Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
Getting a toy directly from a retailer - i.e. non-second hand sale, would guarantee that the toy isn't second hand.
No it doesn't, which is why it is a big issue here - if the toy has been swapped out for a knock off or a defective toy, it may not be noticed until it is too late... and is an unnecessary hassle if it is noticed.
If you bought it from a physical store, remember that most retailers here take back items for refunds, and even though we've seen how damaged those returned toys can be (or be replaced with a completely different toy), someone could have damaged the toy or replaced it with a knock off.
Or, if bought/pre-ordered from an online store, most sell second-hand toys (which includes sealed, and alleged sealed toys), and many smaller businesses are run by collectors who fill out their private collections with their own stock, and who knows if some are even swapping out their old toys with newer ones (like people who have returned toys to a retailer for a refund, replacing the toy with the earlier release that they already bought due to better colours or fixed engineering issues).

And as people have noted, there are those who only buy sealed toys to have them on display sealed, as people do with non-action figure statues... as well as those who keep certain expensive or rare figures sealed, to maintain the higher value that sealed toys have*, in case they need to sell part/all of their collection.
Not everyone is like you and I, intending to die with their collection. How many people do you still know from the first year or two of this community are still fans with their collection intact.... it means the toys with better value (the sealed ones) are a better investment.

* no sane person would claim that a sealed toy has the same "RRP" or resale value as an out-of-packaging toy. The whole point of prioritising sealed toys (for me) is to almost guarantee (outside of factory QC issues) that it is a legit toy, it has all its accessories, and that it isn't damaged. Once a box has been opened (resealed or not), you can't guarantee that... you can't risk as much money on that possibility. And you can't rely on "consumer protection", demanding refunds... even in Australia. Just look at Premium Collectables - a registered business that is bound by Consumer Law, but didn't... so is now facing court. And in general in Australia, Consumer Protection refunds do not cover second hand goods... and it wording on a listing has allowed for a double-taped toy to be deemed a second hand toy, you have no recompense if it does end up being damaged or a knock-off.
When I got the POTP Predaking from OhMyPrimus (from Singapore), the box tape had been roughly cut - that had me worried because that online store sells second hand toys, loose toys, and unlicensed toys (maybe even KOs). And what if something inside had been damaged or obviously swapped out - the online store may be decent enough to do an exchange, but should you really have to go through all that extra time and effort, waiting another 3-4 weeks for your toys.... when it could all have been prevented if they had made sure that the items they were shipping out were still sealed.


BTW, when someone is posting questions here, desperately needing help with something important, people need to focus on answering that request, and be careful not get side-tracked with their opinions or beliefs about the subject matter.