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Marvel Legends Sightings and Hauls thread


aaozz9

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Maybe I'm in the minority but I buy action figures to "PLAY" with them, pose them, take action pics of them fighting each other. I don't buy them just to put em up on a wall/shelf/closet in their package & hope that one day they are worth thousands of $$. More power to you if that's your sole reason for collecting them. That's like buying  comics/novels/magazines & not reading them IMO.

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Agree, Gmen.  Bottom line, you spend your money how you please- if you want the figures to sit around and hopefully collect some value in the thousands, rock on. If you want to pose/play with them, do that too.

If youre into scalping, I really don't think there's as much money there as people want to believe. The vast majority of figures just aren't rare enough to justify paying hundreds over what the figure was initially worth. I knew a guy who was convinced DCU's Power Girl was gonna be an instant hit. He bought up 20; to this day he's sold less than half, and almost of those he sold were at the price he bought them for, or lower! He bought extra Storm figures from the Jubilee BAF (don't ask me how- Very rare). But he wont part with one for less than $300.00. He's been holding onto it for 5 years now and lost his sh1t when Hasbro came out with the recent version, because he knows chances are that one from the Jubilee BAF is gonna appear again. The guy's pissed all the time....where's the fun at??

On the other hand youre never gonna convince people they cant make that pot o gold. Its like buying up all the first issues of whatever comic comes out. These guys swear its all gonna be worth huge money (he says, as he tries to hide his "The Buzz" #1)….

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11 hours ago, decon said:

I collect mainly MOC/MIB because the figures look great in package. Many times when opening, figures can be disappointing such as loose joints or hard to pose.  I buy two of the stuff I like to open one especially to complete the BAF or C&C.  

How exactly is a figure "hard to pose"? I've never opened up a fig that had "loose joints" right outta the box. If the fig looks great in the package, it'll look great outta the package too. Sorry, but your reasons for buying 2, 1 to open, 1 to keep MIB, make zero sense. Only figs I have ever bought multiples of are army building figs such as Hydra grunts, Multiple man, cuz you know, it makes sense.

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I open almost all of the toys I buy to pose and display them. Very rarely I will buy an extra if it’s a favorite character BUT I absolutely don’t care how other people enjoy collecting toys. There is no reason at all to be arguing over this. You can buy 1 or buy 20, open them all or keep them sealed. If you enjoy what you’re doing, that’s all that matters. Don’t tell me how to do what I enjoy and I won’t tell you either. 

If you’re a legitimate scalper, then you suck. If you’re in a store at the same time as another collector and you have multiple of one figure in hand and the second collector doesn’t have any, it’s nice to share. 

Be nice, people.

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I don't have as much of a problem with someone buying 2, because the way I see it, at some point they're gonna help out another fellow collector get something via trade or selling at reasonable prices. I see a lot IG collectors letting figs go at good prices. I do however have a problem with collectors buy 3+. We all see the various problems that plague our hobby, specificaly with distribution. If you're buy multiples just to have, then that really is a horrible thing to do when everything isn't available to everyone. It's not like there's a surplus.

But anyway....with the onslaught of this year, how are y'all now displaying? Groups? Eras? How much rearranging has been done? I mean even a MK shelf would be packed right now. By the end of the year, people will have a slew of BP related figs...

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10 hours ago, mako said:

Wow. If there's more than one of a figure I want, I leave one for the next guy. Then again, I open my stuff. Otherwise I just might as well take a photo. It's the exact same effect.

Lol, so true. I personally don't see the point of buying what's basically a $20 picture frame of an action figure, but to each his own. We're all supporting the hobby as far as I'm concerned.

As far as buying multiples, I must confess I'm a twofer myself. Ever since I was a kid I've always had a problem with my action figures breaking down and wishing I had a spare. It's just one of my weird little tendencies that go along with this weird little hobby. Is bordering OCD. That's usually as far as I go tho. If possibly I will leave some for my compatriots, but I have no problems buying from multiple stores. Added to that, I'm part of a group of local guys who lookout for each other. I've been known to buy several of one figure but take solace that they will all go to different collectors (not scalpers) and good homes. On the very rare case that I end up with 3 or more I will sell them on ebay at cost. I live and hunt in an area dense with scalpers so I rarely loose any sleep over it.

