She's remaking herself w/ shockabilly.

I guess I was destined for punk rock and toys then thanks to Godzilla and Ultraman, I couldnt get enough of it when I was growing up with Capt. Kangaroo in the 70's. I am gonna go with that theory, thanks hotfunk.

I am all over the place, I like Rockabilly too. In Japan its insane.

Haha. Do you dance in Yoyogi Park on Sundays?

COOLEST-GUYS-ON-EARTH

2. Don't go to ebay.

I'll go with that as well - Tom Terrific and the surreal Mr. Rogers shit were crucial to my upbringing.

They had TVs back then? Wouldn't the light from the screens alert the dinosaurs to your location?

They had TVs back then? Wouldn't the light from the screens alert the dinosaurs to your location?

too funny.

You can't beat the cramps for campiness!

Still one of the best out there!

Ike

From what I understand Lux Interior (r.i.p.) was a toy designer too. Did some model work for some rat fink toys I think, not sure what else. Never checked the net to see if there's a comprehensive list.

An old thread worth revisiting:

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I just recently had a quick PM from someone on the board about being perceived a "flipper". It strikes me that many newer board members do not have a clear idea of the expectations many board members have of each other, and what used to happen in a much larger context than it does now. In short, act with integrity to your fellow collectors, and they will help you with knowledge, access and finding toys.

1. Most collectors help finance their collections from buying and/or selling other toys that are undervalued from one place to another. This is common, but there are wrong ways and right ways to do this. Basically, if you find an OLD toy for cheap (old being a very subjective word) and ask a fair price for it or offer it for trade, everyone will be fine. If you resell a NEW toy quickly upon receipt, or if you bought a NEW toy just for the purpose of using it as trade bait, you will get scolded.

I define OLD as something that has been out long enough that the existing stock of it is still not swapping hands. This may take 2 months, 6 months or a year. Just because you are not seeing it swap hands, does not mean it is not moving around still. The RxH Fungus from last week is not old. The RxH Lucky bag figures from January are.

I define NEW just the opposite way. If they are still running around, swapping hands, and the release is still fresh. Kozik Damnedron is still sort of new, as theya re still popping up. Trying to over capitalize on this would be a no-no.

2. Don't go to ebay. The board is fairly insular, so when people get toys that they do not feel are up to snuff or not what they had hoped, they usually offer them on the boards first as a way to offer it to those who missed out, as releases are usually quite limited, and someone just like you missed out. It makes for good toy kharma, and there is nothing better than getting a figure you thought you missed for the same release price a few days later. If you do this, you will be surprised what comes back to you when you miss something. (Which I can guarantee will happen.)

2. Don't go fishing for bids. Ask what you want. The open ended "make offers" is a sure way of politely saying "I want as much as you are willing to pay". The excuse of "I started the bidding at under what I paid" does not cut it either, as you are willing to take as much as they are willing to give. Don't capitalize on other collector's insecurities.

Even if you list an auction or board sale at $50, but it ends at $150, regardless of your intenions while listing it, the end result is the same. If your intention is not to loose money on the toy, asking for any more than you paid on a brand new release is profiteering in some way. You just have to decide if you want others to treat you in that same way you are treating them or not.

3. I think the concept of "perceived value" is a problem here. It all depends on your perspective. If something is released and a week later is selling for +$25 over the original release price, many people think they are getting "ripped off" if they do not receive the additional +$25. It is a theoretical number. The amount of money you paid for the toy is what you financially debted to it -nothing more. Everything over that is speculative. To reiterate, you just have to decide if you want others to treat you in that same way you are treating them or not.

We had a really great thing going on for a while, where people steadily moved through new product that they did not like, passing it along to other board members at a retail price. This encouraged this behavior and allowed everyone to jump start their collections and try different items out without fear. The point of collecting is to buy toys that you like, regardless of value. Hopefully they will all acrue value. But, if you buy toys simply by the perceived dollar signs attached to them you will not only burn yourself, but others as well.

To bring the point home, I will use a personal example.

a. I did not have a cocky, it was the only skullbrain I was missing. I was missing it because I was not willing to pay the price of the figure based on how fugly it is. That said, I had every other skullbrain, I needed to "finish the set". I spent three years not paying for that brain, until a board member offered one up as a trade. Because he got it cheap, he passed it to me for cheap in a swap for a new toy he wanted. Could he have gotten more $ for his toy? Yes. But, we both got what we wanted out of the trade, and I will always make sure to treat him the same way as he treated me, because that is how we roll. Might he get preferential treatment sometime when he really needs it? Probably. The point is, he probably won't ask (unless he realllllly needs to), so it wouldn't even be an issue. He is not looking for a pay out on his good deed. That is how it is supposed to work. It is like a Family here, so treat them correctly.

I hope that helps shed some light on some of our expectations for you. The point is to enjoy getting the toys, not paying $200 for them a week later.

-brian

As a new member to this forum, and a relatively new collector of the Kaiju toy asthetic, I would like to first off say that it's great to find a forum where gouging is not only frowned upon, but to an extent regulated. I say I'm new to the Kaiju scene only because I never new there was a name for the toys I've drooled over for years, and I'm also a new collector because I've been sober for a year now, and now that I've gotten stable in life I can finally start spending money on things that will give me pleasure for years instead of spending money on something that will make my life feel tolerable for a few hours. In a sense toys have really been key to my sobriety.