Resale Overprice (foreal)

Exactly this....as a buyer I pay what I want/can afford irrespective of what the item was originally.
Similarly as a seller as my doll spending is largely funded by the sale of another doll of course I would price according to the market. I've lost money on dolls before (not BJD's), I've made money on dolls before, it's just life.

 

I wonder why this thread is still going on? >.>

Despite the fact that :

1). It's a supply and demand problem.
Like most of the people here have said, it depends on the seller and the buyer.
The seller has every right to name a price, and the buyer has every right to choose to buy or not to buy.

2). Scalpers are synonims of RESELLERS.
They're just called scalpers because they don't own companies. =.=
And like all resellers, they provide services for buyers, including extending the availability of limiteds,
sometimes also providing longer layaway periods, and shortening the waiting times... >.<

3). There's no OVER PRICING.
It all depends on the buyer's opinion. >.>
No money, no doll. Have money, yes doll. =.=

As for ACEINIT question, like I mentioned above, I think of scalpers as other forms of RESELLERS.
Some of them don't blow up the prices, some of them do. >.> Look at the Yahoo! Japan lists.
Those are NOT resellers. Those are scalpers. =.= They don't own companies. They're individuals.
They don't contact VOLKS to resell. No. They buy VOLKS dolls, keep them pristine, and resell a.s.a.p.
And most of the dolls are sold at roughly the retail prices. >.< Most. Some are way more expensive.

We're going round and round in circles and still haven't found a mutual agreement? :3

 

This is EXACTLY how I feel. Exactly.

 

I've seen tinies go for $750 dollars on ebay.

That's just insane.

 

We are going to have this, as well as "Do Dolls Have Souls?" as well as "Help! Parents Hate My Doll!" discussion with every new generation of people entering the hobby. It's normal. It's a learning process. I'm comparatively new myself, but I'm beginning to understand certain bitterness the more experienced folks may feel when the same old cud is chewed again and again by a new batch of doll lovers. Still, threads like this are very educational and helpful.

 

I have a Volks tiny that I paid $500 for and could probably get $700+ for. How is that insane? That's what she's worth to the people who want to buy her. That's not an unusual price for some tinies.

 

You can find some of the Lati special edition tinies going for $1,200+. $750 sounds cheap comparitively.

 

It's auction, dear. What do you expect? =_= That's not insane.

 

Uhmm... so someone should say, "I realize you had the winning bid on this auction for $750, and someone else would have paid within a few dollars of that amount also to get your bid up that high in the first place, but that's just too high, here, just pay me half that!"?

Auctions are auctions. They're the perfect example of 'buyer is setting the price'. You can't blame the seller for an auction bid price going through the roof, no matter what it is, unless they're shill bidding or somesuch.

 

A Lati Yellow limited edition recently sold on ebay for just over $2000.
I was shocked that she went that high but there have to be at least 2 people willing to pay that much for it to happen. In the case of auctions it's the buyers who are setting these price trends... not the sellers!
Then people who own the same doll expect to get that high price and suddenly you have a huge jump in the BIN prices for them. I guess it's just the nature of doll collecting.

 

If the other sellers have the same type of limiteds with the same conditions, then yes, they can expect to sell those tinies for the same price, and those will probably go to the people who lost the first auction. >.> That's the nature, you're correct... But if say, only 2 people want those limiteds and there are 5 or more on sale, the prices will go down eventually~

 

This.

But, just as prices go up they also come down. I've been collecting many years and never have I seen dolls retain their elevated price levels. Just because a Lati Yellow sells for $2000 now doesn't mean six months from now it will do the same. Lati is always releasing new dolls and as new dolls emerge prices will change and shift. The same is true of Volks. Re-releases are not uncommon. Soom limiteds also have overlaps stylistically and is always releasing new dolls.

Doll collecting is about buying dolls, but patient people won't pay the ~very~ inflated prices. What goes up will always come down. It may not come down to retail levels but nothing stays at the same price forever in a market where new releases are released almost everyday from various companies. Doll collecting is about money for those who want it now, but for those willing to wait it is very much a waiting game. A doll selling for $2000 now could drop to half that in a couple of years.

 

Yeah it will be interesting to see what happens with this particular doll anyway.

 

It's all abotu how much you are willing to pay.....

It's not the number 200$ migth be too expensive for one person, and for an other that cap could be at 2000.... it's very subjective..

Ifthere's a doll that I want, and I needto get it second hand,the reality oftne is that you needto pay a lot for it... so it becomes a personal desion... I've been known to look at itmes and go "It's a cute top, I don't 40$ want it... but I definatly 20$ want it"

if that makes any sence to anyone else 9__9

 

I'm still fairly new to the BJD arena, but I have come from other similar hobbies where collectors often up the price of items they are parting with. I think it highly depends on the item and situation. Is the item extremely rare? Is the item in mint condition? Is the collector known for reselling? These are all factors that came into play in my other hobbies. I often paid well over cost for some items, but they were also ooak. In the case of dolls, most of the time they very rare or limited. As long as the own treated the item well and isn't know for routinely reselling, I'd be fine paying a little more.

 

It's called free enterprise. A person can price the doll at whatever they choose - you don't have to buy it. Some dolls do get more valuable over time as the company is no longer making them. In fact, it seems that doll makers who do limit the production numbers usually sell more dolls as the dolls they sell hold their value. Look what happened to Barbie!

 

Agree with this 100%

There is no solution and people will not change their mind about which side they are taking. There are people who is willing to pay that price and people who is NOT. There will never be a mutual agreement.

 

I think it's fair..
Whether it's consider scalping or whatever..they just sell the doll with the original price plus the price of their effort. Their time (time is money ok?), internet service, credit card/paypal fee, or sometimes they need to go to the place..let's say Volks Dolpa..or their Tenshi which only available in Japan..and the chance to get Rei or Sei tenshi..or maybe from the lottery..that's just volks. There are many other..like SOOM MD..you have to make a quick action before the "sold out" banner come out as a matter of hour..that means you have to watch your monitor non-stop..like crazy. Or like the Bluefairy blind auction.. They're all time consuming, it's very tiring, and after they put a price for the doll they sell they must hear people talk that the price is insane..

Come on people! Beside I think it's a way to measure how much you love a doll..if you really love 'em..price ain't nothing but numbers.. Save for that price..don't use your time for complaining..duh.

 

Keep in mind that shipping ANYTHING from a foreign country costs a whole lot. I'll give you a hypothetical example based off of my attempt to order doll accessories straight from the company and my unrelated attempts to sell things on ebay:

2 MSD Chokers- $9
+shipping from China to USA - $20
+Ebay listing fee with ONE PICTURE- $6
____
total spent on getting two $4.50 items from the doll company to the buyer's hands- $35
_____
end price per item needed in order to BREAK EVEN: $17.50

Market value is based on three things: Supply, demand, and cost of materials. People tend to only think about the first two when looking at an expensive item. But the third is, was, and always will be the most important consideration to a seller. With that said, I have no problems with people trying to make a little money off of selling something they know there is a market for. And I don't judge when collectibles sell for far more than the original marketplace value years later when the item is no longer in circulation. I don't condone unrealistic and senseless price hikes, but the quickest and easiest way to stop that is to not buy. Money talks, and if it says "no", they lower the price. Simple as that.

 

And Customs. For a lot of us, especially if our ethics don't allow us to ask sellers to falsify documents to defraud Customs, it's a big extra hunk of cash. Also, if you're buying off, say, taobao or Y!Japan, there are agent fees to consider.