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Dude buys around 45 copies of the LE Hyrule Historia just to sell on Craigslist

I hate this shit, and I really wish there was something retailers could do about it but there isn't...

I was still working on the floor when Diablo was released and even though there are PO limits, he was getting 2 from each store in our entire district. Told me he ended up with around 15-20 of them at least. The flip side to this is that stores, and our manager, obviously didn't give a shit as long as it sold, which is pretty typical.

They are way more anal about system launches but yeah they give two shits about games, and it sucks, but what ya gonna do...
 
Fair enough let's find out once and for all then,

To Anyone here with a Ni No Kuni: Wizard Edition:

If you're strapped for cash, please let us know whether you'd sell it for what you paid (Approx $100 excluding shippping) or if you would sell it for the current market value (400 to 500)

If I didn't want it? I'd probably sell mine to someone I knew for what I paid. Recoup what I paid + shipping is all I'd want back.


That's if I didn't want it. I am also strapped for cash, but that's besides the point. hahahaaa.....

:(
 

fvng

Member
Flawed premise unless you're going to try to argue the person who bought up all those books to resell was somehow "strapped for cash".

I'm not even talking about the craigslist guy that bought up 45 copies

My comment that you replied to was a statement about people complaining that there are people charging double the list price in the after market.

My original post was essentially of course you'd sell it for its going rate, not the price you got it at.

If I didn't want it? I'd probably sell mine to someone I knew for what I paid. Recoup what I paid + shipping is all I'd want back.


That's if I didn't want it. I am also strapped for cash, but that's besides the point. hahahaaa.....

:(

That's nice of you, I think i'd do the same for a friend, but you don't have to feel bad about selling to the highest bidder on the free market.
 

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
it all comes back to opinion, maybe people like this version more.

to me its not about the product and more about the principle of the matter.

just cuz you think its dumb doesnt make it worth less, so it sucks for people that genuinely want this.
It's not that I think it's dumb, it's just that it's clearly a case where most people are mainly trying to collect it because it exists. It does have a certain elegance, sure, and I understand the basic urge for getting a copy of something that makes you feel like part of an elite club; But on this particular item, it feels like any rational person should take a look at the regular edition, take a look at the LE that has a $100+ markup, and laugh at the notion of ever lining some schlub's pockets for the minute difference between the two.

There are so many times when these resellers are emboldened because they pounce on LEs that actually have something of real, obvious value to fans that clearly separates them from standard editions, where the product comes with things that just aren't available from any other means, and so what option does a fan who really wants that stuff have but to pay the ransom?

But this.... This has a slightly different cover and gold trim. You can pay way less and get a product with the exact same content. It sucks that this guy is squatting on a bunch of copies that should have gone to others initially, but the wholly negligible difference between the actual content of a regular edition and the LE here should make this the perfect line in the sand. The perfect showdown where people can evaluate both options, put their psychoses aside, and call the scalpers' bluff; "You wanted all of those? Fine, keep 'em. I can deal with a regular edition, I'll live with the different cover. You can deal with eating the thousands of dollars you paid trying to get rich quick."

But they won't, it's got a different cover, let's give in, perpetuate the cycle, and ensure guys like these always come out on top and keep multiplying. That people can't make a stand here, with this razor-thin aesthetic difference, guarantees that they won't ever make a stand, and ensures this type of reseller problem will only worsen.
 

n64coder

Member
I was curious so I sent the guy an email. He says that his trade list is over at CAG or $180 cash. Ok, good luck with that.
 

TommyLove

Neo Member
I was curious so I sent the guy an email. He says that his trade list is over at CAG or $180 cash. Ok, good luck with that.
I appreciate the email and thanks.
First off, you guys shouldn't blame amazon at all. I ordered 2 each from other retailers so I can secure a copy (one to keep and a sealed condition). The only store that canceled my order was barnes and noble. Everyday, I talked to their customer service to see if they had them in their warehouse. I got shot down a each day, but one day I got lucky. They checked the system and they said they had some in their warehouse. I checked on eBay and checked what they were going for and I was thinking hey maybe I can make a few dollars if I buy them all. I took a gamble and went all in.
If the books never sell, I'm fine with that. I'll just have "44" kids and read them a Zelda bedtime story.
 
I've had a couple of experiences where I couldn't get something due to limited supply, only to find ridiculous numbers floating around on eBay or other such places. Shit sucks.

No use getting mad though, stuff like this will always happen unless action is taken at levels above the consumer because people will give this guy what he wants.
 

Zomba13

Member
Not surprised in the slightest at all the people defending this guy. GAF has a defence force for everything after all.
 

IrishNinja

Member
i'll never get the people who conflate law with morality
yeah it's legal, and some vendor thought it was okay, but it's obviously greedy/a little bit scummy; personally scalping one or two consoles, etc is okay by me but damn

I don't have a problem with this. It's a video game book, not a vaccine. And on top of that, the regular version is pretty freely available.

on the other hand, this is quite true
 
I bet your copy got shipped at someone's else place and you've been charged.

lol That would suck. Still, I won't hold a grudge against B&N for the pre-order issues. It happens.

I accepted that it just wasn't meant for me. I'm looking for a regular version when I go back to SLC, though.
 

drkOne

Member
If no one was stupid enough to buy stuff at a premium from these guys, they wouldn't exist in the first place.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Have anyone asked how many he got left? I pretty much always hold back when i see a reseller that has so many copies. Then it means that he/she might end up with several unsold copies and the price will go down.


That's why I hate limited stuff. Do they want to please the fans or just increase the resale value??
I dont think there is a huge difference (if any difference at all?) regarding the content of the books. The Limited Editions is usually made to make it something special, not something that everyone should get, and make it more into a collectible. Other fans can get the standard edition.
 
Dude should've never revealed he had this many. Even if people wanted to buy them now, the likelihood of them going to him is much less, especially if they attempted to buy one at launch and failed. Collectors are a fickle bunch.
 

Ice 9

Banned
Dude should've never revealed he had this many. Even if people wanted to buy them now, the likelihood of them going to him is much less, especially if they attempted to buy one at launch and failed. Collectors are a fickle bunch.

Probably not, until the price goes too high.
 
As for selling the lot now. It may be worth acting while the iron is hot. Collectors still have fever over this so are known to pay a premium rather than an uncertain future. Of course my strategy would have probably been:
* Don't brag about it
* Sell enough to break even
* Then decide what to do with rest (will the price hold or grow, if you kept it for 10 years would it sell for >$150+10 years interest*, then again it is Zelda when will that stop being cool?)

*-I kind of forgot North America tends to be a place where rates higher than 2% are hard to find...(say its $150 and 2% interest and you compound it...thats $182). Of course there are other things like inflation to account for (and will it overtake interest) when thinking of which is a better investment, a collectors item or cash.

I appreciate the email and thanks.
First off, you guys shouldn't blame amazon at all. I ordered 2 each from other retailers so I can secure a copy (one to keep and a sealed condition). The only store that canceled my order was barnes and noble. Everyday, I talked to their customer service to see if they had them in their warehouse. I got shot down a each day, but one day I got lucky. They checked the system and they said they had some in their warehouse. I checked on eBay and checked what they were going for and I was thinking hey maybe I can make a few dollars if I buy them all. I took a gamble and went all in.
If the books never sell, I'm fine with that. I'll just have "44" kids and read them a Zelda bedtime story.
Wait I don't get it. Barnes and Noble canceled you (and many others), presumably for lacking stock and not being able to get any only for them to actually get stock and not tell anyone.

They are then happy to sell the lot to one person despite the originating circumstances?

I hate stock distribution problems like that...
 

Xzeon

Banned

King_Moc

Banned
That's nice of you, I think i'd do the same for a friend, but you don't have to feel bad about selling to the highest bidder on the free market.

It's ok when it's a one-off thing that you happened to buy, or a just selling something that was old. But purposefully taking advantage of the fact that the original seller didn't fuck over the consumers to a high enough degree is really shitty. I mean, 45 of them? Fucking hell. He doesn't deserve to be profiting from someone elses product like this. And people are being fucked over because his order got through before theirs.
 

TommyLove

Neo Member
As for selling the lot now. It may be worth acting while the iron is hot. Collectors still have fever over this so are known to pay a premium rather than an uncertain future. Of course my strategy would have probably been:
* Don't brag about it
* Sell enough to break even
* Then decide what to do with rest (will the price hold or grow, if you kept it for 10 years would it sell for >$150+10 years interest*, then again it is Zelda when will that stop being cool?)

*-I kind of forgot North America tends to be a place where rates higher than 2% are hard to find...(say its $150 and 2% interest and you compound it...thats $182). Of course there are other things like inflation to account for (and will it overtake interest) when thinking of which is a better investment, a collectors item or cash.


Wait I don't get it. Barnes and Noble canceled you (and many others), presumably for lacking stock and not being able to get any only for them to actually get stock and not tell anyone.

They are then happy to sell the lot to one person despite the originating circumstances?

I hate stock distribution problems like that...
I'm actually following your last two stratgies. The first one was to build some hype /hatred and awareness of these books (I'm not sure if that's a bad move or a good move).
Barnes and Noble canceled everybody's orders, including mines. The customer service had no idea what these books are, but were willingly to check the system for me. There was about 250 books left in the warehouse for people to enjoy.
 

