From Botcon.com:

Of course it is, we're in a recession/depression. People need money & everybody knows the Botcon sets are the biggest scalper money makers ever. The second biggest scalper draw has to be the new Masters Of The Universe Classics. Mattel & FP aren't just making toys anymore, they're giving scalpers full time employment.

Rippersnapper, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be making a whole lot of money if I have to buy $300 airline tickets to spend $500 in a hotel so I can pick up the $400 toy set I just bought. Those are some dedicated and retarded scalpers!

If the recession were to impact my ability to attend BotCon.... I'd probably just stay home, instead of going through all that to make not much money on top of all that I spent.

Remember, these aren't bulk orders. These are all single orders from single people who are traveling to the convention.

While I agree with you for the most part, Walky, what about those who purchase the non-attending Iacon sets to turn around and make a quick profit from? They're not incurring the added costs of hotels, flights, or meals.

-SS

Pete Sinclair specifically said these were all single-registration-formed attending people.

Which is written where in this thread prior to your posting of it?

Nowhere.

You're right, Bermuda. Rippersnapper had the right response. Let's go back to our conspiracy theories.

I bet Fun Publications bought all those Primus packages THEMSELVES! And are using them to beat orphans over the head! No way they sold that many convention sets LEGITIMATELY!

Before this thread gets any more snark in it:

I didn't know that all those sales were people travelling to the con, and not people ordering the non-attendee package. That's useful information.

But no, I doubt that at the cost of the non-attendee package that there will be big bucks to be made from scalping it. Those toys are pricy because they cost a lot to start with, then you add supply and demand on top of that and you may win or lose as your toys' values change. I also doubt that most people who order non-attendee packages are going to scalp both sets.

As for letting people buy two sets:

The ability to buy a second set really helps con-goers offset their travel costs, or lets them get toys for friends without losing their own. This is a good thing.

As for non-attendees being able to order a second set, I've taken advantage of that twice...once to buy the second set from a friend, and once to help out a friend of mine.

If the recession counts into this at all, it's that it's nice to see that there are still lots of people with travel money who can afford Botcon, and/or that there are lots of people willing to choose Botcon over other destinations/entertainments. I'm not one of them, so I'm going to Transformerscon, which is in my price range.

JUST to be clear. I did not say all were single ordered registrations. I said there was nothing unusual between this year and last year. And in fact, we have had quite a few single orders. Are some people buying multiples? Yes, that happens every year. But we are not seeing some crazy influx of Dealer purchases. We just have a LOT of people signing up to attend the show. And right now, that is where the bulk of all orders are coming from, people attending...

This is no rip against anyone or any board. But I think sometimes people online think that the fandom is only comprised of people who post online. The reality is there are thousands of collectors out there and many of them just go about there collecting quietly and discreetly...

I know that I personally was a die hard back in the day with Jon and Karl, Raksha, Harold and so on, and I never posted online until Jon, Karl and I started talking BotCon 2004. Not many people knew who I was except the same people I saw at BotCon each year. Anyways, before I go too far down memory lane, I think I have made my point

I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D SAY SUCH THINGS!!!

NOT ONLY IS IT ALL A CONSPIRACY, FP WANTS TO RIP OFF THE ONLINE FANDOM AND FOR OLD FANS TO DIE!!!!

Bravo, sir.

ZOMG! WALKY MUST NOT BE PROVEN WRONG! INITIATING SNARKY DEFLECTION SHIELDS!

But seriously. I got the non-attendee set for myself. I also got a bagged set. I will be letting my two older sons pick one toy each from the bagged set, and selling the rest. Starting bid $9.99, just like last year. They will get what the market will bear. Hopefully, I will make back the $200 the bagged set cost by selling the other three if not, no big. I like doing it for my boys, and they feel special knowing they got a super-rare transformer. I would not be able to do that without selling the additional bagged set.

But by all means, paint everyone with the same broad brush, Rippersnapper. I'm a heartless bastard. So is Stormy. Whatever.

