Of course they have extras for replacement pieces, QC isn't going to be perfect so they need some extras. But outside of that, they produce as many as were ordered. You literally could not scalp Victory Saber because if you ordered 5 extras, that's not denying 5 other people Star Sabers, it's creating 5 new ones. Sure you can jack up the price on the aftermarket, but scalping specifically involves creating artificial scarcity by buying up existing figures. That wasn't possible with Victory Saber, since Hasbro would just make more if you ordered a ton

 

scalper - Google Search

Just stop.

Scalping anything doesn't have to imply scarcity of product to still meet its true definition.

Selling anything over fair market price (during, or after msrp is no longer available) can be construed as scalping.

 

so you admit things can have a market price then. Which for a lot of items is over msrp. Otherwise everything in the world must be sold at retail price or someone is a scalper lol

 

Scalping takes a different meaning in the collector's hobby with the added caveat that they're creating a demand for a new or hot item that otherwise wouldn't be there by buying up all the product instead of letting everyone have their fair shot at buying it themselves. Supply and demand affecting aftermarket prices does not make sellers scalpers.

 

You realize what you just did here, right?

 

Last weekend, there was a vendor at Toylanta that had FIVE Victory Sabers for $365 each on Friday and he was down to just one Saturday afternoon.

So...$250 is definitely a good aftermarket price regardless of how much it was offered for eighteen months ago.

-SS (I wouldn't pay over $300 for one but apparently some people did)

 

The bolded sections of his comment do not contradict one another.

Scalpers artificially create demand by buying hot items and jacking up the prices, forcing a high aftermarket price. Normal, organic supply and demand does not make anyone selling their item at a high price a scalper, as they're not responsible for that demand and market value. VS aftermarket value was determined by its exclusivity and limited buying window, not people buying up all the units to then jack the prices up. (as a made-to-order item, this was technically impossible to do) An item reaching high after market costs does not automatically mean scalping was at all involved, it just means supply/demand took it there, and if that is not enough to determine fair market value...

What would determine fair market price, then?

 

First bold: yes they do... he basically is saying scalpers are not scalpers.  

Everything in the middle: you are either arguing that scalping, based on its very definition, is not scalping... or you are saying higher prices to net a greater return is just basic S&D, and not scalping. It's almost like the word doesn't exist to you? Eh, it is what it is.

Definition speaks for itself... I'm good here.

Last bold: honestly, fair market value would be anywhere from initial cost up to actual etailers that still carry said item? After the well is completely dry, then all future sales whether places like eBay, etc set the bar? Not what they list for, but what they sell for?

I guess it's worth whatever the buyer and seller agree on, and the more each of them knows about the item?

Besides, anybody who purchased more than 1 VS with the intention to sell at a higher return, after the window closed, well... kinda self-explanatory.

Edit: oh yeah, and I am contemplating bundling one of my VS with murderchicken when he is released for a nice mark-up down the road... I see no problem with it.

 

That is a rather deflective response to my explanation.

I mean, no it doesn't, as it says "a large or quick profit." By that definition anyone selling VS at anything above its original price are scalpers, even those making minimal profit.

The definition it gives also pertains to ticket sales. Tickets, unlike physical items with intrinsic value, are limited time tokens for something that is incidental, i.e. a concert or ball game that won't be replayed. "Fair market value" can't apply to tickets like it can aftermarket TF figures, because tickets are only good until that game/concert happens, at which point their value is gone.

Unlike tickets, VS sets can still be sold for years onward. It's not a comparable economy. What would make the aftermarket prices five years from now different from those today in terms of validity?

So... what's actually going on here, then? Because if that's all that determines fair market price, all these VS's selling for over $300 must be fair. They were the agreed upon selling price.

How is it any different from people who buy any TF with the express purpose of reselling it down the road at a profit? What about expensive, vintage G1 figures sealed in their original boxes? AFA grading, etc?

 

Well, yeah... basically all of that? Except if the tickets were autographed, it defeats your analogy there?

I'm not arguing with you... scalping is basically investing in something to turn a profit quickly, and both are spades.

Why else would anybody buy with the intent to resell at a markup, other than to turn a profit?

 

Ok, I remember in another thread stating anecdotically that sellers in platforms like ebay barely break even. So are ebay vendors exempted? Not scalpers? Or the price offered depends on the demand? 

 

That depends entirely on the seller and the particular item. I believe you’re likely referring to the Victory Shuttle situation, where poor distribution means that many folks in the US have needed to resort to international sellers on eBay to obtain the item, but demand has kept prices low enough that sellers are barely breaking even.

That’s one particular scenario and certainly not a general rule of thumb for all items on eBay.

 

Nice find! And it was very nice of that person to help you out. Don’t forget to pay that good fortune forward to someone else at some point!

 

High demand usually means higher price related to an item's availability or lack of from the source while deflated demand leads to stunted prices or fire sales to get rid of it until the demand builds up again etc etc etc

As for the vendors being wasteports, so that stereotype stands eh?

 

Of course

What?

 

Ah Star Saber, my favorite kind of Kool Aid

 

I like how Star Saber displays with my Black Zarak and Grand Maximus

 

Victory!

 

https://www.zingpopculture.com.au/p...ormers-haslab-victory-saber-action-figure-set

in case any aussies missed out on backing him, and missed out on the last time EB had stock, haslab VS is back in stock at EBgames/Zing.

get it while you can folks, as this probably won't last more than a day