To Flip or not to Flip....

[gambit]

i discourage flipping but sometimes when I buy something, eventually something better comes along and sell the old ones. Not my fault it goes up in high prices.

I will kill you if you will sell the sentinel vs x-men to me in the future for a higher price

 

[lcummins]

I think once an item is in someone's hands, then it is theirs to do with as they please. But, having said that, I don't really agree with buying it just to immediately sell for profit, especially if you didn't have any interest in it in the first place. But I also understand that things change and you want or need to sell something you didn't originally intend to. It can be a very "grey" area. About the only thing I am absolutely against is selling for a profit before you even get the item; that is just plain scalping in my opinion. But, to each their own and I try not to judge someone solely on whether they choose to flip or not. We each have our own standards we try to live up to, and I would never try to impose mine on someone else.

Edit:
I will add one last thing; if you do like to flip or scalp, then by God, don't complain about others doing it when it is something you are after!!!

 

[TOE]

I will kill you if you will sell the sentinel vs x-men to me in the future for a higher price

this one is a keeper much like the Doom PF.

 

[EVILFACE]

People are free to do what they want with what is theres. Doesn't bother me.

Ya snooze ya loose!

 

[choopie]

I don't buy something that I don't want just to turn around a make a profit on it. I don't have the financial resources to do so and I find it's a hassle. Plus I feel that is taking advantage of other collectors. If I don't want something, I leave the item be and let someone try to get the item for retail price.

I have no issues with needing to sell something to fund other collectibles and you just happen to make a nice profit on the secondary market for it. It's almost a necessity to keep such a hobby going. Not everyone has an endless supply of disposable funds. However, when it comes to posting an item on ebay, I start below retail and let the buyers decide where the item ends at. I don't agree with sellers who try to set secondary market prices by posting 2 to 3 times retail price right off the bat.

 

[tomandshell]

I think that if you buy something and it grows in value, then sell it and make your profit. However, if you buy something just because you see cash potential and never truly wanted the item, then it gets iffy.

I think that's pretty much how I feel. I don't place an order for an item I have no intention of keeping just to sell it right away for a profit. I have ordered things to pass on to others who missed out (at cost), which technically is flipping, I guess. (Or do you have to charge more than you paid for it to be considered flipping?)

Of course, when it comes time to reduce your collection you have a choice whether to sell for what you paid or for what they are going for at the current rate. When I made the decision to stop collecting the Marvel VS. dioramas, I didn't sell them at cost. They had become quite valuable and I put them on eBay at just a bit over my cost and let the interested buyers bid them up. I set no sales records, but made quite a profit. These were all pieces that I bought for myself, kept on display in my collection, and then ultimately chose to let go. I could have been nice and sold them at cost, but then so could the person who sold me their Gentle Giant Padme maquette or Boba Fett bust.

So for me, it comes down to what your original intention was when you placed the order. If you made the purchase just because it was rare and likely to be valuable with the intention of an immediate sale for profit, then I suppose that's the dark side of flipping. I had the variant Spideys and Scarface bust, etc. on my screen and passed because I had no intention whatsoever of keeping them for myself. I ordered the exclusive Subject 57 and offered him to another board member. When they decided they didn't want it, I cancelled the order and it will now go to someone on the wait list. It looks like I could have put him on eBay for $100. But it's not worth the trouble. If you want to get rich, try the stock market.

But one thing is for sure--scalping your preorder before the item is even in hand brings out the worst in me. I get incredibly frustrated and report those auctions to eBay. It's just my pet peeve, I guess.

 

[Fritz]

I'm totally against flipping. I think it's disgusting and disgraceful. However, if I can profit from it, I'm all in favor of it.

 

[gdb]

A few years ago I picked the infamous "Wrestling Mr. T" by Galoob. It was basically the A-Team Mr. T, repainted and given a yellow robe. It was MOC and only $12 at a really nice toy/collectable store. They should have know better (and unbeknowst to me), the figure sells for over $200 on eBay. I guess old school, Remco wrestling collectors see this thing as the holy grail. I sat on it for a couple years, but last year I decided to sell him. And I think anyone who wouldn't move that fig would be a little daft. I mean, I love Mr. T, but I love a couple hundred dollars more.

That's a good point, sladesuperagent. In one hand you have $200, in the other your Mr. T. If you didn't exchange it for $200 and you could have... well wouldn't that be like buying it for $200?

I've never bought anything for the sole purpose of flipping, but more power to people who do. It doesn't bother me.

I'm just happy if I have enough to buy the things I want in my collection.

That's how I feel about exclusives. So long as I can get mine, I don't care how many other poeple have it or what it's selling for. It's all about ME.

 

[Fubeca]

If I gotta sell pot to support my Crack habit I will!

 

[Bannister]

I have nothing against flipping whatsoever. Also I disagree when people say that if you have had something for a few months and then need to sell it is not flipping. If you sell something for more than you paid, you are flipping. I also believe if you pay ebay prices for something you have no business complaining about flippers. If you don't believe in flipping don't give a flipper your money.

