Comic-Con scalping/flipping: DEAD!

[Rob]

Much to my dismay (and to the delight of some, I'm sure), flipping Comic-Con exclusives for a nice profit is a thing of the past. Two years ago, you could easily double your money on certain items, if not 5x. 2003's Mattel Batman and Keldor (MOTU) exclusives that cost $20 easily sold for $100. Gentle Giant Clonetrooper busts that sold for $60 easily sold for $200. It was a flipper's paradise!

 

Those days are gone. Most items I bought this year are barely making any profit. I know, some will say that I shouldn't be taking advantage of collectors, blah, blah, blah. All I know is that in business, you make money by selling things that have high demand and low supply. I had to pay to get to San Diego, $200/night hotel, admission to the con, days off work, etc, so someone in Iowa could avoid the trek to the con, and still get their favorite exclusive. However, I guess that benefit isn't worth much of a premium these days.

[That Ron Dude]

It's good to hear that some prices are down. I won't have a chance to go to San Diego but I will be going to Chicago. Maybe I can pick up some good deals.

[MikeS]

I agree. I wonder if part of the problem is that it seems as if there are so many more exclusives now than in the past. Seems as if every other company is selling some sort of Con exclusive....not all of them that exciting also, IMO.

[joe_collector]

Those days are gone. Most items I bought this year are barely making any profit.

 

Looks like collectors are either smartening up, or the specs have all been bled dry.

[Jeffreykli]

Much to my dismay (and to the delight of some, I'm sure), flipping Comic-Con exclusives for a nice profit is a thing of the past. Two years ago, you could easily double your money on certain items, if not 5x. 2003's Mattel Batman and Keldor (MOTU) exclusives that cost $20 easily sold for $100. Gentle Giant Clonetrooper busts that sold for $60 easily sold for $200. It was a flipper's paradise!

 

Those days are gone. Most items I bought this year are barely making any profit. I know, some will say that I shouldn't be taking advantage of collectors, blah, blah, blah. All I know is that in business, you make money by selling things that have high demand and low supply. I had to pay to get to San Diego, $200/night hotel, admission to the con, days off work, etc, so someone in Iowa could avoid the trek to the con, and still get their favorite exclusive. However, I guess that benefit isn't worth much of a premium these days.

 

Rob, what did you end up buying?

 

Personally, I got the Baseman SDCC exclusive 8" figure from Kid Robot, which is a hip toy store, and those are going on eBay for 2X the price (price was $40). I also donated blood and got a Diamond exclusive Angel figure, which looks to be worth about $40. It's not great, but at least they'll offset some of the cost of the con.

[Rob]

Check my completed auctions (rob9874). I won a lottery to be able to buy a Batmobile Hot Wheels exclusive for $20, and I can't get a buyer at $24.99. That's a loss after eBay and PayPal fees.

 

I did well on the My Little Ponies. They were $10, and sold for $20 and $25 very well. Bought the max (10) plus a few on that one. I still had a great time. But the days of flipping to pay for the trip are over. I guess I need to work harder trying to find what sells well, like the Kid Robot figure and the My Little Ponies.

[Jeffreykli]

I think the key is to find a true exclusive. A fair amount of the "exclusives" at the Con are actually now on sale everywhere. The Kid Robot figure is limited to either 500 or 600, and they sold out every day they had one (on exclusive per day), so there definitely was interest.

 

Sorry about the Batmobile; something like that should sell for a slight profit.