The Energon Pub

by **Phantron** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:53 pm

Whenever you go into any major retail store looking for the next must have figure, is there any way to tell if toy scalpers have been there? Is there a way to tell the difference of said signs between a true collector and a toy scalper?

News Credits: 5749 · by **El Duque** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:35 am

The short answer is no. Even if you walk into a store and see an individual clearing the pegs of a certain hot new figure there is no way to know if that person is a scalper. I'm a member of a local collectors group, if I walk into a store and they have four of a new figure I will often buy them all to hook up my fellow collectors and they do the same. Scalper paranoia seems to be running a little high lately, and as far as I'm concerned it's a non-factor. I'm not saying they aren't out there, but chances are they aren't the reason you can't find new figures. Here's a few things to keep in mind:

Your fellow collectors. There are probably far more collectors in your area than you realize. Prior to hooking up with the other collectors in my area I would have figured I was one of the only ones. In reality there are at least 50 (being conservative) and I live in rural Oklahoma. I can only imagine how many are in the more metropolitan areas.

Kids, they're smarter than you think. They recognize the new stuff and want it just like we do.

Stock rotation, or the lack there of. When the pegs get low and the stocker brings out that fresh case of new toys do you think he rotates them to the back of the pegs? Doubtful, he probably just pushes the existing toys back and loads the pegs with the new stuff. Then when soccer mom comes strolling by looking for a TF for little Billy's birthday party she just grabs the first one on the peg. My point here is your losing figures to "normal sales".

You also have to remember when that first sighting of a new figure hits the news you immediately have thousands of fans rushing out looking for it. If you're having a hard time finding a figure there's a good chance you can thank for fellow TF fans.

I've been collecting for a number of years now and the only figure I've failed to find at retail (including store exclusives) is HA Mudflap, which was due to horrid distribution. I eventually got him for just a few dollars over retail on Amazon. I'm not saying scalpers aren't out there, because they are. There's one in my area, he owns a vintage toy store but he also stocks new stuff that he cherry picks out of local retail. When HA Leadfoot first came out, he managed to get a good number of them and marked them up to $50.00 in his store. Even competing with him I've always found most figures at retail.