The new male Dynamite doll, Auden, is apparently worth a great deal of money to some people. This "Most Beautiful Boy" retailed for $59.99. As of a few hours ago, the seven that sold on eBay this past week went for $228.50, $403.70, $355., $560., $499., $474.99, and $299. (The order was 'End Date: Oldest First.') Three of those sold were sold by an Integrity toys authorized dealer who also has a fourth listed. The dealer's eBay ID is futuresight37. It seems that many collectors know who this dealer is and have objections to the way they are selling their products. They get the dolls before every other dealer and always post them on eBay immediately.
He is cute and the promotional pictures of him wearing sunglasses are very cool.
The entire issue of skyrocketing secondary market prices is so common, it's practically not even worth commenting on. I remember when Mattel's platinum Cher was released. That piece of vinyl immediately became worth $500. to those who were not lucky enough to grab one before they sold out.
There's still plenty of money out there - it's just pooled amongst way fewer people than previously.
The prices will be dropping off very shortly. IMO, there are only a very few collectors that would spend that money on a basic doll. And once handful of dolls sell at that price, the price drops.
ReplyDeleteI also think some of the IRL pics have not been flattering, especially pics from the profile. He's been called an Egg Head & Cone Head on many boards, and the label seems to be sticking!!
I think it's the way the hair is styled that is causing the head to look large. I personally dislike the hairstyles on almost every male IT doll produced, and rooted hair on male dolls in general. They tend to look effeminate.
A dealer should not be allowed to turn around & sell on the second market. They have direct access to these dolls at wholesale prices. I would love to see the carpet pulled out from under their feet. That dealer & Ebay i.d. is on my "don't even bother to look at what they have for sale" list.
I agree that he is cute but I am not sure about that hairdo.
ReplyDeleteAs for the secondary market, I think it will continue as long as buyers will pay the inflated prices.
I missed out on this doll. Not worth it for such a high mark up in the secondary market in my books though. But he looks pretty good and would have made an excellent Dante from the video game Devil May Cry, given the proper attire.
ReplyDeleteThis dealer-insider-quick-to-eBay notion is pretty crappy.
ReplyDeleteIntegrity dealer.. lacking some.
I liked the doll and always thought his hair was kind of cool.
Having zero integrity isn't.
The dealer isn't setting the prices, the market is...this dealer is wonderful to deal with and I have bought many dolls BELOW the market value from this dealer too ..so it works both ways...don't worry, IT will make more DG boys so there will be some plastic boy love in the editions to come!
ReplyDeleteA "dealer" who gets direct access from IT to dolls at wholesale, that they are supposed to sell at retail, says they are sold out of the doll, and then turns around and sells entire allotments on Ebay sounds like a liar to me.
ReplyDeleteI think it's AngelicDreamz's George. That's the only logical assumption I can come to. Regardless of who it is, it's not fair.
ReplyDeleteApparently they aren't violating their dealer contract so they aren't doing anything wrong besides pissing people off. To become a dealer they had to buy some of the older dolls (that no one wants now) and I don't blame them for trying to make a profit.
ReplyDeleteInstead of listing the item as Sold Out on their site, they could do what some other dealers do and that is to remove the picture and listing of the doll altogether.
Terri
@Anonymous #?
ReplyDeleteI really don't think it's George. What do you base your so-called logical assumption on?
George has been an IT dealer for a long time. I think this is one of the more recent additions to the pack.
T
No disrespect, I know you know your stuff Terri. I'm just talking in terms of logic (at least my logic lol). I think he would be more likely to get his dolls sooner then most other dealers since he is the most well known. They (futuresight) have been doing this for a while now. I know they're not violating their contract, they buy the dolls-so they should be able to sell them however they want. Nonetheless, as I've said it's really annoying! It's not like we can stop them from doing it anyway. Oh well.....**sigh**....
ReplyDeleteWell I think it is unethical for the dealer to say a doll is sold out and then put them up on ebay. Sure I get that they may be left with slow selling dolls but so are the rest of the dealers. No one would like it all the dealers decided to sell popular dolls in this manner.
ReplyDeleteBTW - this dealer's starting bid on ebay is at least twice the suggested retail price. So he does play some role in the high prices.
I've been collecting dolls for over 25 years and this kind of thing has been going on since I started and will most likely continue for a long time to come. You're right, Terri - there will always be some people that can afford to pay well above retail for a doll they want and this will always lead some dealers to sell them at marked up prices. It's just one of those things we have very little control over.
ReplyDeleteBTW - this seller IS NOT George. I'm not here to flame anyone, but the seller is registered in another state and I know a lot of buyers, including myself, that were able to buy the dolls directly from George when he very fairly posted them on his site and at the specific time that Integrity asked that dealers to offer them. He did everything he could to be fair about how he sold them and it's sad to see some who suspect otherwise.
@Susan: I agree with everything you have said about George. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDeleteTerri
YOWZA!!! I really cannot wait to get mine....
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI just want to drop some additional words in favour of George:
among the FR retailers I had the sometimes more than doubtful pleasure to get into business with,
he is by far the most generous.
As for Auden: that's really a bit of an egg head, isn't it? I would have fancied Summer Daze Kyu, but was too slow. As the face molds have to be amortised, I suppose I'll be able to choose among new upcoming characters galore.
Still it is in the worst taste for a retailer to keep their offer low and sell the remains of the dolls allotted to them by FR at sky high prices.
Boycot this.
Petra