The Energon Pub

william-james88 wrote:You didnt lie, ever. They didnt even ask you what it was worth. Its not like the price of the trumpet was $700 and you said "well, in this condition, its worth way less, and with the costs of repair that would be close to $400, you'd be lucky to sell this for more than $300 so thats the best I can do".

I probably should have elaborated the story a little more (like it wasn't long enough! )

I was in a couple of mindsets about this. First, when she offered $300, it occurred to me that for her to offer this amount, she'd obviously offered the original seller a LOT less. I would take a stab at anywhere between $50-$100. So in that regard, she was already ripping someone off (the original seller would later contact her (after the cheque had cleared) wanting a number of items (including the Trumpet) back) and I had no hesitation in doing the same to her.

I also explained to her about the repairs required and how much they may cost. That actually helped to justify the $300. The stuck slides could have been an easy job (bit of lubricant and heat), or they could have been a difficult job (complete disassembly of the Trumpet) at which point it all becomes a gamble of how much you want to invest (I've been previously screwed over in a massive way when it comes to instrument repair).

As for the parallels between this scenario and the OP, it was more for the morality discussion. I could also pose the similar question to you Will in regards to your thrift shop finds. I think it would be every collectors dream to walk in and find a near mint original G1 Fortress Maximus with a price tag of $20. No one is going to hesitate to snap that up knowing it's worth 10 times that. Do you grab a bargain knowing all too well a charity could be earning a lot more money? Or do you tell the charity organisation about what they have and how they could get a lot more?

Can pretty much guarantee most will grab him and not say anything. I would, but to help ease my conscience I'd also probably make an anonymous donation.

Hey that's how they priced it so I would take it. I would also leave a donation. Unless it was at goodwill.

What would I do? If its just in the wrong place, I fix the shelf.

Ironhidensh wrote:What would I do? If its just in the wrong place, I fix the shelf.

Yes that's what I do all the time

Bumblebee21 wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:What would I do? If its just in the wrong place, I fix the shelf.

Yes that's what I do all the time

I do that too. And its not a morality thing, I just like seeing a nice and tidy TF section and take my brag pics I also want parents to know what is what when they are potentially buying tfs for their kids.

And Burn thanks for the further explanation. I can see the morality aspect but for me, I make it easy with the overal happiness. If someone asks for a low amount for a collectable I will buy it. I am happy since I got a good price and they are happy since they got what they asked for. Same for a thrift shop. Although, for the thrift shop, while my findings are fun, they are similar to the deals one would get at a toy convention when all is said and done. Sometimes the toys I buy end up being broken and I didnt know and sometimes they end up in better condition than I would have thought, so it evens out pretty well. And I would give a nice donation if something like that came along but so far it really hasnt happened. What the thrift shop has really done for me is give me a taste of toys I would have probably never bought (like ROTF mudflap or whatever the green one is called). In how poor their condition usually are, there isnt really any profit to make with my findings so far. Like Vroom. That was fun to find, but I highly doubt its worth more than the $5 I paid for it, given its condition. The fun thing is I got to try the toy out without having to go to e-bay and pay the shipping and the rest. What I usually do is when I am tired of a toy, I sell it locally for the same price I bought it at.

It's a whole different story between when you buy things brand new into a store with official prices, and the second hand market. One have clear-cut rules. The other is pure chaos.

Also, scalpers. Should someone make a thread for bragging about his scalping exploits and expect praise?

Like maybe "I grabbed all 6 of the MP Starscreams at TrU and made 400% profit on Ebay!" thread?

william-james88 wrote:

Bumblebee21 wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:What would I do? If its just in the wrong place, I fix the shelf.

Yes that's what I do all the time

I do that too. And its not a morality thing, I just like seeing a nice and tidy TF section and take my brag pics I also want parents to know what is what when they are potentially buying tfs for their kids.

