Ridiculous Transformer prices

[Knockout]

You also have to blame Hasbro for it's stock issues. The fact they can't keep their shelves full, or get new stock out into stores faster. I went to 4 Walmarts in the US on Saturday and their TF departments were completely gone. No tags/pegs at all, minus one, that had them but every peg and the shelve underneath were completely bare. Been that way since Boxing Day.

Mattel has the same issue with the Monster High line. They can't keep up with demand, they sometimes take popular dolls, make a limit run or short stock them and it costs the dolls to run up in value and us customers having to buy high Ebay prices to get the items we want because they aren't available at the retail level.

I swear Hasbro and Mattel are in cahoots with each other. Being on both sides of them, you'd be amazed how alike they are with certain lines. Transformers and Monster High are like twins separated at birth. I keep running into the same problems with the same lines!

[Rodimus1982]

I agreed with PGianos!! But there a problem here in quebec and it's call law 101... which is if a product isn't both in french and english we don't get it... SO no MP prime or TC at TRU and no GDO for us, so if I want one of those i'll have to fetch the stupid price tag scalper put on it... And that is why I don't have any.... :-(

[Sludge2007]

Originally Posted by GMfan

This thread and every post within it will change NOTHING.

yup

[sikkbones]

Originally Posted by Knockout

You also have to blame Hasbro for it's stock issues. The fact they can't keep their shelves full, or get new stock out into stores faster. I went to 4 Walmarts in the US on Saturday and their TF departments were completely gone. No tags/pegs at all, minus one, that had them but every peg and the shelve underneath were completely bare. Been that way since Boxing Day.

Mattel has the same issue with the Monster High line. They can't keep up with demand, they sometimes take popular dolls, make a limit run or short stock them and it costs the dolls to run up in value and us customers having to buy high Ebay prices to get the items we want because they aren't available at the retail level.

I swear Hasbro and Mattel are in cahoots with each other. Being on both sides of them, you'd be amazed how alike they are with certain lines. Transformers and Monster High are like twins separated at birth. I keep running into the same problems with the same lines!

Matters been at it longer.... it comes down to.the shortpacking of figures....everyone needs a bumblebee variant or 3 same with skeleton/he man.... but good luck finding others.... this is actually what killed the 200x motu line at retail, same with dotm.

[Team Jetfire]

Meh, scalpers gunna scalp.

[Cheers Ian]

Well here's the thing

Supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a market. It concludes that in a competitive market, the unit price for a particular good will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded by consumers (at current price) will equal the quantity supplied by producers (at current price), resulting in an economic equilibrium for price and quantity.


Yes, while some Transformers prices do seem ridiculous - It's based on Supply and demand, like your example of Masterpiece Grimlock was released almost 3 years ago, long gone from retail both in brick and mortar and online. Him being a popular character and in the masterpiece series has caused his price to skyrocket.

For most collectibles, prices are based on eBay ended listings, and if you look most of the Masterpiece Grimlock auctions have ended well past $200 so obviously that his become his current value on the secondary market.

And you can't blame a seller in any business (not just limited to Transformers) to want to make as much return on their investment as possible.

And before you jump on me, I'm only talking about figures on the secondary market, not the practice of "scalping" the newest figures on shelves.

And yes, some sellers do have ridiculous prices even with secondary market items, however it's their right as a seller to ask what they want, and it's your right as a consumer to choose to buy or not buy these items.

[Window]

I don't see this post as a knock on free market capitalism or the laws of supply and demand but more of a call to consumers to be more intelligent with their secondary market purchases.

Right now consumers, as a whole, are very cavalier with their money and purchasing goods, whether this is actual hard cash or credit is another discussion, but ultimately because of this prices have become artificially propped up and aren't reflective of the true supply and demand.

[DecepticonusPrime]

No sense complaining. Part of the game... don't like the prices, don't pay. That's all you can do.

But telling - or even implying - that people are "stupid" or whatever for paying them? What gives you that right?

There are plenty of non-collectors who think we're "stupid" even for paying retail prices for this stuff - we don't need that kind of attitude from fellow fans.

When it all comes down to it, I'm not going to judge a guy for trying to make a buck. Scalping can be annoying, sure, but it's not something I'm going to rage over.

Originally Posted by justprime

G1 for the most part will never be cheap as they were never massproduced...

Wha...??? Do you remember the eighties?

