So this journo i know is writing a piece on flipping for the Guardian, it is pretty wide reaching but covers stuff like Banksy, kaws and our beloved Secret Base , I know that we have a few threads on flipping but really wanted to get peoples feeling on the whole flipper deal..............so let rip !
Oh and she aint an idiot trying to make a quick buck, she is awesome and really cool so no slagging her off !!!

Flippers are amoral. It is idiots like me (and many others on this board) who run up prices and make everyone else pay too much. Buyers always set the long term price of any commodity.

I think Mr Pogue has pretty much summed it up. I hate getting sucked into paying over the odds, but sometimes you have to do it.

Uh-Oh I think that is going to be a very short article.

no flipping no hype no toys.

if u dont like it blame artists for what happens
as its their marketing strategy to sell toys.

Ha ha. Sometimes less is more.

but even though we use em how do we feel about em?
i just flipped some art prints i bought to fund my toy habit, does that make me a bad person?

I like the ones I don't know. I hate the ones I do.

hmm inciteful. just like your avatar, you have double standards at looking at the same situation.

anyone doing retail whether or not its on ebay, shop, or on the street is flipping.

retail price is relative depending on how you get it.

In Japan, HK, Taiwan and Singapore, toys as "mark up" is always based on public want. this is happening before this stupid "flipper" term was ever invented, before when any of you have started collecting toys. i don't think i need to even go into the art world...

so hate the world!

when i go to a release and I know there's people buying to flip i think to myself... you dirty s.o.b. motherf*&(9ers

when I miss out and others are flipping it, i think... you c*)nt wh*(es

if it's a release that it was impossible for me to get, I pray that the entire line was full of flippers and all of them end up on auction sites.

lol without flippers I wouldnt have been able to get half of what I have. If only certain companies where to figure out how to open an online store and ship internationaly all would be solved..... maybe not because I'm sure I would still somehow missout and I would still end up buying from them.

Its a love hate relationship.


Love it or hate it its a necassary evil.

haha
exactly

i love flippers:



http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art ... ekey=11322

I'm kind of indifferent. I mean for me they're an evil we need. I mean for mass marketed things, like Star WArs, they're jerks. THey're taking something that should be easy to get, and making it tough jacking the price up. BUT for things like the Japanese Vinyl figures, well, we need them. How else would we get store only exclusives?

Is flipping good for the hobby? I think its effects are both positive and negative.

Most flipping occurs when producers intentionally set supply far below demand. Producers realize that many collectors are attracted to figures that are rare or valuable (preferably both), so in order to excite loyal fans and draw in new fans, they release figures that are extremely limited. After a limited release, many collectors watch the aftermarket, which is driven by flipping. Collectors who got lucky get a certain sense of satisfaction while watching the figure they just "won" almost magically increase in value. Collectors who missed out on the figure watch auction prices in an attempt to determine when and if they should bid. Flipping is an integral part of a hype machine that keeps collectors' interest piqued. I suppose this could be viewed as a positive contribution.

Unfortunately, flipping leads to a lot of resentment within the designer toy community. It's not hard to see why. Flippers place themselves squarely between a figure and the collectors who want to add it to their collection. And they do it to make a quick, easy buck. Moreover, many flippers are themselves collectors. They flip in order to finance their own collections. Some would argue that they are taking advantage of their fellow collectors.

What I find peculiar is the large number of collectors who are ambivalent. They waiver back and forth on the flipping issue depending on who is doing the flipping. On this forum, flippers are praised, tolerated, and crucified by the same members.

"the morality of an act is a function of the state of the system at the time it is performed." -- fletcher

It is all about context (and to some degree style).

cheers guys !