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Poll: eBay resellers -- entrepreneurs or scoundrels?
- Thread starter larryz
- Start date
I could care less. No one is going to die if they don't get the LE Funko Pop! figure they wanted.
crxbrett
Well-Known Member
I voted other. On the whole, I can't stand scalpers. I see it all the time at my local Targets and what not. But at the same time, I do use ebay to collect stuff I cannot purchase anymore. I'm a big toy collector, so ebay makes it easy for me to get things I want to add into my collection.
I don't fault people for doing it, after all it is capitalism. But I still despise people knowingly taking advantage of the fact they know something is going to be hard to get and wiping out an entire inventory of stuff in one purchase and then turning around and selling it on ebay to make some dough.
And sometimes you can't fault the sellers. If an auction starts at $0.99 and the bidders bid it up to $300...well, that's obviously the buyer's demand at work.
I generally would say I hate it. But for those who can't make the trip or for something that isn't even sold at the parks or isn't available anymore, it does come in handy. I just don't like how a lot of ebayers drive up prices with outrageous Buy-It-Now prices.
I will say Ebay, the AFA and the CGC have effectively ruined certain hobby-collecting though.
I don't fault people for doing it, after all it is capitalism. But I still despise people knowingly taking advantage of the fact they know something is going to be hard to get and wiping out an entire inventory of stuff in one purchase and then turning around and selling it on ebay to make some dough.
And sometimes you can't fault the sellers. If an auction starts at $0.99 and the bidders bid it up to $300...well, that's obviously the buyer's demand at work.
I generally would say I hate it. But for those who can't make the trip or for something that isn't even sold at the parks or isn't available anymore, it does come in handy. I just don't like how a lot of ebayers drive up prices with outrageous Buy-It-Now prices.
I will say Ebay, the AFA and the CGC have effectively ruined certain hobby-collecting though.
KBLovedDisney
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I hate their ways.
I collect antique jewelry, but I never buy through Auction, only Buy It Now purchases. Auctions give me waaay too much anxiety.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
Other.... I dont love them... I dont hate them.... Ive delt with them. Disney by their marketing ways, created them and allows them to continue. They have seen a way to make a buck and use the internet to find a market. When I've bought from them in the past Ive been very selective and happy to have it available to me. If only Disney would see the value in opening up more merchandise online for those of us who are looking to make purchases.
Outside of a few happier customers, there is no real incentive for Disney to do this.
They make 500 of a thing. Those 500 things fly off the shelf at full price in a few hours. Sometimes people even pay for the privilege of having first crack at buying them. Disney makes a boatload of cash, they sell 100% of their inventory and everyone with a stake in the success of the company is happy.
The only incentive Disney would have to do anything online would be if they were to sell at the scalpers inflated prices which they would be vilified for.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
Their incentive is to profit. Disney already sells items online, they have customers looking for Disney items. Why limit making 500 of a thing if it will sell? By limiting its run in a park you create the market for the scalpers. Disney has a customer base who would open up their wallets if only the merchadise was available to them.
Actually even "free" items end up on eBay etc. Example- transportation cards. Granted it can be difficult if not impossible for even an above average visitor to get a complete set. However there are " locals " that badger CM's for the cards and then sell completed sets at high prices. I've seen $100 asking price. Recently Disney discontinued the cards they've been giving out and have started a new series. Completely new look includes articulated buses among other things. This new series is #1 through #34 ( of course starts with buses) LOL. I have not ventured out on the net to see what they are asking but I'm sure it's up there. But in the same breath you would be surprised at what some hard core Dis. fans wil want/collect. Example- CM's have a 2- week news magazine called "Eyes & Ears " when Toy Story Land opened they had a special edition, that same day they were on eBay for$20. And shortly after they did a follow up with Tim Allen and Buzz Lightyear on the cover. First a celebrity on "Eyes & Ears" is very rare, having both issues coupled with the special edition "Tell-A-Cast" info leaflet that CM's are given weekly I would expect to grow in value. And those are only a few items that come to mind. I also will add it seems like items that are not mainstream like for CM's only seem to really get Dis. fans attention on these aforementioned sites.
Paper straw fan
Well-Known Member
I don't really like the practice of only buying something for the purpose of reselling it. Doing that just takes away from people who legitimately want something and drives the price way up. It's the same as when I see grown men pushing thru kids and begging for autographs and foul balls at baseball games, when I know they are trying to resell this stuff.
Now if you were providing a legitimate wholesaler service, that's one thing, but here it just seems like people taking away from others' experiences
Now if you were providing a legitimate wholesaler service, that's one thing, but here it just seems like people taking away from others' experiences
I think you might be missing the entire premise behind limited edition items. Special and limited edition items are an incredibly successful marketing strategy that Disney has down to an exact science.
Making an item "limited edition" item instills a sense of urgency in a consumer that would not normally be there for an item with a near unlimited production run. Scarcity almost always leads to an increase in demand and a greater sense of value for an item. This allows Disney to sell them at an inflated price or even have a paid event just to get buy them.
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Greed ruins many things but especially scalpers around the collecting business. Also the problem with reproductions.
