Pony Talk > Pony Corral
I am here to document SHENANIGANS. (No, not the g3 pony.)
Heelys:
I'm crossposting this from MLPTP to get more exposure, so you might feel some deja vu.
I mean I'm here for DRAMA. Specifically, an incident that happened last year that piqued my interest and made me laugh a lot.
I'd like to compile some sort of piece about the eBay Rapunzel incident from 2021. You know, the eBay listing that fluctuated between $10,000-$20,000 and had a dramatic description about a child proudly declaring that this garage sale plaything with a clearly damaged mane would pay for a college tuition (in, may I add, THIS economy). I've also been told that the seller responded poorly to inquiries about the price, and made some declarations about how they, as the sole seller online at the moment, controlled the market.
Come on, man. I got a B- in high school economics, and even I see the holes in that.
So... what am I looking for?
Well, sources! I'd like to either write an article or produce a YouTube video discussing the incident, and journalistic integrity is important to me. If you have any of the following, and would like to help in this project, I would be most obliged:
Screenshots of the eBay listing during its active time.
Screenshots of any relevant online correspondence with the seller. Don't worry-- you can redact your screen name or request that I not include it.
Links or screenshots of online discussion of the events during or near the time stuff went down.
idk, whatever you think is relevant.
If at all possible, please include a date with your evidence (gosh, that sounds serious for a funny pony story). I'm trying to put together a timeline of events. There's a single archive.org snapshot of the webpage from a European user on April 22nd (kudos to the savy user who thought to document it!), when the price was $20,000, but no description is available. But I also have screenshots and discussion from the previous day where the price is to $10,000, and a great deal of discourse has already gone down.
WHY is this important to me?
I dunno. Niche drama is fun! I found the whole situation entertaining, and I feel like if the story is shared with those who haven't heard of it or know nothing about the collecting community, it will be entertaining to them. I just love a good story, and wacky stories about treasured toys and hobbyists are a particular favorite of mine. Like, ask me about the 1999 Furby Scare sometime. It involves the Pentagon and NASA.
KarentheUnicorn:
Oh yea...I remember a little about the Rapunzel thing. Which, I would never ask question of anyone selling a pony for whatever price they want. I think the issue was when people asked questions about the item and the description they were met with...hum...hostility or straight-up deception.
I messaged the seller to simply ask them to measure the mane length (as I wanted to be sure it was correct and wasn't cut). I honestly can't remember right now if they PM'ed me back if they did or not I'll have to go back and see if I can find it, but I do think I remember them changing the description to say something about they wouldn't measure the mane because of...meh, people trying to copy the pony or some such nonsense? Honestly, I forget the wording at this point.
I remember in the description the seller at some point had the Rapunzel listed as only 3 on earth. Which most of us long time collectors can show ours to prove there are more than 3 on earth. Then I think there was a whole thing about people making copies, and I'm like yo uh...I still have my proof of purchase from hasbro :/
I did back then made this drama representation to share with everyone If there were only 3 on earth, what happened to all the rapunzel. Hopefully the image link will work. But I was just being silly and trying to make light of the situation.
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Most long-time collectors would be happy for anyone who made $10,000 or Whatever they could make on a pony, more power to anyone. But it's more the incorrect information I think most people, including myself, have a problem with...you can't straight up say there are only 3 on earth if you don't know, and when people point that out you get hostile to potential buyers. That is a sure-fire way of making you look like a scammer instead of a legitimate seller.
Edit: Oh, I went back and looked when I made the image and No, not 3 they had it only listed as 1 on earth. "SCARCE MLP My Little Pony G1 Mail Order RAPUNZEL 1987 Only 1 on Earth for Sale"
Heelys:
Yes, I remember that part of their description-- they seemed to mean it was the only one on the market at the time, but the wording was pretty obtuse. And yeah, it's the attitude that gets my interest more than the price-- this individual refused to be wrong, and jacked up the price when people started asking questions. I recall the seller making up figures, like saying that there were exactly 100 produced and that all unsold stock was destroyed.
I find it a little hard to believe the seller had sources for these claims, given that they listed the production year as 1987. I get that it's a common mistake to list the year on the foot, but if you're trying to be a reputable seller of something worth thousands... come on, man.
Taffeta:
Not dissimilar to the thread discussion over the '10 rarest ponies' which claims Rapunzel is the rarest pony of all of them - which she isn't...wondering if that was influenced by this.
I don't have anything to add specifically, except that whatever you do with it, it's better to make sure that the seller, even their ID, remains anonymised.
Having seen and been on the receiving end of plenty of 'drama' over the years in and around this and other communities, I feel like adding more is mostly unnecessary, but at the very least it shouldn't be traced back to the original person. Even if they were foolish in how they behaved.
Heelys:
--- Quote from: Taffeta on January 24, 2022, 02:27:21 PM ---Not dissimilar to the thread discussion over the '10 rarest ponies' which claims Rapunzel is the rarest pony of all of them - which she isn't...wondering if that was influenced by this.
I don't have anything to add specifically, except that whatever you do with it, it's better to make sure that the seller, even their ID, remains anonymised.
Having seen and been on the receiving end of plenty of 'drama' over the years in and around this and other communities, I feel like adding more is mostly unnecessary, but at the very least it shouldn't be traced back to the original person. Even if they were foolish in how they behaved.
--- End quote ---
That's a good point. While trying to do research earlier, I found that the eBay user doesn't exist anymore, but I'll avoid sharing other details about the seller if I find them. Scammer or not, I don't want to cause trouble for someone. I just want to tell a good story.
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