Those who have been faithfully reading my blog posts would have known by now that I am a collector. I have been collecting stuff even before I realized I had this "obsession" as a hobby. It started with Matchboxes, Legos (which I haven't written about yet), comicbooks (a traumatic ending which has also yet to be divulged in this blog), Mini4WD's and once again, action figures.
And though I have always wished I was financially capable to collect each and every item (in the collectors' circle, they call such a person a "completist") in a product series, it isn't really the case. I have to settle with purchasing items which I really, really like, and feel would be my hard-earned money's worth. The good thing to come out of this is that I only have (in my opinion) the best ones in my collection.
But getting the best of the lot isn't always that easy. Especially when one starts out late and most of the items are no longer in production. Which goes to say that late starters - or should I say, "late bloomers" - like me would have to settle for trade forums and auction sites such as eBay to find the items we're looking for. And by that time, items either start to (1) become pricey, or (2) would only be found cheap halfway around the world. So if it, perchance, happens to be case number 2, it's the shipping and Customs fees that can put a huge dent in one's wallet.
In addition, what makes things harder for me is my lack of a credit card for PayPal verification purposes, so I'm not capable of selling or bidding on auctions overseas and will just have to settle with trading locally. For now, at least.
Joybidders, scammers, shill bidders, and bogus accounts are universal and has become a natural part of the eBay experience. Not necessarily just eBay, but online trade and auction sites in general. I just have to be very careful of who I trade with. And for the ten months I have been trading on the 'Bay, I have managed to have two accounts requested to be shut down because they won the bids for my auctions but never paid up nor communicated with me at all.
And now, my ranting begins.
What gets me irritated is the fact that local merchants do not seem to know the difference between what is "rare", and what is "hard to find". Oftentimes, some capitalizing individuals deliberately hoard an item in the hopes that stocks will run out and they will have a huge share of the market and as a result, end up with a huge amount of money by jacking up the prices to ridiculous and impractical amounts.
Such was recently the case with the Transformers Movie 2008 Camaro Bumblebee which disappeared from the toy stores' shelves all too quickly. And when such an incident happens, one can be assured that the items will start appearing on auction sites such as eBay. But I guess that's how business is here in this country. Unlike some toy store chains in the US where they limit a customer's purchase of a hot item to one or two pieces maximum. I've even heard of an incident during the initial local release of the Transformers Movie Leader Class Optimus Prime and people had waited in line at a popular toy store before opening hours, only to be greeted by a sales clerk as the shutters were finally opened and be told that someone had already bought all fifteen of the items in stock.
Why in the world would somebody bloody need fifteen Optimus Primes in the first place?!! Ahhh... the Filipino "entrepreneurial spirit" of course. He, or she, hoards every single item available on the stockroom and then manipulates the law of supply and demand to his/her favor. By limiting the supply and creating demand, the price for the item will now be at his/her mercy.
And now, the real ranting starts.
So what would be the most probable venue to sell these hoarded items if the hoarder does not a store of his/her own? Why, the 'Bay of course.
One can easily guess the title header of the item in the auction: "*Name of Hoarded Toy* RARE!!!"
You see, I can easily forget about their greed and shrug it off because all of us have been greedy at one point in our lives. What royally pisses me off is their utterly ignorant play of words by deciding which is RARE and which are not. Fuck!!! A limited edition numbered release (e.g., 1000 worldwide) can be called RARE. A manufacturing / packaging error can be called RARE. A mint condition Transformers Movie 2008 Camaro Bumblebee, after 30 or so years when 90 or so percent of them have been broken / discarded / forgotten into obscurity would then have the right to be called RARE. A Treskilling Yellow postage stamp is RARE. Being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis is RARE. But HOARDING EVERY SINGLE ITEM IN THE STOCKROOM THEN SELLING IT OFF ONE BY ONE DOES NOT MAKE AN ITEM BLOODY RARE.
Folks, it's as simple as this:
* RARE - Explained above.
* VERY HARD TO FIND (VHTF) - 1. When all the greedy entrepreneurs have successfully hoarded every single item, and the stores have attempted but failed to replenish stocks. 2. When the item has been out in the market for a couple of years and all production have ceased (discontinued), and there is only a very limited number available visible in the market.
* HARD TO FIND (HTF) - 1. When the very same entrepreneurs have hoarded the item, but never realized that the stores have replenished the stocks somewhat. 2. When the item has recently run out, but production has not been officially discontinued.
