3 3/4" sighting and hauls

[Clam]

I know it's really tempting, but it's not the right thing to do. Sure, maybe you're helping some guy in, I don't know, rural Wisconsin or something, but that guy probably has people in his area doing the same thing, which is why he can't find the figures at retail in the first place. When all is said and done, we're shipping things all over the country and paying for envelopes and whatnot that if we just refrained from buying more than we needed, other collectors in our area (or even traveling through) would be able to get what they need.

 

right thing to do? So if your friend said "hey man, if you see an extra ______ when you go out, pick it up for me and I'll give you 10 bucks"... you would say "no, I can't. it's not the right thing to do. I can only pick up what I need, as should everyone. I am sorry, but if you want ____ you will have to do it yourself" ???

 

give me a break man. really.

 

 

 

 

 

Not to mention the fact that, if you were thrifty like others here (use Internet coupons, price match at Wal-Mart, shop around) there is NO WAY you would ever pay $10 per figure, unless you're figuring at least a dollar plus for gas per toy already. The highest you should be paying, with no coupons whatsoever, is $7.86 per fig. At five figures for the wave, that's just under $40. You want $65, so you're claiming that you went to 12 stores and used up $25 worth of gas finding your own figures. Now you want someone else to pay for that gas at their expense, not yours, so you're selling some of your extra finds online for profit. Meanwhile, someone in your area is hitting those same stores the day after, the week after, whatever, and coming up short-handed, only they paid the same gas costs and got nothing, because you cleaned those stores out first. Now they have to pay for their gas, and yours, and shipping on top of all of it in order to get the damn things online.

 

so now you are telling him how much money he should be spending on figures for himself? wow. the things you are saying he should do (coupons, price matching) take a lot of time, effort, and planning ahead. Do you know how difficult it is to get some Walmarts to price match? If you don't have an advertisement (and he shouldn't because MU hasn't been on sale for a long time), forget it. And it is an incredible hassle to do it even when you do have the materials needed. And if you see a figure you want and don't have a coupon handy, you should leave it and wait until you have one??

 

 

 

as for people not being able to find figures, that is just part of the game. It's not only because of scalpers, not even close. I went to Walmart last night and saw 2 kids and their dad buying 2 of the newest comic packs (Sentry pack and Thor/Ironman pack), Mystique and Ghost Rider. I sure would have liked to buy those figures, but I was too late. Do you think they were going to resell them?

 

 

and have you ever heard of "you fly, I'll buy" ??? (when you have somebody go pick up food and you pay for both of yours?? etc. some people have no interest in the hunt and are happy to pay a little more to have somebody do it.

 

 

 

I don't think scalping is right... but I can't blame anyone for doing it either... and it surely isn't the biggest problem in collecting.

 

[SKETCH]

Either way he's make $15 off someone lol. Those looking for something pm me. I probably have extras

[dragonkings]

I don't think scalping is right... but I can't blame anyone for doing it either... and it surely isn't the biggest problem in collecting.

 

 

UM, yes it is.

 

 

I agree with fair game with you bro, but this ONE line from your post I disagree with 100%

 

aside from bad distribution, (which is sometimes because of scalpers B.S. and poor business sense i.e. trying to appease scalpers)

 

Scalpers are the worse part of collecting: they cause over inflated prices and False supply and demand which is what ruins collecting the most and get tiring after a while. It's proven over and over again.

It's not fair game if they stack the deck against the collector.

 

But this is a board of opinions we all have the right to disagree, now please let's not start a war here..

[RandomlyWicked]

Picked up all of wave 11 today! My Target must have JUST put them out. Walmart had Yellowjacket and Iron Man 2020 for a couple weeks now but I passed on them because of their pricing. The next time I go there I think I am going to tape a note to their pegs that says

"Target has these same figures for $6.89. Toys R Us has them for $7.49" and see what happens.

[NightousCrawler]

The next time I go there I think I am going to tape a note to their pegs that says

"Target has these same figures for $6.89. Toys R Us has them for $7.49" and see what happens.

 

 

That's a great idea I think we should get a group together to do that nationwide at WMs at noon on a certain date. Let's do it gang!

[BatDude]

After 21 years of collecting action figures, IMO the biggest problem in collecting always has been (and always will be, as far as I can tell) the toy companies' and retailers' failure to acknowledge scalping as a problem. They are the ones who could put an end to it, but instead they turn a blind eye to it.

 

But enough on that. At least we have the Internet now, which makes collecting a thousand times easier than it was 10+ years ago.

[decon]

Picked up all of wave 11 today! My Target must have JUST put them out. Walmart had Yellowjacket and Iron Man 2020 for a couple weeks now but I passed on them because of their pricing. The next time I go there I think I am going to tape a note to their pegs that says

"Target has these same figures for $6.89. Toys R Us has them for $7.49" and see what happens.

