Like I said a lot of pro flippers and quick buck champions wouldn't care at all but some of the people who just don't know any better would certainly care. People buying a toy just because they like how it looks might get a whole new level of appreciation reading a note explaining how labor intensive the entire process is from start to finish. There is a beautiful history behind this entire hobby and so much effort goes into the things some people make. Sharing that with customers can only be a good thing.
I mean, you don't make them cry or anything. You give them pissed off looks or making a little fun of them, that could maybe help in making them feel uncomfortable enough to maybe prevent them going to these events again.
^^^ The right thing to do is just crop dust them every time you walk by them at a convention or show.
Finally a real conversation about flipping/ flippers u fortunate what had to happen for this thread to appear but it's a step in the right direction! And I know I "haven't been here long enough to have a say" or what have you but I do know that saying "flipping already been covered on SB" is not helping anything! All I do want to say is any talk is better than none. Ill never be sick of talking about a way to try and stop people from buying for profit. But also it sucked because the Splurrt lottery seemed to be starting as soon as I walked in the door which no later than 11:30 (I know I'm wrong with the exact time, but not far off) that would mean the if you weren't VIP you would've had a half an hour to get a ticket. That sucks! I bet ever person that is flipping bought a VIP (cause flipping will pay for itself) and NO not every VIP is a flipper I AM NOT SAYING THAT!! But I know not many of the mob that people are talking about got the cadaver!
yea, i'm a visual person show me their faces. I'm powerless but maybe my four-eyes will help spot one up here in the great NW
Not on IG but I've always trusted people on here (skullbrain) more than others. People around here care enough to help other collectors. Part of the reason scalpers are descending upon the hobby is people are paying those prices. If the money isn't there, they will scalp another hobby. But the scene seems to be growing, not shrinking.
Well I made a quick list of the MPCK... 4 I know went to solid homes. 2 I'd assume solid homes as they posted pics of the toy opened already and pretty nice pics might I add. So there's 6 out of 12... one dude got 2... not sure I can single him out as being one of the ebayers, but he's super into pop, and one of the eBay auctions has a pop stack as the backdrop. You make the decision... so as far as I can tell. 4 are unaccounted for, and 6 of the 8 for sure went to good homes. That's pretty good numbers. I only seen 3 on eBay myself, so unsure of where the 5 number came from.
I got one of Joe's Masterworks, as did @detroit_denver(@good_life_toys), just in case ours weren't accounted for in Mike's tally. The dude that got two is an NY native and one if being flipped in NY. But that guy was pretty cool, so I don't wanna jump to conclusions.
What are the rules on eBay regarding bidding someone up to a ridiculous amount and not paying? I imagine if we could focus our energy on doing that to flippers it could get really annoying for them.
Yeah they pretty much put you on a black list from what i imagine. I had some jackass do this to me on something else i sold awhile back. Got my item sold eventually plus some credit for purchasing back from that BS. And they told me they would put this buyer on the list. Please don't be that ass. Its incredibly frustrating to the sellers. Best thing to do is not purchase the product.
I've been out of it the last week guys, I don't know why, just forgetting stuff and spacing out. I saw 3 CK listings on eBay and one of the listings had 2, so 4, I'm not sure why I thought 5. I know people will say it's impossible to stop and they are right but lately as things have taken hold throughout Asia, it has been becoming extreme, and we have to try to at least stop some of it, even if it's just people making toys voicing that it's not acceptable instead of being too polite or nice and just letting it happen. The gocoddo, PD, skull toy line was out of control, I had never seen anything like it.
I got me, you, Denver, and Mikee that I'm not worried about whatsoever. 2 IGers posted their scores opened and in very proud fashion, and then dude with 2. if he is legit then that actually changed the number to 8/12.
But the point is that it'd be incredibly frustrating to these flippers. I don't see the downside except for being on an eBay blacklist, whatever that means.
