A few weeks back we had a so-called Collectors Festival, which was a complete joke and a complete waste of money and time. The hall was maybe a halfway full of vendors. And of those vendors, maybe 1 person actually sold vintage games, and maybe 2 sold vintage toys. All the others consisted of random booths like a couple selling new jewelry, a few booths selling some knick knacks and a few local artists trying to sell their work. I couldn't believe it. The only highlight of the event was finding this sucker, which brings me to a subject I'm very passionate about. Flippers.
2 Vendors were selling these "new" 16 Bit action figures from NECA based off of the old SNES and Sega Robocop VS Terminator games from the 90's. They just came out and hit toy shelves, mainly Toys r Us, literally a few weeks ago. But guess what? I could never find them. Why? Because fucking flippers grab them all, with inside help no less, and resell them online and at conventions for a much higher ridiculous price, never allowing actual collectors like myself the opportunity to find one while out on a hunt. Because of this, I'd never actually seen one of these figures until now in person.
Flippers were everywhere at this convention. Those new Michael Keaton 25th Anniversary Batman figures that came with the new blu ray that just came out as a Toys r Us exclusive? You could easily grab one here for an easy $60. Psh! That's just ridiculous.
I walk up to the first vendor selling these Robocop figures and asking him how much, knowing full well that they're brand new and retail for $16.99 in the store. He said $30, and I laughed and walked away. I ended up grabbing from the second vendor who also owns a toy store here in my hometown and who I personally know has a business NECA account, meaning they ordered them directly from them and not flipping them by buying out every local Toys r Us store. At $26.50, I still felt it was steep, but I figured if I ordered them online at $16.99 + Shipping, I'd be paying that anyway, so I went ahead and gave them my business.
This last convention just reminded me how much I hate flippers, and how I'll never, EVER support them. No matter how much I want a figure, I'll never buy one off of a flipper. I'd rather exchange money with fellow collectors rather than help finance their greedy money making scheme. On the plus side, this is a truly badass figure and much more impressive in person. I need to grab an Arnie and Endoskeleton now.
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