I found that this NY Times article about reselling Taylor Swift tickets has some interesting philosophical overlap with our grown man/woman baby doll collecting world.
I find this to be the reality of the world (housing market, vintage cars, etc. etc, etc.) Buy something, try to make a profit.
I feel like all this can be summed up with one sentence, that’s applicable for nearly any situation: You can do what you like, but try not to be a dick about it.
I won't lie, I enjoy toys, I won't buy something for 1000 unless I think my daughters mother can get that much from it if I pass away. I think about all my larger purchases that way now. It's just part of getting older. To make money from toys though I would rather just be putting my own art out there.
In regards to anything that isn't a commodity (e.g. Taylor Swift tickets, sofubi, etc.), I really don't care what people do with their possessions, just know who you're selling to and don't be surprised at or upset by the laughter and criticism that comes your way should you attempt to get top dollar from members of a tight-knit community. If you want to flip something, best take it to eBay, Mercari, OfferUp, or any other open market platform. If your price is truly set at or around the going rate it'll most probably sell in due time. On the other hand, if you want to be one of those imbeciles who puts up an item at five times the price one has sold for in the last six months while there's eight other active listings being offered at a small fraction of said price that haven't moved in the same amount of time, well... I hope you step in a dog turd today because you're just being annoying.
Total tangent - but yeah, I definitely think this way with large purchases. Not "to make money", but rather as a way of being...frugal? I think it makes more sense to spend more money on something that will retain value, than less money on something that will lose value. Since classic cars were mentioned above, I'll use that as an example. To me, it makes more sense to buy a mid-80s Porsche 911 for $50k, than to buy a new BMW for $40k (assuming they both meet your needs), because you will be able to get $50k back out of the Porsche, whereas you'll lose $10-20k on the BMW. Essentially, the Porsche is free, you just put down a fully refundable deposit on it. When I was buying instruments I applied the same logic - buy a good used instrument, and it's essentially free because they retain their value. Or even a good new instrument, rather than a mid new instrument - a Gibson Les Paul will hold its value, but an Epiphone Les Paul won't. In the long-run, spending more on something higher-quality is cheaper than spending less on something of lesser quality.
Interesting article. Pointed out the fact that they could have sold that ticket at closer to cost, but then would risk selling it to someone who would mark it up again and resell it. (That concert turned Northern NJ upside down for days. so I admit to a little bit of schadenfreude seeing people argue over ticket prices.) I don't like it when I see other people flip new toys for ridiculous prices, and any time I have something current that I want to let go of I will offer it here at my cost or, if it doesn't sell, put it on eBay for $1, embracing maximum risk and telling myself that if it goes for a ridiculous price, it was the result of the bidders. However, as someone who is now selling their own toys and seeing them being flipped on eBay, it does make me sad. I wish I could produce figures the way that I want to, and still have them perpetually in stock, but circumstances don't allow for it. All I can do is make $35 offers to this guy offering my figure for $80 over and over again until he buckles.