While I don't understand the point of MIMB collectors I suppose I can see it as an investment. One thing I've been wondering and I'd like some input. Is the attached photo a symptom of MIMB collectors not wanting to open a box or just straight gutter trash that's too cheap to buy altogether?

2018-10-10_21_47_37.jpg

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I'm also a "twofer".  I love making dioramas and I also love looking at them in their packaging (especially when they were on bubble cards). I guess I could put them back in their original boxes, but the missing BAF piece is too noticeable in it's absence. With the exception of B&M exclusives, I always get cases anyway. As far as purchasing more than 2, with some exceptions (one being stumbling upon a Juggernaut wave Deadpool many months after it was released. I saw it, eyes blew up, grabbed and bought. I simply couldn't bear the thought of a scalper possibly getting his/her grimey azz hands on it.), I only get more than 2 when I army build (ie; Hydra Soldiers, both single carded & 2 pack), A.I.M. (same) and most recently, I bought a case of Multiple Men. I'm guessing Hasbro is gonna give us the Hand next (if they stay with the "bad guy" motif). If not, maybe S.H.E.I.L.D. agents (though somehow I doubt it because we'd need female agents as well. Female 2 pack? Probably a hard sell).

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Well since this topic of MIB Vs openers has gotten such a response and I’ve seen so many opinions on here (some of which are just absurd), allow me to chime in:

I collect MIMB/MOMC, not MIB/MOC and that’s because for me personally, if I’m going to keep the figure in the package, whether it gets displayed or not, I don’t want the package banged up. Collecting carded/boxed was simply a natural progression for me, once I grew out of “playing” with figures as a kid. My joy and passion for the figures and for collecting in general, didn’t fade after my need to play with them however did. 

I know it may seem like an odd thing for the limited number of people who participate on this specific site to understand, but there’s a LOT of collectors who enjoy collecting MIB. Heck, I personally know 3 of these kinds of collectors besides myself. Conversely, if you have been a die hard SW figure collector such as myself and have engaged with other SW collectors in the wild, or read posts and forumns over the years from the various SW sites, than you would know that an extremely large amount of SW collectors collect MIB. In my experience, it’s definitely over 50%, but that doesn’t mean that some of them don’t also buy additional figs to open, because many do. Collecting MIB/MOC is actually a thing everybody...it exists.

Point being, let’s say I was the ONLY carded Legends collector in the world (even just using this thread on this site as an example tells you I’m not)...why on earth would I care if you think that’s weird or “pointless”? There’s at least one member on here who really overestimates how many pinches of salt his views are worth anyhow. Ridiculing collectors because they don’t collect the “way” you do...is so pathetic, trite and dumb...that I almost can’t wrap my adult brain around it. 

Theres quite a few reasons collectors may not care to “play” with their figures. For some strange reason, I’ve been seeing on here that people think it’s solely because of a ROI mentality. I can’t speak for every one, but if that’s the “sole” reason you are doing it, than your more of an investor (which is fine) than a collector. For most carded collectors, that’s just a bonus if the situation calls upon it some day, like you falling on hard times and have to part with your Collection to make ends meet for example.

It’s kind of funny how some collectors actually find it strange that there are collectors who collect mint boxed figs...like do these same people think it’s weird that a comic collector prefers to buy comics that aren’t in bad shape? Who goes to a comic shop and buys a comic that’s bent or beat up...when there is most likely a cleaner, sharper copy of that book behind it to choose from? Probably NO ONE is the answer but that’s my guess anyhow. 

Just because certain collectors don’t want to open the figs they buy does not mean they don’t enjoy collecting as much as they do. Beyond the fact that this is all relative and highly subjective to each persons parameters of enjoyment, there are other factors as well. Space is big one. I collect a TON of stuff and even if I didn’t and ONLY collected Legends (to which I do as a completionist), I would be struggling to have adequate room to display them all out of box. Conversely, I would have even less room with displaying them in package, so most of my stuff is in boxes and stored away. It’s not ideal, but it’s reality and I am not going to collect something I like just because I don’t have the room/space to showcase it. I also have a storage unit because I’ve been collecting for over 20 years so there’s that too. Granted, I have 80 long boxes of comics and that is NOT being stored in my house. I would need to live alone in an 8 bedroom house to adequately display my collection and that’s just not in the cards at the moment, but I will get a house that big someday as it’s a goal and I always achieve my goals.

