Resellers

General
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Didn’t really want to continue off topic in the giant auction thread.

I’m not sure why people are so upset about resellers. In general it seems the hobby has a negative view of them. Especially when it comes to these art academy folks. I guess they don’t like the idea that they aren’t maxing out their own $$$? I don’t know what else it can be. Without resellers the market would have a lot less liquidity for folks needing to unload things or making a change in their collection goals etc. There would be less availability if every sale was to
someone who tossed the item in their collection to be locked away forever. Getting more to a general talk now, but resellers often bring things to market that may not otherwise make it there. I know I have bought up collections of things from LEGOs to Pokemon to video games from people who were moving who were a few days from just tossing the stuff. Guys like myself and thecharizardauthority compete with bigger sellers on the new product and competition is good for the buyers as it drives prices down on new product. That doesn’t apply so much to something so scarce as art academy cards, but I think it can be said that society in general almost has a negative view of resellers.

I would probably be seen by most as a reseller, as I sell much more than I hold onto. I have yet to make a collection thread, but I plan to probably about when I roll out that PSA summary in a few weeks… It will pale in comparison to those here and even to the stuff I sell on my own eBay page. It all is a bit of a side business/hobby and the money I make allows me to pursue my collection goals. Different kinds of goals that have as much to do with the opening old sealed product and sharing the wealth to add to other collections. I have cards likely in a majority of collection threads on this forum at this point, and have made a little bit of money on most of those cards. I think in every deal both parties have been happy.

In the end it just comes down to selling for a price you are happy with and moving on. If you want to give personal friends and “collectors” a discount, go right ahead, but anybody can fall on hard times and need to re-sell so don’t get pissy when they do. I’m definitely fully with @garyis2000 on that one. Sell for a price you are happy with. If down the line somebody doubles their money or whatever it shouldn’t matter as you were happy with the transaction while it was being completed. Also from the buying side, if you are faced with a reseller having something you want, you either pay what they are asking or you don’t. If its worth it to you, then pay it, if not then just deal with it. None of these things are really life and death in the end. If someone starts hoarding up food or water and trying to gouge taking advantage of some natural disaster then we have a problem, but other than that resellers are always going to be around and you can choose to deal with them, or not to deal with them. I can’t say how many times I have been asked by people selling their collections on CL whether I am buying it to keep or to re sell. I always say I keep what I need for my collection and pass along the rest to other collectors that I know which isn’t false.

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I agree with you mate.

People shouldn’t be attaching clauses to items they sell. I think it’s just rude.

If you don’t want to sell for fear of others selling it, don’t bother selling in the first place. That being said, it’s annoying when resellers buy just to inflate, which happens a lot.

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It can be annoying at times, but such is life. One thing I think of is my sisters frustration at times with collecting amiibos. When it comes down to it, you can either pay the price they ask on the secondary market or go without. As I said it isn’t a matter of life and death and you pay what is costs or don’t get it. Nobody is entitled to pay retail as certain limited items may only have 50,000 made when 100,000 are wanted. That is where resellers step in buy up a bunch and allow the market to determine the price. People don’t like it because they pay $13 retail then sell for $50, but in reality not everyone was going to get them at $13 anyways in many cases. If that is the case, then the price would never shoot up to $50 on eBay or at least would return to fair market value over time.

I purposely mentioned amiibo as well as recently a lot of the older ones were “reprinted” and so a lot of resellers lost their asses as the price of a lot of older ones crashed. It is a risk they take. Sometimes they make money sometimes they are stuck with extra stock that they can’t even break even on.

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But even collectors sell if they don’t want the card anymore or might even need to sell due to financial situations…

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I think the problem is, most of the time “resellers” are seen as scumbag and/or liars just looking to take advantage and make some cash. This is unfortunately the truth for some buyers who when asked something along the lines of, “I don’t know the value really of these cards, you’re the expert, what do you think?” tend to see this as an opportunity. Now, don’t get this confused with the people who have a price listed and agreed upon, its not up to the buyer to protect/help the seller in this situation. They get what they wanted, you get what you wanted, everyone is happy. The stigma attached the word “reseller” is a large issue and maybe the word is thrown around too loosely. Most people I know that collect whatever items (cards/video games etc) tend to buy and sell to obtain other items for their collections, and while technically they are in the category of “resellers”, I don’t see them as such.

