Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

tech348 wrote:I live in San Francisco, and traffic is a pain here too. So I can relate. Public transportation here is even worse though.

Dude I worked in the city four two years and it sucked. I even feel worse because of Muni.

Hehe, see, I am not lying. You know what I'm talking about. Muni is a nightmare.

I also feel for you here. For the people that don't know San Francisco is not a Wal Mart friendly store, they despise the store. I live in the east bay and in about a 10-15 mile radius I have 2 targets 2 walmarts and a toysrus.

Exactly. SF is so anti-Big Box Store it's uncanny. I avoid the East Bay because I have a terrible time getting around. It's just too much for me.

Xgamer wrote: Honestly though, when you break it down he is maybe profiting $10-15 per figure (after fees), so $180 min for 18 repaint jazz. He has to sell and ship 18- thats alot of work for $180. Do you honestly think he is going to charge what he payed?

The point here is he shouldnt be buying a case in the first place. He is creating false demand, and keeping tf out of the hands of kids, parent, collectors, etc.

Now I dont expect scalpers to give a ****, but certainly I expect the owner of a high profile TF forum site to give a ****.

Sid Burn wrote:

Collector Maximus wrote:If we all started buying as many figures as we could get our hands on, and selling them for 5-15 bucks more, tell me, who would we be helping?
Sorry, I just don't see it.

Neither do I, I think we posted this same point at the same time. People doing this are only helping one person, themselves, and at the cost of others to boot.

However the site owner justifies it, buying two cases of redeco screamer and then selling them at a markup is SCALPING.

Just like people do for concert tickets, sports tickets etc etc.

No upside to the collectors community.

If some idiot wants to pay more than MSRP for something that is not OOP, then so be it. I would rather see someone like Seibs reselling (someone who appreciates the packaging, the history of tf) rather than some other guy that could give a damn about what a C9 box really looks like. It comes down to this- with any hot item- people will always buy extra to profit- Ive seen grandmas even do that.

prowlstreak wrote:all this debate over not finding a toy.....its the same with everything suply nd demand happened with the xbox,ps3,wii blah blah blah its just like that for all popular things if ppl decide to buy more than one we have no way of stopping it so dont complain and b smart next wave of tf's u be out a hour before target opens and wait and then ull get wat u want

This is a seriously dumb ass apathetic response, you are saying that people should line up an hour before opening for transformers?

That is ridiculous, people shouldnt have to go to those lengths, the shortage from hasbro is the main culprit but people walking out with cases of starscreams isnt helping.

Xgamer wrote:If some idiot wants to pay more than MSRP for something that is not OOP, then so be it. I would rather see someone like Seibs reselling (someone who appreciates the packaging, the history of tf) rather than some other guy that could give a damn about what a C9 box really looks like.

So as long as you are being gouged by someone who is into TF thats cool? ugh.

Sid Burn wrote:

Xgamer wrote: Honestly though, when you break it down he is maybe profiting $10-15 per figure (after fees), so $180 min for 18 repaint jazz. He has to sell and ship 18- thats alot of work for $180. Do you honestly think he is going to charge what he payed?

The point here is he shouldnt be buying a case in the first place. He is creating false demand, and keeping tf out of the hands of kids, parent, collectors, etc.

Now I dont expect scalpers to give a ****, but certainly I expect the owner of a high profile TF forum site to give a ****.

Ive had to find things like Xbox360s (release year) and Wii 2 weeks before Xmas for families (FOR FREE-kindness of my heart) and let me tell you one thing -it is work, and I didnt get much thank yous for it. If there is such a false demand for tfs or any hot item- then all the ebayers would be screwed- but guess what- they arent. Now....I tell people to preorder and not bother me about it.

Sid Burn wrote:

Xgamer wrote:If some idiot wants to pay more than MSRP for something that is not OOP, then so be it. I would rather see someone like Seibs reselling (someone who appreciates the packaging, the history of tf) rather than some other guy that could give a damn about what a C9 box really looks like.

So as long as you are being gouged by someone who is into TF thats cool? ugh.

Im not the idiot paying- so how am I getting gouged? I can find things on my own- I have encore TFs arriving from Japan and I didnt pay BBTS prices (prime actually costs $40 and shipping is still under 20- close to 12-15). I can also order pratically any movie TF overseas and get it if I really wanted it. It comes down to how determined you are to get something.

Okay, me thinkeys it's best not to get all hot with each other since no one here is doing anything wrong. Fair?

Sportimus Prime wrote:Okay, me thinkeys it's best not to get all hot with each other since no one here is doing anything wrong. Fair?

"Discretion is the better part of valor."

Sportimus Prime wrote:Okay, me thinkeys it's best not to get all hot with each other since no one here is doing anything wrong. Fair?

If you mean legally no one is commiting a crime, then you are right.

But you dont see anything wrong with a collector buying cases of a product, and then gouging people at inflated prices?

Xgamer wrote:Im not the idiot paying- so how am I getting gouged? I can find things on my own- I have encore TFs arriving from Japan and I didnt pay BBTS prices (prime actually costs $40 and shipping is still under 20- close to 12-15). I can also order pratically any movie TF overseas and get it if I really wanted it. It comes down to how determined you are to get something.

I wasnt speaking about you personally, I meant in general, you prefer a TF fan to do the gouging?

I dont care about the deals you are getting personally, I am talking about you stating that you would rather see a TF collector scalping over a nonfan scalping. This is a debate about collectors scalping, not a debate about where "xgamer" buys his bots.

Autobot032 wrote:

zatara1701 wrote:What a major A-hole... He must either work at the store or the distibution center.

Or bribed an employee. It happens. You'd be amazed at what people will do for $20-50.00 even with a job giving them a constant paycheck.

TRU stockers have been known to do it, many times.

It's nice to have an inside connection. Too bad none of us can get the same deal. =\

Well, acutally......I could I work at target. I'd be willing to get anyone a G1 painted starscream if they want at store price plus shipping. We have tons of them in the backroom. Im sure theres some Jazz's as well. Oh, and rescute rachet and thundercracker are out at wallmart as well.

Sid Burn wrote:

Sportimus Prime wrote:Okay, me thinkeys it's best not to get all hot with each other since no one here is doing anything wrong. Fair?

If you mean legally no one is commiting a crime, then you are right.

But you dont see anything wrong with a collector buying cases of a product, and then gouging people at inflated prices?

I see everything wrong with it morally. It dont care if its capitalistic or not. Its still morally wrong. Its selfish.

I wouldnt worry too much about not getting one though, guys. At target, when things are exclusive, we get cases and cases and even pallets worth of the item. He wont be rare, just only available at Target.

*sighs*

I thought a fandom forged friendships?
I thought a fandom created a network where people could help each other and be helped?

I'm seeing lately that I had it all wrong. The entire idea behind it is "Me, me, me, f*ck you, me, me, me."

1.) Scalpers do exist. (No matter how you wrangle with it, whether or not you've pulled it, or oppose the idea...scalping and scalpers do exist.)

2.) Scalpers won't change the entire outcome of the line, but they do affect it to some extent. (Of course one or two cases on eBay won't do jack to the line, but more and more people following that trend, will. Kids have no idea how to use UPCs, DPCIs, etc....and they don't even know Starscream and Jazz are in the backroom. It doesn't matter if they're G1 decoed or not. The fact remains that a toy meant for kids (collectors second) is never going to get to them because you can use the code when they can't, and buying up cases full of them will also deny them of ever getting the toys.)

3.) Scalping ruins it for all of us. (Less product on the shelves, more money in scummy pockets. People become disenchanted with the whole collecting thing. Kids suffer the worst because they can't find them at a store.)

People try and defend it and say "Oh well, it's the American way. Making a profit isn't a bad thing." No, generally, it's not. Making a profit this way, and off of other people like this, is. It's reprehensible and disgusting. It's a shameful practice and shouldn't be continued.

Okay, buying a full case of assorted figures? That's a little more sensible because if you're a collector, you'd be buying one of each sooner or later anyway. Selling the extras to your fellow board members/friends is a good thing to do, or return the extras to the store so other people might have a chance at at least one figure they haven't gotten yet.

Buying a full case of the same figure? That's ridiculous and there's no point in it except to make a profit, which people have actually come right out and admitted was part of their motivation. I give them credit for being honest, but I don't give them credit for making a quick buck off of their fellow board member/collector/friend.

One to have loose, one to keep MISB...okay. I can deal with that.

Selling off the extras or returning some of them to the store...okay. I can deal with that too.

Keeping the extras, marking them up $15.00 or more is not only ridiculous, it's selfish, and they know it's a perfect way to make a quick buck.

"Look, this covers gas and other expenses coming out of my pocket, so I have to mark it up some. Otherwise I'm going to lose money." "Well, what if you're paid full store cost and exact shipping, just this once, like I did for you?" "I really can't swing it. If I did it for you, I'd have to do it for everyone and I can't afford it. I'm not a business." is what some of you tell your fellow collectors. You can't even compare yourself to an online business. They have to mark up their prices because they have employees to pay, and they don't get the discounts that major retailers like Wal-Mart do. They *do* provide a service. You merely provide a way to extort a little extra so you have spending money. You work to pay your bills and have spending money, you're not supposed to freely and willingly rip another person off to do it.

You exploit people's weaknesses by doing this. How? Here's an example:

Little Billy wants Target/Wal-Mart/TRU Exclusive HeadMaster TargetMaster Optimus Primus (doesn't exist, but for the sake of exaggeration...) he can't find it. His parents, can't find it. It's not on the shelves, T/WM/TRU doesn't seem to have it in the back of the store. Neither Billy, nor his parents know anything about the codes used, nor would they even know how to go about finding them. (Already scalpers have them at a terrible disadvantage.)

So poor little Billy goes home, empty handed and may never actually get the item he's looking for. Oh, but wait, what's this? His birthday is coming up and his parents want him to have that toy. Well guess what? eBay has it, and for double to triple the price (if they're lucky it's even that cheap.) You know why? Because scalpers (and collectors who fancy themselves as good Samaritans because they're only charging $5.00-15.00 instead of double that mark up. *insert rolleyes here*) have the inside track and beaten them to it.

What're Billy's parents supposed to do? They're at their wits end, poor little Billy is brokenhearted, so they cave in and pay the exorbitant prices on eBay. They *have* to perpetuate the disgusting cycle, because they have no other options to getting that item. They don't realize that there might be another shipment of the item down the road (though in the case of Robovision Optimus, most stores didn't receive a shipment beyond the initial first wave of him...) so they end up paying for three figures worth, just to get one single figure.

It's not fair, it's not right, and it's disgusting. There are more parents and the uniformed who can't get the info they need to find a better deal and you people know it! You exploit that weakness and collect the money and relish the fact that you just made a profit off of a gift for a 10 year old kid who can't do this for himself.

And don't even give me crap lines like "Well the kid doesn't need it." or "The parents don't have to pay that kind of money. They're just spoiling him, which isn't necessary." or whatever else you could come up with. Of course the kid doesn't need it, but don't you remember being a kid? You sure think you need it. You believe you do because you were too young and didn't realize the difference. Maybe the kid deserves to be spoiled a bit? Maybe he's been really, really good and they wanted to do something a little extra special for his birthday, or Christmas present? But these are sensible ideas, and counteract the scalping mentality, so it's not logical to have such a train of thought. Sense and responsibility and selflessness, oh my!

How incredibly disgusting. I'd tell you (or even appeal to your good nature and ask you) to be ashamed of yourself, but it won't happen. All those Ben Franklins sitting in your PayPal account make any traces of guilt go away. Must be nice...you not only make a profit, but the customer bought off your conscience because you're...."providing a service".

