The Energon Pub

SERIOUSLY, LOCK THIS THREAD. 19 pages of bickering and nobody has accomplished anything other than hurt feelings. Mods, PLEASE DO YOUR JOB and put an end to this absurdity.

Sonray wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Sonray wrote:

Hotrod wrote:

Sonray wrote:Actually HotRod, why dont YOU watch the personal attacks in the form of patronizing comments towards us forum users ok?

And the personal attacks will continue if i continue to receive them, thats all so stop them at the source and then my retaliations will stop as i am only sticking up for myself against this scumbag and his patronizing, snide and silly remarks.

Point out one personal attack I have posted toward another user since I have been posting here. I beg you please find one. As far as patronizing comments towards forum users go, that was not my intent nor what I did. I have been posting for months in all of these threads about scalpers that all people need to do is be patient, maybe I should have made a better post. And no you are not defending yourself at all. I think people's feelings on this issue are starting to cloud their better judgement.

Well, they wasnt really PERSONAL more in general, but still insulting and something someone in your position shouldnt do.

You patronized us, spoke down to us like we are bits of dirt on your shoe. To me thats as much of a personal attack as any.

And yes i AM defending myself as that guy has done nothing but try to piss me off, if you cant see that you are blind to the obvious. I am just gonna ignore the idiot now as i dont wanna say something i might regret, but maybe you should stop breathing down my neck and breathe down someone elses instead, i.e. the person baiting me to get pissed off in the first place.

I can honsetly assure you, my intentions were not to patronize anyone, or to speak down to you. If that is how you guys feel about the post then I sincerly apologize.

I have asked him to stop as well already. Your language is what drew me to your post. I understand this is become a hotter issue then I thought it was, therefor I only asked you to stop, and did not issue a formal warning.

I know, i read, But he knew damn well i had a short fuse as i stated earlier, and he was simply baiting me on. I cant help it but i cant not shut up with jerks like that, its just how i am as i have been bullied all my childhood and i wont tolerate any kind of bullying in my adult life.

We was both in the wrong, i just want to be sure im not the only one whose getting the blame.

And thanks for the apology.

No problem, when I am wrong, I am wrong. I am generally a laid back guy and will admit when I am wrong. I assure you if anything I post gets someone upset (other then bad news ) it is not my intent.

Autobot032 wrote:18? Someone needs their nuts kicked in a bit.

I'll hold him you get a good running start

travicon wrote:this is so dumb, he said that i said that he said that that guy said... scalpers suck, thats what i say, ya know i'll buy two of something if i wanna open one and keep the other misb, or ill just hold on to one for TRADE not profit. as far as cleaning out botcon for a damn tv... F-U dude, trying to justify it saying "if you found 5 10 dollar bills you would'nt pick them all up"... get real man, so you're saying if the guy infront of you in line bought the last 3 of everything, then turned around and tryed to sell them to you for 3 times as much you wouldnt care...so here's and idea, it worked out great for me... GET A REAL JOB! i can afford to buy transformers AND a 60" tv but i'll be damned if i give a loser like you my money for a toy you bought just so you can sell and dodge another day of real work that would earn you honest money and not have people hate you for it...

also i really didnt even care ( well i did just not enough post something about it) until you tried justifying yourself with BS reasons...

i know scalpers are not a huge problem because i've always managed to get what i want by being patient and checking the stores frequently, however i think any transformers fan who walks into a store to the toys and sees a guy leaving the toy isle, arms full of the figure you need but wont give one to you unless you give him twice as much the amount you would have paid having gotten there 5 min. earlier, thats soooooooooo lame, and i dont think there is any way anyone can make that sound understandable...

I think you have me and my point in this debate all wrong, Traviscon. I might buy a few extra figs if I stumble across them and I think I can resell them, but I don't go around cleaning out stores or being rude to people. If I was there with a few rare figs and you showed up and asked for one, I'd hand it right over to you.

I am an elementary school teacher, and consider myself a pretty nice guy. I work hard for my students all day and most nights on lesson plans, preparation, etc.. The kids love and respect me and I am a good role model for them. Please don't turn this into some sort of sort of comment. I'm being honest about myself at the risk of being setup for attack just so people can hopefully realize how careful they should be about misjudging people.


As for Botcon, buying 2 extra boxed sets and three loose sets is hardly cleaning them out. A lot of fans did the same thing to help recover some of the cost. It was actually a smart thing to do.


I apologize for stirring up Sonray and anyone else by my contribution to this debate. I feel that I walked into a fire and got a little caught up in it. I spit some venom too, and my only regret is my rudeness and slanting my comments in a personal direction by responding to personal attacks defensively.

jgilkinson wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:18? Someone needs their nuts kicked in a bit.

