"This makes scalpers look bad" from Fort Max, wait isn't scalping always bad? :tftongue

 

Yes, he is a moron, but he isn't really as bad as scalper. The price is pretty decent....for now. He could always have a bogus buyer to pad the price, but until that happens, he's just at the same level with them for me. I agree with his shortpacked nonsense though. TFs at the mega level are not shortpacked, especially considering a case contains about 4 toys and 3 different molds.

 

Additionally, he is also a moron for having no idea how unethical his actions are, and trying to justify it by saying that you only have to pay one s/h or you would save a lot of gas.

 

This is also nothing compared to what Marvel Legends collectors have to go through.

As long as the price stays under $44 (retail + tax), he will make zero profit. Besides, out of 8 cases, they got 4 figures. I think these are going out 3 per case (maybe 4), and whose to say the rest of them weren't Ironhides?

Well, I also wanted to add my two cents.

 

I once sold 2 Skywarps on eBay but only because they were rare on eBay AND because the shelves are filled with them. I was at a store and they had like 7 cases of 4 figures. My asking price was fair but the price went up because the people bid that high.

 

So I feel that is their own responsibility. I also pay more for a toy if it is rare.

 

As for scalpers who call shops and have employees looking trough the boxes, now that is plain dirty. One should go to the stores and look there yourself. I visited a local store daily and picked up the only Strongarm, Inferno and Hotshot before anyone else could.

 

But that is fair in my opinion. I would not buy several of them (if the store even had them) to sell for scalper prices on eBay.

If I had a friend at Walmart, that worked in the toys section and actually took the time to look out for me like that, I do the exact same thing. As much as every one here wants figures like Meister, Tracks, Shockblast and Dreadwing, you won't admit it but you'd do the same thing. In fact that's a good Idea. Let me see if my cousin still works at Target.

for me here in britain, people like this are often the only way to get hold of things. there are very few shops i know of that actually stock TFs of any kind, and those that do are specialist and rarely have anything at a reasonable price. i've certainly found ebay to be cheaper than many of the prices i've seen in stores. although i'm often astounded by the charges for p&p.

 

saying all that, i do have a price limit on the toys i bid for.

I can't blame the guy for using his connections to get stuff for himself. :thumb

 

I can blame the guy for using that connection to exploit people. I personally am totally against scalping. Toy collecting is a recreation for 99.9% of the people who do it. To me, the idea of exploiting collectors for profit is so wrong. :tdown

I can't blame the guy for using his connections to get stuff for himself. :thumb

 

I can blame the guy for using that connection to exploit people. I personally am totally against scalping. Toy collecting is a recreation for 99.9% of the people who do it. To me, the idea of exploiting collectors for profit is so wrong. :tdown

I did leave that part out. If I had connections I'd just be buying one or one of each figure for myself. Not the whole box to sell on Ebay.

That really is bad, but will any of those figures stay "rare" for very long? I'm sure more Shockblasts and Dreadwings will show up in latter cases.

That really is bad, but will any of those figures stay "rare" for very long?  I'm sure more Shockblasts and Dreadwings will show up in latter cases.

Hi, first-time poster.

 

Agreed. These figs will be everywhere come the Holiday season.

 

 

Given...I live in a highly populated area, but I've seen these figs already at TRU.

The only one I haven't come across is Shockblast in PL Battles packaging...but I've easily seen over 10 of them in the origional wave packaging at the Meijer's in my area. And boy, do they go fast. Even Cliffjumper is flying off of the shelves.

 

I partly blame Hasbro(for case ratios...which have improved BTW) and partly blame the stores(for gross overstock).

 

Having a connection in a store to me is no big deal. The guy just went about it completely wrong by telling everyone and trying to separate himself from the scalping ilk. His rant is pretty unprofessional. But I hear so many definitions of scalping anymore that anyone who gets to a particular fig before anyone else is considered unethical. It's BS.

 

And, it could have been worse...he could have set a ridiculous BIN price or some BS reserve. But I don't see that.

 

Forgive the self-righteousness, but I've been called a scalper on a couple of occasions. Mostly for doing nothing more than having more than one TF in my cart going to checkout. Both kids and adults have confronted me for buying $100 worth of TFs in one shot(not because they wanted one, either). Yet I've never snatched a toy from a crying child, or ran home to post the stuff on ebay at an absurd price. No one even considers that they are for my personal collection. They just presume.

 

Sort of off-topic, and I know I'm probably going to make some enemies by saying this, but if I want to buy 2 Shockblasts, I'm going to. Alot of this resentment seems to stem from relative income...I understand that not everyone has money/time to invest in a collection. But in the same vein(these people who are quick to use the "s" word) have to realize that not everyone struggles with money either.

 

I didn't always have money...I remember being thoroughly broke up until a few years ago, until I got a great job and earned it. Now I can afford to buy as many doubles as I want, but I don't hoarde or scalp.

 

My point is, just be wary of how you use that word toward others. In most cases, you end up making an ass of yourself. If you see that same creepy 50-yr-old scanning the toy section everytime you go to the store, then yeah, he is probably a scalper. As for working professionals like me, don't be so quick to judge.

 

Sorry about the long post...

That said, you're right. There are three real culprits here:

 

1) Hasbro, for making the toys rare.

2) The scalper and his turd friends, for cheating the collectors out of the chance to buy the figures.

3) The buyer, for encouraging the scalper.

I'd say the main problem with stuff being 'rare' is that stores can't accurately predict demand, so the shelvs are clogged up with Ironhides and early Alternators.........

 

If Hasbro get the orders, they will ship them. Either stores aren't putting them on the shelves, or aren't ordering them in the first place.