Scalping and YOU.

yeah I heard the hang over Lishe didn't sell to well or trailer park yoshi.

 

It seems that a lot of people buy LEs and decide "it wasn't right for me". Before they even get it sometimes!

Case in Point (no names here) a certain LE doll from Dolpa 17. There were no less than 3 (or four, can't quite remember) of them on the market. I dunno if they really did feel that way, but it seems a bit odd that so many people buy a doll they're so quick to decide against keeping. It must have been quite a lot of work getting them since they're LEs, and obviously quite popular. But considering the amount of money and effort spent in order to acquire them, I find it quite impossible to imagine that you'd decide to part with it the day you get it, or even earlier!

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, just my 2 cents worth.

 

My reply has nothing to do with in this particular case, but with deciding whether to keep a doll or not.

I haven't had much chance in getting a Limited doll most of my dolls are regular editions. The only "limited" dolls I ever had were a Unoa Lusis and a school head c the head is being held in costums). Both dolls are hard to get. When my Unoa arrived I wasn't so impressed impressed with her. Especially for the price I paid for her. Next day she was up for sale (her price was the ammount I paid to get her plus shipping). I also recently got a pinkly white butterfly Narae and in matter of days I realised that she was not for me. Again she was sold for her purchase price plus shipping.

My point is that we should not judge people for the time they have kept their dolls. For me it is very easy to see if I like the doll or not. In fact so far I have only bonded with only two dolls and I had the chance of owning at least 10 dolls, not at the same time of course!!!!

I am waiting most anxiously for my School head c! I have paid a good deal of money for it (it is an expesive head and I also have to pay costum fees) I am making plans of buying a nice body for it, wigs, shoes clothing, etc.. but there is always a chance that when the head arrives to me, I won;t like it. Do I have to wait for weeks before I decide that this head is not for me ?

Earl Grey please do not think that this comment was not meant to offend you or oppose your opinion, I simply found a chance to express my feeling on the matter. That's all

 

wow I very much support this comment. When you get a doll and nothing clicks what is wrong with selling her? Even if it is in a quik matter of time.

 

I think it's more so when some people have a reputation for deciding 'It's not the doll for me!" or "I'm willing to part with it for xxx price" even before they receive the doll, that's the issue a lot of people have...

 

I agree with you on that, when it comes to limiteds it might look suspicious, but there is always a chance that is not.

In the incoming dolls section I have found several time posts saying " I ordered x doll and now I am having second thoughts or my plans have changed..." Things like that also happen and if some person wishes to sell the doll before it arrives , I believe it's not bad. I felt it for my Sorren. Can you believe it?? And now I can't do without wiht

We must be careful before we label someone as a scalper though. Things happen and people do change their minds.

 

Snerk - I have always wanted to say something about that.

And the whole thing, to me, comes down to the way things "should" be versus the way they are, and how each individual perceives and deals with that. Scalping is a pi$$er, but it's not something that affects me much - other people, especially those in love with a rare creature, have much more reason to be upset. The Smashing Pumpkins story really hit home for me.

The pettiness and poking at each other on this topic is a shame, but then again, debate is rarely the way it "should" be, and I've done it too.

 

Well, I have to say I have no problem with it. If I really want a doll and the only way to get it is on the secondary market and it is higher than retail that is the price you pay. Having the opportunity to get a doll I really wanted is worth it to me. I also don't mind paying a little over even the high end price to guarantee I will be getting the doll I want. I guesse I am the sort of person who keeps scalpers in business, but I am not able to spend lots of time online and my computer isn't really fast enough to even really put me in the running for lots of the limited edition dolls, so the secondary market is generally my only option. Plus I often can't get a doll unless I can get layaway and I know that is an imposition on the seller so if I have to pay a little extra for that then so be it as well. As long as that market exists people will use it to their advantage, but I guesse with the way these limiteds are sold, making them so hard to come by, that will always be a necessary evil.

 

I doubt you offended her, but I do agree with her at some point. When it comes to some events like dolpa (and this recent new, sexy not-like-the-mostly-ending-up-modded-old Nanuri '07) it's easier to be suspicious of them.

I do understand that sometimes LEs and hyped dolls are just... not as hot as others seem to see them, but yes. so many at once? of dolls from the same event? and so quickly?

 

o_O hangover Lishe?

..trailer park Yoshi? O_o

 

In the begining, when this hobby was a lot smaller, that may have been a reasonable mindset. But as more and more companies acknowledge the western market, and allow for them to participate in events that were once an exclusive thing for Japan/Korea, the need for a middle man is less, and less. So you're no longer paying the extra cash because the scalper did you a favor, now you're essentially paying him/her a hefty profit because you couldn't be arsed to go online yourself. And seeing the price that some of the more recent LEs fetch, that's a high price for lack of motivation.

 

I think the only time it really irks me is when the seller says they bought the doll at retail and then puts the starting offer way above what they paid(sometimes before the market has even set the "after price").

I guess I’m just weird but I’d rather know the price was bid up to that then see someone demand it outright. But that's just me. *shrug* To each his own.

But for the most part I can understand why their prices get to be so insane. Usually when I see a limited FS I assume the person got into a heated bidding war and are simply trying to cut their loss.

 

Well back when the hobby was smaller scalping was essentially a needed evil for much of the Western market. How else were we going to get limiteds over here when we weren't recognized or able to participate in events? So kiskalla has a point there, there's no NEED for them anymore, but they're still around.