[Fortressmaximus]

Originally Posted by ImNotThePro

Well I'm 16 and I feel that Transformer prices are too high right now. It seems that deluxe figures have gone down in size, and up in price. A scout size figure for $20.00 is ridiculous IMO.

Then there's DOTM Bumblebee for like $4.00 lol

Id have to agree with im not a pro im 16 and collect g1 figures when i can and ive already got fortmaxs body but g1 prices are ridiculous 15.00 bucks for a mini bot in ok condition thats absurde

[Scrapper6]

Oh yes, let us all be good little collectors who only ever sell at a loss for everything we want to get rid of. We don't need to make a profit or even back what we spent on them back in the day, no we can get by just selling it off in lots, or at a low price to undercut the so-called 'scalpers' and 'stick it to the man! Peace!'

Come off it folks, the prices are so high because the figures are so much sought after that people are willing to pay it. If nobody wants to pay it right now we can just wait paitently for the right customer, we're in no big hurry to let these things go for a piddling amount. We are collectors, we aren't stupid, we follow market trends and know the ins and outs of what it means to sell our collections to maximize potential profits and ensure that we can continue to collect the figures we enjoy. There is no law against that.

I can be just as decent as any fan and let my stuff go at a lesser price to someone who truly wants it, but if I can make back what I spent on a choice item am I really going to undercut the scalpers out there? I mean are those scalpers even giving a damn if I undercut my prices? They don't even know I'm selling the stuff through the forum because I'm not on e-bay, so they still make their money and could give a flying pig's arse what the hell I do.

Is it a crime that the prices get so ridiculously high because of supply and demand? In some cases sure, I mean MP figures and Import figures are going to cost you no matter what, I've resigned myself to this issue. One day I will own what I want when I can afford it and have the liquid assets to do so, no shame in that, will I buy from a scalper? How the hell am I supposed to know? I don't follow all the online sellers and see them trying to sell off five or six in-demand figures at high prices, I just keep looking for what I want and will pay for.

Will I pay a ludicrous markup on a figure that should have been at CND retail, but due to stupid distribution and case assortments hasn't hit anywhere yet and might only make it to Giant Tiger and Winners liquidation outlets? Hell no, that's because I know that eventually those Prime deluxes we didn't see at TRU or Wal-Mart are either going to show up there, or I'll just do without them.

Hell, people invest in LEGO sets, there's a site out there that keeps track of how many sets sell on the secondary market for big bucks and encourages people to pick up a few to hold onto, I'd like to get just one of those high-priced sets for my own collection, never mind keeping some for re-sale later on in the future. But do I consider those people Scalpers? Not really, LEGO is a highly collectible and big investable product line, it isn't scalping if you pick up a second set or three to re-sell later on when they are discontinued/off the market, it's smart business practice.

Scalpers and Re-Sellers are two entirely different beasts, the Scalper's only concern is how much they can get for it now, and so clean out existing stock thus artificially creating a low supply. They hurt collectors and big business in the long run because eventually they move on to the next big selling item and the left over stock starts to build up, because the Retailers thought there was a big demand for that item so they ordered more of it and got stuck with the stuff nobody wants anymore.

Re-Sellers however are the very definition of Capitalists, and in this society built on capitalists can not be held accountable for their actions, as they don't go out and artificially create a huge low supply issue, no they buy one for themselves, maybe get it by the case through an early pre-order or something and then sell off the other items from the case they don't need. Since MPs are packed four or so to a case this means they have more to sell, some get rid of them at cost to help other fans out who couldn't get to the pre-order in time.

Others, others are smart businesspeople, they sit on the stock until the right time and then sell it off to anyone willing to pay the asking price, they can afford to do this, they can sit there for months on end because eventually someone will come along, someone desperate, with a large pocket book who wants this thing now and will pay for it. Through the nose if need be.

I believe this sums up that mentality quite well:

There's a sucker born every minute.

I don't adhere to this philosophy myself, that being said the re-seller community isn't just nice guys trying to help fellow fans out. It is a ruthless shallow filled corner of society loaded up with sharks, and the sharks tend to enjoy eating other sharks if they can get away with it.

We can stand against such people, we can try not to buy their load, in the end run we mean very little to their bottom line because gullible high-income parents or grandparents will hear little Johnny wants this, so they will pay the outlandish price just to make the child happy.

One final note, you can be generous to your fellow fans and work out a deal, but how do you know they aren't just going to turn around after scoring that deal on that high-demand item and just re-sell it for a profit? Just trust to faith I suppose.