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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Darth Sebulba:
Oh yeah, another thing about these scalpers... to most collectors, one is plenty, especially on the truly rare items (VC Jawa 12 back, DT Luke etc.) To a Scalper, it doesn't matter if they already have 1 or 30 of an item. If they can get it cheap and resell it for a profit, they will.
So, Vintage Scalpers DO exist, from a certain point-of-view.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
What you describe using the VC Jawa as an example is identical to what secondary market dealers do in all areas of collecting, from antiques to old paintings. Someone who finds a Mickey Mantle rookie card in a barn somewhere and then sells it for a massive profit is not a scalper. The fact that he might already have this card in his possession matters not a bit.
This has already been discussed, but it's worth mentioning again: A scalper is someone who manipulates the primary market (Walmart, the ticket office at a ballpark, etc.) so that he can diminish supply and sell for a profit on the secondary market (the flea market, Ebay).
At this point in time, the vintage SW hobby operates exclusively on the secondary market, where there are no set "retail" prices. By necessity, prices are determined via supply and demand.
By contrast, one can walk into Walmart and purchase a currently-available figure for its retail price regardless of supply and demand. This is what allows true scalpers to step in and start fouling things up.
In any case, the term "scalper" is being mis-used when it's applied to vintage sellers. If you think selling for profit is distasteful, then invent a new term to refer to dealers who engage in practices you're not happy about. Call them "profiteers" or something.
ron
Oh yeah, another thing about these scalpers... to most collectors, one is plenty, especially on the truly rare items (VC Jawa 12 back, DT Luke etc.) To a Scalper, it doesn't matter if they already have 1 or 30 of an item. If they can get it cheap and resell it for a profit, they will.
So, Vintage Scalpers DO exist, from a certain point-of-view.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
What you describe using the VC Jawa as an example is identical to what secondary market dealers do in all areas of collecting, from antiques to old paintings. Someone who finds a Mickey Mantle rookie card in a barn somewhere and then sells it for a massive profit is not a scalper. The fact that he might already have this card in his possession matters not a bit.
This has already been discussed, but it's worth mentioning again: A scalper is someone who manipulates the primary market (Walmart, the ticket office at a ballpark, etc.) so that he can diminish supply and sell for a profit on the secondary market (the flea market, Ebay).
At this point in time, the vintage SW hobby operates exclusively on the secondary market, where there are no set "retail" prices. By necessity, prices are determined via supply and demand.
By contrast, one can walk into Walmart and purchase a currently-available figure for its retail price regardless of supply and demand. This is what allows true scalpers to step in and start fouling things up.
In any case, the term "scalper" is being mis-used when it's applied to vintage sellers. If you think selling for profit is distasteful, then invent a new term to refer to dealers who engage in practices you're not happy about. Call them "profiteers" or something.
ron