nexus
12-17-2005, 03:46 PM
First in foremost, let me say that I'm not a flipper in any way, shape, or form. I've sold perhaps 5 things on ebay in all these years, and generally don't have the energy for it. Second, I opted out of the whole gold Bucky and translucent Vision circus. And I work regular hours so I don't have much of a chance at getting the Sideshow exclusives. And third, I have yet to get an XBOX 360 for my son because I forgot to preorder one.
But as I was casually trolling through ebay looking at pricing for some of this stuff, it occured to me that I shouldn't be cursing the people selling XBoxs for $1,000, Gold Bucky's for $400, or Anakins for $300. It's the fact that people are willing to drive up the prices that creates these inflated prices. Flippers are just responding to market opportunities, and hey that's the American way. If I were a 20-year-old college student making minimum wage at Target, sure I'd be trying to figure out a way to earn an honest buck by getting my hands on a 360 that I could flip on ebay for 3-4 times as much. If Billy's parents are willing to pay through the nose so the little knucklehead has a game system under the tree, so be it (keep in mind, I've gone through lengths to make sure my little knuckleheads have gotten hot toys and electronics, but have never paid 3-4 times market value even though I could easily afford it). Fortunately, I'm over that phase now, they've got enough stuff, so they can wait a few more months when they'll be XBoxes stacked on the shelves in Best Buy).
The same is true in the statue and bust collecting world. Market demand. Randy makes a gold chrome Bucky and it's super limited. The good news is, surprise surprise, there is now a market for it. While to me it looks like a hood ornament, to others it's a centerpiece of the collection. If somebody wants to enter the lottery and cough up $150 to speculate on this going up in value, more power to them. The fact that some serious collectors fall through the cracks is a by-product of market creation. But why blame the flipper? In some ways, they are helping push up the value of the piece. Suddenly a $150 bust is now valued at $300-$400+. Once you as a collector finally get your hot hands on it, you are all the more thrilled to have such a treasured piece on your shelves. Same thing with translucent Vision. to me, it looked like he was turning invisible rather than intangible, so I passed. With all the boxes coming to the door, I didn't need another one showing up (even if someone had told me I could flip it for another $200, I would have most likely passed on it -- hassle factor to do the ebay thing, haul it off to the post office, etc., just not worth my time).
But it's an individual decision. Let's say Vision had been fully transluscent. Okay, now we're talking a whole different ball game as far as I'm concerned. I would have ordered it in a heartbeat. But what if I couldn't get through, or it sold out beforehand? Well, I get tossed into the old ebay pool -- bidding against other knuckleheads who just have to have it as well. Sure I'd gripe, but the reality is, I'm the one driving up the prices and feuling the market. The flipper is just making the extra bucks from it. As long as he/she isn't selling me something that's damaged or they don't actually have one, I'm glad they have one. Imagine if ebay didn't exist. What would yo do, go to every comic and specialty store you could find hoping to see one? The flipper was faster on the fax or phone, or like in the case of chrome Silver Surfer, got on a plane, stayed in a hotel/motel, and stood in line at a convention and got a signed one. All I did was sat down in front of my computer and bought it off ebay for $200. The good news on the SS, is that it was just as advertised and is now worth between $600-$800. Happy happy joy I'm glad that flipper existed. I guess because I'm not a completist, that makes it easier. If I don't get the bone claw Wolverine, blue chrome Spiderman, or kung fu grip Iron Fist, I can sleep at night. If I decide one of these variants is a must have, then I try to find an honest seller and pay what I am willing to pay for it.
Take a look at Sideshow Anakin. 1750 of them sell out in three hours @$54. Now people are trying to flip 'em for $300+. For Sideshow it's a cheap and cool little hook, more power to them. In my mind, the flipper is an enterprising man or woman. They see a market opportunity and they are taking advantage of it. I'm sure there are a number of flippers who have figured out how to get around SS's 1 per limit (dummy accounts, multiple accounts, pushing the order, etc.), so yeah, they are artificially drying up the market to make a couple hundred dollars or more. It's still an honest buck. Nobody is twisting my arm. It's up to me to decide if I want something so badly that's it's worth paying through the nose for it, which in this case it certainly isn't.