You know who elsed used to scalp exclusive Transformers?












Nazis.

Of course, this was the 80s, so they were really old Nazis.

It was terrible, they kept getting the names wrong, they didn't know about the accessories...they used descriptions like; "This one has a small crack under its hibberdijibbits. The whatsis in the front under his thing is missing some paint."

TL;DR: not nearly so improbable as you present it.

Easily $200 airline tickets from some locations, or less if within driving distance.
Hotel costs could be reduced with sharing down to maybe $100 or less; or if they're doing it just for profit, they'll probably put in the time and effort to go to a cheaper hotel farther away since they only need to show up with enough time to get souvenirs.
Hotel and travel expenses could EASILY be covered by selling both boxed and bagged sets, and then anything beyond that (souvenir sets. lots and lots of souvenir sets) is profit. and maybe they're actually doing sales from their hotel rooms or hanging around. (much less likely unless they're in the official hotel, since that's discouraged and could easily attract security or whatever)

pete if you read this, can you just give updates?
Like 75%-85% etc.I need a another week in order to get a set and the more info i have the better thank you...

I knew you would see through to what I really meant. And I would have gotten away with it if too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!

Great, so the two figures I care the least about are being shown first, and the sets are 60% sold out. Oh, well. Based on what I see so far coupled with fan speculation, the set doesn't look like I would miss out on anything by letting my opportunity to buy it pass.

Are you serious? You do realize that even if you absolutely hate the set and all the figures make you want to puke, you can turn around and resell them for probably more than you paid initially.

As long as you have a credit card there's really no risk in investing in this set if you have even the least amount of interest in some of the toys.

Meh. Why try and sell the person on the set if they're overly critical? Leave it to someone who wants it more. After all, they sell out, so there's clearly demand.

Yeah, I don't think we need to be pushing these sets on anybody.

and we especially shouldn't be encouraging scalping

I don't really give two jives about encouraging scalping or 'pushing' sets on people. Just calling it like I see it and pointing out to the guy that he really has nothing to lose if he's at all interested in the figures in the set.

He may not have anything to lose, but the person who genuinely wanted the set but missed out on it due to someone else buying it solely to flip, sure does lose out.

And if too many people are buying them just to flip, is that healthy or sustainable, year after year, for the convention? At what stage will genuine buyers just get sick of missing out and having the only option of buying them for 5 times RRP on EBAY, and give up altogether.

Well, I mean... I was arguing the same side, but it is good to point out to people when they're being short sighted.
Basically, if you could possibly have any regret, you weigh that against whether you can afford at least the loan of pre-[ordering].
We really should keep tabs on who complains about these things so that when they cry about it later, we can tell them to STFU. It'd be nice if that with proof, mods would let us do that. Bring a little justice to this lawless bunch of heathens! (sorry, I'm a little fired up. I couldn't sleep.)

I don't have any regrets about not buying a toy. To be honest, I am very tired of FP repainting new molds for existing G1 characters. Some work (like Huffer), but most do not in my eyes. I want to see new characters. I liked what 3H did and what E-Hobby has done in the past (like Sunstorm, Twincast, Clamp Down, Road Rage, etc.). I have noted this on every survey I have filled out for FP. I know I am in the minority on this issue, but I choose to vote with my wallet on this issue. My vote (and my opinion) would be worthless if I still bought them for other reasons.

Like Landshark?

Or alot of 2008, depending on how you view it.

Or Bug Bite.

Or almost all of the 2005 set...oh wait...that one sold like crap.

Yes, like Landshark. This looks to be a great year for new characters, but they chose to show the stale (my word) characters first. Bug Bite was also a great choice for an exclusive, IMO. However, the set sold before getting to see the newbies. Since they are new characters, I'm sure I'm going to be able to get them from e-bay in 9 months for ~$30 a piece.

And you know who scalps? Swindle. Swindle's a Nazi. And also a Decepticon. All Decepticons are Nazis but not all Nazis are Decepticons.