Congrats on selling out the figures. Regardless of who bought them, the bottom line for FP is that there are no sets left.
Well, I filled out, and faxed my Primus package the day that Iacon packages were cut off. I've got bank confirmation that my card was charged. So.... I'm assuming I'm in (but no confirmation email). Now how to broach the tender subject that I'm going to BotCon to my gf who was wanting me to spend money on other things.... Ah, I think I'll avoid it until I can think of a better escape route (excuse).
Oh, you're absolutely correct, and I admit my initial post seemed to imply it was a black/white issue, which is clearly not the case. Wasn't trying to start anything, just didn't think about it for long before posting it.
In his case though I don't mind. If he is attending AND so is his wife, they each get a single set and they sell the unwanted one, it isn't any different from an individual who goes alone and sells teh one set they get. It's not like he's buying 5 sets each and another 8 fans are losing out.
As long as there are exclusive convention toys (for any toy line), there are going to be people buying extras to re-sell. This is nothing new, and it will always happen. No convention organizer (who wants to be around for any length of time) is going to put limits on purchases until the toys are almost gone. They sure do not want to get stuck with them, so as long as they get sold, it doesn't matter to them how many go to which people.
Yes it does suck for them. However that lot of people had plenty of time to buy a set from FP, and failed to. We've known that BotCon was coming this year since last year, and that there's very likely going to be one next year. For the people that have to scrimp and save to go to a show, then they should have known that it was upcoming. And yes, I'm re-selling a loose set after the show to help pay my costs. You know wny? Because FP offered it, and people out there will only want one or another piece but won't want to buy a whole set. FP wins, I win, buyer wins.
I should have thought of that aspect myself. It doesn't really matter how large the convention center/location is. All that matters is the size of the space Brian/FP's asked for. For all we know, they may only have a small portion of the building and other (bigger?) events are going on there at the same time.
IMHO, it's the right of people who make the effort to attend a show to buy and resell extra exclusives. Now, that said, I do think they should be limited to one per person until all attendees have a chance - But I also think that attendees should have the right to buy as many left-overs as they want at the show before any non-attendees get a shot. Now fortunately for most FP sort of feels different... I say "sort of" because they only allowed people to buy extras and non-attendee sales until they realized they had a sell-out on their hands.
It's their right, yeah. But it doesn't make it right. I won't knock anybody that does it, but I won't make any bones about it, I do frown on the practice. That extra set bought solely for resell is a set that could've gone to another attendee that missed out. So even an attendee that paid airfare and such, same as the reseller, is forced to buy from the secondary market if they want it. That practice could also be deterrring people from even going to the Con. I'd wager a lot of people cancel their packages and don't go if they're not getting the exclusives. When you go on vacation and get to your destination, do you immediately look for something to buy and resell on Ebay to get your travel costs back? No, of course not. Nobody walks into Disneyworld, for example, and raids the souvenier stand for Ebay fodder.
That's a pretty brutal exaggeration. Sure there's been a bunch of "meh" posts, but there's also been PLENTY of people really liking this set. Guess what - There were nay-sayers last year, too. A lot of these posts every year are from people who wouldn't have been getting the set no matter what was in it. Who cares? "Obviously" they've been bought by scalpers? I really doubt that's what is causing the sell out. Plenty of sets made it to Ebay last year and every other year. But you know what? If the market price on these really drops down sub-$300 a month after the show, you can say you were right and call me out on it. I wouldn't hold your breathe tho!
Okay, I'll grant you it was 50-50 like/dislike it, but that's probably being generous. As I recall, the 2005 set was the same way, and well, we know how that turned out. I don't know why you're even defending scalpers this much. They're the scum of the Earth. They don't deserve it.
Yeah I'm planning on doing the same (my brother is also going and getting a Primus Package). I'm not going to try and sell it for insanely jacked up prices on the boards I might even try and line up a buyer before I head out to the 'con.
They said last year they were not going to make as many sets. So while they might have sold out, they might have only made 1/2 of last year's numbers. They knew last year's set had 3 figures pretty much all of TF fans wanted. This year is back to being 'made-up' characters so many fans are not as interested in them as they were in Thrust/Dirge/Thundercracker. There was also much more hype in TF last year due to the movie being released. I also think we are seeing speculators. They saw how much last year's set was going for and were snapping up tons of this year's hoping to get the same $$$ as last year's set went for. I have a feeling they are going to be sorry for buying as many. After the initial rush, I think the prices are going to drop to below cost for these sets.
Oh well, so much for getting my set this year. So be it, I've gotten most of my BotCon exclusives through eBay. I guess this years' won't be any different. Still, here's to hoping the supposed disinterest by fans will keep prices down. I'll just have to be ready next year!
Has anyone stoped to think here that maybe FP has gotten a LOT of people signed up for the show? Last year was hot and maybe they did cut back on the numbers this year thinking things would be slower. Yet, it could also be that thanks to the movie and last year's show that more people are planning to attend this year. The idea that Scalpers are ruining the show is so damn wrong it isn't even funny. You want to know about a show where real scalpers haunt? Try SDCC. That whole show is a scalper's paradise. And guess what, it keeps getting bigger every year. Same with Botcon. It's insulting to claim that one extra set that someone buys to sell to defray his show expenses as scalping. A real scalper will have ten sets. There's been plenty of time to save for the show. The order forms have been up for a fair amount of time. Those who sat by the curb waiting to see what the toys will look like first, played the same game as those last year who waited too long and lost out. That too led to the sellout this year I think. What I find more interesting, is that there have been those who have claimed that it's not about the toys, that Botcon is about being there and meeting guests and friends. So has anyone heard who's lined up to be at the show this year? Not I. So I guess that mean that this year's show is more about the toys. (and the 2005 party.)
Not too much really! National Truck Council, Trauma 101, and Oak Hills HS Graduation. The callander is HERE. So we will have a bunch of High Schoolers around. But not to bad.This is just a guess, but I am thinking the con will be in this part: Thats over 56,000 feet of con space. Not including the side areas. The info pertaining to space is located HERE
RE: The 2005 set It's worth noting that Botcon 2005 was the first one FP ran, and I believe that some people wanted to wait and see how that one went before attending another FP-run Transformers convention. That and I suspect they likely made too many copies of that set (which contained arguably one of the weakest exclusive decos ever in Deathsaurus, whose paintjob was so close to the source material that one needed a very keen eye to even see that the main colour was different), but that's just speculation.
something that most should also take into consideration is this, we are a small group of people on a fan website. and just because this may be the largest fansite, dosent mean it represents the fanbase as a whole. we could have 100,000 other fans that have no idea about tfw2005 and are going to the con. Not saying that its a reasonable number, just making a point. We are but a drop in the bucket. The movie opened a slew of doors for the brand as a whole. I dont think the sets were underproduced either. Transformers in on a tidalwave of nostalga and new fans right now. And it wont slow until the last movie is made or the toon goes away.