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DuckTalesWooHoo1987
Well-Known Member
I'm a vintage toy collector also. I've got a really big MIB TMNT collection. I also love Ghostbusters, Thundercats, and MOTU. The other day I traded some 2002 MOTU carded figures and a Skeletor Panthor Commemorative Pack from 2001 for a carded Egon and unpunched carded Winston ad I was super pumped! I'm about to get a really nice carded Fright Feature Venkman this weekend actually. I've got a really nice Firehouse too but I need the sign, pole, and containment unit to complete it though.
I collect silver and gold (very few) coins. But I only buy through the US Mint. If I can't get them through the mint than I leave it or if at a later date I find it for close to the original price I buy it.
There is a thing lately, actually it has been going on for many years, where people buy a coin from the US Mint and send the box to a coin grader and get it stamped first strike coins. People than charge much more for these "first strike" coins. The only problem is the US Mint mints half to three quarters of all the coins before they begin to release them. They really have no real order as to when they are released. Therefore a first striked coin could really be one that was minted why down the line. To me, it is just a money grab from the coin graders as their stamp as no real meaning.
I feel the same for these limited addition items, if I can't get it for the original price, than forget it. I will wait for the prices to come down or in the rare instance where the price never comes down than I will have to do without.
By the way, I voted hate'em, yeah, sure it's nice to make a buck, but being greedy and wiping out a whole inventory, that's just not right and I refuse to buy into it. I am sure I can survive without a Boogie popcorn bucket. Though I was able to score one last year. I could have bought the last three and sold two for extra cash, but I feel I am a better person than that.
There is a thing lately, actually it has been going on for many years, where people buy a coin from the US Mint and send the box to a coin grader and get it stamped first strike coins. People than charge much more for these "first strike" coins. The only problem is the US Mint mints half to three quarters of all the coins before they begin to release them. They really have no real order as to when they are released. Therefore a first striked coin could really be one that was minted why down the line. To me, it is just a money grab from the coin graders as their stamp as no real meaning.
I feel the same for these limited addition items, if I can't get it for the original price, than forget it. I will wait for the prices to come down or in the rare instance where the price never comes down than I will have to do without.
By the way, I voted hate'em, yeah, sure it's nice to make a buck, but being greedy and wiping out a whole inventory, that's just not right and I refuse to buy into it. I am sure I can survive without a Boogie popcorn bucket. Though I was able to score one last year. I could have bought the last three and sold two for extra cash, but I feel I am a better person than that.
note2001
Well-Known Member
No, I don't condemn ebayers who buy stock to resell. I do look down on the type with no morals or empathy toward the children who want just a single Cinderella popcorn bucket while they clear out all the carts in the MK and truck them around in oversized garbage bags. Make your money, but don't hurt kids! And never, ever clear the shelves of an item unless there is only one left, then it's fair game.
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Frankly they make my life easier sometimes by allowing me to get the Halloween party pins that are sold in mystery boxes much cheaper than if I have to buy mystery boxes until I get the one they really want. My kids usually want certain pins at the Halloween party, but if you just buy box after box until you get that certain one it would cost a fortune...much easier to allow the resellers to buy them up like made and then sell them on ebay later. We usually buy a few boxes but know if the kids don't get lucky and get the one the wanted most that it is cheaper to buy it later on ebay than to just keep chasing mystery boxes.
Though I do understand the frustration it can cause some people as we were standing in line last year and got a few boxes of pins, then this guy next to use asked how many boxes they had left and promptly bought them all leaving anyone else waiting in line for them out in the cold.
As these pins aren't sold as a number limited edition and are just exclusive to being available during the party I don't understand why Disney doesn't just buy more to sell to begin with so they don't run out. But we have noticed every year that you need to buy them early on the day of the party because they seem to run out by the end of the night which implies Disney is leaving money on the table by not having enough supply for the demand that seems to be there year after year.
Though I do understand the frustration it can cause some people as we were standing in line last year and got a few boxes of pins, then this guy next to use asked how many boxes they had left and promptly bought them all leaving anyone else waiting in line for them out in the cold.
As these pins aren't sold as a number limited edition and are just exclusive to being available during the party I don't understand why Disney doesn't just buy more to sell to begin with so they don't run out. But we have noticed every year that you need to buy them early on the day of the party because they seem to run out by the end of the night which implies Disney is leaving money on the table by not having enough supply for the demand that seems to be there year after year.
JIMINYCR
Well-Known Member
I totally understand the idea behind limited editions and exclusive issues. It does drive the interest of collectors to purchase quickly. It also sets up local buyers to scoff up multiples to resell. If Disney only opened up the availability of these items to US... WE would still buy the items, THEY would get their sales and profits, and the scalpers would be unable to make their unreasonably high cost sales profiting off of us. Disney doesnt care who buys their total quantity of merchandise, only that it sells out. I'm sure these limited editions would still sell out if WE were able to buy.
I'm in all categories but I didn't see an option for that ....so I voted "other".
If there is limited quantity inventory and I'm at the parks but it's sold out when I get there.....I curse them to no avail.
If there is limited quantity inventory and I'm not in the parks (thus would have no other way of getting said merchandise)...They're okay.
If there is limited quantity inventory and I'm at the parks but it's sold out when I get there.....I curse them to no avail.
If there is limited quantity inventory and I'm not in the parks (thus would have no other way of getting said merchandise)...They're okay.
Way to take a stand...
Way to take a stand...
That's how I roll.......