Alpha-Omega
01/12/2011, 01:21
This post is to give everyone out there a little heads up, so that everyone will have a chance to affect the way things are run, and maybe help each other out as well.
Now I need to first clarify something. This post is a RANT. A RAVE against things as they stand and it is for fellow clix'ers who also want to rant and discuss this situation that I am about to illuminate. This post is NOT for anyone who is just looking to grind against the thought being posed, or to be the 'anti' body who has to throw in their two cents to make others look or feel small. If you therefore are not here to contribute to the discussion as presented then please, by all means go elsewhere and do not bother us with non relevant comments or just derogatory drivel. Bottom line: If you are not here to join in on the rant then please don't post - any such posts will be deleted if they violate this point.
That said, I want to let those of you who are not aware of how things work behind the scenes. I am sure that a great many folks here buy clixs on e-bay. It is just too hard to trade for all the clixs one tries to get, and I am sure that all of you have had to buy at least one figure from e-bay. The truth of the matter is that the prices that you pay on e-bay are artificially inflated to make sure that you pay ridiculous prices for all these Chase figures that come out. The same also goes for any of the higher desired figures.
90% (or more) of the figures listed on there (e-bay) are placed by store owners who buy cases at drastically reduced prices (buying in bulk) and then crack these cases open, pluck out the much sought after pieces, and then post them at the insane prices that people think that they have to buy them at. Granted the figures I am talking about would obviously not go for mere pennies, but none of them should be going for the near $100 dollars that a great deal of them hover around (or go over for that matter). I mean, we are talking an inch and a half chunk of plastic here people, not diamonds etc. The problem is, like many of the greedy retailers of any goods out there, these guys (or girls) are preying on those of us who have less savvy or are heart set on getting a particular figure and let our judgement get clouded when it comes time to actually laying down our cash for these items. The honest truth is, those of us with poor impulse control or lack of real knowledge as to what a truly fair price for these items should be, make the prices what they are by paying these exorbitant fees for the figures in question.
The only way to stop this price gauging is to stop paying these ludicrous amounts all together and let the retailers know that we, as a community, will not tolerate their behavior in this manner anymore. I am not saying a retailer is not allowed to make a decent profit or make back their investment, just that they should not be allowed to take such unfair advantage of the consumer and leave us all not only hurting emotionally but financially as well.
One way for this to occur would be to boycott one set completely in terms of the Chase figures etc. It would take everyone out there just refusing to acquiesce to paying anything more then say $10 or $15 total for the highest end sought after pieces (maybe as high as $20, this could be discussed) and absolutely flat out refusing to purchase anything priced over that amount on e-bay, or anywhere else for that matter. It would send a very powerful message to the retailers that we the consumer are not being fooled by them anymore and we are not willing to let them get away with this 'sky is the limit' attitude.
I know that it might mean not getting a piece that you really want, but if it meant you could be assured of getting all the rest of the figures in the future at a more realistic price point, wouldn't it be worth it? I know that I could do this. As it stands I am missing out on many figures already due to the crazy prices they are getting away with on e-bay now. And there does not appear to be any end in sight to this behavior. If something is not done soon only the top 10% or so of the population is going to be getting any of the really cool figures anyway. I don't know about the rest of you but I cannot afford to drop $50 to $100 PER Figure on Chases (and now even Super-Rares are inching up into that line too). At this point scraping together the $100 dollars or more to get a full case, just to not get the whole set on top of that, is beyond draining.
Maybe one of you fellow ranters has a better idea, or can elaborate further on what I have said to perhaps help us all get this situation under control. All I know is that in about one or two more sets of this insanity I am going to have to call it quits anyway. My budget, middle class as it may be, cannot tolerate any further assent into the price stratosphere these people are soaring towards. We have to work together to bring things back down to a more realistic level.
So fellow collectors RANT away! (And FOR our topic, NOT against it - again see above, thanks.)
Now I need to first clarify something. This post is a RANT. A RAVE against things as they stand and it is for fellow clix'ers who also want to rant and discuss this situation that I am about to illuminate. This post is NOT for anyone who is just looking to grind against the thought being posed, or to be the 'anti' body who has to throw in their two cents to make others look or feel small. If you therefore are not here to contribute to the discussion as presented then please, by all means go elsewhere and do not bother us with non relevant comments or just derogatory drivel. Bottom line: If you are not here to join in on the rant then please don't post - any such posts will be deleted if they violate this point.
That said, I want to let those of you who are not aware of how things work behind the scenes. I am sure that a great many folks here buy clixs on e-bay. It is just too hard to trade for all the clixs one tries to get, and I am sure that all of you have had to buy at least one figure from e-bay. The truth of the matter is that the prices that you pay on e-bay are artificially inflated to make sure that you pay ridiculous prices for all these Chase figures that come out. The same also goes for any of the higher desired figures.
90% (or more) of the figures listed on there (e-bay) are placed by store owners who buy cases at drastically reduced prices (buying in bulk) and then crack these cases open, pluck out the much sought after pieces, and then post them at the insane prices that people think that they have to buy them at. Granted the figures I am talking about would obviously not go for mere pennies, but none of them should be going for the near $100 dollars that a great deal of them hover around (or go over for that matter). I mean, we are talking an inch and a half chunk of plastic here people, not diamonds etc. The problem is, like many of the greedy retailers of any goods out there, these guys (or girls) are preying on those of us who have less savvy or are heart set on getting a particular figure and let our judgement get clouded when it comes time to actually laying down our cash for these items. The honest truth is, those of us with poor impulse control or lack of real knowledge as to what a truly fair price for these items should be, make the prices what they are by paying these exorbitant fees for the figures in question.
The only way to stop this price gauging is to stop paying these ludicrous amounts all together and let the retailers know that we, as a community, will not tolerate their behavior in this manner anymore. I am not saying a retailer is not allowed to make a decent profit or make back their investment, just that they should not be allowed to take such unfair advantage of the consumer and leave us all not only hurting emotionally but financially as well.
One way for this to occur would be to boycott one set completely in terms of the Chase figures etc. It would take everyone out there just refusing to acquiesce to paying anything more then say $10 or $15 total for the highest end sought after pieces (maybe as high as $20, this could be discussed) and absolutely flat out refusing to purchase anything priced over that amount on e-bay, or anywhere else for that matter. It would send a very powerful message to the retailers that we the consumer are not being fooled by them anymore and we are not willing to let them get away with this 'sky is the limit' attitude.
I know that it might mean not getting a piece that you really want, but if it meant you could be assured of getting all the rest of the figures in the future at a more realistic price point, wouldn't it be worth it? I know that I could do this. As it stands I am missing out on many figures already due to the crazy prices they are getting away with on e-bay now. And there does not appear to be any end in sight to this behavior. If something is not done soon only the top 10% or so of the population is going to be getting any of the really cool figures anyway. I don't know about the rest of you but I cannot afford to drop $50 to $100 PER Figure on Chases (and now even Super-Rares are inching up into that line too). At this point scraping together the $100 dollars or more to get a full case, just to not get the whole set on top of that, is beyond draining.
Maybe one of you fellow ranters has a better idea, or can elaborate further on what I have said to perhaps help us all get this situation under control. All I know is that in about one or two more sets of this insanity I am going to have to call it quits anyway. My budget, middle class as it may be, cannot tolerate any further assent into the price stratosphere these people are soaring towards. We have to work together to bring things back down to a more realistic level.
So fellow collectors RANT away! (And FOR our topic, NOT against it - again see above, thanks.)