 

 

Which state are you in?

[RandomlyWicked]

Madison, WI

[Sagejdg]

picked up the sentry/spidey two pack today at walmart here in charlotte, nc. no sign of the thanos wave yet.

[ronnieramone]

right thing to do? So if your friend said "hey man, if you see an extra ______ when you go out, pick it up for me and I'll give you 10 bucks"... you would say "no, I can't. it's not the right thing to do. I can only pick up what I need, as should everyone. I am sorry, but if you want ____ you will have to do it yourself" ???

 

give me a break man. really.

 

This is not a friend of his asking him for a favor. this is someone picking up a whole set of extra figures in the hopes of selling them online at a profit. What you suggested isn't that bad, I'll agree with you. That being said, if a friend of mine asked me to run around town and pick up a whole bunch of figures and he would pay me later, I'd tell him if he wants them so bad to just do it himself. Same thing I say when my friends ask me to borrow money, I tell them to be responsible for their own business. This isn't a charity case I'm running, and it's not a business either.

 

What we do is a hobby. Collecting should be fun, and when people run around buying up multiple copies of everything, leaving nothing behind for the next person, it ruins the hobby (fun) for a whole bunch of people.

 

That's not collecting, that's scalping and/or hoarding. I see a big difference between those latter two things and genuine collecting.

 

so now you are telling him how much money he should be spending on figures for himself? wow. the things you are saying he should do (coupons, price matching) take a lot of time, effort, and planning ahead. Do you know how difficult it is to get some Walmarts to price match? If you don't have an advertisement (and he shouldn't because MU hasn't been on sale for a long time), forget it. And it is an incredible hassle to do it even when you do have the materials needed. And if you see a figure you want and don't have a coupon handy, you should leave it and wait until you have one??

 

No. I'm calling his BS. What I am saying is that the $10 per figure price he claimed is an outright lie; an excuse to profit more per figure while pretending to be "doing someone a favor." Let's put it this way: if you were admittedly buying extra figures specifically to sell online at a profit, why wouldn't you go through the hassle of doing a price match or using a coupon in order to increase your profit margin? Then, you can defend yourself against the "scalper" accusation by claiming that you paid more for the figures than you actually did. Now, maybe he wants to show a receipt to prove that he paid outrageously for those figures, but I'm not going to ask him to. I don't care. I just think it's a wasteful thing to do, and it doesn't help anybody in the long run. Okay, so this guy pays more to get his figures mailed to him in Kentucky. He's probably not thrilled about being unable to find them cheaper at his local retailer, but he begrudgingly surrenders to his desire and pays the higher price online, because it's the only way he will ever get the items he wants. This other guy recoups some of his gas money, but doesn't exactly make enough to really call it "supplemental income" or anything. He's hoping to just squeak a little extra to help justify his wasteful driving around to 12 different stores, which he wouldn't have HAD to do if every other small-minded "collector" wasn't out there doing the same thing in hoarding & scalping themselves! Meanwhile, a whole bunch of other people (who don't engage in such practices) can't continue the hobby because of the ridiculous barriers to entry that people have created. It's a snowball effect. We've seen it before plenty of times (most notably with Legends), and it inevitably ends badly for the toy lines.

 

as for people not being able to find figures, that is just part of the game. It's not only because of scalpers, not even close. I went to Walmart last night and saw 2 kids and their dad buying 2 of the newest comic packs (Sentry pack and Thor/Ironman pack), Mystique and Ghost Rider. I sure would have liked to buy those figures, but I was too late. Do you think they were going to resell them?

 

Probably not, but if I had gotten there before the kids, I would have let the kids have a crack at them, or at least offered to split the finds somehow. Kids need toys more than I do, but if my daughter was there (and we didn't already have Mystique), well, she wanted that one pretty badly, so that would be a tough call. In general though, I leave stuff I don't need for the next person. Occasionally I will buy something just because it's cool or rare even though I don't collect the line per se. I have collected Star Wars & G.I.Joe in the past and got out of it later, but I still have an interest in those toys, and sporadically pick them up, particularly if what I really want (new MU) is unavailable. Back when Rhino was still pretty rare, I let several sit on the pegs, even though I know I could have sold them at a profit. The distinction I make is that I do not need to seek profit at every turn. Some things are done for profit, if you are a professional in that particular business. I believe that people should leave other people's businesses (toy sales, in this case) alone and not try and always become a middle man in everything. It's an ugly side of collecting that I personally despise.

 

and have you ever heard of "you fly, I'll buy" ??? (when you have somebody go pick up food and you pay for both of yours?? etc. some people have no interest in the hunt and are happy to pay a little more to have somebody do it.

