What is going on with G1 sales?

[tuneful87]

I've started to collect again after a long hiatus, and I'm shocked by how little effort sellers are putting in despite obscene asking prices. Little or no description. Bad photos. No cleaning or hair styling. It's appalling.

I have no qualms about paying top dollar for a pony if it's in very good condition and well taken care of. But the effort I'm seeing is less than zero. What in the world...

[Flitter]

I think because selling platforms are more and more being geared toward professional resellers and businesses and not collectors just trying to reduce. The sellers don't care about the item, often just scouring thrift stores and yard sales for "vintage" items'. They're just trying to see how much $ they can get for as little effort and investment as possible.
It's not just G1 MLP. I've noticed this across everything I've been trying to find 2nd hand lately. I've received many items recenty that arrive covered in pets hair, dust, scratches, sticky, with odd smells, etc. that's not notated in the description or shown in the photos. I have to be so diligent about zooming in on every inch of the seller's photos to try to catch flaws. And several times when I've asked questions about things I get "I'm not a collector. Look at the photos." or vague "It's good used condition." as an answer.

[Carrehz]

eBay really isn't the same as it used to be The days of detailed photos and descriptions are mostly gone, sadly. You do still get some sellers that put in the same amount of effort but a lot of them are moving to social media and such... it really sucks

[cowboyopossum]

A seller I had bought from failed to mention pony cancer, highlighter marks, and multiple missing tails (only one listing photo!). I have seen so many awful condition ponies with descriptions like "Perfect for any collector" when the pony is overpriced and covered in marks. I hate it. How can people not have common decency? Our community is not just a quick cash grab. It grinds my gears. 

[Taffeta]

The moment it became possible to just list something on ebay with an app on a phone, the need for actual proper sales practice went out of the window. I still buy from ebay, selectively (not really ponies), but I won't sell there now because the platform is so obnoxious to small collectors selling private doubles, rather than people who think they are toy dealers but who are actually just picking up stuff they know little about and trying to scalp collectors. (There are actual dealers who know stuff too, I'm just talking about the bad auction silly titles rubbish price types).

It's also expensive to list an item now though. If you aren't a business, it's very costly on fees.

Another symptom of the internet being invaded by the convenience crowd looking for maximum profit for minimum effort.

There are also few consequences now for buyers or sellers who flake or who don't disclose details. In the past, getting a negative feedback was a big deal. Now...it isn't a thing, and even if it is, the scores wipe after a while anyway.

[kingluke]

The same happened to me, but on a second hand flea market. There were commonponies with flaws for 7.50 euro's a piece. I didn't want to spend a small fortune (there were many) on ponies that were hard to rehome. Poseys, lemon drops, ect. They thought they were rare and wouldn't budge in price. They said they were rare. I never thought I'd see the  day I 'd leave g1s behind in the wild. I did pick up french cotton candy and poor condition good weather, who I will try to rehome.

[Barnacle_lady]

I also leave common G1 ponies behind. Not just because of the price but I think everyone has a Peachy, Bow tie and Lickety Split The vendors think they can fetch a lot because it's original.

[flowersinherhair]

I have also not been buying ponies much in recent years, but I've started checking ebay to check prices since I began selling again and WOW, yeah, prices are through the roof while photos are abysmal, descriptions are nonexistant, and conditions are questionable. Everyone seems to think they are sitting on a gold mine with their dirty, wild-haired common ponies. I'm glad I already bought most of the ponies I wanted years ago, but it makes me feel a bit hopeless about ever getting the ones I'd still like to have (of course I was waiting on buying some of the more sought-after ones which have now become ludicrously expensive... sigh). Kinda takes some of the fun out of collecting when the prices have gone from "little treat for myself" to "serious purchase to think hard about first."

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I have also not been buying ponies much in recent years, but I've started checking ebay to check prices since I began selling again and WOW, yeah, prices are through the roof while photos are abysmal, descriptions are nonexistant, and conditions are questionable. Everyone seems to think they are sitting on a gold mine with their dirty, wild-haired common ponies. I'm glad I already bought most of the ponies I wanted years ago, but it makes me feel a bit hopeless about ever getting the ones I'd still like to have (of course I was waiting on buying some of the more sought-after ones which have now become ludicrously expensive... sigh). Kinda takes some of the fun out of collecting when the prices have gone from "little treat for myself" to "serious purchase to think hard about first."

Definitely where I land. I have a lot of the common ponies you'd find for cheap in lots (and a lot of Lots are much higher priced than they were beforehand) and at this point only do serious splurges (which are few between because price AND because of space) or accumulating them at thrifts.

[Taffeta]

I honestly miss when Ebay was actually a site for collectors selling stuff to one another, rather than another corporate marketplace. But that's how life rolls I guess?

Although some ponies have gone up in price, some have also dropped over the years. I am glad I collected most of mine when I did, but at the same time feel as though I can't downsize or organise (particularly my mip ponies) because it's a wild west out there :/

And I may never be able to replace things if I get rid of something precious.

I was looking on ebay earlier, and saw a few UK G1 MOCs. I was amused by one of them listed at £300 (which is what, around $400), when the pony has a massive discount sale label on the card saying £1.99 ($3),

Don't get me wrong, I am happy to see actual UK G1 MOCs still emerging, especially ones like this whose names are different - but that's a biiiig markup for a minor packaging difference.

[Skylar]

I stopped selling on Ebay when they gave buyers the advantage and started saying screw you to sellers. Kind of sucks as I have lost interest in ponies and have all this stuff I would like to get rid of. I try to sell here but no one looks at my sale page or they try to talk me down to insulting offers. Not sure what I am going to do with things as it seems to be harder to sell than it used to be.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

shipping is soooooooo expensive, often costs more than the items!

[Carrehz]

Yeah, shipping prices are just insane now Even within the UK it can get pricy for tiny little items (not sure about other countries), but international shipping is SO expensive for most things now that it's definitely put a damper on my international purchases

[Taffeta]

Yeah, shipping prices are just insane now Even within the UK it can get pricy for tiny little items (not sure about other countries), but international shipping is SO expensive for most things now that it's definitely put a damper on my international purchases

This is also true. Here's my old person insert, but back in 1998, my first purchase from ebay was the adult sea pony Sea Breeze. Those things have a weight in the tail. But she cost $5 and the shipping from the US to the UK cost $4.

It doesn't help that our exchange rate has gone badly against us. I remember when it was almost 2$ to the £ and that was a great time to buy (tough time to sell though).

I have always sold and shipped internationally but they have made it so much harder to do that. I've two boxes of pony stuff I want rid of, but...*shrug*. Ebay's not an option, I'm not selling on social media, and the sales pages here are pretty quiet. I can see the stuff that isn't G1 will end up at a local charity shop.

[BabyTaffeta]

Shipping is insane!
I already spent a fortune in the last month just for shipping things from the US to me in Germany
And it’s not always EBay international shipping program that is the most expensive. I now bought a few things from the US and the EBay Program was less expensive than Fiirst Class Mail.
And I have to say they are pretty accommodating when there are damaging while shipping.
I am always so so happy when US sellers on eBay make up special listings for us international buyers so we can save on shipping costs.