This is the free market at work, folks! If the seller asks too much for an item, I won't buy it, and that's the choice we all have. If the seller's items aren't moving, he'll soon drop his prices. If you don't like the price, there are plenty of other sellers out there! ;) Equally, if the seller is the only one with a particular item, he can darn well charge what he pleases; simple law of supply & demand. At the end of the day, no one can force you to pay a ridiculous price for anything.

I want to know is WHERE ARE YOU GETTING NIGHT VIPERS FOR $8? What do you do for a living? Do you understand how retail works? You buy for one price & sell for a higher price to make a profit. I chose to sell something I know about & love - Star Wars & GI Joe toys! I am a Hasbro dealer, but do not sell the new stuff because I can not compete - I would pay less for a figure at WalMart than I can directly from Hasbro! So I sell vintage figures. I buy thousands of figures a year, clean then, put in new O-rings & match them up with their correct weapons & file cards. I research MARKET PRICES & do not inflate them. Without people like me doing all of the legwork, most "fans" would not be able to find mint, complete 25 year old GI Joes! So, yes I deserve a profit. Am I a collector, yes I collect vintage GI Joes & Star Wars figures. Am I a fan, you better belive it - there is not enough money in the world to pry my vintage Joe & star Wars figures from me! I also love posing my Joes & taking pictures of them, I check out all the Star Wars & Joe websites everyday, I go to conventions (not as a dealer) I go to have fun. I have given people here stuff for free, I have also made trades at a loss to help others out. But, I do make a living off of selling figures, I have 4 daughters to feed, it is not a glamorous living, I work at least 10 a day, 7 days a week! The payoff - I get to "play" with figures all day, I get to stay at home with my family & during my breaks I can photograph my figures, customize them & build dioramas. I'm sure there are some that are in it for the money, let me tell you there are other things I can sell to make more money. I do it because I love this hobby, I provide a service to collectors, and I am not ashamed of it!

Very wise statement! Thank you Outrider! I also sell alot of my items on auction on ebay - the BUYER sets the price there!

Sorry, but I can't agree with the words. It is a simple matter of semantics. What you are describing here is a re-seller (can also be a collector: a re-seller collector). They do not perform any illegal act, of course, but from my POV, yeah, it is not "fair" (or insert here any other word you may find out to describe what they do); so, I NEVER buy from such people, simply because I don't want to help them to increase inflation.

Now, the second part, what you call a fan, I call it a collector (non re-seller collector). A collector is in 90% of the times a fan, but it may be possible for a collector not to be, I guess, but that's another subject. A collector is somebody who buys for himself, somebody who buys because he enjoys it, with no further considerations about what he/she can get for it in the future. I include myself in this cathegory (collector/fan). Sure, everybody has wondered how much may cost that item you have, but not because you are going to sell it.

Of course (editing while I write, because I've seen Vader's response) a re-seller can be a fan. I do not question that, nor I judge anybody. But I think what lehsreh is referring to is those people abusing on prices. I mean, I would NEVER pay $20 for a Night-Viper! I don't think there is a single one out there at $8, but there surely are some at $12-$15, wich is a more sensible price.


BTW, I completely agree with your second paragraph.

Supply & Demand
 

Supply and Demand.,
Two words.. well three actually.. but you know what I mean.

I can definately appreciate where Vader is coming from, I don't work 10 hours a day 7 days a week, and the profits i get from selling on my store aren't alot, however I do have lots of time to play with GIJOE and other figures and i do actively seek out bargains, in a similar way lots to clean up figures and give fans the chance to buy into the figures and enjoy them much in the same way.

I think just because someone sells figures at profit doesnt make them any less of a fan because of it.. at the same time I can appreciate that whilst some people won't pay $20 for a mint loose complete Night-Viper, there are always other fans/collectors that will.

It's nice to get a bargain sometimes, and i've spoken to many gi joe fans that have built there collection on many great "scores" and bargains on ebay where they have got army builders or highly prized figures for a knock down price, this is kind of where the thrill in the hunt in the hobby comes in.

Night Viper is also notoriously difficult to obtain MLC because of the monocle piece. That S.o.B pretty much broke on me when i first got him all those years ago within the first few weeks. :o