Taking advantage of collectors?

[Pinkie-kitty]

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has came into someone who is willing to take advantage of the fact that you collect ponies. (This is about a real life person, no one on ebay or the arena). So about last year I met this woman who was interested in selling her old collection. She mostly had G3 and G4 but a few G1 mixed in. When I first bought things from her, she was really fair in pricing. But more recently she has been starting to clearly take advantage of the fact that I enjoy the ponies and want to buy them. The most recent lot I bought from her cost me $150. Now keep in mind I got tons of playsets and ponies.. so said the picture. Because I've never had a problem with her, when I picked up the stuff I didn't bother checking it out and just loaded the two huge boxes in my car. As promised I did get the playsets. But I wound up with about 50 fakies (which I told her I didn't want) and tons of McDonalds ponies. The only valuable thing I got really were the playsets which I could have boughten way cheaper on eBay. I was pretty upset but didn't say or do anything and just brushed it off because I'm typically very non-confrontational.
I hadn't heard from her in awhile so I figured she was done selling her stuff. Then yesterday she texts me with a photo and says "$35". This photo had 10 McDonald's ponies and one equestria girl doll with super bad hair and missing clothes. Obviously I said no thank you. I later see her post this same photo to a local facebook selling group for $10, after previously trying to sell it to me for $35..

After these past two instances it's pretty clear to me that she is just using the fact that I'm a collector and wanted to buy her ponies. Once she realized that I was interested, her prices went totally unfair and she started to cheat me out of stuff.

Has this ever happened to any of you? I really am frustrated as to why people do this and think that it's okay. 

[Baby Crumpet]

I went to a church sale several years ago. I wasn't from the area, just stopping by, and saw some lady had a pony. I bought it, along with some playmobil lion - I like lions - and it cost me a few pounds. Not much. She asked if I was a collector, and usually I say no to avoid situations like this, but my younger sister who was very little at the time said "yeah!" I didn't think much of it, and the woman said that she thought she had another pony on her. Excited, I wait around and she pulls out a G3.5 Pinkie Pie and a G3 meadowbrook and a handful of accessories. She wanted 7 or 8 pounds for it, and to me that seemed like waaaay too much.My dad asked if it was a good price, and I didn't want to say anything rude, so I shrugged. Of course, now I realise that was a chance to talk her down a pound or so.I didn't see it like that at the time. I bought the pony. She was in lovely shape, mint out of the box it seemed, but I use her as a reminder that I need to think before I buy.

I guess a pretty different situation to what you're experiencing, but I can relate. It sucks that this woman took advantage of you. I don't want to be cheated again, and I haven't admitted that I've collected since.

[Pinkie-kitty]

I went to a church sale several years ago. I wasn't from the area, just stopping by, and saw some lady had a pony. I bought it, along with some playmobil lion - I like lions - and it cost me a few pounds. Not much. She asked if I was a collector, and usually I say no to avoid situations like this, but my younger sister who was very little at the time said "yeah!" I didn't think much of it, and the woman said that she thought she had another pony on her. Excited, I wait around and she pulls out a G3.5 Pinkie Pie and a G3 meadowbrook and a handful of accessories. She wanted 7 or 8 pounds for it, and to me that seemed like waaaay too much.My dad asked if it was a good price, and I didn't want to say anything rude, so I shrugged. Of course, now I realise that was a chance to talk her down a pound or so.I didn't see it like that at the time. I bought the pony. She was in lovely shape, mint out of the box it seemed, but I use her as a reminder that I need to think before I buy.

I guess a pretty different situation to what you're experiencing, but I can relate. It sucks that this woman took advantage of you. I don't want to be cheated again, and I haven't admitted that I've collected since.

I guess admitting to her that I did collect was a mistake. But I had met her when I very first started out and she asked me if I liked ponies because she had more. So me being a newbie and eager to get more ponies fast, I told her I collected them.. It's so sad that collectors have to hide it just to avoid being used and taken advantage of. It's so frustrating.. 

[LovelyLittlePony]

I've had something similar happen to me recently.

I go to the nearby flea market every weekend and there are several vendors there who sell ponies and other toys. When I first started buying ponies there, the prices were always $1 for the 'big' ponies (adult G1s and G3s) and $.50 for small ponies (baby G1s, baby G3s, and all G4s).

After buying ponies every week, one of the vendors asked if I collected them. They seemed very nice about it, so I went ahead and said yes. Every since then, her prices magically changed to $3 for 'big' ponies and $2 for 'small' ponies.

How rude.

I have avoided her booth ever since. I would have loved to have asked her why the sudden change in price, but I hate confrontation.

But now I've learned my lesson, and now if anyone asks if I collect them I reply with 'No, just buying for my niece' and that seems to work out well.

