Ethics, Pony Flipping and ridiculously outrageous selling prices.... how?

[RockinPrettyBeats]

The only thing that annoys me about high prices are these buy-it-nows on Ebay that have the same pony, Care Bear or whatever for like some crazy price.

I'm not joking there is one buy-it-now that has been up for 3 years! It's a large lot of Care Bears that the person wants something crazy for it like $3000. People who know nothing will look at their auctions and go "Oh my god! I have a Care Bear so it must be worth a few hundred dollars!"

What they don't know is that these people have been relisting their auctions for years and they will never sell because these particular Care Bears aren't even worth $10 a piece.

But that's more annoying when it comes to educating people. If someone sells a Mimic for $120 as opposed to $80 cause some collector REALLY wanted it that is 100% fair.

[tulagirl]

This whole thing reminds me of the webkinz cheeky cat I found at the thrift store. I paid 1.50 for it. It had no tags. I put it up on ebay with a BIN of 75.00 and it sold and was paid for very quickly.  Yea...I felt a little guilty, but hey...I knew someone would want it and they could have just bid instead of pick my high BIN.  They were happy as a lark when they got it.  I figure I could have probably made more on that too..as the dog with hearts goes over that sometimes.   So, I guess they felt my price was fair...but thats just how collectibles go on ebay.  I have to admit I have done it...but in this case it paid bills probably as that is usually why I sell...my CC gets higher than I am happy..so I sell stuff off.

[medleysong]

When my husband and I were undergrads we went to school full-time and were not working much. In the summer, we would often sell intensively on ebay. We would frequent thrift stores and garage sales (This was back when that was still cheap and plentiful!) and buy 80s toys for the most part. It was awesome! We would find all sorts of things for dirt cheap and throw them up on ebay. No bin, just let it go for "what it was worth" and most items did amazing. We also would buy huge lots of ponies from ebay (also plentiful back then) and I would keep what I wanted and sell the rest. I have sold off my entire G1 collection now but at one point it was pretty impressive and it was mainly purchased by flipping ponies. The only time I get annoyed is when a flipper does not describe their ponies very well. I would say dot100dogs falls in this camp. She gives them curls cleans them up and sells them at mint pony prices. I bought a few from her years and years ago and they were not great. Yes, it can be discouraging to watch ponies you have been trying to sell get sold by someone else at a high price but that is the nature of ebay.

I actually just had a flipper incident recently. About a month ago I decided to sell the last few G1 items I had on craigslist as a lot. It was the birthday set (missing some pieces) but with the box, a pony lamp, a cube puzzle missing the lid, some castle pieces with spike, some UK potpourri figures, and a blank G3 pony. There were some other misc pieces but that was it for the most part. I got a lady contact me right away and said her daughter loved ponies and so forth. She sounded nice and genuine so I even threw in a mint baby ribs with his bib because it was going to a little girl. Well, right this moment on ebay the person I sold them to is selling them (well, most of the items anyway..). I boiled a little inside at first because I was lied to. I mean, she could have told me the truth for crying out loud. However, it isn't a crime and she now owns them, not me.  I have them on watch to see what they go for though

[fingerpaints]

I don't see a problem with flipping personally. If you didn't bid and missed out on a good deal, that isn't the buyers fault. They bid & won fair & square, and what they do afterwards with it is up to them as they now own the item.

I have flipped some ponies, but its generally I buy something, enjoy it for a while, get bored with it and move it on. Or a lot that I don't want everything in the lot.

I don't think it makes anyone a bad person, some people don't have another form of income and may have to rely on this sort of thing to put food on the table.

I think that some of the prices on ebay are ridiculous, but, I don't buy it if I think it is. If someone gets that price for it, good on them.

[Tiggums6]

It takes two, buyer and seller. I've intended to 'flip' before but it usually ends up with me just keeping them all hehehehe. (I have my credit card bill as proof!) I just think that if it were another item  like scuba gear(for a completely unrelated example), the seller would be considered 'entrepreneurial', as long as the item were good condition and as described. Think about how antique dealers get into business. So if someone else grabs an opportunity, suck it back and let them have their time.