I'm just going to throw in that I too will often put things back on pegs if it's a bit of a mess, depending on the mood. Sometimes I'll look at it and think "**** it, not my monkeys and they never have a decent range anyway"

william-james88 wrote:Stuff about the second hand market

The second hand market is a bit of a wild beast. You are correct, your thrift shop finds are good value for money. Because you're dealing with non-collectors. It's when you deal with collectors that the beast gets nasty.

Just yesterday I saw on Facebook a guy post a picture of a G1 Optimus Prime he acquired. No fists, no gun, broken smoke stacks, broken bumper, worn stickers, trailer with no Roller. He paid $40AU. Now it's one thing to want to own original figures, but for the money he's going to have to spend to get him fixed up, he may as well just buy a reissue.

I also saw someone asking if a Thrust he found in a collectors store was worth the price tag. Again, missing a lot of accessories, the store was asking around $50.

Those sellers ... well I don't know how they justify their prices.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Also, scalpers. Should someone make a thread for bragging about his scalping exploits and expect praise?

Like maybe "I grabbed all 6 of the MP Starscreams at TrU and made 400% profit on Ebay!" thread?

Nope. That is blatantly being a douche and will result in a massive flame war.
I know you could say the same about this thread, but I doubt that was the OP's intent. A scalping thread? That's blatantly obvious an attempt to troll and incite people Scalpers know they're position in the world. (It's some where around the level of car salesman and lawyer )

Burn wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Stuff about the second hand market

The second hand market is a bit of a wild beast. You are correct, your thrift shop finds are good value for money. Because you're dealing with non-collectors. It's when you deal with collectors that the beast gets nasty.

(...)

I also saw someone asking if a Thrust he found in a collectors store was worth the price tag. Again, missing a lot of accessories, the store was asking around $50.

Those sellers ... well I don't know how they justify their prices.

Easy. The eyes of these sellers are full of hopes and dreams.
A quick look at Ebay and especially 3rd party Amazon sellers is proof enough!

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Also, scalpers. Should someone make a thread for bragging about his scalping exploits and expect praise?

Like maybe "I grabbed all 6 of the MP Starscreams at TrU and made 400% profit on Ebay!" thread?

Nope. That is blatantly being a douche and will result in a massive flame war.
I know you could say the same about this thread, but I doubt that was the OP's intent. A scalping thread? That's blatantly obvious an attempt to troll and incite people Scalpers know they're position in the world. (It's some where around the level of car salesman and lawyer )

Hasbro found somewhat of a solution for this. They ask RIDICULOUS expensive prices when a new MP, gift sets, huge titants, or Platinum come out. Then some weeks or months later, the price get reduced to a still expensive but more buyable one. Then come the sales, and finally, clearance. That way, the scalpers get screwed and EVERYBODY have a go at the collectibles. Except for Hasbro's MP Starscream. Releasing it at 90$CAN, the same price as MP Bluestreak was a total brainfart. They got scalped faster than water droplets on a hot frying pan.

Does this look legit to anyone?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TAKARA-TOMY-TRAN ... 0338.m3726

Weird! To the best of my knowledge, I've never posted in this thread, yet I just got a notification email for it. This has bee happening to me a lot lately.

But while I'm here, I dunno Will, I just got burned by an eBay purchase from China. The seller sent me the wrong item. I had two correspondences with him. One of which he tried to sell me the wrong item he sent with a promise that he would send the right one. SKETCH BALL! I haven't heard back from him in 2 weeks. Haven't had the time to get eBay involved yet.

I feel like all eBay from China is a "buy at your own risk" situation. And a tried and true cosmic rule of thumb is, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.


EDIT: HA! I was the second ever poster in this thread! Over a year ago.
I'll just go back to aimlessly walking in circles picking my nose until Burn yells "get to work you slacker!".

william-james88 wrote:Does this look legit to anyone?

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TAKARA-TOMY-TRAN ... 0338.m3726

That's the link for a 30$ Striker Optimus.

I call either a scam, or a KO.