You're not providing a service, or helping anyone but you. Of course scalpers don't exist to you.

Money makes the world go 'round, people happy, and buys off a conscience. Yeah, that's the American way. F*ck yeah.

Autobot032 wrote:*sighs*

I thought a fandom forged friendships?
I thought a fandom created a network where people could help each other and be helped?

I'm seeing lately that I had it all wrong. The entire idea behind it is "Me, me, me, f*ck you, me, me, me."

1.) Scalpers do exist. (No matter how you wrangle with it, whether or not you've pulled it, or oppose the idea...scalping and scalpers do exist.)

2.) Scalpers won't change the entire outcome of the line, but they do affect it to some extent. (Of course one or two cases on eBay won't do jack to the line, but more and more people following that trend, will. Kids have no idea how to use UPCs, DPCIs, etc....and they don't even know Starscream and Jazz are in the backroom. It doesn't matter if they're G1 decoed or not. The fact remains that a toy meant for kids (collectors second) is never going to get to them because you can use the code when they can't, and buying up cases full of them will also deny them of ever getting the toys.)

3.) Scalping ruins it for all of us. (Less product on the shelves, more money in scummy pockets. People become disenchanted with the whole collecting thing. Kids suffer the worst because they can't find them at a store.)

People try and defend it and say "Oh well, it's the American way. Making a profit isn't a bad thing." No, generally, it's not. Making a profit this way, and off of other people like this, is. It's reprehensible and disgusting. It's a shameful practice and shouldn't be continued.

Okay, buying a full case of assorted figures? That's a little more sensible because if you're a collector, you'd be buying one of each sooner or later anyway. Selling the extras to your fellow board members/friends is a good thing to do, or return the extras to the store so other people might have a chance at at least one figure they haven't gotten yet.

Buying a full case of the same figure? That's ridiculous and there's no point in it except to make a profit, which people have actually come right out and admitted was part of their motivation. I give them credit for being honest, but I don't give them credit for making a quick buck off of their fellow board member/collector/friend.

One to have loose, one to keep MISB...okay. I can deal with that.

Selling off the extras or returning some of them to the store...okay. I can deal with that too.

Keeping the extras, marking them up $15.00 or more is not only ridiculous, it's selfish, and they know it's a perfect way to make a quick buck.

"Look, this covers gas and other expenses coming out of my pocket, so I have to mark it up some. Otherwise I'm going to lose money." "Well, what if you're paid full store cost and exact shipping, just this once, like I did for you?" "I really can't swing it. If I did it for you, I'd have to do it for everyone and I can't afford it. I'm not a business." is what some of you tell your fellow collectors. You can't even compare yourself to an online business. They have to mark up their prices because they have employees to pay, and they don't get the discounts that major retailers like Wal-Mart do. They *do* provide a service. You merely provide a way to extort a little extra so you have spending money. You work to pay your bills and have spending money, you're not supposed to freely and willingly rip another person off to do it.

You exploit people's weaknesses by doing this. How? Here's an example:

Little Billy wants Target/Wal-Mart/TRU Exclusive HeadMaster TargetMaster Optimus Primus (doesn't exist, but for the sake of exaggeration...) he can't find it. His parents, can't find it. It's not on the shelves, T/WM/TRU doesn't seem to have it in the back of the store. Neither Billy, nor his parents know anything about the codes used, nor would they even know how to go about finding them. (Already scalpers have them at a terrible disadvantage.)

So poor little Billy goes home, empty handed and may never actually get the item he's looking for. Oh, but wait, what's this? His birthday is coming up and his parents want him to have that toy. Well guess what? eBay has it, and for double to triple the price (if they're lucky it's even that cheap.) You know why? Because scalpers (and collectors who fancy themselves as good Samaritans because they're only charging $5.00-15.00 instead of double that mark up. *insert rolleyes here*) have the inside track and beaten them to it.