[RockinPrettyBeats]

I actually just had a flipper incident recently. About a month ago I decided to sell the last few G1 items I had on craigslist as a lot. It was the birthday set (missing some pieces) but with the box, a pony lamp, a cube puzzle missing the lid, some castle pieces with spike, some UK potpourri figures, and a blank G3 pony. There were some other misc pieces but that was it for the most part. I got a lady contact me right away and said her daughter loved ponies and so forth. She sounded nice and genuine so I even threw in a mint baby ribs with his bib because it was going to a little girl. Well, right this moment on ebay the person I sold them to is selling them (well, most of the items anyway..). I boiled a little inside at first because I was lied to. I mean, she could have told me the truth for crying out loud. However, it isn't a crime and she now owns them, not me.  I have them on watch to see what they go for though

Did you give her a deal cause it was a kid or something?

[medleysong]

I actually just had a flipper incident recently. About a month ago I decided to sell the last few G1 items I had on craigslist as a lot. It was the birthday set (missing some pieces) but with the box, a pony lamp, a cube puzzle missing the lid, some castle pieces with spike, some UK potpourri figures, and a blank G3 pony. There were some other misc pieces but that was it for the most part. I got a lady contact me right away and said her daughter loved ponies and so forth. She sounded nice and genuine so I even threw in a mint baby ribs with his bib because it was going to a little girl. Well, right this moment on ebay the person I sold them to is selling them (well, most of the items anyway..). I boiled a little inside at first because I was lied to. I mean, she could have told me the truth for crying out loud. However, it isn't a crime and she now owns them, not me.  I have them on watch to see what they go for though

Did you give her a deal cause it was a kid or something?

Truthfully, I was just trying to clear out space because we were moving. I didn't want to ship that huge b-day set and box so I just threw everything up on CL and sold it for a lump some of $50 dollars. With the prices on ebay these days on G1 (going for dirt cheap), I figured I was happy with that amount. I threw in extra pony items because yes, they were going to her daughter (at least I thought they were). There was also a G1 sleeping bag among other merchandise items. No big deal, if she thinks she can make a profit more power to her. I don't think it will be that much of a profit once she pays fees and ships.

[RockinPrettyBeats]

Well maybe, maybe she really did get them for her daughter. Maybe her daughter liked some of the items and those are the ones she sold. Do you think that's possible?

Although it's possible she just said that to get a deal or something.

I know why that would upset you though. Believe me, I have heard some PRETTY lame stories on why people are buying certain items.

Everything from "it's for my kids" to "I buy for an orphanage" (I'm not kidding).

But I have sold to some resalers on Ebay and Craigslist. I remember I sold some Star Wars items to a man-wife team for pretty dang cheap. They even took their money out of an envelop and had a book of inventory (although they were kind of trying to hide that fact). I think they thought I was a sucka but really, the items were worn and I just didn't feel like trying to describe them on Ebay. 

[wingsinmoonlight]

     I flip. I lost my job almost 2 years ago-this is how I feed my family. I've thought about it a lot actually. I started as a collector, but I no longer collect very many of anything since money is tight. People are often annoyed or shocked by my prices-but I see it very differently. Three points:

1)When I need to make as much money as possible to pay my bills and keep the lights on, why would I sell a pony to you for 5.00 when I can sell it on ebay for 25.00?

2)If you sell me a pony for 1.00, that I can and will sell for 30.00-why should you be upset? I paid your asking price-you got what you wanted for it-why do you care what I do?

3)Selling ponies on ebay is pricy-in a typical listing my costs will be:
2.00-buying the pony in the first place
2.00-shipping (free to the buyer means I have to pay)
2.00-ebay listing, final value and paypal fees-sometimes more
7.00-30 min my time to prep and list
So I have to sell the pony for 13.00 just to break even.

