Whats the term for a collector who sells for profit?

[nicky]

Sorry, not on here as much as i used to be and forgot what you call em. Writing a report for work about the toys I've been selling.

 

[Rotfish]

Scalper/flipper.

 

[galactiboy]

Smart

 

[Darkmatter]

saaaaaaaavvy!!!

 

[EVILFACE]

Smart

This.

Anyone that calls them a scalper or flipper is jealous.

 

[pixletwin]

Smart

Or stupid.. depending on what they are trying to sell for profit.

 

[murdomac]

Well I would say someone who buys and sells for profit is 'nt a collector they are running a busisness not collecting.

The term scalping/flipping is generally used as a derogitary term for those who take advantege of genuine collectors 'need' for a particular piece by buying up the avalible stock quickly theerby depriving collectors of the chance to get these pieces, then proceed to mark up the original RRP quite discustingly, it verges on profiteering.

I don't think jealousy is the issue more a sence of unfairness

 

[pixletwin]

I think you'll find that its not so black and white murdomac. Many scalpers (most that I am know of) sell collectibles to fund collectibles. I believe it's a false sense of entitlement that creates any feelings of unfairness.

 

[karamazov80]

Well I would say someone who buys and sells for profit is 'nt a collector they are running a busisness not collecting.

Agreed. I am a businessman, because I sell some of my old toys for more than I paid for them. Next time someone asks me my profession, I'm going to say, "I'm in business--sales." And if I ever go to SDCC, and if the check-in guy at the airport asks if it is business or pleasure, well. . .I've got an answer for that one, too

 

[Boba Ben]

Resellers.

 

[Taibhse]

I think you'll find that its not so black and white murdomac. Many scalpers (most that I am know of) sell collectibles to fund collectibles. I believe it's a false sense of entitlement that creates any feelings of unfairness.

While I agree with the point you are making in general terms.. the fact is when it comes down to exclusives and genuine limited editions, flippers do distort the market, so it's not necessarily a 'false sense of entitlement'.. for example the same pressures are reflected in the efforts that the Music and Sport industry makes to try to ensure 'Touts' are not distorting the ticket market to Events.

However it is also the case that some figures would almost never surface in certain markets / countries, without the commercial incentive.. although this is more obvious with Urban Vinyl.

 

[lerath666]

Depends on the connotations. There ARE people out there that that is all they do. they don't have an online store, nor a physical storefront. they buy at retail, and then sell hugher, expecting to get a return on everything, and throw fits when the their product shelfwarms. these are teh people calling every toys r us in a 300 mile radious, buying every masterpiece soundwave, and listing them on ebay for 400$ each. .
This is the same person who returns them to the store if tehy don't sell fast enough. this person has no interest in teh hobby outside of making a fast buck.
This person is a scalper.

There is also the collector who buys one for themselves, and an extra to sell later on. they sit on the extra for several months to a year, tehn resel it.
this person is a flipper

If they have a webportal site ( other than JUST an ebay listing. Ebay stores DO count) and sell figures from it, then they're a Dealer.

 

[Taibhse]

Depends on the connotations. There ARE people out there that that is all they do. they don't have an online store, nor a physical storefront. they buy at retail, and then sell hugher, expecting to get a return on everything, and throw fits when the their product shelfwarms. these are teh people calling every toys r us in a 300 mile radious, buying every masterpiece soundwave, and listing them on ebay for 400$ each. .
This is the same person who returns them to the store if tehy don't sell fast enough. this person has no interest in teh hobby outside of making a fast buck.
This person is a scalper.

There is also the collector who buys one for themselves, and an extra to sell later on. they sit on the extra for several months to a year, tehn resel it.
this person is a flipper

If they have a webportal site ( other than JUST an ebay listing. Ebay stores DO count) and sell figures from it, then they're a Dealer.

 

[DarthDiggler]

Smart

saaaaaaaavvy!!!

This.

Anyone that calls them a scalper or flipper is jealous.

Many scalpers (most that I am know of) sell collectibles to fund collectibles. I believe it's a false sense of entitlement that creates any feelings of unfairness.

I may be wrong, but I don't think toy "scalping" in a traditional sense really occurs much with toys/figures of this level/price point.

Toy scalping to me is more like buying up all the stock of sought after, highly mass-produced, Wal-mart-type toys, thus creating a false scarcity and then selling them at ridiculously inflated prices to collectors.

In the 1/6 hobby, few can afford to really stockpile figures with the idea of selling them on, outside of dealers/personal businesses. The odd collector that buys a couple or a few of a figure with the idea of flipping them is hardly a "scalper" in my view.

Just my opinion.

 

[EVILFACE]

Snooze you Lose. Sounds like someone that put that much work into it deserves what they buy. And you can do what you want with that you own.

Meh, all that is no different than a "collector" buying a toy and keeping in on the package instead of letting a little kid take it from the pegs and play with it like intended.

I remember the scalper term staring up when collecting (ie wasting money) Toy Biz X-Men. Mean scalpers that hoarded all 'rare' figures that were still produced in thousands. All worthless now.

Modern Marvel Legends, Movie Master lines ect will all be the same. Dump em while you can and clear those cluttered shelves!

 

[DarthDiggler]

Snooze you Lose. Sounds like someone that put that much work into it deserves what they buy. And you can do what you want with that you own.

Meh, all that is no different than a "collector" buying a toy and keeping in on the package instead of letting a little kid take it from the pegs and play with it like intended.

I remember the scalper term staring up when collecting (ie wasting money) Toy Biz X-Men. Mean scalpers that hoarded all 'rare' figures that were still produced in thousands. All worthless now.

Modern Marvel Legends, Movie Master lines ect will all be the same. Dump em while you can and clear those cluttered shelves!

And let us not forget that those that are willing to pay way over retail for something that is really not "rare" also deserve what they get.

If you can buy something in a Wal-mart, it ain't really rare.

 

[Darkmatter]

to me a scalper is someone that buys up all he can of something projected to be sought after, then sells at a profit if he is right. there is no guarantee that it will be sought after, so he takes a huge risk with the money he's used to purchase whatever he scalps.

with collectibles, everyone has an equal chance to buy up all they can. but with ss exclusive items, they limit the purchaser to one. is a guy considered a scalper if he can only buy one to sell at a profit?

 

[DarthDiggler]

to me a scalper is someone that buys up all he can of something projected to be sought after, then sells at a profit if he is right. there is no guarantee that it will be sought after, so he takes a huge risk with the money he's used to purchase whatever he scalps.

Yeah, I've seen a few in the wild over the years and they weren't exactly living the high-life. I can't really fathom how they make enough to keep going for very long. Especially for stuff like Star wars figures or Transformers.

Wouldn't it just be easier to try to get a good job?

 

[Darkmatter]

Yeah, I've seen a few in the wild over the years and they weren't exactly living the high-life. I can't really fathom how they make enough to keep going for very long. Especially for stuff like Star wars figures or Transformers.

Wouldn't it just be easier to try to get a good job?

i'd say it would be impossible to be a full time scalper unless you've got a warehouse of stuff earmarked for flipping. but why wouldn't you sell retail then? i imagine some do both...but they shouldn't from stock from someone who has ordered and paid retail already.

 

[DarthDiggler]

i'd say it would be impossible to be a full time scalper unless you've got a warehouse of stuff earmarked for flipping. but why wouldn't you sell retail then? i imagine some do both...but they shouldn't from stock from someone who has ordered and paid retail already.

Yeah, I've seen some beardy dudes in a Toys R Us walk out with cart-fulls of SW and Transformers and load it into their crappy, beat up Ford Taurus.

Strange stuff...