Wage War on Luke Scalping!!!

https://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/pre-sale.html

Just so that there is no doubt--ALL of these ebay auctions for the 12" Luke are in violation of Ebay's pre-sale listing policies.

Here is a link to Ebay's Customer Service reporting page:

https://pages.ebay.com/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

Feel free to cut and paste the following message and send it on to Ebay. Simply update the auction number information as it becomes necessary to do so. The only way to stop this kind of behavior is to encourage Ebay to take these auctions offline. If they can't scalp them right away, they won't buy the next exclusive, and there will be more left for the true collectors! Don't blame Sideshow, let's take the fight to Ebay and see how many scalpers we can shut down!!!

---Attention Ebay Customer Service: The following auctions are all in violation of your policy that requires pre-sale listing auction items to be in hand within thirty days of the close of the auction. The item being promised will not actually be released by the manufacturer until as late as March of 2006. Since these auctions are promising an item that cannot possibly be delivered within the thirty day window, I request that you cancel these auctions immediately and remove them from Ebay, penalizing the sellers to the maximum extent possible for their blatant disregard for your rules, including suspension of their accounts. The auction numbers are as follows: 6013086454, 6013086833, 6013118192, 6013121106, 6013232895, 6578506931, 6013102846, 6013122531, 6013354296. Thank you for your time and for your swift response.---

None of these are mine and I dont plan to sell mine but what does it matter if some one sells theres? I can totally understand if Sideshow let you order whatever amount you felt but when the limit is 1 I dont know it dont bother me.
Here is what i said in the other thread and I think we should push for this type of agreement then this will keep it fair for everyone.

"So if I understand it right Sideshow should require us to sign a written agreement that we will not resale their product that it will only be used for display purposes only. And at any time Sideshow has the right to cancel your order due to misuse of that order and at anytime if Sideshow needs said product back it will be returned in "new" condition else face strong legal action. With a max prison time of 5 years. If you have any disagreements with said contract you will not be selected to own said product and will be black listed from all future products. Thank you for your purchase and remeber be carefull of what you ask for."

I have no problem if somebody wants to sell their Luke once they get it. However, selling their preorder is against Ebay policy AND it encourages this kind of behavior, making the scalpers rush to get to them and cause a sell out before all of the collectors get a chance. It is obvious that some of these people ordered on Friday just to sell their preorder on Ebay for a quick buck. That is not just frustrating for the real fans, it is against Ebay's policy and should therefore be stopped.

tomandshell said:

It is obvious that some of these people ordered on Friday just to sell their preorder on Ebay for a quick buck. That is not just frustrating for the real fans, it is against Ebay's policy and should therefore be stopped.

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I don't have one of these on order, but any "real fan" who would preorder something on Ebay the day after it has sold out is just plain stupid. These will probably go for slightly over retail in a few months.

Personally I think eBay is wonderful for the collecting community, without it, where would you find these items (once they are sold out)? I like the high demand for the pieces, Luke in this case; it shows that there is still plenty of life in this genre of collecting. I don't want to sink my hard earned $$$ into a deadpool of things that only mean something "to me." Now don't get me wrong, I am not delusional or planning on sending my children to college based on my collection, but I do find solace in knowing a strong secondary market exists where demand is still strong for these items. So for those who are capitalizing on the new Luke, in theory it is good for the market; and I tend to think that in theory SS would agree. After all, doesn't this make their particular line of collectibles all the more desireable? They have no vested interest (as a company), in making sure that their pieces are sold for retail, any buzz is good buzz.

Not to pour salt on any wounds, but isn't this precisely why things like the POTA line and others die off, just a plain lack of interest. Early buzz is great for the SW line, SS is rejoicing!

That said, my only issue with these auctions is that it violates eBay's policy, that IMO is negligible. I would equate it to reporting someone for stealing someone's auction pictures. But that is the extent of my complaint, only that it breaks an eBay rule.

LOTRFan said:

Personally I think eBay is wonderful for the collecting community, without it, where would you find these items (once they are sold out)? I like the high demand for the pieces, Luke in this case; it shows that there is still plenty of life in this genre of collecting. I don't want to sink my hard earned $$$ into a deadpool of things that only mean something "to me." Now don't get me wrong, I am not delusional or planning on sending my children to college based on my collection, but I do find solace in knowing a strong secondary market exists where demand is still strong for these items. So for those who are capitalizing on the new Luke, in theory it is good for the market; and I tend to think that in theory SS would agree. After all, doesn't this make their particular line of collectibles all the more desireable? They have no vested interest (as a company), in making sure that their pieces are sold for retail, any buzz is good buzz.

Not to pour salt on any wounds, but isn't this precisely why things like the POTA line and others die off, just a plain lack of interest. Early buzz is great for the SW line, SS is rejoicing!

