Flippers (not the dolphin...lol)

[CombustedGremlin]

We've all run into them, folks who snag all the hard to find figures and then re-sell them for double, triple, and sometimes quadruple the shelf-price.

I know this will probably turn into a frenzy of a thread, but I want to hear about your experiences with flippers.

Have you ever buckled down and paid an arm and a leg for that sought after item?

Are you a flipper? How do you justify doing it?

I just figured this would be a nice topic to vent about and debate.

One rule though: let's not name names! :D

[Fielder19265]

To be truthfull I've seen them all over e-bay but never bothered to try and only a few times did I ever get anything(Star wars episode 3 movie poster signed by the whole staff) which I got for my brother and I also got a Darth Maul poster that was signed and I paid like 60 bucks for the maul poster and never got it. No problems with the other one though.

[Ralph]

I'm more likely to grab stuff on deep discounts near the end of their life cyle and hang unto them and sell them later. Although, if I do see something worth quadruple the going rate, I will grab it. Did this when Wii Fit's were insane to find and you could get an extra $50.00 each on eBay. I don't go out of my way to find stuff like this though, and I don't do it durring Chirstmas (despite the favct it is the best time for this type of thing), it makes me feel scroogey.

[Indy Muggs]

Weell I might eventually flipp. I'm sorry but it's true. If a rare comes out in the future I'll most likely pick it up and sell it in a year. But I really do think about it like this, it's the buyers fault they missed out on the item so if they want it pay maybe 10 bucks more to 30 bucks more cuz they were not paying attention. ;) But I do sometime even buy them, I buy the TFs classics series and the TFs titanium (only war-within cuz it's soooo bad-a*s!) but I think oh well I'm payin 20 bucks more for 2 years of stupidity! :p But if someone just strolls out to regular retail and buys a figure that you can find (maybe with a hunt, but those are fun!) and puts it up, that's dumb, why not just go out and buy the figure retail, like the war-within prowl and grimlock retail 20$ each and are currently at retail but I saw both together on Ebay for 58 and with shipping it totals at like 68! And they are very easy to find if you just run over to any TRS. :mad: So the verdict is old items, sure what da hey! But newer item suck even if they're hard to find, because billions of people would second me that the hunt is infact FUN! :D Just my two-cents. :rolleyes:

[Ninja Mugg]

sure i'll make a flip. If you can buy something and sell it at a higher price, you would be silly not too. Especially if people were willing to pay. Just as Ralph said, The Wii's are a prime example.

I dont do it often, only when I know I can resell the item. Its one thing to hunt down every store and clean off shelves, but if I am out and happen to find an item, I will grab it.
For example last November I was at a target on my lunch break, they had 6 TMX Elmos. I Bought 3, 1 for my son and re-sold the other two. I did not keep searching for them after that. I got my piece of the cake so I was done.

Is there anything wrong with it? No. if its a casual re-sale. you do it once in a while and dont clean out every single store in town. And in all honesty, "You snooze you lose".

I understand the Venom sales here upset some people. I look at it like this. There have been several chances to get a venom. They were originally $10. If you couldnt get them the first time around you had to pay a premium at UO or ebay. if you got it at UO you paid about $22 (tax included) and maybe you had to pay for shipping, another ~$8. So the total for a shipped venom from UO is $30. Ebay is a bit more expensive. so if you cant find it for cheaper....thats the price you pay.

[litepink]

i got my shipping for free from Urban Outfitters :)

im not against people "flipping". ive sold stuff just to make a profit.
i dont go from store to store looking for things to sell or anything like that. but if i come across something, i might pick it up.
i always feel bad if i rip people off too much though. especially around christmas... then i will sell things just to help out, not make a profit.

i dont really buy stuff to sell to begin with anyways.

[deadpool]

i do this just to earn extra. since i am just a student i need to earn money to sustain my hobby.. sometimes i buy 1 extra then sell it for a couple of bucks..not really double the price right away.. for example a sought after venom muggs worth $15 upon purchase.. if i sell this right away i would charge additional $3 not really double its price even though some desperate buyer is willing to pay twice the price..

but sometimes it would depend on who i'll be selling the item..if he is known to sell twice the price then i guess he wont have a problem if i charge this guy twice the price of a certain item right?? like i also collect HOTWHEELS this one is hot like if there are ferrari's you can sell this double the pice right away.. but like i said i will only sell it to those people who are sellers/collectors who charge twice for a certain hotwheels..

sometimes i also collect doubles..i keep one loose while the other one stays MOC coz i want to see if this one would go up someday.. its a good feeling though that you have something that was like $10 when you first bought it then after a year or two it went double or triple.. i have a marvel legends juggernaut worth P400 before.. but now you can sell this at P2500.. but i am not selling this one i have no intention of selling it in the future even if it would go quadruple.. i just like owning something valuable.. its a nice feeling that some of your collections value go up while it is expected that its value would go down..

[Indy Muggs]

"i always feel bad if i rip people off too much though. especially around christmas... then i will sell things just to help out, not make a profit."

I second that I once saw a little kid get a gumball ripped off I felt bad so I bought him another. :o

[deadpool]

oooops double post sorry