Ok I have been out of commission since I got a tooth pulled this morning but I want to weigh in on all of this and I'm gonna be as open as I can. After Joe posted on IG all of us EDTK guys had a discussion. But during that discussion I reached out to Mike and started the conversation we are discussing. What I feel needs to be noted is that while I enjoy IG and the friends I have made through it I am very aware that it has been the major contributor to the negative aspects of this hobby. A large reason for that is all of us have taken to sharing our collections on there and in turn getting "likes" for it. This has lead to a new breed of collector who's entire purpose is internet approval. They do this so they can be noticed and use the internet "fame" to boost whatever sense of self esteem this is. These are the people hassling us with "sell to me" IG comments and buying flipper toys. They are the same folks that obsess over a company for a month and have to have everything and then sell it all out of nowhere. They don't just exist on IG some of them are here and reading this. I DONT CARE. It has become very clear to me that there are two groups of people in this community the loyalists and the fair weather. It is our responsibility to take care of those of us that are loyalists and make sure that we are getting those toys into the hands of people who will appreciate them. That said flipping has layers we are all aware. And to be candid most of us (90%?) have sold/traded something in a grey area and probably regret doing that. We are human we make mistakes. We have extenuating circumstances that lead to these decisions. We need to stop shit talking and witch hunting and get back to being a community. The really filthy will get pushed out. The human will remain. That said let's keep the fact that these are JUST TOYS in perspective and remember it's the friends and people that matter most.
This happens a lot in the Tattoo community as well (with regards to IG). I've been on IG since the beginning and it's actually made me a LOT of friends and new discoveries that have made me a richer person for it. But it also has a HUGE amount of shitty tattooists that simply copy other's work (brazenly and openly) and don't give a fuck. The thing is that this will happen regardless of what we do. I've come to ignore (and/or mock) the copiers and shitty attitudes and just keep trying to be positive and keep the real friendships real. I've also discovered and made a lot of friendships in the toy world there as well, and I hope that keeps up. Flippers are going to happen. I know a lot of people here are touchy about certain subjects being brought up or discussed, but I feel it's a fucking shame that we have to feel that we have to self-censor about certain things because of these pirates.
I think we all need to take a step back and ask ourselves why we buy, collect, and share photos. If the answer is that you want the latest release, the hypest toy, or want some Internet gratification, you need to reassess why you're wasting your time and money on this hobby, and why you need so much approval from strangers. I took a long hiatus from IG and pretty much stopped using Facebook on a regular basis, and I still love my collection to bits. I guess that's a sign that I've been collecting for me, and no one else. Personally, I share toy photos because I love toys and love to take pics of them. Interacting with fellow collectors is fun. I'm sure most of us are the same way here. We aren't flaunting or showing off, we're sharing our love for the artwork. But I'll be damned if I didn't see some of these fucking new collectors take pics of their sofubi alongside rolex watches as some sort of stupid status symbol. It's shit like this that reinforces flippers. I think we need to do a few things... Call out the flippers. Enough with the silence, if you see it, say something. If it falls into a grey area, message privately and share your concerns because it could just be a mistake. No mercy for these flipper rings. Help one another. If you can help mule for a trustworthy collector, do it. The more connections we make and more toys in hands of real collectors, the better. Just be careful with IG. Your comments and posts can feed hype... and for the love of all that's holy, stop liking and commenting on Nazi shit while you're at it Don't buy from flippers. Make friends here, ask for help, or learn to be patient. It doesn't matter if you have the cash to shell out, you supporting flippers makes them go and flip again. Instant gratification is overrated. That's my two cents, anyway. Flipping won't stop but we can do things to reduce the impact.
This is really disheartening. I never thought something so seemingly mundane and traditional like Sunguts would be the target of organised flipping. Sure, some of the Mizuki license stuff is naturally popular, but I have never seen it to the degree of the 'hyped' toys out there. For a low-key maker, who has always been about fun toys and passionate work, this is sad to hear. It does explain some of the things I have seen now with the recent Frank release though. Will Sunguts be the new Buta? HA! And here I didn't even know I attended the event. [Blatantly trying to cover for my hardcore flipping ass]
I say we organize a mail/letter-sharing group. We need some more positivity in here and receiving personal letters or whatever in the mail always puts me in a good mood. Kinda like a secret santa. I take part in a couple Reddit ones and those are always kinda fun. I know this doesn't really pertain to flipping, but maybe something like this would help other 'Brainers get to connect with one another and form a more solid 'family.' One that isn't littered with bottom-dwelling scum such as flippers. Just my own thoughts. Do with it as you will.