scalpers are the people you see in stores that buy a shit load of stuff and turn around and sell it all at jacked up prices just to make money or atleast thats always been my understanding of the word Scalper
i think of them as people who goes and gets all the new figs to sell at a jacked up price and with no intention for personal enjoyment other than to make profit...i like to refer to them as DB's...douche bags
mostly people buying more than 2 of the same product. So if you see people with 4-5+ Leader Optimus Primes is a scalper. If you see 1-2 is mostly a collector. Why 1-2 is a collector? Most collectors like to play too, and keep one MISB. I personally just buy one, cause I can only afford one.
Mother of scalping It has taken on many other forms but similar modus operandi applies: hog up as much of the items available in the market as possible, with hopes of creating an artificial shortage - thus allowing hogged items to be sold at a premium. Despicable? You betcha...
there is one word that describes what a scalper is, heck all the people in Mos Esly space port aren't as bad as these dudes: Hotwheel Collector
A scalper is a douche bag f*** that clear store shelves and sells the stuff at outrageous prices on ebay local flea markets etc. They are truly bottom feeders. I despise them they take the fun out of collecting.
Scalpers are the bigfoots of the toy collecting world. If you see one, be sure to take a pic. They were largely unheard of in the Transformer community until Alternators and reissues. I hated them when I collected Marvel Legends, but since have stopped caring. It's called growing up and not getting all pissy whenever you can't find your toy on the shelves. It made my toy collecting fun again.
- Rough definition - "Scalpers" are people who buy some quantity (usually a large quantity) of a limited item at normal retail price and then turn around and sell those items (typically on eBay) for substantially higher than normal retail price. In the case of TFs, these "items" are usually figures that are new releases, expected to be rare or hard to find (shortpacked items, figures with heavy fan interest) and store exclusives. Note, however, that not everyone who buys large quantities of some item is automatically a scalper. Some people buy multiples of a figure to customize/repaint (eg - Seeker molds), some people buy multiples of a figure for gifts or donations (eg - when stuff goes on clearance, I buy multiples to donate to Toys for Tots), etc. The important point is the goal of buying multiple items to resell at a higher price. - Why it's bad - For one thing, because it keeps figures out of the hands of the actual target market (ie - kids), which is bad for the brand in general, since it discourages new fans. It keeps figures out of the hands of honest collectors and normal consumers. It also creates a vicious circle: A figure gets snapped up by scalpers and the only way for collectors to get a copy is to bite the bullet and pay the scalper prices, which encourages more scalping, etc. And it doesn't help retailers when all the "good stuff" gets cherry-picked by scalpers and all that's left is shelf-warmers that nobody wants.
I'd just to re-inforce the point that not EVERYONE that buys in multiples is a scalper. Yes that is usually a good sign that they may be one, HOWEVER not always. As said above there those collectors that buy multiples for customizing, for themselves or for friends or other members of the community. So if you see someone grabbing multiples of a figure, dont instantly assume they are a hated scalper.
Not really a scalper, but one time I was at TRU and they had just put out a whole case of DC Universe wave 4 figures. Case breakdown is one of each figure in the wave and then a double of one of them. Some guy took one of each, and then was standing there thinking if he should get the double for over a minute. He saw me showing interest in it and ended up taking the double too. It would have been nice if he was to ask if I was interested at least in the figure. I didn't want to be rude and just barge in and take the figure since it wasn't in his hand. I know if I was to ever buy a lot of a wave and I see someone interested in the figures, I would at least offer them some of them... Also would you say someone that bought a newly released item for themselves and then realizing that the item is rare, and trying to "see how much they can get" a scalper? I don't mean putting it on ebay or something, but more like posting a sales thread to see how much people are willing to pay and might not even sell it
I don't think there's any scalpers in Malaysia until the release of the movie, making Transformers hot items and the movie toys were flying off the shelves
i just saw this topic and thought, oh boy, here we go again, for the next year or until everyone has what they want... if you cant find what you want, dont worry, dont pay triple retail price, just wait it out and you WILL find what you want.
There's actually a cop in my town that does this, the messed up part about it is that he uses his badge to gain favor w/ the ppl who do the stocking. He was a big pain in my ass when the 25th Joes fist came out. He would tell the stock ppl to call him whenever they got new shipments in and come in in uniform & on duty and buy every case. I had to go to other towns to get my GI Joe fix I don't let it get to me much now tough, I can usually find what I want in Junkieon, HTS, TRU etc's web sites, free shipping codes make this nice too
I see 3 reasons for buying mulriples of the same fig : 1. Collector who wants both open and MISB/MOSC 2.person buying an extra fig for a gift both of the above are perfect acceptable 3.Scalper a person who buys mass quantites of hot figs for the express purpose of selling for profit
