Guess we can tell from the reactions to my last post who the folks are scalping...
I'm not saying this to offend, I'm simply calling folks out for what they're doing. Of course no one made the buyer pay the secondary market price...though it's tough for those buyers to find an item at regular retail when there are folks buying up all the stock on the shelves and sitting on that stock intent to sell them at inflated prices at a later date.
That's scalping. See
HERE.
For anyone who is supposedly a passionate or true fan of a property, to screw over other fans who are likewise passionate about the property is about as uncool as it gets. IMHO, if you're a real fan of a property, you should be trying to not only encourage others to find and enjoy the property, but encouraging actual growth and love of ALL aspects of the property.
So buying up extra figures to simply sit on them and then later resell them to make an extra buck is - any way you slice it (
ha ha - I said "slice"! 
) - screwing over those fans and collectors who would like to get the collectible/toy/figure/item at the original retail price but can't.
So the buyer who pays a premium for a sold-out figure shouldn't be angry about having to pay that premium price? Fine.
Then the sellers buying up the figures and selling them later for a profit shouldn't be angry that they're being called a scalper either.
You are what you do and if you're scalping, then at least recognize you're not actually trying to help other fans get the figures, but you're selfishly helping yourself make extra money based on other fan's lack of foresight, misfortune or simple lack of a retailer in their area, etc. You're lining your pockets thanks to other fan's passion for the same property you supposedly love so much...and that's crap.
And if that's YOU, then fine. I don't personally care and I can't believe I've actually spent 20 minutes writing this. Don't be a little girl about it and whine and cry, just know that you're not actually doing any collectors or fans any favors and you're not actually helping encourage others to love the property. You're being selfish.
Lord knows I've sold pieces for way more than retail price...though I've never screwed over a fan of a property I loved - and that's a fact. Most of the time, I sell the stuff I love (the stuff that I do part with when I run out of room or I simply tire of a piece) for less than I bought it for in the hopes that I'll encourage another fan to not only fall in love with the piece, but the property too.
Final comment: please don't go on and on and on about how you're such an amazing fan of MGS...and then go out and screw over other MGS fans. You say you share a deep love of MGS with them...but you don't love the hobby enough to allow them the opportunity to love a figure as much as you for the same cost as you? All because you'd rather make money on them instead? That makes you look like an a-hole and it's not only NOT encouraging others to love MGS, it's actually discouraging to new MGS fans and collectors who can't find those pieces for a price they can afford.
I'm done with this thread for a while...