As for in the market of today. I have a problem when the same people CONSISTENTLY get ahold of limiteds (particularly the highly sought after) and sell them off for a profit, even if it's a small one. You know, someone that really wanted that doll may not have gotten in because that scalper got in before them, and are now looking to essentially make a quick buck. And that's a shame, the people that truly want that item are the ones having to pay through the nose for it.

As for the people that get things and it's just not the one for them, most of those people will just charge what they paid, looking to break even or take the smallest possible loss. But SOME of them will still try to turn around and resell that item for more than what they just paid. Unfortunately that's how it seems to work out sometimes.

As for what it should be and what it is, those two things will never coincide unfortunately, that's life. However, the best you can do is stick to your guns. If scalping bothers you, don't take part in it and don't buy from people who do it. If it's something that doesn't bother you, the rest of us will kindly step aside.

Three "as for"s in a row, TOP THAT! lol

 

I think that is a very important point in this discussion. Reputation. If someone frequently buys/sells LE dolls for profit, then yes. The person is obviously in it for the money. But who are we to say what someone else should do with their purchase? Doll, car or otherwise.
Now, don't get me wrong. I don't agree with buying a doll only for the purpose of turning a profit, but if you make the commitment to buy them and then for whatever your reasons may be, you decide not to keep her, why should you fear the wrath of the community for offerig her up for sale?
I just don't think that is any more right then the person selling the doll in the first place.
I mean, I went to Dolpa2 in NYC with the intention of going for Masha. I may or may not keep her, but if I do decide to sell her (quickly or not) would people think I am wrong? There could be someone out there who reeeeally wanted her and didn't have the opportunity I did to get her.
Not to mention, I got home and stared at the lovely little School Head A boy I painted and thought maybe my priorities should have been to get him a body before buying a completely different doll. LE or not.

So...is it wrong for me to even consider a sale? Does it really matter if I decide to sell her before or after I receive her even if it would be for lack of funds? Maybe I already know I need the boy body more then a whole new doll. Maybe I don't. I just don't think in this sort of case it should be looked at as 'scalping' if I decided to sell, yet I have already received a bit of sceptical attitude by even mentioning the thought of selling her. This would be the very first doll I EVER purchased and quickly re-sold for ANY reason.

So...what exactly constitutes as 'scalping' anyway?

 

FYI~ There is a seller on Ebay with auctions running right now for Cecil the Scarface, Reisner and Luna ALL started listings at double what they were sold for at Dolpas.
Now THAT is outright scalping.

 

Oh, I had such a flippant answer for this, scalping, wigs etc, but no, people cant always read sarcasm since text doesnt carry tone as well.

But anyway, I read your thread(s) and share your opinions. I couldnt get to NY Dopha so for me, the only way I'd get one of the limiteds from there is if someone sells them.

 

I completely agree about the sarcasm in online posts. I do hope people understand that my post was not meant to be snooty, though it may read that way.

 

But what's wrong with paying such a "convenience fee", if you want to? Why should there be a sin attached to somebody's financial priorities?

Consider the difference in cost between taking a taxi from the airport ($50), and taking a communal shuttle ($15), or taking a public bus ($1). If someone is willing to throw money at something, so that they don't have to go online/do all the work themselves, etc.... isn't it their prerogative to pay extra for the convenience? Critics may say, "You're nuts to waste $49 like that when you could've taken the bus". But the reply may be, "For me, it was worth $49 to be driven door-to-door in a private vehicle & get my luggage carried. You can take the smelly slow bus with a hundred other people."

For that matter, that isn't much different from the heinous fees that you pay for a shopping-service. For somebody who buys a rare doll from a scalper, it may BE worth a $500 markup for them not to have to learn to read Japanese, or search too far online, in order to shop. It's a matter of priority. If you don't mind throwing a big chunk of money at your problem, you get good things.... This causes resentment among those who don't have big chunks of money to throw at the same problem, of course, but, y'know. Capitalist Darwinism.

I think I must be in the "scalping is nasty, but it's a necessary evil + fact of life" camp.

 

It's basically buying something with the intention of turning around to sell it for a profit. Removing the item from its original seller's possession and taking away the opportunity for the item to be bought by someone who actually does want it, and artificially placing yourself in a transaction you don't really have any business being in. Basically, it's pushing your way to the front of a line so you can sell your place to the person behind you.

 

I must chime in here about NY Dolpa 2 Masha...there were enough left after the initial purchasers were chosen to allow a second chance, so IMHO Wicked Stitchery wasn't taking Masha away from anyone else there. Actually I put my name in so that my roomie, who was convinced she wasn't lucky, would be still be able to get a doll if I won the chance to purchase. Well, I did win, and so did my roomie in the second chance, and so did her mom, and so did two of my pals at my table....so I gave my opportunity to buy a Masha to the FIFTH person that had asked me. Yeah, I guess I could've kept Masha, who looks to be a gorgeous doll from her prototype displayed, but I knew she wasn't the doll for me. And I got so much pleasure out of being able to thrill a fellow doll collector by saying "You're getting your doll!"

But if someone gets a doll and doesn't "bond" with it, they should be able to sell it for a least what they paid for it, and perhaps a bit more. I know I justified the price I paid for my Volks LA Opening Shizu/Sizu (Madoka mold) because it would have cost me the same amount if I'd flown out to the event, stayed in a hotel, and paid for ground transport...and even if I had been able to attend that event there was no guarantee I would've gotten the doll I wanted, or even admittance to the Tea Party. So I was happy to have fellow DoA member Skywhys sell this doll to me, and even though she's increased in value, I will never part with this girl!

Hugs, Juli DC