This is kind of a complicated subject....
First - Prices
The collectors kind of shot themselves in the foot on this one. There was sooooooo my hype around the release, nobody being able to get mystery pins, getting knocked out of the RSP, etc. I think this only drove the prices up. Sellers read the boards too and when they see people franticly looking for these pins and saying that they can't find anything.....guess what....up goes the price. Also, there are some people that will try and get what you want just to make themselves feel like they beat you or something....pretty pathetic, but they are out there.....
Now, the price points....I don't know.... Some of them really aren't that unreasonable. I bought the doorknob jumbo off ebay for $60 which I thought was reasonable. The framed set....eh...prices may be a bit high...but lugging around a framed set all day and then shipping it off is a pain. The mystery pins....those are a little crazy. I was shocked to hear that there were so many left at the end of the second chance line. That seems very odd. But, they are also the best way to make your money back. They were the cheapest pins you could get that day and people love mystery pins. There isn't a whole lot of room for markup on a $40 jumbo....but on a $8 mystery pin there is a lot of upside. I think some of the prices on ebay are flat out insane......but 25-30 bucks....:dunno: Disneystore.com has priced LE 150 sets at $25 per pin before....granted, these are a bit smaller...but fairly hot. Very difficult to say on this one.
Bottom line on the prices....if you don't like them, don't pay them. Nobody NEEDS any pin. If you WANT it so bad that you are willing to pay the price, then that is what it was worth to you. If the prices are set too high, then few people will buy them and the prices will eventually come down...that's just the way it works. But, you have to be ready to pounce when they do come into your price range because as soon as they do other people will start buying as well.
Second - Selling at markup
The price mark-ups....I'm struggling with this one because I painfully remember being shut out of Disneystore.com releases for awesome pins (back when they had them
) and then seeing them listed on ebay for double or more the price. That still infuriates me, but I think there is one key difference between that situation and this one, at least from my perspective. The difference is, I can buy pins from Disneystore.com myself. I don't need anyone's help and I don't need to travel anywhere. So when a seller would swoop in and buy 25 or more LE 100 sets (this was before limits were in place and when they actually released pins that needed a limit....but I digress) it was like they were litterally stealing the pins from my cart. It made me feel like it was the day after Thanksgiving, standing in line at the checkout with my treasures, and then some 'ol bat comes along and takes the stuff out of my cart!
For a park release however....I feel a bit differently. I can't get those pins just as easily as everyone else and the likelyhood of me spending the money just to go to a pin release is very low. And if I did....I'd probably be selling off my extras to try and cover the cost....so, the mark-up to me is kind of a "fee for service" type of thing. They provided me a service that I couldn't do myself, so I'm willing to pay more for that. Still cheaper than me going myself.
Third - Helping People
I know that some people like to think that everything is rainbows and gumdrops here....but it isn't. When it comes right down to it....we really don't even know each other. I have only met a handful of people here in person and only had an extended conversation with a few. So, how willing are people willing to help complete strangers? What Caligirl does for example is great, but at some point she has to think about herself from a trading perspective. If every time you had access to a great pin at retail you just used them to help other people, how would you ever get the pins your are looking for? If you just give away all your good stuff at cost then you will never get ahead in your own pin goals.
For example, say someone's holy grail is an old DA LE 100 pin that came out before they started collecting and is a pin that sells for $200 on ebay. And let's say that this person has nothing good enough to trade for it and they don't have $200 to spend on a pin. How will they ever get it? Rely on the help of people they have never even met....they'll be waiting for a very long time. So, what are their other options? Well, if they are close to a park they can attend a hot pin release and pick up some pins as traders. Maybe they will get lucky with them....but since they are new, people with their grail pin probably either already got them or will turn their nose up at "new" pins, or, they will expect them to be traded at retail while their pin is valued at the $200 market value. So, this person now has good pins, but still can't trade for what they want. They can sit on them or try to make some strategic trades, working toward their grail....or....they can mark up their new pins, raise the $200, and then just buy the darn thing. If they do that, depending on what the markup is, they may have gotten their grail for 50% or less than the market price. BUT, if people expect them to offer up their extras at cost just because they are members of a board...they can kiss that grail goodbye.
Closing
I know this was looooong....but these things aren't so cut and dry. Just because people sell their pins for profit doesn't make them evil. Now, if they sell their pins at a high markup but want pins at cost...then they might be a d-bag. But, every situation is different. Two different people could have the same pin listed at the same price and I might be more tolerant of one than the other based on their previous behavior. If you are a person who has shown patterns of unethical or self-centered behavior, it doesn't matter what your prices are, I'll want nothing to do with you. But if you are a good trader and member who is just trying to gain a little ground...I have not problem buying from you at markup as long as the price is reasonable.
In the end, the power of whether to buy something or not is up to you and if prices really are unfair, they will come down. But if they continue to sell at the prices they are at now....I guess you can't really say they are unfair. :dunno:
