Rant of the Week: Buy Low, Sell High!
Okay, so today I am going to forego the regular preview and talk about something that just bugs the heck out of me: The elitist view that some of my fellow hobbists hold regarding the sale of models at a profit.
This comes up time and time again at one of my favorite hangouts — The Model Hangar. It came up this week over a fellow member’s purchase of three Friday the 13th Halifax models by Corgi, which prompted a diatribe from a member about how selfish an act this was and how it hurts the hobby. This was then followed up by a couple members saying they also buy dupes but “never to sell at a profit — they’re not in this hobby to make money but for the enjoyment”.
Give me a freakin’ break people: Who are we to say how anyone should derive enjoyment out of THEIR hobby. If they want to buy 10 of each model in the hopes that the value goes up after they sell out at retail, all the power to them. It’s their money, it’s their storage issues. (They have to explain it to their significant others…)
Are they hurting the hobby? Hell no. They are helping to ensure that models do in fact sell out and that manufacturers continue to make new models — and they are helping to ensure that the money we put into the hobby somewhat holds its value over time.
Have I done this? Sure! Over the years I’ve come across several Flying Mule White 11’s for good prices and flipped them on ebay for a tidy profit. So what? I use this money to fund more models, and to fund my web site. I don’t do it to try to put my kids through college or pay the mortage. But if someone wants to try to do that, that is their business.
I don’t know about you, but it hurts a bit when I sell a model on ebay for %20 of what I paid for it, which happens plenty — it is tough to sell even in-demand models right now for good prices in this economy. So, when I find a chance to do the opposite, I’ll jump on it if I can part with the models in question.
Example: Gaincorp 1:72 Sukhois are in demand right now on ebay. They have sold out at retail, are the only Russian birds in this scale, and there are people out there willing to pay a premium for them. I know this through my observations of the market. So why should I not take advantage of it? Am I actually expected to offer them up to fellow collectors for what I paid for them? I’ve done this a few times for collector friends, I’m still waiting for the inverse to happen…. and perhaps someday it will.
I had four Su-34s, and all but one were in storage and likely to never see the light of day due to space limitations. So, I sold the three of them for an average price of $180 each. Not bad when I bought them all for less than $50 each. This money went straight to the wife — with the full “ain’t it great” story — to help make a dent in some of the zinc-related debt I’ve accumulated over the years. It made me feel good, and the wife feel better. What’s bad about that?
Absolutely nothing.
With the interest that’s out there right now in Corgi’s FTT Halifax, buying an extra or two is not a bad idea in my book. And it certainly does not hurt the hobby in the least.
Everyone has the same chance to buy models at release. You may chose to wait and see if a model won’t sell and will drop in price. If the opposite happens and you are left out in the cold, should you really expect collectors that have one or more to sell the model to you at cost, or for less?
If you think so, please do explain that logic to me using the comment field below, I would love to hear opposing viewpoints — and don’t forget to help me understand why this logic does not apply to any other form of “collecting” that I’m aware of. And I certainly wish it applied to real estate — I’d have loved the chance to buy my house in the Bay Area for what it would have cost 20 years ago.
3 years ago