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Author Topic: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?  (Read 2668 times)

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Offline Ledbyrd

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Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« on: April 24, 2017, 10:05:07 PM »
I'm just wondering where all you G1 collectors have been buying the bulk of your ponies from these days. Is anyone else finding it harder and harder to find them for affordable prices?

And then the skyrocketing shipping prices have made it even harder! It makes me sad because it's taken a lot of fun out of collecting lately. Also, I love participating in swaps but it's getting harder and harder to find awesome ponies for my swap partners. The last few swaps I have done I've dipped into my personal collection.

Is anyone else experiencing these problems or is it just me?
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Offline Shy Violet

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2017, 10:28:32 PM »
I thrift shop hunt often but don't find ponies very often. I've bought/traded on the arena a little bit. Mostly ebay in the last 2 years but it's very expensive so I hunt for good deals. I had some luck on Kijiji last summer finding 2 lots locally.

I have been finding prices too high lately :(

Offline Wardah

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2017, 11:57:31 PM »
Ebay has gotten very expensive since they raised their fees so much. But it's quicker and easier than on here so a lot of people who have to sell ponies are fine with letting ebay take their fees and the buyers are left paying more for ponies. It's unfortunately really inflated the value of ponies a lot.
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Offline nhal039

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2017, 02:13:48 AM »
Also finding the cost of collecting is sky rocketing, good deals which made collecting so fun just dont seem to be around. I have found fb pages have lead to an increase of prices often you can pick up ponies cheaper on ebay than such sites. In saying that all my last buys have been from ebay, the arena sales are still my favorite thou, i have picked up many wonderful ponies from collectors here for very fair prices

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2017, 02:26:43 AM »
Let's not forget how many levels of resale some of these ponies are going through. For example, someone pulls a lot from their attic and puts it on ebay. A second person thinks, I can make money on this, so buys it, splits it, and sells it separated into groups. Imagine one of those groups is a family set, and the next buyer only needs one pony from the family. So then THEY resell the other ponies they don't need to recoup costs. And so it continues.

The above isn't wrong. It's a reality of sale and trade and it's been with us from the start. But the difference is that availability of G1 has dropped over time, meaning that the same people are competing over the same few lots. So prices rise.

There's also some responsiblity to be found from collectors, though. It's not all about ebay. When a collector pays an amount for a pony, that's their choice, whatever it is. But when they ask for a price check, and get three or four answers saying that pony is "worth" xamount, then that figure gains currency. Ultimately this isn't like the people giving prices are bad people or doing something wrong, but there is an impact when people are then drawing on archived PC to price a pony.

It also doesn't help when people want their new additions valued. It's as though the automatic mental conversion of pony into money is a reality now, and people consider that all ponies have a "worth" that is tangible in cold hard cash. Reality is that a lot of prices on ponies are personal choices. A lot of people here wouldn't spend a lot on Rapunzel, but probably just as many would.

The biggest problem comes with Nirvana pricing and "worth" values of thousands of dollars, but it is something that's there in the general market as well.

A combination of fewer ponies, people buying to resell and people pricechecking their collections and sale items (thus keeping the monetary element in the public eye) are all factors in my opinion, just as important as the rise of ebay fees.

I am just as guilty of asking for PC when I have stuff to sell, so I'm not criticising those people. I'm just saying it's a reality of our community that now the 'worth' of a pony is much more concrete and in discussion than it ever used to be.
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Offline Emberly

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2017, 04:47:56 AM »
I fail to see the connection between price checks and pony pricing. We have had price checks for as long as I can remember- and I started collecting in 1999 or 2000 online. I think there is a bigger repercussion with things like published guides, or prices that can otherwise leave the community. I wonder if the fate of the Fair will impact prices overall. Without an easy way to unload ponies, it may be less beneficial to split lots.  Or, more people will have to split lots because they aren't attending a fair where they can buy singular ponies. Who knows.

Offline banditpony

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2017, 05:01:07 AM »
Usually flea markets because it's more fun to hunt.

