here.

 

 

Another debatable issue, how moral/ethical is that? If Walmart and Target do it, we'd call it price gouging and they'd probably get in some big trouble for that. Amazing how that gets overlooked in a collectors realm. What was more sick to me was when TRU jacked the MP Grimlock by $20 within a couple of weeks. Same rules don't always apply, but that doesn't make it any better.

 

 

I was goint to talk about TRUS' price gouging as well as they have now turned into their sister company, Kay Bee as now they're charging 14 bucks for a deluxe figure! It's interesting how our figure hunting had become so cumbersome more than being the fun and thrill it was only a few short months ago. It's made me wonder just how limited they are. Even FX Franz (youtube) has told me that in his town they're were plenty of Thundercrackers to go around. Whats going on here in America?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take this into consideration. Those vendors had to transport all that stock from their home base to the convention. They had to pay for a moving van or air cargo, airline tickets, convention passes, $250 for a booth, all the booth setup apparatus, hotel nights, food, etc. Of course they're going to have a mark-up at the show. These people have spent hundreds of dollars to show their wares and quite honestly I think they do deserve a markup. After all, they provided a convenient service to fans by allowing their rare items and overseas merchandise to be readliy accessible.

 

Vendors have to survive too, you know.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take this into consideration. Those vendors had to transport all that stock from their home base to the convention. They had to pay for a moving van or air cargo, airline tickets, convention passes, $250 for a booth, all the booth setup apparatus, hotel nights, food, etc. Of course they're going to have a mark-up at the show. These people have spent hundreds of dollars to show their wares and quite honestly I think they do deserve a markup. After all, they provided a convenient service to fans by allowing their rare items and overseas merchandise to be readliy accessible.

 

Vendors have to survive too, you know.

 

Considering all of that, Ebay and PayPal fees don't seem so bad, not to mention the larger customer base. :tflaugh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Take this into consideration. Those vendors had to transport all that stock from their home base to the convention. They had to pay for a moving van or air cargo, airline tickets, convention passes, $250 for a booth, all the booth setup apparatus, hotel nights, food, etc. Of course they're going to have a mark-up at the show. These people have spent hundreds of dollars to show their wares and quite honestly I think they do deserve a markup. After all, they provided a convenient service to fans by allowing their rare items and overseas merchandise to be readliy accessible.

 

Vendors have to survive too, you know.

That's crap and you know it Blitz. Your theory only holds water if these poor vendors had no choice but to sell their wares at BotCon because they had no other venue. When you list something as "sold out" on your site and then show up at BotCon fully stocked it's because you're sure even after the expense you can make more gouging people there than at the online store. Also, the expense of the booth and getting product there is in large part recouped by the fact that setting up the booth in the first place is excellent advertising. They pay for the exposure and I'm willing to bet they come out way ahead.

 

As to the larger topic, scalpers and gougers get away with the crap they do because we are willing to pay for it. We curse their behavior with our mouths and condone it with our dollar. Imagine how long these scumbags would do this crap if they put 10 Windchargers up on their ebay store at $30 a piece and nobody bought any. It won't take much "stock" piling up in their nasty little greed hovels before they realize we're not having it.

I personally have never bought a newer (within the last 20 years newer) TF on ebay, and the G1s I do occasionally buy have all been at or around market value at the time of their purchase.

 

All that said, you can't overvalue this hobby if what you pay is worth it to you. Each of us sets the limit they're willing to go to in pursuit of it. I outlined mine above. As long as I stay within my limits the value is there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One part that nobody addressed and I'm more curious about. IF all those figures that the online retailers had piled up and stored were all out there in collectors hands at this point, would their prices be soaring as much?

 

Is it more of the supply simply being bottled up (in the larger stashes) that's keeping the prices going up so much? Or is it a case of lets just feed them enough so they still know they are hungry?

 

 

 

People can place value in all kinds of ways, it's not simply about monetary or personal values. I am interested in other aspects as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
  • Create New...
Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE