Skinner's show was awesome! He can fucking paint! Great seeing everyone as always... longer future visits! Big thanks to a boardie for the boot!!!

Goodmto see you boo, glad you made it home safe!

busizem, are you going to re-list the skinner bootleg? Are you still asking $1188? Do you take checks?

turns out I was wrong, this just might be the best place to discuss flippers.

Quit being a penis, Slack.

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

I think some of the NY kids missed the rules section of the board.

I kiss your hand! ^^^^

after those new york kids read this... tell them i still need a nycc rebel captain... and in the kind of fashion that is talked about above lol not $900

toys are fun....

You know you can link to other threads right? Oh hold on a sec, looks like you're a little new to the board yourself. You need to calm down, walk away for a bit. Shake it off.

I'm really sick of this bile filtering into other threads. Can someone make me a mod? Clearly, Slack is living up to his name...

I hope they don't close skullbrain again. It's way too negative around here. Danger zone.

At least I've taken the time to learn the rules. Your a nice guy, you should quit drinking the Kool aid, before the Jonestown crew get's you onto the island.

I hope not.

ok i'll let this ride out. have fun guys.

I just want to say ALL the NY kids are rad as fuck. I'm not just talking about pyro, and burziem of course. All the ones I've met. I consider them friends and will never judge them by their ebay actions. I mean, that's their stuff to sell. The way you sell or trade your toys is completely up to the individual. Like religion. Let's stop forcing what we think is right down throats because in the end, it's about human interaction. Meet the person, hang out before you start throwing stones. I love ALL the NY kids
btw, Awesome seeing everyone that was at the Skinner show.

Ugh... I have been trying to avoid this subject but I think it is clear that people should be judged for their actions, not words. Actions online say just as much about a person as how they act to your face and maybe even more. Online people operate with a sense of impunity and anonymity so their true nature comes out. In person they have to deal with you on a face to face basis, so asshats are generally good at acting cool for at least a while. So if you treat me one way in person and another way online, it will not help my opinion of you.

Seriously though, can we keep toy threads about the toys they deal with? I might not like Joel's take on this particular subject but I love his toys and that is why I am here.

Edit: This is not a statement about a person, it is a rebuttal to Joel's statement. I think it's great some of you get to hang in person but I don't get that option. So the way people treat me as part of the community is the end result for me. People can do whatever the hell they want with their stuff, end of story. Don't expect me to hook you up though if you show yourself to be an opportunistic profiteer. Great business trait, frienship... not so much. Seriously though, back to toys.

totally understand D, and I probably would take the same stance in your position. I'm just providing my perspective getting to meet and hang with everyone. When the NYC kids hang though it's a much positive vibe talking about toys, getting excited about toys and working out deals and trades. I wish everyone on the board could be a part of it but unfortunately we all communicate through the inter webs where that human interaction is lost. I would hope to keep this thread in that same positive vibe. There's enough drama in the world over real things, let's distract ourselves with the positive and excitement over toys this board offers.

BOO, great pics bro. You know you're a NYC kid now

Agree completely.

And what's that whole "Now you're making ME look bad" business about anyway?

Sorry man, I must have missed you after everyone hightailed it to the Mishka store (are there any pics of the Mr T release?). But get THIS. Maurice Blanco? We came up together on Long Island and college. So weird to catch up w him, such a small world. Thought it was pretty funny.

That dude Maurice was cool, hung out with him for a minute at Trophy, small world huh

Boo... Those are some seriously killer pics........

Slack, you are such a penis. A big, giant penis.
That is all.