 

If food were as rare as new Marvel Universe figures, I would have a problem with that, too. I'd say stand in line with everyone else and wait, no cutsies. Luckily, our part of the world doesn't suffer the hunger that other places have to cope with, so I don't see any dilemma with this particular scenario.

 

I don't think scalping is right... but I can't blame anyone for doing it either... and it surely isn't the biggest problem in collecting.

 

I kind of disagree with you, but you're half-right: The biggest problem in collecting is scalper culture. It's not just the scalpers themselves; it's the gullible people who buy from them, the manufacturers who cater to them by shortpacking certain figures, the stockboys that hide sealed cases in the back just to open when their preferred scalper customers come in...

 

The scalper culture is pervasive, it's the reason why new figures are hard to find, and it's the reason we pay such high premiums. It's not all this one guy's fault, not by any means. However, if we come together and fight this culture, we can change it. We can make an effort to put these scalpers out of business. If we are "friends" on this forum, and I know a great many of us have become sort-of-friends over time, then we can charge retail plus shipping to each other as a general rule when we sell figures. That would be "helping each other out" and not trying to make a profit. As it stands now, though, we aren't doing anybody any favors. We're just artificially driving up prices and making things seem more scarce than they really are. You know it's true when you're sitting on 2 copies of every figure; one open one loose, while others go without. You know it's true when people have 3 Archangels for sale at $20 each, in addition to the ones they keep for themselves. I understand we have a capitalist system, but the free market shouldn't rule over us like a tyrant. We don't have to try and monopolize the supply of action figures in our local area. We don't have to buy up every figure just because it's rare and we know we can sell it for a few extra bucks. We can just... collect. We can be better people, better friends to one another than the scalpers are.

 

Can't we?

[Cringer]

Found ben reilly Spider-Man and carnage today at Wal Mart in new boston Ohio.

 

When I went to check out they wouldnt ring up. Luckily the lady let me scan 2 others that would ring up and take Spidey and Carnage :)

[wolverine2281]

aww man, i was looking for an emoticon with a smiley playing a little violin

[ronnieramone]

aww man, i was looking for an emoticon with a smiley playing a little violin

 

Hey, if you guys don't care about the negative effects of scalping on the hobby, then I guess I don't either.

 

I just see scalpers & hoarders as my enemy, and I'm pretty much going to come out against them every time. It's not a service that they provide; it's a disservice to the hobby.

 

The worst part about it is that they want all the profit and none of the risk:

 

Let me know if anyone is interested. Otherwise, I'll just take 'em back.

[JD2010]

before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpNJRNL1KmY

 

after: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSl86TjsYc (2:03)

[ronnieramone]

before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpNJRNL1KmY

 

after: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSl86TjsYc (2:03)

 

See, now that just makes me furious. It's no wonder to me why I have not seen this at all, anywhere. Scumbags like THIS never let them even hit the shelves.

 

MAKE MORE HASBRO! MAKE SO GODDAMN MANY THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE THREE IF THEY WANT.

[JD2010]

before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpNJRNL1KmY

 

after: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQSl86TjsYc (2:03)

 

See, now that just makes me furious. It's no wonder to me why I have not seen this at all, anywhere. Scumbags like THIS never let them even hit the shelves.

 

MAKE MORE HASBRO! MAKE SO GODDAMN MANY THAT EVERYONE CAN HAVE THREE IF THEY WANT.

 

Hey, ronnie and guys!

 

The end of story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7weQJu_ab6U...feature=related

[cobry1bryant]

What a complete waste of time.

 

I just don't understand the need to post videos such as these on youtube.

Besides ammunition to be made fun of that is.....

 

 

 

[hellseeker]

heads up in willoughby ohio. walmart had dark hawkeye. didn't pick it up cause paint apps weren't great. first time i've seen wave 11 around.

[Gaelinic]

Sure, maybe you're helping some guy in, I don't know, rural Wisconsin or something, but that guy probably has people in his area doing the same thing, which is why he can't find the figures at retail in the first place.

 

This is why I can't ever find anything w/o extreme luck...and why I'm now turning to Gaelinic to buy one of his extra Archangels... (still waiting to hear back from either my PM or one of my posts, BTW)

 

I've got 2 other local guys helping me search for an Archangel...who both have 2, 1 opened, 1 sealed , while I can't find just the lone, single 1 I need that will definitely be opened.

 

Hoarding is barely different than scalping. At least I can get stuff from scalpers

 

Hey sorry. I'm going through all the PMs. Sold the wave 11 figs. I now have two extra Archangels and one classic havok. I'm going through the PMs. I was in AZ for work. On my off time, I hit the stores hard since I don't have to drag the family with me. Also, I found Wave 11 in Walmart. They were $9.89 per figure. I'm not looking at the receipt right now, but I remember they were each $10 plus with taxes.

