Who hates people calling common ponies "rare" FOR SALES?

[banditpony]

I'll be the weird one. I personally do find G1 MLPs to be rare. I think it's pretty subjective.

That said... Sellers can ask what they want. Buyers will determine if a sale is to be made. *shrug*

[brightberry]

I would be slightly annoyed if it was something I wanted to buy.  And I get that people unfamiliar with prices could end up paying too much.  But on the bright side, maybe the seller really needed the money or bought from someone who did.  We don't really know how things turn out.  I choose not to let myself be drawn into their problems.

[Taffeta]

I'll be the weird one. I personally do find G1 MLPs to be rare. I think it's pretty subjective.

That said... Sellers can ask what they want. Buyers will determine if a sale is to be made. *shrug*

Well, rare in terms of comparison to the past, maybe, but in context with the collectable, not. It's how you determine the term really.

I still think that it's very much about the buyer doing some research though.

I totally get what people are saying about family members and presents and so on, and it sucks when that happens. I think sellers do need to do research about what they are listing, and putting $125 next to say, Milky Way is not helpful.

BUT!

Pricing is very subjective in pony terms.

For example - in our collecting sphere, which one would you pay more for? Sunburst or Firefly?

Probably Sunburst.

BUT if you grew up here in the UK in the 1980s, you're much more likely to have come across Sunburst (the pony) than Firefly (the pony). You can't entirely rely on random sellers doing random prices for ponies that weren't sold in your locale.

Somewhere along the line you have to take responsibility for what you spend your money on. And the only way to discourage price hikers is to ignore their auctions and not buy from them. That requires buyers to do some of their own legwork.

And that probably extends to telling parents or family members a rough budget for the item you want when you put it on your wishlist to them, so that you can protect them from those people and their hiking as well.

We live in a world where people in general are lazy about information, accurate or otherwise. But that's why you end up with people spending too much monry or even being scammed over a 'variant' or whatever. It's like anything else you buy - you do the research first, or you might end up getting a nasty surprise. Just because these are toys doesn't make that different.

Basically I don't want to reward the lazy and greedy sellers who think that because they found a grimy peachy they're gonna make a fortune - and don't even have to wash or identify their item first. The better informed buyers are beforehand, the less that happens. And the happier a buyer will be.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

I get why some people think it isn't a big deal, but what if someone is looking for a pony as a gift and don't know that it's only supposed to cost $10?  Back when I was collecting Beanie Babies (back in the 90s, when the craze was actually crazy), a new one came out that I wanted and it hadn't shown up at Hallmark yet.  Well, my dad was on a business trip and found one in a shop for $60.  He bought it for me.  I found it at Hallmark less than a week later for $5.  I never did tell him that because I didn't want him to feel dumb for paying so much for it.  I quit asking him to look for any new ones after that because I didn't want him to pay that much again.

I think if people are misrepresenting, they should be told because when people see "rare" and a high price next to it too often, they start to believe that commons like Cotton Candy are worth their weight in gold.  One of my customs got a nasty comment from someone because they thought I had "destroyed" a "rare and valuable" big brother pony that was "easily worth $125" and "now it isn't worth anything."  Um...it was a 4-Speed that some child had chopped off all the hair and drawn on with a sharpie.  I paid $5 for it specifically to customize because it wasn't in salvageable condition. The seller on eBay who accepted my $5 offer clearly understood that but there are people out there who just have no clue. 

I remember the Beanie Baby craze well and how some were considered very rare and worth hundreds because they had a different kind of pellets in them or were initially hard to find because not many had reached stores. 

This also happens a lot with Barbie dolls. A lot of people that aren’t in to Barbie will list them as “rare 1966 Barbie “ because they just looked at the date marked on the back of the doll and assume that’s the date the doll was made when it’s actually the date that the body mold was made.

I don’t think anyone is saying if someone decides to buy a $200 Cotton Candy because the seller lists it as rare that the buyer deserves to be taken advantage of.

I had a similar issue with one of my customs.  My pony persona Marius is Marius from Les Miserables as a pony.  The artist that made him for me assured me that she would only use a G1 boy base that was beyond restoring.  I was really happy when he arrived as I had waited a very long time for him.  My artist posted him on Deviantart and one of the comments was they had “destroyed” a Big Brother and made it worthless.   It made me very sad and took part of the joy of having my boy away.

Ponyfan

I wonder if it was the same troll who commented on my Troubleshoes.  After looking at their profile and their gallery that was named something like "Stupid things people did" that was filled with beautiful customs, I blocked the user from being able to comment on my stuff.

Basically I don't want to reward the lazy and greedy sellers who think that because they found a grimy peachy they're gonna make a fortune - and don't even have to wash or identify their item first. The better informed buyers are beforehand, the less that happens. And the happier a buyer will be.

I totally agree with this.  So many people think that they're going to make a fortune off of the one grimy, well-played with toy that they found in a thrift store because someone made a mint off of a MIB of the same toy. 
 

[SunPony]

OP seemed to indicate that price inflation was not allowed on the site/service they were looking at.  So in that case, it should be on the seller, NOT on the buyer, to use reasonable pricing.  Yes, buyers should do research.  But at least in OP's case, I think the seller should be held accountable.  So often sellers do not follow the rules of the sites they list on, and I think they should be called out for it.

[Taffeta]

OP seemed to indicate that price inflation was not allowed on the site/service they were looking at.  So in that case, it should be on the seller, NOT on the buyer, to use reasonable pricing.  Yes, buyers should do research.  But at least in OP's case, I think the seller should be held accountable.  So often sellers do not follow the rules of the sites they list on, and I think they should be called out for it.

It's very hard to tell people what they should charge for second hand items. I am unsure how that case can be proven for a second hand toy with a subjective value scale that is far from concrete.

I agree it shouldn't happen, but we don't live in a very nice world :/

[banditpony]

I'll be the weird one. I personally do find G1 MLPs to be rare. I think it's pretty subjective.

That said... Sellers can ask what they want. Buyers will determine if a sale is to be made. *shrug*

Well, rare in terms of comparison to the past, maybe, but in context with the collectable, not. It's how you determine the term really.

I still think that it's very much about the buyer doing some research though.

I said it was subjective... We can disagree, and it's fine. I know there are ponies that are more rare based on how many were made.. and how location changes things too.

I also think it's dumb to put "RARE" in a sales title because I don't think it really influences sales.

As a buyer if I see something that's too high I just ignore it. It seems odd that these ponies are very high, but the seller will eventually lower prices accordingly if their stuff is sitting without moving. Who knows, maybe they don't even want to sell them in the first place.

BTW, I see these ponies listed on ebay, but it could be that they are on another sales site too.

[LadyMoondancer]

I mean, I'm not thrilled when I see someone touting a regular Cotton Candy as R*A*R*E but on the other hand . . . I also don't care that much?

Like, I'm just not going to buy their $50 Cotton Candy.  It's not really a big deal.

[slyons]

I could care less.  A little research never hurt anyone, buyers AND sellers alike.

Research is pretty crucial, I agree

[Wardah]

I see things that have been clearanced out a only month ago listed as "RARE" and I guess it is rare in the sense that I can't just pop into Walmart and get one. But then they gotta go and charge 10x retail? It breaks my heart.

[SunPony]

It's very hard to tell people what they should charge for second hand items. I am unsure how that case can be proven for a second hand toy with a subjective value scale that is far from concrete.

Whatever sales platform it is does indeed probably have their hands full if they are actually enforcing this rule.  But as for making a case, surely it depends on the asking price involved!  Yeah, if it is, say, 20% over typical sale price that could be hard to prove overpricing.  It's not so hard to imagine if it is listed for 10x the typical recent sale price for the same item (especially if said item in said condition sells regularly in that region of the world)! 

[Leave a Whisper]

I don't say anything, but I will roll my eyes and scoff at the overeager, greedy idiots. Too bad they can't bother to see that there's tons of the same pony listed below them.

Post Merge: August 27, 2020, 09:02:35 AM

I could care less.  A little research never hurt anyone, buyers AND sellers alike.

[LadyMoondancer]

This is just a hunch, but I'm guessing "inflating prices isn't allowed" means, like, "don't buy up all the toilet paper at Costco and list it for $20 a roll because people are Covid-hoarding", not "you listed your vintage toy for more than someone else listed their vintage toy."

Condition matters sooo much with vintage collectibles, you can't really say "Pony XYZ is worth exactly this."   And then all the variants. I've read entire articles on how to price Pokemon cards and I still don't understand why some holofoil Charizard cards are worth $10,000+ when others--which to me look the same but apparently there's some minute difference--are worth $1,200.  (I think they're even made the same year??)

[glitterball]

Caveat emptor = buyer beware

whether at a boot sale, yard sale, online and even in-store (sometimes).
If you see something that tempts you - research it further!

You can't help or control how all people in the world go about purchasing something, there will always be savvy folks who check everywhere first, others who just pounce at the first thing that they see.

Sellers with huge prices may get lots of search-hits but won't necessarily get sales, but they hold out for that tiny chance that someone out there has not done their full research and will buy their item.

Of course, as others have said earlier, sending a link to a now-completed item that then suggests a similar product, at a higher price is very cheeky of Ebay to do and it is a shame that well-intentioned purchases by family and friends are exploited by Ebay in this way.

It is quite amusing seeing some sellers big-up their "super-rare", grotty, unwashed ponies online. It just worries me that the more they do it, the more that others (non collectors) looking at the listings, hoping to sell their old ponies, don't cause some sort of collector price inflation by thinking: "oh, mine looks like that pink one too, and it has hearts, it must be rare!" and then post their sales at higher opening bids.

Ah well. Just buy what gives you joy, set yourself a limit;

that's why I paid 40 pounds (a couple of years ago) for a gorgeous German Baby Honeycomb but draw the line at a genuine Mimic, as pretty as she is.

[kingluke]

I just think those listings make the seller look bad.
I have no interest in overpriced ponies so i ignore them.