No, the smaller ones you stated going for $20 and $35 are equivalent to the one he paid the dude $10 for. The bigger sets he got are comparable to the ones going for $75 and $100, more than double the $75 he paid for both of the bigger ones.
No Nam - you're getting yourself confused. I hear a little Ginko is good for that
He didn't buy a Mask set for $10 - that was the Corgi cars. He tried to get the guy to sell him three Mask sets for $100 which included the slingshot - that would have been a good deal for him, considering how much the slingshot goes for. The guy didn't go for it, so he offered him $75 for the other two, and later tried to get the slingshot for $100 by itself, and then I'm pretty sure he offered $150.
The corgi diecast was where he bought one for $10 - and as far as I'm concerned, overpaid.
Then again, maybe I'm the one that needs the Ginko...but that's what I recall.
As to going for double on ebay - that's pretty much the point. It's normal for any dealer to expect to mark something up double, including your local Target. That's the general starting point.
I'm surprised you aren't using the Fett as more of your example - he started out only offering the guy $5k, assuming he'd get $10k, but ended up selling it for $17k. Of course, since at that point it was on commission it was all good for the original seller, but I can see people thinking the original $5k was out of line. The problem with big ticket items like the RF Fett - and they talk about this on Pawn Stars all the time - you have to find the right buyer. There's only a few people able to pay that kind of price, and if a dealer invests several thousand dollars in a single item, they can't afford to have it stay around the shop for months and months. Inventory turnover is critical for them, so items like the RF Fett can make for good marketing, but not necessarily great business. I think that's why he seemed to step back to the commission idea so fast for both that and the Bubbler.
As to being a set up - of course, like I said, even American Pickers is a complete set up. If you're watching it for great drama, I'd suggest sticking with Walking Dead
I'd assume that the RF Buyer was contacted in advance, and he said he'd buy it right up front. All that 'drama' over time running out was probably just for our amusement.
I do know Jason - he's an advertiser at the site, and I've talked with him on the phone a few times. While I can understand people finding him annoying in general (we all find different types annoying), I didn't see him do anything that wasn't pretty much standard capitalism. I'm always surprised by the hate collectors seem to have toward legitimate dealers, as though somehow they are evil by the very nature of trying to make a living. When it comes to scalping, I get it - when it comes to dealers in vintage toys, I don't.