I'll hold him you get a good running start

I dunno. I got some weight on me, plus I've got a strong set of legs...if I get a good run for it, he might never see his nuts again.

I just want to kick 'em 'til they hurt, not decimate them.


















Oh hell, go ahead. I'll start runnin'.

i got cha, its just all the rude comments ive seen on here is sickining, i may have said some harsh words myself, for that im sorry , and maybe you dont clean out stores however, my thoughts on re-selling toys for your own personal profit stays the same, please accept my apologie for calling you a loser, im not trying to make enemies, im on here to make friends, but you should try to see how 'scalpers' and or people re-selling toys pisses people off

he obviously works at a walmart or target or knows someone who works there , but i was at wal mart in sandiego ca. and i found a bunch of voyage class and deluxe class figs in the garden center that were not stocked yet . im pretty sure if i wanted i could of bought them all but why and who cares .why get stuck with all those figures that will be over stock in couple of months .look what happen with cars the movie toys they sold out as well as tf . so be patient , and happy hunting.

The way I see it there is nothing wrong with buying multiples of any given figure IF (big IF) the purpose is one of the following situations:

1) you buy one to keep MISB for youself, one to open and play with, one to kitbash or to display in the alternative mode.

With most TF figs there is only two modes, but with other Japanese toys like Macross toys which are considerably more expensive there are three modes.


2) If you offer the extras you purchased to the fans NOT through price gouging venues like flea markets or evilbay. Instead you offer the items with a small mark up most likely to cover the tax and your gas expense. Sell items in this fashion IMO is reasonable and offers the BEST service to the community if one were so inclined.

I realize not everyone cares to help others in this fandom, nor do they care to resell on the forums. Some people want the most money they can get and while it is right right and not illegal those are one type of scalpers, they purchase with the express purpose of profiting.

Profiting regardless of how one sugarcoats it is what scalpers do. Some make every effort to clear out the harder to find and in demand figures which IMO is just plain wrong if they don't do one of the two situations listed above. Still some say they use the funds to buy other items, which just a weak justification to scalping.

The fact is when you buy more figs with the expressed purpose to resell for a profit then you are scalping. It does not matter if you line up at 7am or go when the stores restock late at night. Yeah you can claim you sooze you lose but what if more people thought this way and you never found squat? How would you feel as an average collector or as a parent or a new collector (i.e. young kid)? Think about it, exactly whom does the scalping process help?

Scalping does NOT help the average consumer or the fandom as a whole and should not be supported whatsoever. The only people who benefit are the hoarders who buy with the express purpose to resell at highly inflated prices. I won't say these types of people should be hung, but I certainly do not respect or condone their behavior.

I can't believe I read this whole thing in one sitting. Goin' to bed now!

Transformers = MONEY

Sorry. If **** was worth something, poor people would be born without assholes.

Starscream wrote:Transformers = MONEY

Sorry. If **** was worth something, poor people would be born without assholes.

Thread is done. Thanks for playing everyone else.

report this f***er to ebay.
someone should. no way he could have 18 of these figures. no f-in way. report him!!

bumble_bee_68 wrote:report this f***er to ebay.
someone should. no way he could have 18 of these figures. no f-in way. report him!!

Apparently he does. And Ebay isn't going to care where he got what he sells or how he got it.

Hell, I got called a scalper by an ebay user in my current auction and Ebay doesn't give a crap.

Nah, just kiddin'.


First I would like to say:

- I love the sightings section, find it very helpful, thanks Ryan. In fact, I am closing in on 300 sightings.

- I almost never have any trouble finding any transformer, including the movie line, I make many toy runs a week on my way to work or on lunch. I only have one Target in town.

- The wife just bought me G1 movie Jazz a couple of days ago, using the DCPI number nonetheless - use that people, it works and works very well. Use other tips brought up in this thread also. They work.

- This pretty much is exactly what a scalper is -

Fortress_Maximus wrote:I realize not everyone cares to help others in this fandom, nor do they care to resell on the forums. Some people want the most money they can get and while it is right right and not illegal those are one type of scalpers, they purchase with the express purpose of profiting.

Profiting regardless of how one sugarcoats it is what scalpers do. Some make every effort to clear out the harder to find and in demand figures which IMO is just plain wrong if they don't do one of the two situations listed above. Still some say they use the funds to buy other items, which just a weak justification to scalping.

The fact is when you buy more figs with the expressed purpose to resell for a profit then you are scalping. It does not matter if you line up at 7am or go when the stores restock late at night. Yeah you can claim you sooze you lose but what if more people thought this way and you never found squat? How would you feel as an average collector or as a parent or a new collector (i.e. young kid)? Think about it, exactly whom does the scalping process help?