As far as I'm concerned, thank goodness for honest flippers. Bottom line is this is how the game is played, and BD and Sideshow, ebay, flippers, collectors are all part of it.
:buttrock:
But as I was casually trolling through ebay looking at pricing for some of this stuff, it occured to me that I shouldn't be cursing the people selling XBoxs for $1,000, Gold Bucky's for $400, or Anakins for $300. It's the fact that people are willing to drive up the prices that creates these inflated prices. Flippers are just responding to market opportunities, and hey that's the American way. If I were a 20-year-old college student making minimum wage at Target, sure I'd be trying to figure out a way to earn an honest buck by getting my hands on a 360 that I could flip on ebay for 3-4 times as much. If Billy's parents are willing to pay through the nose so the little knucklehead has a game system under the tree, so be it (keep in mind, I've gone through lengths to make sure my little knuckleheads have gotten hot toys and electronics, but have never paid 3-4 times market value even though I could easily afford it). Fortunately, I'm over that phase now, they've got enough stuff, so they can wait a few more months when they'll be XBoxes stacked on the shelves in Best Buy).
The same is true in the statue and bust collecting world. Market demand. Randy makes a gold chrome Bucky and it's super limited. The good news is, surprise surprise, there is now a market for it. While to me it looks like a hood ornament, to others it's a centerpiece of the collection. If somebody wants to enter the lottery and cough up $150 to speculate on this going up in value, more power to them. The fact that some serious collectors fall through the cracks is a by-product of market creation. But why blame the flipper? In some ways, they are helping push up the value of the piece. Suddenly a $150 bust is now valued at $300-$400+. Once you as a collector finally get your hot hands on it, you are all the more thrilled to have such a treasured piece on your shelves. Same thing with translucent Vision. to me, it looked like he was turning invisible rather than intangible, so I passed. With all the boxes coming to the door, I didn't need another one showing up (even if someone had told me I could flip it for another $200, I would have most likely passed on it -- hassle factor to do the ebay thing, haul it off to the post office, etc., just not worth my time).
But it's an individual decision. Let's say Vision had been fully transluscent. Okay, now we're talking a whole different ball game as far as I'm concerned. I would have ordered it in a heartbeat. But what if I couldn't get through, or it sold out beforehand? Well, I get tossed into the old ebay pool -- bidding against other knuckleheads who just have to have it as well. Sure I'd gripe, but the reality is, I'm the one driving up the prices and feuling the market. The flipper is just making the extra bucks from it. As long as he/she isn't selling me something that's damaged or they don't actually have one, I'm glad they have one. Imagine if ebay didn't exist. What would yo do, go to every comic and specialty store you could find hoping to see one? The flipper was faster on the fax or phone, or like in the case of chrome Silver Surfer, got on a plane, stayed in a hotel/motel, and stood in line at a convention and got a signed one. All I did was sat down in front of my computer and bought it off ebay for $200. The good news on the SS, is that it was just as advertised and is now worth between $600-$800. Happy happy joy I'm glad that flipper existed. I guess because I'm not a completist, that makes it easier. If I don't get the bone claw Wolverine, blue chrome Spiderman, or kung fu grip Iron Fist, I can sleep at night. If I decide one of these variants is a must have, then I try to find an honest seller and pay what I am willing to pay for it.
Take a look at Sideshow Anakin. 1750 of them sell out in three hours @$54. Now people are trying to flip 'em for $300+. For Sideshow it's a cheap and cool little hook, more power to them. In my mind, the flipper is an enterprising man or woman. They see a market opportunity and they are taking advantage of it. I'm sure there are a number of flippers who have figured out how to get around SS's 1 per limit (dummy accounts, multiple accounts, pushing the order, etc.), so yeah, they are artificially drying up the market to make a couple hundred dollars or more. It's still an honest buck. Nobody is twisting my arm. It's up to me to decide if I want something so badly that's it's worth paying through the nose for it, which in this case it certainly isn't.
As far as I'm concerned, thank goodness for honest flippers. Bottom line is this is how the game is played, and BD and Sideshow, ebay, flippers, collectors are all part of it.
:buttrock: