Selling off my collection woes.

[KoreanInferno]

This is probably more related to "dealing with kijiji/craigslist people makes my head explode."
This is my CL ad.
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/tag/5170227206.html

I just got an e-mail from someone through CL
"What are you hoping to get? Toy traders will give next to nothing. Let me know"

My response was,
"Hi ______,
I've updated the list with everything I'm taking to Toy Traders aside from what's "on hold" for other people and the Marvel Crossovers the rest all comes to about $1600. Toy Traders has been good to me in the past and they know me so I'm not worried about he amount. Next to nothing? You should see the offers I've had for the whole lot. A snowboard (I don't snowboard)... $350... $150... $70...? I'd rather it go to Toy Traders and they make a profit instead of these people. Kids will have better access to these great toys through them and they're a big part of the community. They're not a conglomerate out to screw people over, they need to make a profit as well and I understand that. I'm not a saint cause I'm not just giving them away, but I'm getting something out of it and I can always say "no" if it's too low. I'm headed out to Toy Traders now so it's theirs now."

It has nothing to do with this last person other than him being the last straw that broke the camels back. Every single decent person that has e-mailed me or PM'd me with a proper, of this world offer, has been great.

Just want to put this out there for those for those who bad mouth Toy Traders without looking at the people they serve! I've never heard anyone having issues with them. Have you?

[Msol]

That was a good response you sent, man.

I've always loved Toy Traders. A shop like theirs is a great way to get the next generation of kids into the hobby. Hell, their new location is amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing your stuff there.

And yeah, they need to make a profit and they'll offer you a below-market price... but no one should be buying TFs as investments. Hell I was just there today and they had MOSC RID Car Brothers for under $20 each!

[predahank]

Let me start off by saying that I love toy traders. The store makes me feel like a kid again and I always buy something when I go (which isn't very often since its a 50min drive).

That being said, I emailed them with 3 sideshow premium format star wars statues which retail $1400ish total misb. They offered me $400 which is laughable considering low ballers on craigslist offered me up to $800. I understand that they need to turn a profit but offering less than a third in trade value is pretty low since I would in turn be using the store credit to buy something.

[timcrook]

Many stores that sell used stuff will give you %50 of what they will try to sell it for, which I think is fair cause they have to pay for the shelf space and employees.

If you want more, you have to work for it, meaning you have to wait for the right offer on craigslist or ebay and not be in a rush.

[CAF]

Well if a store offers you 1/3 for something, it doesn't mean you can't keep negotiating. If it's going to fly off the shelf, chances are you could get a lot more for it. If it's a dust collector, 1/3 is probably fair.

If I was a business like that I would always buy as low as possible and sell as high as possible. That's business. It's not some personal agenda to screw over collectors.

Selling a huge lot of toys is hard to get someone to seriously offer a good price. It's definitely a lowballer magnet. I don't blame topic writer for giving the store preference over the lowballers. The store has overhead. The lowballers are sometimes very insulting.

[predahank]

I just think if you are offering 1/3 in cash, ok but if its trade credit then it should be closer to 40-50% because essentially they will profit on whatever you buy with said credit, sorta double dipping.

When they offered me 30% I didn't bother negotiating because even if I wrangled them to 50% it would still be lower than offers received on craigslist (cash)

I would be interested in how you end up doing OP

[KoreanInferno]

So, I ended up taking about a little more than a third of the items in which I priced at around $500-$575 and I got $372, so I was quite happy with that and I used that to order a CW Devastator so double happy about that!

As much as I would've liked to have sold to people directly it keeps me from doing the leg work of meeting up with people who flake out or dealing with extreme low ballers. It was very cathartic to make my collection more streamlined though.

Predahank, sucks that you didn't get what you wanted, but I took it positive if you're not willing to sell it for a lower price then it might mean it has a deeper meaning to you. Also, I think their price has to do with how fast it sells. I've seen alot of their statues sit and sit and I've been going there for way too many years to count. Also, with the revamp of the new movies you might just get a decent buyer! So that's a plus for waiting!

[predahank]

I'm glad you got a good outcome. Yes, maybe the new movies will drum up more demand for my pieces and perhaps I do have a sentimental attachment to my vader lol.
Regardless if its store, craigslist, hockey tix, transformers, I always reply politely and never take it personal

[Soundwaves]

It helps if you just post a lowest price to begin with and say you're firm.

CL, Kijiji and the like become a huge pain when you aren't specific on pricing.

I saw your post on CL, and would have been interested if it didn't look like a nightmare of haggling to get anywhere. I would have come to you and saved you the trip to Langley.

Just my 2 cents...I buy and sell a lot of goods on cl.

Toy Traders basically looks at lowest sold price on Ebay and gives you half of that.

From my experience, they don't negotiate, it is what it is.

[Megatron75]

Originally Posted by Soundwaves

It helps if you just post a lowest price to begin with and say you're firm.

I think you should always include a little buffer above your bottom line price. People always want to feel like they're getting a better deal, even if they're already getting a good deal.