Beyond space, there’s another one and it’s a doozy...it’s called marriage and kids. While I don’t have a 8 bedroom house, what I do have is a 4 bedroom house with a wife and two young boys. One of the 4 rooms is the guest/entertainement/Collector room and while I do have figures on display in that room, I wouldn’t dare dream of tormenting my children with the thought of a room where daddy gets to play and display a ton of figures that they can’t touch or play with. As a parent, that’s just not practical, at least for me it’s not.

In addition to that, I personally love the presentation of carded/boxed figures, especially when the packages are awesome (like Vintage 3.75 SW line for example). I also think the current Legends box as well as current Black Series box are very sharp and presentational. For me, there’s a certain “uniformity” and “cleanness” to seeing carded figures adorn every inch of a wall...I just love it.

Also, for the record, I do open certain figures from certain lines to display, just not much from Legends and not much from figures offered at the $20 price point in general these days. I prefer more detailed and larger pieces if possible and I don’t care about POA at all if the sculpt and paint are there. A prime example of this would be vintage McFarlane lines like his movie maniacs, tortured souls, military and of course, SPAWN. His last 10+ or so waves of spawn figures have sculpting and paint apps that you still can’t even find today, epscially at the price point they were being offered at. That’s my jam right there and I have a lot of McFarlane figures out of package as I bought doubles. 

To be crystal clear though, I think it’s awesome and cool for those collectors that do like to open everything and/or make/have the time to set up displays/dioramas. I think that’s awesome and more power to you. Conversely, I personally couldn't care LESS about setting up displays and doing all that and even if I did, I sure as heck don’t have the time nor desire to photograph them, which I know some collectors enjoy. I mean I think Astronauts are awesome too but I have ZERO desire to be one. I personally know collectors that do both and it’s all good to me.

As far as the whole “buying multiples” of a figure thing goes...I couldn’t care less about how many figs collectors buy. I buy doubles and triples of plenty of figs, if I like the figure enough and I tend to always buy 2 of exclusives. I don’t resell them (I don’t need to nor care to) and if my friends or father needs it, than I will buy whatever I need to, to help out, when I see them. 

Having said that, the only time I walk into a store and buy a figure is if it’s an exclusive. That’s it. Period. Even if I see a figure on the pegs and it’s one that I don’t have because EE hasn’t shipped me mine yet, I pass it by because I know mine will be on the way to my doorstep soon enough. I’ve read a lot of comments about people’s opinions on buying multiples and how it’s polite to leave some for others and how distribution is terrible and what not. My question that is...have you heard of online ordering? Collectors snatching up every Cable they see? Walk into a store to buy a figure but instead find it stolen or swapped? Certain waves not landing in your area? NONE of that affects me, because of online ordering. Unless it’s an exclusive, which can be hit or miss depending on the item and store carrying it...then it’s NOT RARE OR HARD TO COME BY and there’s plenty of these figs out there. Like Dan Larson says, “leave one for the next collector” lol that’s ALL I do. Every non-exclusive Figure I find at retail is left for the next collector (or scalper). 

Lastly, for all those die hard brick n mortar hunters (or collectors looking for exclusives), shop smart and not hard when you can because afterall, it’s retail workers job description 101 to help the customer.

Here’s a recent example: I went crazy hunting a couple weeks back as ton of exclusives were dropping. Thanks to brickseek and the help of retail staff, I found just about everything I was looking for. Brickseek lit up for the Target exclusive McFarlane call of duty figure Seraph. I went to the store, didn’t find it on the shelf and then grabbed the guy from electronics (Which is where McFarlane and Neca figures are merchandised) and had him punch in the DPCI. He was like “yeah, we have that figure, it came in yesterday but I put them in the stock room because there was no shelf label for it so I didn’t know where to put it”. Hunt complete. I went to a different target looking for the Black Series Exclusive Bespin Leia, Moloch and Gamorrean Guard as Brickseek showed counts of 2/3. There was nothing on the shelf so I asked for a manager to assist me. The manager walks over and I gave him all 3 DPCIs (Brickseek showed zero for one of them but it’s not 100/100 times accurate) and asked that if he did find them in the back room, if he could kindly bring out the full cases, so I could pick the figures with the best condition packages. He left and came backs few minutes later with 3 sealed cases for each of the 3 exclusives. He dropped them on the electronics desk and asked if I needed anything else and then walked away. Hunt complete.

