"I only want complete figures" and other hurdles of selling.

[Shockwave 75]

"I only want to buy complete figures" is something I've seen a lot lately. Especially from people who are just starting to collect. What they fail to realize is that probably 80% of the stuff out there is incomplete.
Those of us who probably started collecting in the days before the internet probably had this attitude, but only because finding missing parts was next to impossible! Maybe you might luck out at a toy show, but chances were that if you had an incomplete figure, that sucker was staying incomplete.

Don't get me wrong, I get it. It can be a pain in the ass trying to track down certain accessories.
I, myself, am having a hell of a time finding the Powermaster for my Slapdash. In fact, I do tend to take a similar attitude with my collecting now, but only because the few figures I need are from the "Masters" era, and and their "Master" partners are damn hard to find! You can get the main figures often pretty cheap, but it's the Head/Target/Powermasters that will cost you money.
Or the figures I need are foreign, and are next to impossible to piece together.

But other than those, I find that most figures are reasonably easy to complete, and if one is willing, you can often get a figure cheaper by piecing it out rather than waiting for a pristine specimen to present itself.

Also, don't be a dick. If you contact a seller about pricing or shipping or whatever, if their response isn't to your liking; too much money, etc., the least you can do is be polite and message them back saying "Thanks, but no thanks." Don't just never respond back, it's rude. And you never know, they might be will to negotiate with you.
I know there are some sellers who are completely intransigent and will not waver on their set prices, but I think you'll find that many, if not most will deal with you just to sell their stuff.
Personally, I'd much rather make a deal than have a bunch of stuff sitting in a box in my basement, taking up space!

Ok, I've ranted long enough, I think. Anyone run into anything else trying to sell stuff?

[BigWillay]

First off well said....!! I have definitely run into this "complete" issue, although it has come down to missing instructions. While I do my best to keep instructions, sometimes from my original stuff from when I was a kid some 20-25 years ago I might not have them lol hardly a deal breaker but for some it can be. Also like your comment about the shipping/prices.

Issue I've run into lately, is meeting up with someone and being lowballed after they have already agreed to the price.
In one instance I had an issue with a member who spent 30 mins deciding whether or not they should drop a whole $10 on a figure to the point where I just said forget it and threw it in after being asked could I do better on the price. If you've been sent pix of the figures then you know what your buying!! But to sit and make a decisions especially over a low price item is just kinda crazy. Big ticket item I get it fully you wanna check it over. But otherwise don't waste peoples time and if $10 is gonna make or break a deal with everyone you deal with maybe this is the wrong hobby for you !

[Janitor]

I'll provide some perspective from the buyer's side:
Sure piecing together the earlier G1s or more popular characters are easy (Optimus, Datsum bros, Dinobots, 86 movie cast, etc.) but as you proved in your own situation, things are a total pain when you get to the "Master"-era. Are you willing to spend this much on just Lube (hehe "Lube")?

And because I already owned their bodies from childhood, I really had no choice but to hunt down all the parts for the Autobot Headmaster Jrs (Nightbeat/Hosehead/Siren) and let me tell you, it took me YEARS of active scouring before I finally tracked down those stupid little head guns. I probably saw more listings during that time for complete figs than for those guns. Given to option to piece together those guys from scratch OR pay a bit more and buy complete, I probably would've chosen the latter.

Re: etiquette, I think things work out for the better when EVERYBODY abides by the "don't be a dick" rule. While not me selling directly, I've def witnessed my share of buyers actin' a fool. And sellers: if you don't list prices you will get lowballers/what you perceive to be lowballers, it's the law of the land (again not my direct situation but I've seen it firsthand).

[positivelyken]

As a collector, my expectations have evolved over time. For a while I passed on anything that wasn't MISB/MOSC, because I wanted the most complete and well-preserved specimens possible. Nowadays I'm fine with loose figures as long as they're in good condition. But I do still insist on them being complete with all accessories. Investing the time, energy and cost into hunting down bits and pieces to make a collectible item "complete" is just one bridge too far for me, especially the older, rarer stuff that is already hard to find.

