Advice on dealing with scalpers

I'm neither agreeing or disagreeing with you, but I think our benevolent overlords here do this kind of stuff all the time. And to be fair, they only charge 2x the normal amount for a short while.... Like, until they realize there's only so many people interested in toys of Turtles cosplaying as wrestlers. Also see: Retro Superstars

Amazon
RSC
Road trip
Or don't get the figures

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I think it funny that a lot of collectors immediate response to not being able to find a figure they want is "Scalpers". Don't get me wrong, I know they do exist, but could it possibly be other collectors in your area? Maybe they are more aggressive than you. In regards to you specific situation, both of the items you are searching for are available online at retail cost.

Many years ago in the "Figure Findings/Store Report" thread, someone (I wish I could remember who) had a great idea of meeting up once a month at a certain location to swap/sell figures that they found in their areas with fellow members.

It would be nice to see that happen.

TLDR Version - buying a few extras to make some cash - cool. Buying all the inventory to create false demand - tool bag.

I have no issues if someone happens into a Walmart - sees they have 6 TNF Miss Elizabeth's, grabs 3 and leaves the rest for us mouth breathers. To the victor goes the spoils.

The issue I have is MASS amounts of inventory being swooped and put online creating a sense of "rarity" because it was just released. When in actuality some dude probably rolled up on truck day and had his employee buddies hold them and ring them all up so he could double his money on 10+ figures.

Mattel CREATES a product, they set their established MSRP - if we choose to buy it, so be it, they made the product they have the right to set their price. They live or die by their own sword. TRU only buys for so cheap from Mattel due to their volume. Most retailers will cut you a deal and buy in bulk. Don't believe me? Go to entertainment earth and apply for their dealer side, they will give you a call in about 3 days and you will see a HUGE price difference if you buy as a biz vs an individual.

Ever order a fig straight from mattels website? its not any cheaper than TRU.

Re-sellers didn't create the product, nor did they negotiate the distribution rights with the manufacturer. People buying out all the figures and inflating the price by eliminating the supply and creating false demand is not good and creates shelf warming as Mattel then needs to produce more product, which they inevitably will. This is why there are so many damn Mr McMahons and Dean Ambrose hanging around TRU right now and a big reason why Mattel did the big inventory turn in a while back.

Thank you for your helpful tips Antivenom, I am going to be building my network of out of state friends as you suggested!

Interesting POV. I havent heard someone express that. You example has some holes. To better understand what you are saying, please answer this. I can walk into Walmart and find 3 Elizabeth figures. I buy all 3. My intention is to keep 1 for me and sell the other 2...any issue?


You are correct. I did not make the product. I also did not negotiate distribution rights. But I did do the leg work or made a contact at a store, etc. in order to position myself to outdo the average bear.

I think your theory on shelf warming is 100% false. Shelf warming is inevitable and the scalper has ZERO to do with that. First, Mattel doesnt give a damn what is rotting on the shelf or who is selling. They have 8 figures in a box. They want to sell 8. They purposely package figures, intended for kids, based on the popularity level of certain people. So you will see MORE John Cena, bc the target audience will BUY John Cena. They dont give 2 craps about Miss. Elizabeth bc they dont know who she is, she isnt on tv each week and she aint John Cena.

Secondly, where the biggest share of blame goes...the retail store. Most retail stores have gone to "corporate ordering". That means the retail store has ZERO control over what they get, what series they get, how much they get, etc. Retail doesnt find it to be cost effective to study the economics of individual stores and find out why WWE is very popular in Philadelphia, PA but maybe not in Billings, Montana. The series, characters, etc. are irrelevant. They look at numbers as whole and based on shelf space.

Finally, on the ground level of retail is a failure to move merchandise off the sales floor or out of the main target areas. Many stores have the ability to either discount product or are provided corporate lists of products that can be discounted. Because these numbers affect the store manager's bonus....some REFUSE to discount or offer smaller discounts. Others look at the big picture and want the floor cleared, new product in and pushing sales. I have 2 Walmarts within 5 miles of one another. The larger of the 2 still has 184 DC Multiverse Action figures on the shelves at the price of $16.84....the lowest they have discounted them too. Most of these figures came out when BatmanVSuperman The Movie came out. The smaller Walmart....they have ZERO! They havent had one of these figures since January of 2017. Why? When the opportunity arose, they plummetted the prices to $5 a figure. The figures flew off the shelves and in less than a month, they moved at least 100. The smaller Walmart has stocked and restocked newer series and keeps a clean toy section. The larger Walmart looks like you and Doc Brown went for a ride in a Delorean. In fact, the price difference on many products between these 2 Walmarts is quite hysterical at times.

In closing, the retail store has dug their own grave and refuse to learn from their predecessors. Look at Toys R Us....prime example. The executive board pillaged and plundered profits of today and sacrificed the company to do so. This will only continue as people find new outlets to replace brick n mortar. I shouldnt call them new...but become more accepting of online retailers. Even the grocery industry is starting to evolve. Many major grocery chains are offering delivery or in Walmart's case....a pickup system. Grocery delivery has been around for a VERY long time...Schwans is probably the leader of that. But it never got major traction because there was severe cost to pay. You were limited in what you could buy. Prices were higher. Portions were smaller. And even now they are charging delivery fees. Wegmans, Giant, etc. are trying to find new ways to capitalize on this.