Scalping does NOT help the average consumer or the fandom as a whole and should not be supported whatsoever. The only people who benefit are the hoarders who buy with the express purpose to resell at highly inflated prices. I won't say these types of people should be hung, but I certainly do not respect or condone their behavior.

I just find the scalper mentality distasteful. It's starting to bring a negative light to this hobby in the same way it has done to Star Wars, which has already turned me off slightly on continuing to buy those.

Yes, younger kids can have access online to see any new figs coming out. My 9 year old knows of all of the new Transformers and Star Wars schwag coming out as we look online together. We go out every Saturday morning on a toy run - I look for stuff to add to my collection, he looks to spend his allowance on some new Star Wars figures.

It's guys like the ebay seller with cases of Jazz figs that is a large contributing factor as to why my son can't find the cool Star Wars stuff (not even the new stuff, just the cool stuff).

Hotrod wrote:I cann't wait until these become shelf warmers and eveyone is mad because no new product because the shelves are clogged. Will you blame scalpers for that as well?

Actually, they can contribute to this almost as much as they can to wiping out certain figs. I'm not saying this is going to happen to G1 Jazz, but has happened on a very regular basis with Star Wars. Here is the scenario:

A scalper cleans a store (or a few) out of some figures. His grand notion of making a profit backfires, and the figs become pegwarmers. Luckily for him, he saved his receipt. He takes them back, gets a full refund. Now, the pegs are crammed full with even more pegwarmers that will prevent new figures from making their way into the stores. This has happened many times where I live.

Now, not only can my son not find any cooler older stuff, he cannot find any cooler new stuff.

Luckily, I do have some online resources that will help me out with figs at cost with shipping, for both me and my son. However, don't you remember how exciting it was to be 9 years old and find the one or two figs that you REALLY wanted on the shelf in the store? Its just not the same experience for a 9 yr old to get it online. He's happy to have the fig, it's just not the same.

I refuse to contribute my money to a scalper, as the people that buy from one are three times worse than the scalper themselves.

I'm not really a big fan of scalpers, but in this collecting game of ours, we knew we'd have to deal with 'em...as far as I go, I found 4 Bumblebee '08 Concepts last weekend. I bought two of them (I already had one) with the sole purpose of trading them on the trade boards...so far so good, I already have a Jazz G1 Repaint coming!

Lapse Of Reason wrote:

megatroptimus wrote:

Lapse Of Reason wrote:I buy rare toys and sell them for a profit and I'm proud of it. I then turn around and reinvest that money in other luxury items, usually Transformers for my own collection. I find that if I can buy three and sell two, I usually make enough extra to cover the expense for the figure I keep.

This year I bought three Botcon sets and three looses sets, plus all the souvenior sets I could get. I kept one of everything for me and made enough profit off the rest to buy a 50" Panasonic plasma tv.

Resourcefulness is a virtue, not a vice.

Exactly the type of collector I despise.

Why? Care to back that up?

Because it makes you a scalper that is even proud of being one. To "recoup costs" is the lamest excuse you could ever come up with to justify your scalping habits. Botcon sets should be limited to one set per attendee. That's it. You're not there, too bad for you. You're going? Don't count on us to recoup your costs. Going to Botcon was YOUR decision, don't make non-attendees pay for it. All extra sets should be sold through HTS or auctionned by the organizers with profits going toward next year's Botcon or to charity. And for the record, I have no desire to own any of the Botcon exclusives except last year's Megatron (and that probably will never happen).

Lapse Of Reason wrote:I buy rare toys and sell them for a profit and I'm proud of it. I then turn around and reinvest that money in other luxury items, usually Transformers for my own collection. I find that if I can buy three and sell two, I usually make enough extra to cover the expense for the figure I keep.

This year I bought three Botcon sets and three looses sets, plus all the souvenior sets I could get. I kept one of everything for me and made enough profit off the rest to buy a 50" Panasonic plasma tv.

Resourcefulness is a virtue, not a vice.

Your absoultly right Resourcefulness is a virtue.
Greed is the vice!

I think that the if blame should be placed on anyone it should be placed on the shoulders of people who are newly getting into the hobby. Your the reason that prices go up.

No but seriously the key to beating "scalpers" is diligence. It perhaps should not be that way but that's just how things are. The whole moral and ethical argument that "scalping" is not fair to everyone else is getting old. No person can impose there morals or values on any other person, thusly anything can be morally correct to an individual.

I wish I could offer more suggestions on how to beat "scalpers" but I think Ryan has already done a great job.

sorry for the trite and tasteless response, but I really have spent all day off and on following this 20 page thread.

I HAD to do something to stop the madness.

Anyway, everyone brought up some really valid points, but in the end my conclusion is that people that get what they want don't care, and people that don't whine the day away.

If you aren't going to work for what you want (go to stores repeatedly, use a sightings tools, call ahead, pay for convenience, yadda yadda), you are very rarely going to be rewarded for your lack of efforts.

The main problem here, is that everyone is begging the question that just because toys are released, it is Hasbro's, the stores, the world's repsonsibility to have that toy available to them at all times. That is not the world anyone has ever lived in.

And yes, look up the true meaning of question begging if you are confused.

Thanks and yes I was with Ryan to buy the 2 cases of Starscream! Guess what! I want 4 of them! I am insane! One MISB for my movie collection, one MISB for my starscream collection, one loose for figure mode, and one loose for jet mode.

YIKES!!!!!!!!

Rodimus_Lantern wrote: The whole moral and ethical argument that "scalping" is not fair to everyone else is getting old. No person can impose there morals or values on any other person, thusly anything can be morally correct to an individual.

Well, just like child molesting, wife beating, stealing, fraud, etc., scalping is not ethical, no matter how you see it. It's just a form of non-ethical-ity that goes more easily under the radar because it only involves toys or concert tickets.

Starscream wrote:
Thanks and yes I was with Ryan to buy the 2 cases of Starscream! Guess what! I want 4 of them! I am insane! One MISB for my movie collection, one MISB for my starscream collection, one loose for figure mode, and one loose for jet mode.

YIKES!!!!!!!!

But that's not scalping, that's just insane collecting habits.

Rodimus_Lantern wrote:I think that the if blame should be placed on anyone it should be placed on the shoulders of people who are newly getting into the hobby. Your the reason that prices go up.

No but seriously the key to beating "scalpers" is diligence. It perhaps should not be that way but that's just how things are. The whole moral and ethical argument that "scalping" is not fair to everyone else is getting old. No person can impose there morals or values on any other person, thusly anything can be morally correct to an individual.

I wish I could offer more suggestions on how to beat "scalpers" but I think Ryan has already done a great job.

I do agree with you diligence and patince are the way to beat the scalpers. Since I've been collecting, I've seen the peaks and lows of product in the past. As a collector I personally say just wait it out- items wil come available later at better prices.

I don't agree with your view of morality though, it is true that we cannot force a moral on an individual but that does not make the individual right, and we should not put up with just because.

The othe problem I see with scalpers is this, if a scalper goes an buys up everything- as a collector that sucks because we have to put with it(or beat them to the punch if we have the time, energy and resources to do so).
The people that the scalper hurts are the kids, not the collector. Kids have no idea about these things they just want cool toys to play with. They want to go to the store see a cool Transformer(maybe one they've been waiting for)and get it, and all they get is protoform starscream or optimus(at least where i'm at) and thats their only choice. Their parents don't know about ebay and collecting rings to find these things, they just know that their son/daughter want a transformer and they can't find it. Now that child(the primary market by the way) looks for something new to play with and their interest in transformers goes away. I'm sorry but that is what will hurt our chances of getting cool new transformer in the future, and on top it of new generations will not find the same joy in playing with these new toys that we had as youths.
That just my humble opinion. Thank you for taking the time to rea this if you got this far.
P.S. sorry about typos my keys on my laptop are sticking and my typing skills aren't the greatest.

megatroptimus wrote:Botcon sets should be limited to one set per attendee. That's it. You're not there, too bad for you. You're going? Don't count on us to recoup your costs. Going to Botcon was YOUR decision, don't make non-attendees pay for it. All extra sets should be sold through HTS or auctionned by the organizers with profits going toward next year's Botcon or to charity.

...that is by far one of the absolute best ideas I've read in a long time. Especially the charity part.

Or even if it went into next year's convention fund...but neither will be done.

Because it's easier to make a profit. Even if the high road was straight, had no traffic, and was FREE...scalper scumbags are willing to pay a small toll fee to get on the low road because at the end of it, there's an extra $15.00 in their pocket, at someone else's expense.

Starscream wrote:Transformers = MONEY

Sorry. If **** was worth something, poor people would be born without assholes.

I know this has been addressed i just wanted to say
Transformers may = money, but they should = fun and enjoyment! both for collectors and child alike.

optimus423 wrote:

Starscream wrote:Transformers = MONEY

Sorry. If **** was worth something, poor people would be born without assholes.

I know this has been addressed i just wanted to say
Transformers may = money, but they should = fun and enjoyment! both for collectors and child alike.

O..K... this thread is seriously done with. Lets all say how its the kids losing out...whatever. Would reapaints seriously exist if demand wasn't so high? Kids wouldn't have G1 repaints to buy if it wasnt for collectors keeping TFs alive. Would hasbro even exist for that matter? Have a good night everyone and good hunting.