In the case of the art cards, I can understand not wanting them to be resold, BUT if they find a price they are comfortable enough with to sell, whatever happens afterwards should not affect them. They have all the power with their stack of cards to dictate a price or not sell, reasonably they shouldn’t have any expectations of what may happen after the sale. IMO

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It comes back to getting what they want out of the card on the initial deal. Why do they really care if it is sold on and someone makes money? If it goes from them directly to a collector then great. If it goes them => reseller => collector who cares? They got what they thought was fair and somebody else was a middleman to another deal and made another fair transaction in both participants eyes. Nothing wrong with that unless the initial person is jealous of the extra money they could have made or something. I mean in the end it is in someones hands who values it even higher than the initial seller did to begin with. It could be argued that it should be more cherished in that case.

I could see not wanting to sell all 100 to Gary would would burn 99 of them (lol) and destroy the art that they created, but as long as each individual transaction results in two happy parties who cares?

Even if they sell to a “collector”, almost every single collector sells from time to time as their goals change, or their finances change or before/after they pass on. I mean you can’t take em with you when you go. Ultimately every single collection ends up in someone else’s hands.

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I think the problem we had with this before was people pretending to collect and selling. They take advantage of the personal connections tbey have and exploit it for their collection. If you are honest about it up front it’ll be hard but later on you’ll get the discount if you are honest.

It’s a quick solution to get what you want by pretending to be a collector. You make more money and burn bridges. These people are short lived in tbe community. This is the same feeling people get when a sports team starts winning. People jump on the bandwagon and it sort of taints the love they have for it. I know it bothers me when I see these people. It’s not only the value my collection loses but also jist that my hobby is only worth it to when it’s seen as valuable instead of all the other aspects. Theres nothing wrong with and in some instances I’m. Very happy because I’ve gotten cards I wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise.

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What “grinds my gears” is the people who are purely resellers. They have little to no collection of their own, and only buy cards in order to resell them at higher prices and make a profit. Everything has a price tag. This annoys me because it makes it harder for actual collectors to score cards at a good price. If these people buy every deal from Japan and then jack up the prices to resell to everyone on eBay/social media, it takes away from the whole hobby. It makes it harder for lower-resource collectors to get the cards they want.

Reselling itself is perfectly normal, and as Marie said, is essential to the hobby. I think it’s fair for the art academy winners to ask if the person who wants to buy their card plans on keeping it or reselling it. It’s certainly not right for a buyer to lie to a winner about what they plan to do with a card.

That being said, winners need to understand that there is such thing as a secondary market. No matter what people guarantee, some cards will always make it to the secondary market. Expecting every person you sell to will keep your card no matter what is ignorant. Winners have a right to choose who they sell their cards to, but the realities of the market must be considered too. If you don’t want your cards to be resold, don’t sell them in the first place.

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Lying is definitely never right.

Don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal. Obey those and you are fine in my eyes.

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If it weren’t for resellers collection piece prices would not really rise. It would just be a bunch of friendly collectors helping each other out. Passing cards around for the same price they purchased them.

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This is just not true for two reasons. I know many collectors in all types of items that could care less about helping people, its all about their needs (and lets be honest, we can all be selfish at times). And obviously basic economics of supply and demand. Cards are out of print and difficult to find in conditions etc, prices will rise regardless of resellers as long as new collectors enter the hobby.

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My problem is the fucking smug face I imagine they have when listing an over priced item. Pokémon cards came out a dub ago they’re not ancient artifacts. Plus it should be fun not frustrating to obtain cards. Like the PSA 10 Promo Charizards and PSA 10 Mythical Mew’s listed on eBay for a ridiculous price. Seriously $400 for a mass produced card that came out a month ago and still thousands around the country, laying on the floor at times?! That is what inflates my fucking blood vessels.

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I just consider the act of reselling something as selling it for more than initally purchased, regardless of the reason.

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It depends on the newer cards. The black and white english era cards were produced so badly. I worked with several sellers and for a time paid taxes while I ran an ebay store. I’ve probably opened 25-30 cases on my own. I also helped an ebay seller who lives next to me with his 8-10 cases of each new set plus the tins and blisters promos. This doesnt include all the cards I’ve bought from ebay after searching for hours or working deals out with other large sellers who open 10-20 cases of each new set.

By your reasoning they should just all over the internet and easily able to find. It’s because they were so hard to find in that condition that they are worth so much and some cards are harder to find.

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Well that is how I feel no matter what. You are more than entitled to your opinion. After all I collect the artwork and as long as it is a brand new or pulled card I’m fine. I have zero intentions to resell. There is no reason to pay hundreds nevertheless thousands on a SINGLE Pokémon card not even when Gem Mint. I understand money means everything to some but one must not be overly greedy. Also the way I see it is, if I want a card and I realize they want a testicle for it, I’d keep my testicle and they can keep their card.

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What someone decides to do with their money and cards is their business and not anyone else’s. If someone wants to buy cards only to resell them, I don’t see a problem with that.

Buyers are generally looking to get the best price that they can. Resellers are looking to sell their cards for as much as they can. Yet, sometimes the resellers are selling the cards for prices a lot higher than what some people can afford or are willing to pay, and that leads to some collectors hating resellers. I agree with what was mentioned already, resellers are essential to the hobby to some extent, because some items might otherwise not be on the market if it weren’t for resellers buying them first and then relisting them for sale.

Guys like Renasjuve and rhea though give resellers a bad name… most resellers are probably ok people.

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Perfectly summarized, lock the thread guys.

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I think what people are really discussing is the “how” rather than the “what”.

This is a topic that has been discussed for years now, and for good reason. Since around 2011 the Pokemon market grew significantly. Part of that growth spawned a new identity that was not previously present or relevant, and that is the “re-seller”.

For me, there are two main camps in the hobby; a collector, and a business. We need both of them. The people, practices or patterns individuals criticize are guys who leech off of these two main categories. These “re-sellers” are typically the most unethical (shill bid, lie, mislead, don’t care about the hobby, market etc.). They are also typically the most rude and cocky douches as well. It is how they conduct themselves and operate in the hobby that is problematic, not the literal re-selling of an item.

Basically the “re-sellers” are not grounded in anything. The collector has a genuine interest in the hobby, and their behavior is grounded in that commitment. The business does this as a career, and is committed and grounded in their job. The leeches, posers, opportunists, flebayers, or whatever term they have been called are not grounded in anything outside of sporadic opportunity. They exist because the market has opportunity. They are non-committal, finicky, and ultimately piggy back off of the two main pillars (collector and business). Also, “non-committal and finicky” are two words you usually don’t want in any context.

However, this does not mean anyone who occasionally sells fits this category. There are “traders” or individuals who participate in the market, but they typically have or had some value or commitment to the hobby.

In regards to the art academy cards, it is a classic catch 22. One person owns the cards, and if they decide to stop selling because of feelings, that is their choice. The best solution for the winners upset with the reality of a market is to increase their price. Sit on their cards, and play ball with the market. Otherwise, when you sell an item, you don’t own it anymore.

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I’ve only read this opening so far but had to respond to it.

I agree 100% with every single word you wrote. I’m shocked it even needed to be said.

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Interesting topic, yes I agree with the fact of selling a card if they are not collecting anymore etc. But on the topic of art academy cards, people like me and Michael have spent a long time making connections with these winners.

Recently people have started to resell them due to numerous reasons but the winners have stopped selling due to this. By selling a card at £60 you now have people trying at £500. I would be extremely pissed off too to be honest.

I just feel sorry for the new collectors who have only come across these now and simply cant afford them.

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