That said, my only issue with these auctions is that it violates eBay's policy, that IMO is negligible. I would equate it to reporting someone for stealing someone's auction pictures. But that is the extent of my complaint, only that it breaks an eBay rule.

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Excellent post. I agree with this 100%.

I have a bad feeling about this...

However, selling their preorder is against Ebay policy AND it encourages this kind of behavior, making the scalpers rush to get to them and cause a sell out before all of the collectors get a chance.

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You hit the nail on the head, exactly!!!!

Listen up folks, selling something you do not have is not only against ebay policy, but it is against Sideshow policy. There is a big difference between this and for a collector to decide to sell after the item is received.

From this point forward we should have Sideshow require us to sign something very similar to this, this will keep us all honest and only a true collector will get the product and a appointment for purchasing will be made to work around your skedule so no worries:
Sideshow requires a signed a written agreement from the buyer that you will not resale their product that it will only be used for display purposes only. At any time Sideshow has the right to cancel your order due to misuse of that order and at anytime if Sideshow needs said product back it will be returned in "new" condition else face strong legal action. The buyer at no time owns the product but is only purchasing a leasing agreement. If the buyer of the agreement fails to uphold their part of the contract, the buyer will face a max prison term of 5 years and $200,000 fine. If the buyer has any disagreements with said contract the buyer will not be selected to own said product and will be black listed from all future products. Thank you for your purchase.

Scalping increases the prices of collectibles, it also creates a feeding frenzy and exclusives become impossible to get unless you are ahead of the newsletter distribution line.

I have no problem with people selling theirs, but they should not be able to get more than one. It is unethical really to get more than one exclusive through whatever route they use in order to sell them, that isn't right.

I agree with you kierbaudy I personally think the limit should be two and what you do with those orders is your business. Anything higher Im not for.

kierbaudy said:

Scalping increases the prices of collectibles, it also creates a feeding frenzy and exclusives become impossible to get unless you are ahead of the newsletter distribution line.

I have no problem with people selling theirs, but they should not be able to get more than one. It is unethical really to get more than one exclusive through whatever route they use in order to sell them, that isn't right.

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I also agree with this 100%. You guys are making some great points.

While I do flip things all the time, I don't go so far as to create multiple accounts to order a zillion of everything. I take my 1 or 2 exclusives and sell them to fund my collection. If other people think I'm some terrible scalper for doing so, I really don't care.

I couldn't have said it better elwood!

I could not have supported someone better who supports someone who could of not said it better. Elwood and HeraldElrond!!

Ebay pre-ordering issues

We do tell collectors to be wary about purchasing a pre-order of a Sideshow item on Ebay that the seller will not take possession of for sometime, especially if the original order quantity limits are low. Services such as Ebay ususally have rules from holding auctions if stock cannot be delivered within 30 days because of past issues caused by such auctions.

Our system has quantity limits and before processing our orders we will manually review all orders and cross check them to make sure multiple accounts do not exist in violation of our online account policy as well as our order limit restrictions. Sideshow generally will cancel orders that have been placed in excess of our product limits, from duplicate accounts or households. In some of these cases, sellers are banking on the items from these non-sanctioned accounts to use for their auctions. Then we usually get angry e-mails from buyers who have already given away money for a product their buyer was never going to get. The seller usually will tell their clients that we refused to honor their order they have placed and tell them to seek resolution from us.


There are many great Ebay dealers that carry our product. Please make sure that the dealer that you are purchasing from is reputable with good feedback and has posted cancellation/replacement policies. Also be wary of anyone that wants the complete cost up front rather then a deposit on the item that they will not have for over 30 days.

Shop with caution and go get 'em!

Best,
Chicky

Daveyjaro said:

You hit the nail on the head, exactly!!!!

Listen up folks, selling something you do not have is not only against ebay policy, but it is against Sideshow policy. There is a big difference between this and for a collector to decide to sell after the item is received.

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I think ebay policy is you can't pre-sell something more than 30 days out. So in this case the Lukes are definatly against the policy. But if someone is dumb enough to pay for it 5 months early thats their problem.

In some of these cases, sellers are banking on the items from these non-sanctioned accounts to use for their auctions. Then we usually get angry e-mails from buyers who have already given away money for a product their buyer was never going to get. The seller usually will tell their clients that we refused to honor their order they have placed and tell them to seek resolution from us.

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Does that mean that Sideshow no longer cancels scalper orders? Early this year I was told by someone at Sideshow that reselling an item (meaning selling it before you actually have the product in hand) is not allowed and orders like this will be cancelled. Does this mean that Sideshow has changed that policy?

The rest of what you said is very good advice, thanks!

How pre-tell does SS know who is doing this, and where on the site did you find that information?