I'm sorry that you've also been taken advantage of ! I would try not to mention that you're a collector, hopefully that will keep you from being ripped off again. Best of luck with your finds though 

[HoustonCollector72]

But it goes both ways, Some collectors snatch things here and there worth a lot of money
they then flip it and flop it and over flop it back into the other people collecting .
everyone is ok then.
the collectors stance to overpriced ponies is : The pony is worth what the seller is wanting to sell it for and what the buyer is willing to pay for it.
Price checks help but at the end that there is auctions and the buyer sets their price at the end .

but is a collectors initiation pain,I can tell you it has happened to a lot of us 

[FantasticFirefly]

meh, as sad as it is to leave stuff behind I either can't justify buying for a top end price as a potential upgrade, or simply out of my price range most people who are selling something will try at least to get as much as they can for it. I do mention how to use completed listings/looking up which pony they have correctly when I see stuff like $35 beddy bye eye ponies, or a $200 US common as heck G1 applejack (like the person got the price from a rare variant applejack). They can adjust and get more sales, or continue with whatever they were doing already. their choice.

[Pierlala]

I would have totally called her out on it. Not the 35 dollar one. But the fact that she asked 150 for tons of fakies and 2 playsets. I used to be very non confrontational. And still am to a degree. But when people treat me unfair I did learn to say something about it.

About your post...

I wouldn't bother with her anymore. I do believe that's what most people would do who knows that can get a load of oney from someone who's eager to get it. But here in the community we understand eachother and think about eachother. Sadly most people who don't care about collecting things or Ponies will just see it as a great source of income. Hence why Ponies are so rediculously over priced on Ebay as well. Because they know there are people out there who WILL buy it, regardless. I think she used you to an extend, and it's sad to see. But I would just move on.

One other thing is that perhaps she saw it as, if you (a big pony collector) aren't willing to pay that much, why would other people from a random selling group?

Also, I do think that some people aren't even sure what the difference is between real or fake MLP. I see plenty of ads on this local website in the Netherlands where people mistake fakies for MLP and sell them as such.

[Barnacle_lady]

As a long time collector I can tell that ponies are a source of income for some collectors. They find a pony somewhere cheap and sell it for a lot more. Some feel for the people with less to spend and keep their price decent, some think "ka-ching" and try to get any euro/dollar to make a profit to keep the webshop running. And its up to you to decide wether to buy it or not.
Just to point out that its not just a flea market thing.

[KarentheUnicorn]

The only thing that comes to mind for me is years ago, back in the 90's I used to go to a flea market about an hour away).

There was a lady there who usually had ponies. At the time I wasn't even buying for myself because I had mostly finished my USA collection and this lady didn't really have anything non-usa.

I had a younger friend who wanted ponies and I'd usually buy the ponies as gifts for her. So I wasn't even reselling, just giving them to my young friend.

There was another pony collector who lived in the area who also bought from the lady I knew. We had met a couple times at the same flea market.

I assumed I was being treated fairly. I just figured whoever got there first got first pick of the ponies. There were a couple times we arrived at the same time and we'd chat and pick through ponies.

My young friend would sometimes go with me, so the last time I bought from the lady (and I say last time because I refused to buy from her any longer).
My young friend and I arrived early and we went straight to her booth. She pulled out a basket of ponies.

Now, the G1 ponies the lady was selling were not always the best (or at least what was usually in her pony box/basket. Sometimes the ponies she was selling needed a lot of work, cleaning or fixing. We were paying $4 for ponies which I thought was fair but they usually needed major cleaning.

But I wanted to help my young friend have some G1's so I was willing to pay it since ponies were starting to become hard to come by.

So when we arrived the lady pulled out her pony basket and let my young friend sit on the floor and pick out what she liked.

Anyway, I was chatting with the lady while my friend looked through the basket. She happened to notice under the table another basket of ponies.

There was a table cloth on the table so you couldn't really see under the table usually. This time the table cloth just happened to be pushed away (I guess it might have gotten caught on something when the lady took out the first pony basket), so when my friend sat down on the floor she noticed the other basket of ponies hidden away.

My young friend not knowing any different thought it was okay to look through them so she reached under the table and took the basket out.

The lady saw her and took the basket away saying she was saving those ponies for the other collector.

I noticed inside there were ponies that were in great condition and I also noticed there were even some mail order TAF babies.

I decided to speak up, I questioned her, I didn't know you saved ponies, I thought it was first come first serve. She had never mentioned to me before that she was giving the other collector preferential treatment.

Honestly, I was disappointed. It's one thing to save items for someone it's another to give them all the good ponies and not let your other customers who arrive first have first choice.

It just felt really disappointing to know all this time I'd been shopping with her, months and even years of spending money and we were only getting to choose from the worst condition ponies. And then never to be given a chance at the ponies, plus I knew the other collector was reselling online, where I was buying for a new young collector.

My young friend was disappointed as well (and keep in mind she was around 7-8 years old when I started buying ponies for her). I think her seeing those nice ponies she couldn't have and the ratty ponies she had to choose from really was upsetting for her, not to be given a chance to pick a pony out of the other basket.

I decided from then on I wouldn't buy from that seller again, regardless of what she had to sell.

Over the years I've seen her at other events (doll shows and toy shows) she's had ponies, even the last few times I saw her she had nicer ponies on display for sale but decided not to purchase from her anymore and I've stuck to that all these years later.

Plus add into this story the other collector who the seller showed favoritism to and saved ponies for is no longer around or collecting, and I'm still collecting and still into mlp.

[NovelNerd]

Hmmm, where I live the flea markets are booths where people rent space, so the same stuff stays there for long periods and rarely turns over. There are a few sellers that get toys, and I've left my number for them and expressed that I do collect ponies and will buy them if they find them and the price is good. I've even sat and talked with these toy buyers though and explained how long it takes me to clean up ponies for my collection, and I've helped them price other things like model horses since I collect those or identify accessories. 

I was very upfront about the fact I won't pay Ebay prices and that I do my research, but I would try to be fair with them and let them know if they have something valuable. Most of the people selling in my area do it for a living and are older. I know we're always out to look for that great pony deal, and I won't pay Ebay prices for ponies in the wild. I also like to avoid trying to basically trick them out of money either.

I found the nice big cheap lot of ponies locally at a flea market because one of the women told me she saw them but didn't buy them, so I went on a hunt to find them. I would not have found all those ponies if not for her helping me, so I went back and bought some stuff from her booth, even a few overpriced G3.5 ponies I didn't want or need.

I think you can tell people that you collect, but also be open with the fact you're not going to overpay for them either. Now, if the women that help me turn out to be awful at some point I'll just have to walk away and look elsewhere. I try to help them though when they help me.

[lunar_scythe]

*shrugs* there's a local person selling stuff on craigslist here, and I've watched their price on a paradise estate drop from 225 down to 69, I don't need a third one, but if it's still listed next month, I may go get it and then see if anyone local wants it for what I paid for it.

Something else to think about:  If a seller prices *all* adult G1's at $3, well, if they ever did have something unusual, it'd be that same price, and you would get quite a steal!  I'm completely willing to pay ebay/collectors prices locally, at least I get to see the ponies in person and I won't have to pay shipping!  I mean, I won't turn down a good deal, and I won't *overpay* for ponies, but if a seller has reasonably priced ponies, I'm not going to *not* buy them just because they are asking for them what I would pay on here...

[FantasticFirefly]

I rarely, rarely pay ebay prices in real life. Only a couple times I came close, but even then I talked down the pricing with a well thought out explaination as to why I wouldn't pay ebay rate. once it was an event a year later and finally got the same item I wanted from that person for a price that reflects the local market.

I sold on ebay. shipped worldwide and got great money usually on the ones I did sell. and now it's even risker as a seller plus the fees are higher. and (at least here- no front door pickup of outgoing mail) it's a lot of work. If someone wants ebay prices- they can put in all the work and time involved to sell on ebay. Otherwise I offer a more local rate reflective of the savings of seller effort, costs, packaging supplies and smaller market competing for those items, plus cash in hand no worries of a chargeback.

Even on ebay. some collectors known for stellar service will get higher prices then the rest of the folks and collectors selling ponies. so even using those auctions/BIN's as a gauge for a price will not reflect what that item typically sells for.

[rosesare]

These days I would pay a higher price if I found a pony at a flea market just because of the novelty of it. It's been ages since I found a pony "in the wild."

I try to avoid saying I'm a collector or I say I'm just getting into it. I think it's true that people hear you're a collector and dollar signs go off or they think all mlp are worth tons. Even my friends when they hear I collect think since they are so old all of them are automatically worth a lot and I have to correct them and note that a lot of the common ones are $3-$5 unless mint.

As for being taken advantage of, it sucks. But that's where you have to decide that you'll only pay so much and pick and choose. If a pony is way overpriced then you need to be willing to walk away. I've made offers for ponies before on kijiji and had them turned down only for a few weeks later to have the seller message me and take my offer due to no other interest.

As for it going both ways it can. I think all of us have at some point found a crazy steal of a deal when pony hunting and have been internally dancing with glee at the low price. I know I have.

[Tak]

Sadly I've had this happen as well.

[DazzleKitty]

Sadly, I've had this happen too. I have a lady at the flea market who saves  ponies for me. She used to be pretty reasonable. I remember getting three G1 carrying cases and a whole wazoo of G1 ponies from her for $15 a few years ago.  I recently got two G1 carrying cases from her and a bunch of commons for $40. But in her defense I think she prices them based on what she pays. She knows I am a collector and she is the ONLY person at the flea market and in my area who actually manages to find me G1 ponies, so I tend to support her when she finds me something. I just hope she finds me a Rapunzel someday.