What're Billy's parents supposed to do? They're at their wits end, poor little Billy is brokenhearted, so they cave in and pay the exorbitant prices on eBay. They *have* to perpetuate the disgusting cycle, because they have no other options to getting that item. They don't realize that there might be another shipment of the item down the road (though in the case of Robovision Optimus, most stores didn't receive a shipment beyond the initial first wave of him...) so they end up paying for three figures worth, just to get one single figure.

It's not fair, it's not right, and it's disgusting. There are more parents and the uniformed who can't get the info they need to find a better deal and you people know it! You exploit that weakness and collect the money and relish the fact that you just made a profit off of a gift for a 10 year old kid who can't do this for himself.

And don't even give me crap lines like "Well the kid doesn't need it." or "The parents don't have to pay that kind of money. They're just spoiling him, which isn't necessary." or whatever else you could come up with. Of course the kid doesn't need it, but don't you remember being a kid? You sure think you need it. You believe you do because you were too young and didn't realize the difference. Maybe the kid deserves to be spoiled a bit? Maybe he's been really, really good and they wanted to do something a little extra special for his birthday, or Christmas present? But these are sensible ideas, and counteract the scalping mentality, so it's not logical to have such a train of thought. Sense and responsibility and selflessness, oh my!

How incredibly disgusting. I'd tell you (or even appeal to your good nature and ask you) to be ashamed of yourself, but it won't happen. All those Ben Franklins sitting in your PayPal account make any traces of guilt go away. Must be nice...you not only make a profit, but the customer bought off your conscience because you're...."providing a service".

You're not providing a service, or helping anyone but you. Of course scalpers don't exist to you.

Money makes the world go 'round, people happy, and buys off a conscience. Yeah, that's the American way. F*ck yeah.

Here Here! that was quite possibly the most incredible post I've ever read. Well spoken!

True.

btw... lol on the large green writing on the link.

"You will NOT be receiving the one that is opened. That is obviously mine" Well, duh. who wants a opened toy when he has like 17-18 others in the background lol

GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH SCALPER SCALPER SCALPER!!!!!!
I'm just kicking the horse, man. I can't find jack either but when I want something and I intend to find it, I either do exactly that OR I play smarter and get what I want. Either way, I'm getting what I want. Scalper or no, I won't be stopped.

Sid Burn wrote:

Xgamer wrote:Im not the idiot paying- so how am I getting gouged? I can find things on my own- I have encore TFs arriving from Japan and I didnt pay BBTS prices (prime actually costs $40 and shipping is still under 20- close to 12-15). I can also order pratically any movie TF overseas and get it if I really wanted it. It comes down to how determined you are to get something.

I wasnt speaking about you personally, I meant in general, you prefer a TF fan to do the gouging?

I dont care about the deals you are getting personally, I am talking about you stating that you would rather see a TF collector scalping over a nonfan scalping. This is a debate about collectors scalping, not a debate about where "xgamer" buys his bots.

Well next time, state your question better...dont quote me and say well do "you?". I know you could care less where I get my bots. My point if you were actually reading, and if you actually read what you wrote yourself is that you dont have to get gouged if you choose to find other ways. The reason movie toys are being put on ebay b/c so called "collectors", if I can even call them that, are willing to pay for it. A true collector knows that to acquire an entire line takes time and patience. The movie TFs havent even been out a year and there is so much whining.

In the UK there are many lines which i would have not been able to find the figures i want from due to poor distribution and not all the figures being released here.

When people buy at retail and sell for a profit on ebay it means i have access to figures i can not normally get hold of at retail.

The very seem people who are moaning about scalpers are the very people who would have access to these figures.

In my eyes they are providing a service
I Want something - i could not get it but it can be obtained and sold to my by someone else with a fee for their effort invested. That person is obviously the bane of humanity for daring to make that service available to me.

