Because if I weren't, just the existence of this thread itself and the replies that I'd have for these chodes worrying about "scalpers" in a vintage forum would certainly get me banned.

http://forum.rebelscum.com/t1100246/

If you want to get the "exclusive" for "cost" spend the hundreds of dollars on travel, hotel, and admission to the convention and get in line. Even at cons I attend, my time is worth more than standing in line all day. I'll pay a slight premium for the convenience of being able to roam around the dealer rooms freely or attend a panel, or belly up to the bar for some Jagermeister.

Cheers
J

You could just get a sock account banned for shits & giggles  
Belly up to the bar certainly sounds like a plan  

Welcome to capitalism.

I look at my time as a commodity that literally shrinks by the second. If I can pay to keep that time to do something more fun, than I do it. If a scalper wants to wait 4,5, 12 hours to make a few hundred bucks over his cost then good for them. My time is worth more than that to me.

I'll belly up to the bar, but it'll be for hot wings

aussiejames wrote:

You could just get a sock account banned for shits & giggles   

  Bad boy. Bad boy. Can't believe that happens on any forum.

Lol Yeah, that amazes me as well. People usually totally miss the big picture and then whine about it. I mostly want to go to CEII for an autograph. If I put the costs together for that one it will be rather expensive.

Buying exclusives there and then selling them for the same price makes no sense to me. Unless it was for a friend. I can't get comic con exclusives except from eBay and I have never whined about the prices. If it wasn't for those guys going there and standing inline instead of me I would never be able to get those at all.

I've bought and sold stuff at cost for friends before, that's no worry, but I just think that the attitude of people not going to the show, expecting to get all of the convention exclusives for the same price as those at the show are paying is lame.... "I'm going to sit on my ass and not contribute, but want everything for the same price as those that make the effort to attend and be part of the event, then bitch when I don't/can't"....sounds legit to me. And people wonder why I've soured on the current state of the hobby...

J

That said, since I'm not able to go to CE2, I would love a set of Star Tots, and would be willing to pay a reasonable premium for them.... Hook a brotha up and put some $ in pocket at the same time.

J

I just typed my first RS response in quite awhile. I'll say it again here. Anyone who sells a 30 year old toy for what we pay for them now as collectors are "scalpers". So don't get wound up because someone picked up some stuff and is selling it at a gain. You don't go to a con to get whatever it is you're all horny to get. Then pay up and buy it on evilbay or where ever and be done with it. There are comic related exclusives I'd love to get but I can't go to SDCC and I don't have a buddy who is going. The ones I want now I may not care about a week from now. And the ones I really really want I'll pick up over time as funds allow. Which reminds me it's time to do a weekly price check on the Compound Hulk from 2011 NYCC.

And just so we're all clear. When I say someone selling a 30 year old toy is a "scalper" I don't mean it as a bad thing. Just using the term being used in the thread. Just pisses me off when someone goes off on a rant for someone selling something at a profit but it's ok to sell old crap waaaaaaay above what it sold for in the stone ages of the 70s.

If someone moans about scalping they should really be moaning about the entire notion of limited edition pieces.

Limited edition merchandise showing up on Ebay is an inevitability. I don't want any new pieces enough to pay inflated prices, but if I did I'd be annoyed as to why they couldn't have simply make a product, see how it goes, and make enough of them to go round without contriving a rarity.

Not sure how many of those guys would agree, though, as having one of an arbitrary number of units might be as important to them as anything else about the toy. And if its the well-defined rarity value that's important, then it's worth the bucks now.