[Megatron75]

I agree with Shockwave 75 that there needs to be a level of common courtesy between buyer's and sellers.

My personal experience has always been that it is more expensive and more of a headache to try and complete incomplete figures. Whether it be the exchange rate on already over-priced accessories on eBay, ridiculous shipping prices for the smallest thing that would easily fit in a bubble mailer or just opportunistic sellers at the local toy shows that charge a premium for any random thing.

I've seen individual G1 Stunticon guns at the local toy shows with an $18 to $20 asking price. To each their own but I generally only buy complete figures. It's just not worth my time trying to keep track of what I need and then find it for the right price later. Some people love this aspect of collecting but I quite honestly don't.

[elburrito]

For the older stuff, if it has the accessories (at least one missile) I'm happy. Don't care about instructions/boxes etc...

Trying to renegotiate at a meet and after a deal is struck is, in my opinion, classless. I have encountered this only once and refused to sell at all (even when the person ended up offering more than the agreed on price). Don't mind lowballers, but after a price is agreed, that's the price.

The other thing that gets me are those who explain why they want the thing as if it matters to me. If a person is in impecunious circumstances and has a young kid I'd probably just give it to them, but the fact that they want to buy something else unrelated does not affect my price.

Lastly "mint" means never been handled. If it was exposed to the air, or has a fingerprint, it's not mint.

[Armagear]

I'm not a "collector" per-se, so I find that unless it's a cool looking box, I rarely, if ever keep anything more than the figure and it's accessories. It just seems silly to me, until I try to sell. Then it's a "wowza" why didn't I keep it. More often than not I get the non responders. I don't know about you guys, but being left hanging sucks. Ive missed a few potentials because of waiting for confirmation of sales that ended up being left hanging by non responders.
What I can never wrap my brain around this need to get back what you put in. To me it's like buying a vehicle. The minute it's off the lot, it's depreciating and to think you can get back what you put in is absurd. Of course, it makes sense if it's vintage collectible, but buying a brand new vett and selling it for the same after a few thousand miles would be mind boggling.
Then again, I'm not a serious "collector." It's all for the fun for me, and quite possibly my version of a midlife crisis haha.

[BigWillay]

Originally Posted by Janitor

I'll provide some perspective from the buyer's side:
Sure piecing together the earlier G1s or more popular characters are easy (Optimus, Datsum bros, Dinobots, 86 movie cast, etc.) but as you proved in your own situation, things are a total pain when you get to the "Master"-era. Are you willing to spend this much on just Lube (hehe "Lube")?

And because I already owned their bodies from childhood, I really had no choice but to hunt down all the parts for the Autobot Headmaster Jrs (Nightbeat/Hosehead/Siren) and let me tell you, it took me YEARS of active scouring before I finally tracked down those stupid little head guns. I probably saw more listings during that time for complete figs than for those guns. Given to option to piece together those guys from scratch OR pay a bit more and buy complete, I probably would've chosen the latter.

Re: etiquette, I think things work out for the better when EVERYBODY abides by the "don't be a dick" rule. While not me selling directly, I've def witnessed my share of buyers actin' a fool. And sellers: if you don't list prices you will get lowballers/what you perceive to be lowballers, it's the law of the land (again not my direct situation but I've seen it firsthand).

Your right, about getting lowballed when your not listing prices... but there is a difference in saying.. you know a figure is worth $100 and then offering the person $10 that's just Ludacris not to mention downright rude lol. I can understand making a reasonable offer... say 90 or so.. but to go extreme I guess applies to your "don't be a dick rule"

[Pgianos]

In my experience trying to complete figures winds up being ridiculously expensive bc people charge ridiculous prices that I'm not willing to pay for.

Completing a figure piece by piece is far more expensive than buying my it complete. That eBay seller prime target wants 50 dollars shipped for hardheads main gun. GTFO. I bought hardhead with the gun for 11. No head of course


Sellers like primetarget are why I stopped piecing.

[Pascal]

I'd say anything released from Armada-present has a good chance of being or should be complete because tons of adult collectors bought them and they usually don't misplace stuff like kids, who at the time likely didn't know their toys would be collectable (for the series released before that, so G1-RID).