 

[Darth Madden]

I have sadly sold a few of my SW figs (and did one pure act of scalping on the McFarlane Deion Sanders exclusives which I had NO intention of keeping) all to fund my Jabba. And on the other hand I have had to resort to the scalper once or twice as well so I figure thats just the way it is.

 

[galactiboy]

I also believe if you pay ebay prices for something you have no business complaining about flippers. If you don't believe in flipping don't give a flipper your money.

Well said!

 

[King Darkness]

Its yours, due what you will. Period!

And Bannister makes a very good point. I'm sure there are many of the "anti-flippers" here who have paid much more than retail for things on ebay, so that make you a hypocrite.

 

[The Josh]

For me, I'm anti-flipping. I think buying something with the intention of reselling it quickly for a profit only hurts the collecting community in the long run. Where its a bit of grey area for me is if you buy something and then later decide you don't want it... at that point I think its fair to get whatever the going rate is. So I look at it more in terms of intent than action.

That's exactly how I feel.

I do disagree if you've bought something on ebay for above retail or bought something above retail that doesn't make you a hypocrite.

 

[tomandshell]

I don't know--I think that someone who has had to resort to eBay prices for a desired piece doesn't have to be called a hypocrite to be frustrated at flippers. In fact, it is those who have been forced to either buy from a flipper or go without an item in their collection who are probably the most violently opposed to flipping, because they have had to pay the price.

A hypocrite would be someone who was an outspoken opponent of flipping, but who then turned around and flipped an item when the money was right. Buying from a flipper and being a flipper aren't exactly the same. They both contribute to the continued existence of flipping, though.

But a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to buy from flippers" and then bought from a flipper.

Or a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to flip" and then flipped.

But if someone says "It's wrong to flip" and then buys from a flipper, they are not technically hypocritical, but are foolishly furthering the cause to which they are opposed. I would call it cognitive dissonance, but not quite hypocrisy.

I don't like to pay taxes, but I'm not a hypocrite because I do. I would become a hypocrite when I formed my own government and made other people pay me taxes.

 

[lcummins]

I don't know--I think that someone who has had to resort to eBay prices for a desired piece doesn't have to be called a hypocrite to be frustrated at flippers. In fact, it is those who have been forced to either buy from a flipper or go without an item in their collection who are probably the most violently opposed to flipping, because they have had to pay the price.

A hypocrite would be someone who was an outspoken opponent of flipping, but who then turned around and flipped an item when the money was right. Buying from a flipper and being a flipper aren't exactly the same. They both contribute to the continued existence of flipping, though.

But a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to buy from flippers" and then bought from a flipper.

Or a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to flip" and then flipped.

But if someone says "It's wrong to flip" and then buys from a flipper, they are not technically hypocritical, but are foolishly furthering the cause to which they are opposed. I would call it cognitive dissonance, but not quite hypocrisy.

I don't like to pay taxes, but I'm not a hypocrite because I do. I would become a hypocrite when I formed my own government and made other people pay me taxes.

What he said!!!!!

 

[Bannister]

I don't know--I think that someone who has had to resort to eBay prices for a desired piece doesn't have to be called a hypocrite to be frustrated at flippers. In fact, it is those who have been forced to either buy from a flipper or go without an item in their collection who are probably the most violently opposed to flipping, because they have had to pay the price.

A hypocrite would be someone who was an outspoken opponent of flipping, but who then turned around and flipped an item when the money was right. Buying from a flipper and being a flipper aren't exactly the same. They both contribute to the continued existence of flipping, though.

But a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to buy from flippers" and then bought from a flipper.

Or a hypocrite would be someone who said, "It's wrong to flip" and then flipped.

But if someone says "It's wrong to flip" and then buys from a flipper, they are not technically hypocritical, but are foolishly furthering the cause to which they are opposed. I would call it cognitive dissonance, but not quite hypocrisy.

I don't like to pay taxes, but I'm not a hypocrite because I do. I would become a hypocrite when I formed my own government and made other people pay me taxes.

I just have one question. Who is forcing you to buy from a flipper?

 

[tomandshell]

I was careful to word it: "forced to either buy from a flipper or go without an item in their collection."

No one forces you to buy from a flipper. You can always go without an item. You have a choice.

But if you can't work out a deal with a friend or sympathetic board member and the item is sold out and you are determined to add a piece to your collection, you have no other choice but to buy from a flipper. That's what I meant.

 

[King Darkness]

I don't think someone should endlessly blast flippers and then go buy from one.

Its to much like condoning the practice of flipping while at the same time condemning it.

 

[Bannister]

I was careful to word it: "forced to either buy from a flipper or go without an item in their collection."

No one forces you to buy from a flipper. You can always go without an item. You have a choice.

But if you can't work out a deal with a friend or sympathetic board member and the item is sold out and you are determined to add a piece to your collection, you have no other choice but to buy from a flipper. That's what I meant.

My only gripe is when people make that choice, which is their choice, they shouldn't complain about it later.