Even tho i dont know these people they have helped me as a collector. Some sellers i deal with i know now and i also know that they use people that work for the retail outlets - retail outlets i cant visit as they are in another country.

What is wrong with them buying up stock to sell on on the secondry market if there are people who can not obtain it on the primary market

Flux Convoy wrote:GAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH SCALPER SCALPER SCALPER!!!!!!
I'm just kicking the horse, man. I can't find jack either but when I want something and I intend to find it, I either do exactly that OR I play smarter and get what I want. Either way, I'm getting what I want. Scalper or no, I won't be stopped.

Thats the best attitude to have. It all comes down to determination. As for Little Billy- there are kids out there that dont even have food, that dont even get a toy- do some of you so called righteous collectors donate any toys to them? I know I do, but then again I'm not a righteous "it better not be on ebay" person. Little Billy and his parents can kiss my ass... I never had an optimus as a kid, b/c my parents couldnt afford it...get over it, the lesson of you can't have everything is the best lesson IMHO.

Seibertron wrote:2) There are some things us more experienced toy hunters can help you guys with. I'd rather have you guys asking us for help instead of going around yelling "scalpers! scalpers! scalpers!" every time you can't find a figure and you see some guy with 10 of them on eBay. There is a method to the madness ... we'd like to help you guys figure out what we've already figured out when it comes to toy hunting.

This is truth.

Anyone that isn't listening to all the free advice or isn't actively asking for help is a scrub.

I was seeking some Cybertron Minicons that didn't show up in my area. They were going for $40 on eBay, but I asked nicely to a few people and a week later, I've got my Blastback and Sureshock (Thanks again Skowl).

How do you think those of us with large successful collections have gotten as far as we have? I mean really...If I find 2 08' Bumblebees, keep one and sell the other, then I essentially get a free Bumblebee. I can't be bothered to care if you can't find it, especially when you didn't go so far as to even ask for some help.

Now there have been a bunch of threads like, "Let's help each other beat the scalpers omfg ftw!" While good intentioned, this is like the blind leading the blind.

I'm not going to help anyone in those threads. They expect figure plus shipping type prices. Well, my time is money. What's worse? I don't know you. Why should I go out of my way? I'm happy to hook people up that have spoken and been polite to me. Even new people that extend a courtesy or at least listen to the advice that is ALL OVER these boards. Too many people right now are expecting something.

They expect product when they want it. They expect prices they think they should get. What's worse, they think they are being wronged over toys. I don't have time to be a victim, I actually have a movie Thundercracker I should be opening (Nurse Ratchet too, I'm thinking of that toy as a stout German woman Transformer).

That's what I think of the moral and ethical argument. But really, I don't think too much of it, instead, I just don't care about what those with objections think. Weee!

But seriously, the old argument goes, 'You don't have to buy it.'

That argument, has always been a good'un.

Sid Burn wrote:

Sportimus Prime wrote:Okay, me thinkeys it's best not to get all hot with each other since no one here is doing anything wrong. Fair?

If you mean legally no one is commiting a crime, then you are right.

But you dont see anything wrong with a collector buying cases of a product, and then gouging people at inflated prices?

Honestly? No. Maybe that makes me morally corrupt and an evil person but I don't care. If I can find a way to legally make some extra cash I'm going to do it. There's an obvious demand for these toys and people are willing to pay those inflated prices. One of the smartest business men I ever had the pleasure of meeting always used to preach that you price your goods and services at what the market will bear but becareful because that market could crumble at anytime. This market too will crumble and this guy will be left holding 18 Jazz's that he can't sell for retail prices.

To me, and this is just my opinion, it seems that a lot of people complaining about the scalpers are just impatient collectors.

Counterpunch wrote:

Seibertron wrote:2) There are some things us more experienced toy hunters can help you guys with. I'd rather have you guys asking us for help instead of going around yelling "scalpers! scalpers! scalpers!" every time you can't find a figure and you see some guy with 10 of them on eBay. There is a method to the madness ... we'd like to help you guys figure out what we've already figured out when it comes to toy hunting.

