Collectors "rite of passage" horror stories!

[babystarz]

Warning: This is a really bad one. I customized a pony that should never be customized. Do not read on if it will traumatize you.

I mixed up my Argie Drink n' Wet Baby Cuddles with the original U.S. Drink n' Wet Baby Cuddles >.< The poor thing went in a blue dye bath. She actually wouldn't look too bad if it weren't for her little tube also being blue. YES I am kicking myself over it to this day, and when I realized my mistake I nearly fainted. You would think the difference between the ponies would be obvious and these days I would never ever make that mistake. But this was when I was a newer collector and about 15. I don't know what to do with my poor Cuddles now. If I could restore her I would, but at this point it's kind of a lost cause. The only thing I can really do is hope the dye will fade enough on her tube that I can do something to fix her.


This is a cautionary tale for customizers everywhere - even if you think you're tinkering with a common pony, it never hurts to double check. Check the hooves! If it doesn't say Hong Kong or China, leave the pony alone!

[michelle53]

Not ok ShortyBoo, I seriously hope you reported them!!  That is just plain wrong:(

[partypony566]

I'm not shocked by the ' customized a rare htf pony' things I am more shocked at the fact some of you have been done by dishonest traders 

I don't have any horror stories really.... I have never overpaid for a pony, because I always was obsessed with keeping up with prices  and even if I did want to overpay I could never afford to.

[Prince Primbrose]

Eek... As a new collector, I'm taking notes on what not to do. Sorry to hear about all the bad times, everyone!


I do have regrets over some of my other toys, though. I gave away all of my Polly Pockets- bearing in mind I had somewhere around 30 which I kept in great condition- to a little girl who had a habit of destroying my things. Ah, well. At least they weren't ponies.

[TornadoLovesMelody]

I have had my fair share of being scammed, not getting what I bought, overpaying, etc etc..
but my biggest oopses are old
From the time when there were plenty flea markets and thrift stores  in my area and the ponies were around $3 each..

I didn't buy the scandinavian nss (truly and cupcake) and awhole lote of other more htf ponies because at the time .. I thought they weren't as pretty as the others.

Thinking back, I could've probably had about 6 trulys/cupcakes and whatnot today had it not been for my "I like colorful ponies" attitude

And oh, then there's the NSS Paradise issue where it belonged to a kid playing with it in the park..in sand.. And I wanted to trade for some of my ponies but the kid's parents said no.

I cried my eyes out once I found out what she would have been worth. Gawd.

[lochnessmomster]

I'm pretty sure I sold my mint Moonjump with wings for a paltry sum..

That is awful, I'm sorry hunny (no, it wasn't me who bought her). 

I think I'll share my story:
I was 8 when the Summer Wing ponies were originally released, and I was SO into collecting them even back then.  See, I had lots of other ponies, but those little delicate wings (that didn't break as easily as my flutters!) and their small size literally stole my heart.  My best friend and I were both dedicated winger fanatics and were always on the look out for the illusive Lady Flutter who we both agreed was the most beautiful looking pony.  This was based off the backcard, because there was no internet back then, so that's all we had to go on.  Lady Flutter was our holy grail pony, and I wanted her *SO DESPERATELY*. 
So one day, I found her in a Kay Bee toy store in the old Newington Mall in NH, but my mom couldn't afford to buy her.  Mom promised me that she would buy her for me for my 9th birthday (August 12th, I saw her in the store in July).  We left the store, and when I got home, I wrote LADY FLUTTER in huge red letters on my calender in my room on Aug. 12th.  Then, I stupidly called my friend to tell her that I saw our grail pony and told her the location of my Lady Flutter.  My friend went that same night to Kay Bee toy store and bought her.  She sniped my pony right from under me.  It literally broke my heart and kind of ruined ponies for me for a long time. 

Fast forward to today:  I have 9 Lady Flutters, and still can't get enough of her!!!!  I seriously love this pony and every time I buy a new one, it makes up for that one devastating moment in time.   I still wince every time I tell this story, and I still remember how incredibly sad I felt when August 12th came and went and no Lady Flutter was wrapped up for me.

I think I'm going to go look at my ponies because now I feel really *sad*

Awww.... reading this kind of broke my heart, too!  But I had to laugh at the end when you said you're going to go look at your ponies now.  I hope that seeing all your Lady Flutters made you feel better. :-)

Post Merge: May 16, 2012, 04:25:31 PM

I don't think I've done anything too terrible or shocking, I'm a pretty careful collector. My biggest newbie mistake though was letting it get to me when I'd lose a pony auction I really wAnted. I'd get so upset. Now I just tell myself that another one will always come along. It really does help to think of things that way.

LOL... oh my gosh, soooo glad to know I'm not the only one.  Do you ever get that loud thumping in your chest during the last few minutes of an eBay auction?  There are several I've lost that I really wanted and it took me a while to get over it.  One of the worst was last week when I waited until the last minute to bid on an item, and didn't realize my primary address was set to the UK and the auction was in the United States.  This particular seller wouldn't accept bids from overseas, but because I waited, I didn't have enough time to change my settings before the auction ended.


Now I always check. :-)

Post Merge: May 16, 2012, 04:27:39 PM

Oh, and might I just add.... I'm the person who inspired PhyllieBean to write this post, lol.  I have only been here for a week or so and I feel like I'm making mistakes left and right. ;-) I am learning quickly, though.  And am so, so glad to have found all you lovely people here on the Arena.  You've been an immense help!


Lochness xx

[lemontwist]

Omg I'm so glad I don't have any horror stories like this yet! The worst I've done is failed at rubbing paint off for customs and ending up with big ol' permanent smears.

michelle53 your story made me so sad! I would have a million Lady Flutters if i had that happen to me lol.

I had a beautiful bride pony, very clean and with gorgeous hair. I wanted to give her molded hair out of clay to look like "The Last Unicorn" and so I cut off all of her hair. Turns out I had no idea what I was doing and she is still bald to this very day since I don't know how to reroot ponies

I bet someone around here would reroot her for you! Just pick someone trustworthy! But rerooting isn't too hard so you could learn, too!

[terabithianprince]

My worst mistake is always not reading the auction description on trademe and getting ponies in worse condition, overpaying for ponies with problems. Lol

[CrimsonEtClover]

LOL... oh my gosh, soooo glad to know I'm not the only one.  Do you ever get that loud thumping in your chest during the last few minutes of an eBay auction? 

Oh my YES!!!! Its the best/worst rush of adrenaline, and after a wild fight, my hands are shaking! Also, I've made the same mistake as you - waiting till the last minute, then screwing up by having to sign in again and by that time, it was gone. Also, once I bid under at the last minute. I was so hyped up, my fingers just did their own thing, and bid a super low, already exceeded number. ugh!!!

[michelle53]

Awwww, Lochness thanks for the support:)  I did go upstairs and get a good long look at all of my lovelies.  I just *love* them so much.

I can totally understand over-paying for a pony, but getting ripped off by people in this community is something that turns my stomach.  I mean if we can't trust other pony people, then who can we trust?  I find myself being hyper-vigilant when it comes to HTF G4 ponies for sale due to ponyamore.

[lochnessmomster]

LOL... oh my gosh, soooo glad to know I'm not the only one.  Do you ever get that loud thumping in your chest during the last few minutes of an eBay auction? 

Oh my YES!!!! Its the best/worst rush of adrenaline, and after a wild fight, my hands are shaking! Also, I've made the same mistake as you - waiting till the last minute, then screwing up by having to sign in again and by that time, it was gone. Also, once I bid under at the last minute. I was so hyped up, my fingers just did their own thing, and bid a super low, already exceeded number. ugh!!!

Been there, done that, too.  The whole "bidding under" because my brain and fingers didn't communicate with each other quickly enough, lol. 

Post Merge: May 16, 2012, 05:55:13 PM

Awwww, Lochness thanks for the support:)  I did go upstairs and get a good long look at all of my lovelies.  I just *love* them so much.

Anytime!  I remember similar things from growing up.  Kids can be so nasty sometimes.  You think someone is your friend and then *WHAM* they steal a pony right from under your nose.  Made me want to cry thinking of you being so excited on your birthday only to be so disappointed.

[Sarah-Bee]

Overpaying on purchases and undercharding on MOC G2s when I decided to sell them off!

[Shenanigans]

I just remembered that once I bought BIN lot of 3 Flutter Ponies. I thought it said "with wings" but it said "with no wings" Lol, I should read more carefully :p Thankfully the price wasn't high and they were all three on my want list so it was ok I just had high hopes of some of my Flutters actually having wings

[Lavender_Lace]

I bought a huge lot of about 150 ponies that had a BIN of 400 that included shipping.  The picture wasn't that great, but there were several rare ponies including all of the TAF babies except for Milkyway, 2 Tux n Tails, and a bunch more.  When I got the lot, all the TAF babies had really, really bad chews, like full on holes, almost all the ponies had marks, hair cuts, or looked like they had been poked with nails.  I think maybe 1/3 of the ponies were in good condition, the rest were all either bait or serious restoration candidates.  After that I was much more careful about what I bought off of ebay!

[miss]

my first mistake.... when i was little and collecting, never take a princess pony out with her hat on, as you will loose it! I was so sad!

Second mistake many years later - Fakies. got stung once, in the early ebay days for me, and bought three ponies, of which one was a fakie, but i didnt realise! it was a cute shy pose fakie tho.... lol