A digression on Scalping...

[zithy]

Forgot to mention, I think a better title would be a Reseller, not scalper.

[Teekay]

Yeah, but OP used the term scalper, so everyone else is tending to follow suit.

~Sam (Teekay)

[deco_droid]

Scalpers are just an easy scapegoat because they're profiting from the collectors. But at the same time, if they didn't supply an aftermarket option, there would be a slim chance of ever getting a sold out set you desperately want. Once in a blue moon you'll find someone that doesn't mind letting one go for retail, but they're really selling it at a loss. As much as they're loathed, they provide a valuable service to the community. It just sucks that they charge for it.

i tend to agree with don on this one -- i think he's right on

[Solo]

Thanks. You'll note, however, that I never said I supported or endorse them - which is why I keep changing your signature whenever I notice you've decided that you know my intentions better than I. There's no "rewriting history" here or even something as common as a change in perspective. I was just presenting an alternate point of view, and nothing more. I've told you this before. Get over it.

[vynsane]

I think your examples have shifted my thinking. It is scalping if someone is selling a product when a deadline (birthday, holiday, etc.) is a factor that forces people to pay higher than retail prices. The item may end up reappearing at retail outlets or online after the sudden rush dies down and backorders arrive. It is about timing. Now, if someone has surplus stock that they choose to sell after an item is retired, then it is supply and demand that dictates prices and not a deadline. The seller may have intended to offload the merchandise much later than when they bought it but that is not scalping. It is in fact a gamble. Scalping is created by taking advantage of an extenuating and immediate circumstance where the intent is to gain an unreasonable and guaranteed profit.

I think 'scalping' goes beyond merely selling when a deadline is a factor - it's about underhanded business practices, not merely buying product to sell at profit later. Therefore...

Forgot to mention, I think a better title would be a Reseller, not scalper.

I think there's a distinction to be made between the two terms, but not necessarily that they're mutually exclusive - a 'Resller' is simply one who maintains a backstock of a certain product who isn't the original primary avenue to acquire that product. A 'Scalper' is a reseller who practices underhanded tactics to guarantee a greater profit, for example, maintaining relationships with stock personnel at toy stores who either clue them in on shipments or even hold back stock expressly for them, or buy every single sale or rare item so that it is unavailable to others, then selling it at an inflated price, especially while it should still be available in the primary market. This artificially increases the demand for it and thus artificially increases the perceived value, thereby increasing the price people are willing to pay.

I have NO problem with resellers, as they provide a valuable service to people like me who got into the game late and/or no longer have their original childhood sets and want them back (both of those apply to me). I have a problem with scalpers who buy all the 8092 Luke's Landspeeder sets and make it even harder to find, for example.

That said, I find myself wondering if it's worth buying a couple of cases of the collectible minifigures to ensure that I

• Get a complete set for myself
• Get any duplicates I may want (ninjas, zombies, robots, spacemen)
• Can compile one or two more complete sets to sell for modest profit
• Sell the rest of the figures I don't want in individual lots that don't necessarily make a complete set, also for a modest profit

The minifigure collection makes the most sense, as some people will be willing to pay just a bit more in order to guarantee which figures they get are the ones they want - such is the nature of blind-packing. In this respect, the bulk of the cost is on my shoulders and in the end I may make a little bit of money for my trouble. That is, of course, only if I can find an avenue to buy a case and have enough spare scratch at that point to do so.

[deco_droid]

Thanks. You'll note, however, that I never said I supported or endorse them - which is why I keep changing your signature whenever I notice you've decided that you know my intentions better than I. There's no "rewriting history" here or even something as common as a change in perspective. I was just presenting an alternate point of view, and nothing more. I've told you this before. Get over it.

soooo, when you said that scalpers were providing a "valuable service" by reselling sold out lego sets for a profit, you were displaying your "support" or "non-support" for them? the obvious answer is "support" -- that's all i said originally.

[Solo]

I was showing neither.

I was just presenting an alternate point of view, and nothing more. I've told you this before. Get over it.

[deco_droid]

I was showing neither.

I was just presenting an alternate point of view, and nothing more. I've told you this before. Get over it.

ahhh, so it's one of those "certain point of view" things like obi-wan told luke...

[Solo]

Not really. I can present valid arguments on either side of an issue and still disagree with both sides.

[Daz Hoo]

Seriously deco_droid, duking it out with a board moderator is just asking for trouble IMHO. You won't win anything by doing that.

I've known Don for a long time, and his opinion about resellers (or scalpers, call them however you want) as pretty much been the same over the years. Like he said, get over it.

And to go back to the subject at hand, I think that the results of this poll pretty much sums up the opinion of this community about the secondary market and those who do resell sets. It's not because a vocal minority seems to be against this practice that this whole community is. Fact is, the majority of those who did answer the pole don't have a negative opinion of resellers.