Sometimes I wish I could just send all these merchants a message and cuss at them for their stupidity without having my account shut down and be banned from the 'Bay.
And though I have always wished I was financially capable to collect each and every item (in the collectors' circle, they call such a person a "completist") in a product series, it isn't really the case. I have to settle with purchasing items which I really, really like, and feel would be my hard-earned money's worth. The good thing to come out of this is that I only have (in my opinion) the best ones in my collection.
But getting the best of the lot isn't always that easy. Especially when one starts out late and most of the items are no longer in production. Which goes to say that late starters - or should I say, "late bloomers" - like me would have to settle for trade forums and auction sites such as eBay to find the items we're looking for. And by that time, items either start to (1) become pricey, or (2) would only be found cheap halfway around the world. So if it, perchance, happens to be case number 2, it's the shipping and Customs fees that can put a huge dent in one's wallet.
In addition, what makes things harder for me is my lack of a credit card for PayPal verification purposes, so I'm not capable of selling or bidding on auctions overseas and will just have to settle with trading locally. For now, at least.
Joybidders, scammers, shill bidders, and bogus accounts are universal and has become a natural part of the eBay experience. Not necessarily just eBay, but online trade and auction sites in general. I just have to be very careful of who I trade with. And for the ten months I have been trading on the 'Bay, I have managed to have two accounts requested to be shut down because they won the bids for my auctions but never paid up nor communicated with me at all.
And now, my ranting begins.
What gets me irritated is the fact that local merchants do not seem to know the difference between what is "rare", and what is "hard to find". Oftentimes, some capitalizing individuals deliberately hoard an item in the hopes that stocks will run out and they will have a huge share of the market and as a result, end up with a huge amount of money by jacking up the prices to ridiculous and impractical amounts.
Such was recently the case with the Transformers Movie 2008 Camaro Bumblebee which disappeared from the toy stores' shelves all too quickly. And when such an incident happens, one can be assured that the items will start appearing on auction sites such as eBay. But I guess that's how business is here in this country. Unlike some toy store chains in the US where they limit a customer's purchase of a hot item to one or two pieces maximum. I've even heard of an incident during the initial local release of the Transformers Movie Leader Class Optimus Prime and people had waited in line at a popular toy store before opening hours, only to be greeted by a sales clerk as the shutters were finally opened and be told that someone had already bought all fifteen of the items in stock.
Why in the world would somebody bloody need fifteen Optimus Primes in the first place?!! Ahhh... the Filipino "entrepreneurial spirit" of course. He, or she, hoards every single item available on the stockroom and then manipulates the law of supply and demand to his/her favor. By limiting the supply and creating demand, the price for the item will now be at his/her mercy.
And now, the real ranting starts.
So what would be the most probable venue to sell these hoarded items if the hoarder does not a store of his/her own? Why, the 'Bay of course.
One can easily guess the title header of the item in the auction: "*Name of Hoarded Toy* RARE!!!"
You see, I can easily forget about their greed and shrug it off because all of us have been greedy at one point in our lives. What royally pisses me off is their utterly ignorant play of words by deciding which is RARE and which are not. Fuck!!! A limited edition numbered release (e.g., 1000 worldwide) can be called RARE. A manufacturing / packaging error can be called RARE. A mint condition Transformers Movie 2008 Camaro Bumblebee, after 30 or so years when 90 or so percent of them have been broken / discarded / forgotten into obscurity would then have the right to be called RARE. A Treskilling Yellow postage stamp is RARE. Being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis is RARE. But HOARDING EVERY SINGLE ITEM IN THE STOCKROOM THEN SELLING IT OFF ONE BY ONE DOES NOT MAKE AN ITEM BLOODY RARE.
Folks, it's as simple as this:
* RARE - Explained above.
* VERY HARD TO FIND (VHTF) - 1. When all the greedy entrepreneurs have successfully hoarded every single item, and the stores have attempted but failed to replenish stocks. 2. When the item has been out in the market for a couple of years and all production have ceased (discontinued), and there is only a very limited number available visible in the market.
* HARD TO FIND (HTF) - 1. When the very same entrepreneurs have hoarded the item, but never realized that the stores have replenished the stocks somewhat. 2. When the item has recently run out, but production has not been officially discontinued.
Sometimes I wish I could just send all these merchants a message and cuss at them for their stupidity without having my account shut down and be banned from the 'Bay.