The exclusive that annoyed me recently was the Walmart Exclusive SW 3.75 Vintage Collection Tie Fighter... Brickseek lit up around 11pm for 5 stores in my area. I pallet shopped 2 cases (2 to a case) from the pallets littering the aisles of each of the 5 stores working their trucks and I had to go to all 5 stores and go through 20 vehicles total before I found a mint boxed one at the final store. Between the boxes taking hits during transit/loading the pallets and Hasbro deciding to make the actual vehicles box out of apparently high grade tissue paper as the box will dent from breathing on it too hard...it was just a nightmare and I was out until 3 am with that nonsense lol.

Most collectors on this site/forumn are informed collectors (most of which are also very helpful and polite) so I’m sure plenty of you guys do this stuff (asking employees to check the back) as well but my broader question is...how many collectors don’t? How many collectors walk into the store, see nothing on the shelf and then walk out? My guess is a good handful. If I didn’t ask store employees for help from time to time then there would be figures I would’ve never seen on the shelf at all (looking at you, Walgreens Black Series prototype Boba Fett!)

Seen some people post about comic shops. What comic shops do you have that have staff making retail runs to stock their shelves? I have a VERY large as well as some VERY small local shops and they all do the same thing-they buy the case of figures wholesale and then stock them on the pegs for $25-$30. It’s very commonplace practice for most shops I’ve ever been in. Now I have seen some store exclusives in a comic shop which obviously means they had staff hunt for them so they could upsell them at the shop. I mean that’s lame but it is what it is. BBTS does this too...

Lastly, for all you collectors who find stolen/swapped figs or boxes missing BAF parts etc, do your fellow collectors a favor and bring all that garbage to customer service and report it. It helps two-fold. 1. If enough of these incidents become known to the store, they may decide to have their street-clothed LP officers spend more time casing the action figure section or spend more time monitoring the cameras in that area of the store. Ideally, they will catch these losers from time to time. 2. It will allow for the store to damage out that stock, which will reset the inventory numbers of that SKU accordingly, which may allow for additional replenishment. I walked into a Target that I rarely go to about a month back and I literally saw SIX packages with stolen BAF parts and another 2 boxes with figures missing or swapped. That store only had 10 Legends on the shelves total and 8 of the 10 were victim of theft. Not only did I bring it all to customer service but I made a point of having the manager come out so they could be apprised. Just ludicrous, absolutely ludicrous.

No matter how you collect, you are supporting the hobby and also presumably enjoying doing it as well so all I have to say is cheers!

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2 hours ago, monron999 said:

Lol, so true. I personally don't see the point of buying what's basically a $20 picture frame of an action figure, but to each his own. We're all supporting the hobby as far as I'm concerned.

As far as buying multiples, I must confess I'm a twofer myself. Ever since I was a kid I've always had a problem with my action figures breaking down and wishing I had a spare. It's just one of my weird little tendencies that go along with this weird little hobby. Is bordering OCD. That's usually as far as I go tho. If possibly I will leave some for my compatriots, but I have no problems buying from multiple stores. Added to that, I'm part of a group of local guys who lookout for each other. I've been known to buy several of one figure but take solace that they will all go to different collectors (not scalpers) and good homes. On the very rare case that I end up with 3 or more I will sell them on ebay at cost. I live and hunt in an area dense with scalpers so I rarely loose any sleep over it.

While I don't understand the point of MIMB collectors I suppose I can see it as an investment. One thing I've been wondering and I'd like some input. Is the attached photo a symptom of MIMB collectors not wanting to open a box or just straight gutter trash that's too cheap to buy altogether?

2018-10-10_21_47_37.jpg

Not sure why you think that a MIMB collector would be responsible for that...pretty sure you were dead-on with the latter lol.

True MOMC/MIMB collectors pay full price for their stuff and sure anything can happen as anyone can do anything but I just have the thought process of if a MIMB Collector is going to spend full price on a fig, they probably aren’t the same collectors stealing. If someone thinks it cool to steal, why would they ever pay for a figure lol? If they are getting away with it, then it would stand to reason than they are just going to keep doing it.