Hatten

Member
These assholes are all over the place these days, every product launch you see scalpers buying all the stock and reselling it.

Seen the Nexus 4? no? well on ebay thanks to these dicks you do, at double retail...
 

Xzeon

Banned
These assholes are all over the place these days, every product launch you see scalpers buying all the stock and reselling it.

Seen the Nexus 4? no? well on ebay thanks to these dicks you do, at double retail...

the sad sad truth, it will never end.
 

Sakujou

Banned
Iam so pissed of because of dicktards like that.

I already got fucked over because of Ni no Kuni Wizards Edition, and now this.

What kind of a month is this....
 

Peagles

Member
The thing that annoys me is all the smarties coming in here and saying biz like "it's your own fault if you didn't preorder lolz".

With this, Ni No Kuni, and a ton of other LE stuff, people did preorder but got fucked over by either retailers or publishers who messed up their allotment... Their ineptitude allows scummy scalpers to do their dirty work, unfortunately.

So instead of Barnes and Noble going "Oh wait, we cancelled all your orders but turns out we have some here in the warehouse if you'd like to reorder", they just sell 40+ to a scalper.

Lame...
 

SmokeMaxX

Member
The thing that annoys me is all the smarties coming in here and saying biz like "it's your own fault if you didn't preorder lolz".

With this, Ni No Kuni, and a ton of other LE stuff, people did preorder but got fucked over by either retailers or publishers who messed up their allotment... Their ineptitude allows scummy scalpers to do their dirty work, unfortunately.

So instead of Barnes and Noble going "Oh wait, we cancelled all your orders but turns out we have some here in the warehouse if you'd like to reorder", they just sell 40+ to a scalper.

Lame...

Then complain to the retailer/publisher. Not the scalper's fault he got lucky. I'd love to see all these "I would never do that!" warriors if put in the exact same situation.
 

Loofy

Member
Then complain to the retailer/publisher. Not the scalper's fault he got lucky. I'd love to see all these "I would never do that!" warriors if put in the exact same situation.
Thats like saying 'dont blame the banks, the government allowed these loopholes.'

Why cant people complain? seems like a pretty legit thing to complain about.
 

Peagles

Member
Then complain to the retailer/publisher. Not the scalper's fault he got lucky. I'd love to see all these "I would never do that!" warriors if put in the exact same situation.

Complaints have already been laid. I think that is pretty obvious from the situation if you've been following it. Same for Ni No Kuni, etc.

I don't think anyone is saying it's the scalpers fault he "got lucky", but rather that it's his fault he's a scalper, lol. When something is short in supply it's pretty easy to see how people are mad at hoarders, and not only that, those who resell for profit.

Many who had their BN orders cancelled found out they could re-order via phone only to find they were suddenly out of stock. Two guesses who drained all the supply, lol...

I'm in a similar situation to him (though not to the same extent) and I'm not scalping. Take that for what you will.
 
Not surprised in the slightest at all the people defending this guy. GAF has a defence force for everything after all.

That entire boilerplate response comes off as a cheap shot at anyone with a different opinion. Why do you believe that the GAF attack force is any more prevalent? You may oppose it, though I would guess that barring a repress there will be at least forty-four who disagree. I only question whether the way they went about publicizing it was worth the negative attention.
 

Kitoro

Member
Capitalism indeed. Buying and flipping rare items is like a stock market with a full return policy if you know what you're doing.

Smart collectors make sure they get these for MSRP, and those that pay up these scalper prices are being taught a valuable lesson.
 
Then complain to the retailer/publisher. Not the scalper's fault he got lucky. I'd love to see all these "I would never do that!" warriors if put in the exact same situation.

Would you like to hear a story?

About 3 years ago, I had the opportunity to purchase Xbox 360 consoles at 75% off retail. I purchased 5 of them, and grinning a grin, went home, and called my friends who wanted an Xbox. Told them to bring exactly what was on the receipt, and I would give them the console. And I did. 5 individuals obtained consoles.
Was I lucky? Of course!
Did I take advantage? Not at all!

I might be a bit upset about the fact that there is the possibility that I did not get my copy due to the individual purchasing a large amount from Barnes and Nobles, and that he is reselling them at a high price, sure. That doesn't mean that all would take advantage in his position.

Hell, I have some respect for the guy. He came forward, told his story, and stated his rebuttal.
 
D

Deleted member 125677

Unconfirmed Member
Maybe he had the same thing happening to him as to me. For some reason amazon.uk sent me two copies instead of one (paid for and ordered one).

(If someone in Bergen, Norway sees this, send me a PM, and I'll give it to you. :))
 
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