I do think flipping increases the prices of ponies, but I guess that is a part of any collecting circle.
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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2017, 05:25:42 AM »
I suppose they are becoming more of a classic collectible so perhaps people are more concerned about their monetary value. I think monetary value is important to a lot of people because it can indicate what is rare, beautiful or interesting etc..  When I worked in a museum people often used to ask me the monetary value of things but I wasn't allowed to tell them for security reasons  ^.^
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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2017, 05:46:42 AM »
I normally hunt at flea markets, although I do find myself checking eBay often.
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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2017, 07:09:06 AM »
I fail to see the connection between price checks and pony pricing. We have had price checks for as long as I can remember- and I started collecting in 1999 or 2000 online. I think there is a bigger repercussion with things like published guides, or prices that can otherwise leave the community. I wonder if the fate of the Fair will impact prices overall. Without an easy way to unload ponies, it may be less beneficial to split lots.  Or, more people will have to split lots because they aren't attending a fair where they can buy singular ponies. Who knows.

I would disagree with you on that point. I joined the online community in 1998, and there was nothing like the price check culture we have now. What there was instead was widespread gaps in knowledge and so some crazy claims about pony value which have since settled themselves into a normal kind of state. But the main currency of pony deals back then was trading, rather than buying and selling, because it was not impossible but a lot more difficult without paypal (especially internationally, which is where most of the expensive ponies were at that time). We had no forum archives of past price checks to go by, and thus when someone said "what do you think x pony is worth", it was just a question which other people answered, as opposed to becoming a concrete record in a long list of records relating to that pony.

I also remember when price-checking became a "thing" and how some people complained about it, so it obviously wasn't a staple part of the community from dot. But given the fact most discussion went on on mailing lists and so on, the entire situation was different.

I do agree with you about the books and their price guides, but where do you think that information comes from? I would be highly surprised if online community price check archives are not a big part of that. Then you have the other problem that the people giving the prices may or may not have done a lot of research beforehand. Here, you are probably okay because you have some people who do this stuff a lot, and also several people giving their views on prices, but this is not the only pony community and the rise in facebook groups and such means that who knows how many different price scales there are out there. And how many people value their ponies based on the listing/BIN of an inflated ebay auction as opposed to an average of several auction sales over a period of time.

I would ask the question whether the prices in the published guides or the ones that are in the Arena archives are the ones most often adhered to in the community. I suspect the latter, as prices change regularly depending on the latest fad or which pony suddenly drops off the face of the earth. But the rise in numbers of people concerned about the value of their pony when they don't intend to sell it indicates a change in mentality from way back when. None of us thought in those terms then. If we sold a pony, it was generally to buy another pony. If we wanted to know value it was often to do a fair trade. The approach now is totally different.

Whether the mentality created the price check culture or vice versa is another question, of course. And with the growth of the community and the sparsity of G1 it was a logical development. But it's nothing like what it was almost 20 years ago.
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Offline DappledHazel

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2017, 07:12:55 AM »
I get mine off eBay. I've checked several different GoodWill stores but I've not had any luck.

Offline SaraMari

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2017, 08:35:29 AM »
Mainly in the wild - thrift stores, some estate sales and toy shows. I haven't had much luck with flea markets so far even though I know others are.

I've gotten a few good deals on eBay lots, also some scammy/bad experiences so it's not my first choice. I love buying here on the arena with fellow collectors, I don't mind paying a bit more for a pony if it's clean, nice and well taken care of.
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Offline Duenia

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2017, 08:37:10 AM »
I don't buy G1 that often, but when I have it's mostly been Facebook groups or here on the Arena.

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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #13 on: April 25, 2017, 08:51:21 AM »
Normally thrift shops and antique stores now. I used to use eBay though. Often times however, shipment costs were more than the pony herself. And then EBay went and made more fees, so that really threw a stick in the gears there. even the poorer condition ponies are much too expensive.
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Re: Where is everyone buying their G1's from these days?
« Reply #14 on: April 25, 2017, 09:27:12 AM »
I haven't been buying at all lately.
Doesn't help that I'm all down to the rarest of the rare, super expansive on my wish list.
I do groups off and on, haven't given up on thrifts and antique malls.
I have left ponies behind recently locally for example: I just don't want to pay $35 for a baby firefly with her sticker and comb... Prices are quite inflated!
I've all but given up on selling customs at this point as its not worth the time that goes into them for the small return anymore.

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