Rank 9 - Board Staff
Scalping at it's most fundamental level refers to rapid profit making by selling large amounts of limited items. Historically - tickets for railway travel where scalpers would buy large amounts of tickets for themselves and auction them to travellers who desperately needed them.
So for our purposes it refers to people who intentionally create a shortage, thus creating demand, in order to sell at a higher price while the initial demand is still there.
Which brings us to where we are today...
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
I think MV75 has put it in the most succinct version here.
What annoys me most is not the scalper placing the items for sale at massively inflated prices, that is their perogitive, it's when they buy all the stock from a store/region of a hard to find/shortpacked figure that means that you have no alternative than to buy the item from them that truly infuriates me.
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Rank 1 - New or Inactive
Adding a few extra dollars on top of the purchase price to cover your time/fuel etc. is fine. Unnecessary mark-ups for no reason becomes scalping.Originally Posted by jaydisc
We could be talking about the scum that are Scalpers until the next blue moon so to end my post I'll direct you to a "discussion" I had with a former collector who's beginning to turn into a Scalper...
Mind the language
Scroll down to the comments & I'm sure you'll be able to figure out who I am.
Rank 9 - Board Staff
There are a lot of interesting measurement in this thread, and virtually none are consistent.
I think MV75's original, concise description of a scalper is accurate. This is very similar to my initial definition, and reinforced by Kup, Tober and others. By that definition, a key criteria is the intention to reduce supply.
I think all other definitions are purely objective. For example, Tetsuan says buying 4 extra SS's and reselling at retail prices is scalping. Golden Pheonix has pulled the magic number of 10 out of his hat.
How many of you City-Commander-X-2 purchasers are purchasing the 2nd after seeing the price that the Cliffjumper kit went for? How many of you are willing to admit it? I am! I don't plan on selling it for $300 the next day, but my thoughts are that five or so years down the road, I'll sell it for double, thus paying for the one I keep. Why is earning money off of the hobby any different than earning money in other ways?
Now, Pulse, your comments that you linked to are a bit concerning to me, specifically:
Are you saying that a collector that suddenly decides to move on, possibly due to the birth of a child, or a higher interest rate on their mortgage, should be selling their toys at cost??!?!I don't know how some scalpers can do it. By Scalpers, I mean the ones who have amassed an amazing collection over the years (which began in 1984) & then one day decide to sell them all for as much as possible.
Pulse, you also say that markup to cover costs is acceptable, but unnecessary markups for no reason becomes scalping. I don't understand this. Every goods-based business is all about markup for profit.
Why is profiting off Transformers such a no-no? Why can used car lots by cheap used cars and mark them up? Why can a supermarket by cheap groceries mark it up? What makes markup on these toys so different?!?!
Rank 3 - Basic Member
Scalpers
It's an interesting discussion. I think most of us would enjoy having a toy shop and make our hobby our job, but for most it's simply not possible. Is there much difference between a private seller who wants to make a profit or an official shop who want to make a profit? I don't think so. But sure, anyone who tries to buy up a figure to create a shortage, well that's a scalper and it's against the spirit of being a Transformers fan, I think.
Rank 9 - Board Staff
This is much of what I am alluding to. Thank you.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
That fits into my other definition, the speculator. I too have a couple of extras of a few things that I've currently got sealed away in boxes in the cupboard that I plan on looking at again in about 10 or so years time to see what they're worth.Plus the mainstream hungry market will not exist at that time for the figures either, which is what fuels a scalper.
The difference is what people are getting confused with. Scalpers buy everything they can of the more rare items to sell for an immediate profit through creating a shortage.
Someone who has a collection for 20 years then sells it is not a scalper as they didn't create a shortage of toys 20 years ago. They were either speculating or just decided the money is too good to pass up over not selling and could use it for other things, or starting a different collection.
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Last edited by MV75; 11th March 2011 at 09:28 AM.
Rank 1 - New or Inactive
man, back in the old days we used to purge the board o scalpers with pitchforks and confetti!
Everyone collector knows the difference between scalping and making a bit extra on a double, its a gut feeling
If someone has another cliffjumper kit they can sell it to me
I bought some Ult BB's before Christmas for $88 from Big W and got around $200 each for them on eBay BUT I started all my auctions at 99cents and there wasn't a shill bidder in sight.
Also could/should eBay seller potions11 be considered a scalper?
She buys from US eBay, doubles the price and puts them on Oz eBay. B!+@#.
Last edited by TheDirtyDigger; 27th May 2008 at 12:00 PM.
Rank 9 - Board Staff
Great example TDD. Thanks for your honesty.
The starting-at-99c auction is an interesting point as well. Since it is the market, not the seller, inflating the price, if there is insane market demand and the product fetches 2-300% the seller's cost, does this in itself make the seller a scalper?
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