For me, that’s the only downside to being a mint carded collector, you usually have to pay full price (let’s use an exclusive for example) for the fig because if you wait for it to go down in price, or clearance, the chances of you obtaining that said figure mint, goes down exponentially by the week. Target MCU Hulk/Hulkbuster Set is a prime example. Before I even saw that set in stores, I knew it would be clearance, but I can’t wait for clearance because I’m looking for the cleanest box (it was kind of a pain finding that set mint due to its weight and it took me a few stores to succeed). 

On the flip side, a buddy of mine who opens DID wait for clearance and he got the set for $35 last week, along with a Crossbones set for $25 and the Thanos 3-Pack for $35 lol. Being a MIMB Collector costed me $100 in that example. Oh well, I’m gonna keep being me!

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7 hours ago, CobraSaboteur87 said:

Not sure why you think that a MIMB collector would be responsible for that...pretty sure you were dead-on with the latter lol.

True MOMC/MIMB collectors pay full price for their stuff and sure anything can happen as anyone can do anything but I just have the thought process of if a MIMB Collector is going to spend full price on a fig, they probably aren’t the same collectors stealing. If someone thinks it cool to steal, why would they ever pay for a figure lol? If they are getting away with it, then it would stand to reason than they are just going to keep doing it.

For me, that’s the only downside to being a mint carded collector, you usually have to pay full price (let’s use an exclusive for example) for the fig because if you wait for it to go down in price, or clearance, the chances of you obtaining that said figure mint, goes down exponentially by the week. Target MCU Hulk/Hulkbuster Set is a prime example. Before I even saw that set in stores, I knew it would be clearance, but I can’t wait for clearance because I’m looking for the cleanest box (it was kind of a pain finding that set mint due to its weight and it took me a few stores to succeed). 

On the flip side, a buddy of mine who opens DID wait for clearance and he got the set for $35 last week, along with a Crossbones set for $25 and the Thanos 3-Pack for $35 lol. Being a MIMB Collector costed me $100 in that example. Oh well, I’m gonna keep being me!

Don't get me wrong, brother. I didn't assume this was the case. Actually it never had crossed my mind that it might be a MIB collector. I always assumed it was your run of the mill broke douchebag. It was just a recent theory offered to me by a fellow collector who works retail (not in the toy dept, unfortunately). They actually catch a majority of these smash & grabbers on camera but they rarely send out the troops for $20. From what he observes it's typically the same people over and over. He'll see them come in & buy a full wave, sometimes 2 and then see them come back at a later time and crack single cards, pull the BAF and book it. After he explained it to me it kinda made sense. Not to put ever MIB/MIMB collector in a box (MIMB or otherwise), lol.

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11 hours ago, monron999 said:

Lol, so true. I personally don't see the point of buying what's basically a $20 picture frame of an action figure, but to each his own. We're all supporting the hobby as far as I'm concerned.

As far as buying multiples, I must confess I'm a twofer myself. Ever since I was a kid I've always had a problem with my action figures breaking down and wishing I had a spare. It's just one of my weird little tendencies that go along with this weird little hobby. Is bordering OCD. That's usually as far as I go tho. If possibly I will leave some for my compatriots, but I have no problems buying from multiple stores. Added to that, I'm part of a group of local guys who lookout for each other. I've been known to buy several of one figure but take solace that they will all go to different collectors (not scalpers) and good homes. On the very rare case that I end up with 3 or more I will sell them on ebay at cost. I live and hunt in an area dense with scalpers so I rarely loose any sleep over it.

While I don't understand the point of MIMB collectors I suppose I can see it as an investment. One thing I've been wondering and I'd like some input. Is the attached photo a symptom of MIMB collectors not wanting to open a box or just straight gutter trash that's too cheap to buy altogether?

2018-10-10_21_47_37.jpg

I do the same. I usually buy 2 of the figures that I absolutely like, like the new ML Cable, in case it breaks and then I am unable to find them and my only option is to pay high prices on Ebay. It started when my ToyBiz Abomination broke! His arm fell off and I was never able to find him again at that time.

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I went to Walmart today because it says online that there are some Thanos available, but when I got there... Nothing. Just 1 Dazzler and Polaris. I asked the lady and she said they are probably in the back and not out yet and went back to doing her job.

Does Walmart actually have the items when it says "available in store"? or is it like the Walgreens one thats all messed up? Thank you.

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