 

I'm not getting into the debate on scalping. The system works because someone is always willing to pay for something they cannot get. The guys buying the figs from me aren't in AZ. They can't find them. It seems like most of the guys I'm selling to are either in smaller in California, New Jersey, or rural areas in the South. I've been to LA to visit the inlaws have never found anything on the shelves. There is a lot of competition there. Don't know about NJ. But, the rural areas must not get the same distribution that larger cities get.

 

Anyway, I'm back in Denver and shipping the figs. by Monday when I get back in to work.

 

[UltimateAlliance]

scalping aside... what bothers me most is that he'd rather return them than help someone out

 

the fact that his figures sold doesnt matter... his initial comment was wrong

[jjlecaros]

 

 

 

 

 

I found 2 sets of mls today, 3 cases of the thanos wave but only picked up 2 thanos, 3 hawkeyes, and 3 yellowjackets. found the wolvverine orgins for $5 each yesterday, at target I found the death and havok, its my second havok. if you guys wanna see more pics

 

www.facebook.com/actionfigureaddicts

[Clam]

I don't think scalping is right... but I can't blame anyone for doing it either... and it surely isn't the biggest problem in collecting.

 

 

UM, yes it is.

 

 

I agree with fair game with you bro, but this ONE line from your post I disagree with 100%

 

aside from bad distribution, (which is sometimes because of scalpers B.S. and poor business sense i.e. trying to appease scalpers)

 

 

wrong. case ratios are the absolutely worst problem about collecting. Hands down. No disputing it.

 

 

It's Hasbro's fault for putting only 1 of the best figure in each case, and 6-7 figures nobody wants in there instead. if there were 2 or 3 Archangels per case, he wouldn't be so hard to find and he wouldn't be getting scalped all day... but they keep doing it and doing it.

 

and besides the point... you guys are way overblowing the problem of scalping... I would guess that for every 10 Archangels sold at Target, 8-9 of them are sold to people who actually want to keep them.

[xbuster]

 

 

 

 

 

I found 2 sets of mls today, 3 cases of the thanos wave but only picked up 2 thanos, 3 hawkeyes, and 3 yellowjackets. found the wolvverine orgins for $5 each yesterday, at target I found the death and havok, its my second havok. if you guys wanna see more pics

 

www.facebook.com/actionfigureaddicts

 

nice haul!! at what stores did you catch each one of those at?

[NightousCrawler]

I don't think scalping is right... but I can't blame anyone for doing it either... and it surely isn't the biggest problem in collecting.

 

 

UM, yes it is.

 

 

I agree with fair game with you bro, but this ONE line from your post I disagree with 100%

 

aside from bad distribution, (which is sometimes because of scalpers B.S. and poor business sense i.e. trying to appease scalpers)

 

 

wrong. case ratios are the absolutely worst problem about collecting. Hands down. No disputing it.

 

 

It's Hasbro's fault for putting only 1 of the best figure in each case, and 6-7 figures nobody wants in there instead. if there were 2 or 3 Archangels per case, he wouldn't be so hard to find and he wouldn't be getting scalped all day... but they keep doing it and doing it.

 

and besides the point... you guys are way overblowing the problem of scalping... I would guess that for every 10 Archangels sold at Target, 8-9 of them are sold to people who actually want to keep them.

 

Agreed, I think scalping is terrible not only in collecting action figures, but in all areas. However, in the case of action figures scalping is only part of the problem. And IMO a smaller part of the problem. Hasbro case assortments is the biggest problem facing MU collectors. Stores will not reorder cases if their pegs are full with MU. They do not look at the fact they are all IM and SM. Hasbro needs to change this is a radical way. And retail needs a massive clearance, a giving it away clearance like $2 or less per figure.

 

 

I would hate to be a 10 year old child trying to collect this line. Unless your parents are rich and smart enough to buy online, you would be hard pressed to get figures ever. Even if you were lucky enough to arrive at a store the day they put out a case, what parent is going to buy more than two figures? They'll say Timmy we'll get the rest next time or we'll ask Santa. Well good luck with that the parent or child may never see those toys again at retail.

[SKull]

 

 

 

 

 

I found 2 sets of mls today, 3 cases of the thanos wave but only picked up 2 thanos, 3 hawkeyes, and 3 yellowjackets. found the wolvverine orgins for $5 each yesterday, at target I found the death and havok, its my second havok. if you guys wanna see more pics

 

www.facebook.com/actionfigureaddicts

 

 

Crazy Haul Gratz on the find