I don't consider pony collectors to be my main target consumer. I don't sell to you, the savvy collector who wants a mint pony for a bargain price. I sell to your mom, your husband,your friend. I sell to the buyer outside the US, who is happy to find a seller who ships worldwide. I sold to you when you first found pony collecting-I was the seller that brought back the memory of your childhood herd. Now, I am your customer: I view pony meet/pony fair as largely buying trips for me. I buy up all of the non pony items people bring-pony people tend to undervalue non pony items. I'm also the person who buys up half your bait box, and any and all freebies. I spend freely, and you are so excited to sell chunks of stuff, that I tend not to feel too guilty about that fact that I will resell them for 10x what you charged me.

I'm trying to survive. I buy to flip. I spend 12-14 hours everyday working on this. Buying, cleaning, photo shoots,listing, packing, shipping. I research vintage toys for an hour a day-not just ponies- so that when you sell that old doll for a dollar-I will know who she is and how much I can make on her. And, I don't really think that there is anything wrong with that. I am your customer-you are not mine.

[RockinPrettyBeats]

I'm happy you found something that makes you some extra money. It's very hard to do that and you are clever to think outside the box.

That's what upset me so much about this is that people are just thinking about their own profits and it's straight up greed. They aren't thinking rationally at all but hopefully some people that were offended are starting to see that.

I regularly have a resaler buy from me on Ebay (it's a warehouse). But they are awesome, always pay on time and leave good feedback. I do not care if I sell them a toy for 8.99 that they can sell for double or triple that. Good for them.

[plushroo]

That was a very good post, wingsinmoonlight! It hopefully will make sense to those like myself who may not understand the whole "buy cheap and sale high" pony flipping thing. I have no problem with those that resale a pony for the pony's value. As I stated in my earlier post, some people do this to make a profit, rather it's to pay bills and feed a family or to fund their other interest. It sucks for those that want a bargain, but with the crappy economy, it's something we just have to deal with.

[Dewprincess]

I do occasionally flip ponies as well, if I find one for a really cheap price at a thrift store or flea market and know I can clean it up nicely and sell it for more.  That's the only way I've been able to afford some of the really nice things in my collections, like Thundercloud and my vintage Care Bear Playful Heart Monkey.  I don't do it often, as I don't have the patience to do tons of eBay stuff (particularly since Paypal holds my funds because I don't sell "enough"), but it's sometimes the best way to fund my own collection.

[babylicketysplit]

Yeah i totally never realised how much ebays final value fees are its like 15% !!!   as a new and small time seller i was shocked.  after i include free shipping final value fee, paypal fees and ebays listing fees.  im nearly broke even or small profit on top of what i originally paid.    it kinda sucks.  so now when i see listings on ebay im not that shocked at price anymore.   im not even a flipper! im selling extras and some collection pieces to pay for a vet bill and this is eating up time and money.  i cant imagine doing it as a job lol

[hokuspokus]

I have considered doing the whole resale thing but a general lack of pricing knowledge keeps me from doing so. I don't really collect, so perhaps I don't quite grok your frustrations but I can sympathize.

People have to eat and pay bills. If one can work from home by selling on eBay then that's great. I don't begrudge anyone who can make it work. We would all love to go shopping and find everything on our list discounted, but in reality it doesn't work that way. You want a bargain and the seller wants a profit.

People who sell something are not doing it to be kind.  They don't set a low price so they can give you something cheap because they like you. They set a price they hope to get and profit off of most. They hope to sell enough to pay bills and buy food. Otherwise they may as well just save their time and donate the ponies.

I can understand the frustration, as I said, but I do feel that it is unfair to harbor it when it's just a fact of life.

Could not have said it better. And i really get the frustration, it frustrates me too. But it is their right to sell for what they want..

[Ringlets]

Ok everyone  thanks for your opinions on this subject    There are some good points in here but I think we've discussed this as much as we can now , plus there is potential for people to get hurt or offended, so I'm gonna lock this up .