This is truth.

Anyone that isn't listening to all the free advice or isn't actively asking for help is a scrub.

I was seeking some Cybertron Minicons that didn't show up in my area. They were going for $40 on eBay, but I asked nicely to a few people and a week later, I've got my Blastback and Sureshock (Thanks again Skowl).

How do you think those of us with large successful collections have gotten as far as we have? I mean really...If I find 2 08' Bumblebees, keep one and sell the other, then I essentially get a free Bumblebee. I can't be bothered to care if you can't find it, especially when you didn't go so far as to even ask for some help.

Now there have been a bunch of threads like, "Let's help each other beat the scalpers omfg ftw!" While good intentioned, this is like the blind leading the blind.

I'm not going to help anyone in those threads. They expect figure plus shipping type prices. Well, my time is money. What's worse? I don't know you. Why should I go out of my way? I'm happy to hook people up that have spoken and been polite to me. Even new people that extend a courtesy or at least listen to the advice that is ALL OVER these boards. Too many people right now are expecting something.

They expect product when they want it. They expect prices they think they should get. What's worse, they think they are being wronged over toys. I don't have time to be a victim, I actually have a movie Thundercracker I should be opening (Nurse Ratchet too, I'm thinking of that toy as a stout German woman Transformer).

That's what I think of the moral and ethical argument. But really, I don't think too much of it, instead, I just don't care about what those with objections think. Weee!

But seriously, the old argument goes, 'You don't have to buy it.'

That argument, has always been a good'un.

Exactally.

It's just like having a TV or radio show that you don't like, you change the channel.

If you don't like it, leave it alone. Don't buy it, don't watch it, don't read about it, don't post about it.

Counterpunch wrote:

Seibertron wrote:2) There are some things us more experienced toy hunters can help you guys with. I'd rather have you guys asking us for help instead of going around yelling "scalpers! scalpers! scalpers!" every time you can't find a figure and you see some guy with 10 of them on eBay. There is a method to the madness ... we'd like to help you guys figure out what we've already figured out when it comes to toy hunting.

This is truth.

Anyone that isn't listening to all the free advice or isn't actively asking for help is a scrub.

I was seeking some Cybertron Minicons that didn't show up in my area. They were going for $40 on eBay, but I asked nicely to a few people and a week later, I've got my Blastback and Sureshock (Thanks again Skowl).

How do you think those of us with large successful collections have gotten as far as we have? I mean really...If I find 2 08' Bumblebees, keep one and sell the other, then I essentially get a free Bumblebee. I can't be bothered to care if you can't find it, especially when you didn't go so far as to even ask for some help.

Now there have been a bunch of threads like, "Let's help each other beat the scalpers omfg ftw!" While good intentioned, this is like the blind leading the blind.

I'm not going to help anyone in those threads. They expect figure plus shipping type prices. Well, my time is money. What's worse? I don't know you. Why should I go out of my way? I'm happy to hook people up that have spoken and been polite to me. Even new people that extend a courtesy or at least listen to the advice that is ALL OVER these boards. Too many people right now are expecting something.

They expect product when they want it. They expect prices they think they should get. What's worse, they think they are being wronged over toys. I don't have time to be a victim, I actually have a movie Thundercracker I should be opening (Nurse Ratchet too, I'm thinking of that toy as a stout German woman Transformer).

That's what I think of the moral and ethical argument. But really, I don't think too much of it, instead, I just don't care about what those with objections think. Weee!

But seriously, the old argument goes, 'You don't have to buy it.'

That argument, has always been a good'un.

This is exactly why I dont do trades anymore lately- people start changing the conditions and expect you to fulfill their needs as exactly they envision it (Im not talking about everybody)- I dont have the time for that crap- to trade for something I could probably just get on my own and then hear complaints about well it is taking too long to get here. Im sick of people coming on here asking for help, actually demanding it and not even contributing.