Lucky Logician wrote:TF_JW wrote:"Helping scalpers" really isn't what that means.
They don't want to have to reduce the price on leftover back stock because that is seen as reducing the figures' value. Because, well, it is.
The value of the Machine Wars souvenirs right now is $10, which is absurd for something that is supposed to be an awesome keepsake souvenir of your trip out to the convention. So they want to avoid having to do anything like that again; they want the toys to retain their value for the sake of those attendees that buy them at the show so they don't feel "ripped off" later.
So if there were only 850 made, why does eBay show over 100 completed listings for Botcon 2016 Megatron?
Sounds like a bunch of people decided to scalp these instead of having an awesome keepsake souvenir...
So what? This happens every year, and I don't think you can blame the Club. It really comes down to what certain members of the fandom are willing to pay.
Full disclosure: I decided to get the Golden Ticket this year. I bought 3 Megatrons (among other things), sold 2, and made a handsome profit. I took a financial risk for the privilege of purchasing 3 of each souvenir exclusive, and I won't apologize for taking full advantage of what I paid for. Still, it's absurd Megatron ever topped $250, let alone $750.
Again - it's hard to blame the Club. The amount they produce is largely predicated on the previous Botcon's sales, and last year was a really big miss for the Club. Those Diaclone-inspired figures did NOT sell well, and now FunPub is left with a whole bunch of stock it will be difficult to unload. So this year, they revised their production runs down - way down. The fact they're losing their license may have compelled them to lower those runs even further, as they have a much smaller window of time to unload excess stock.
The Club isn't trying to help scalpers. It's just that this year in particular was a big hit for the Club - they got a lot of toys right, and people want them. If some fans are going to drop crazy money on the secondary market for these exclusives, you can be sure people will find a way to sell them. Heck, if Megatron is still selling for $750+ next week, I will definitely sell the one I was going to keep for myself, because there are so many better things in life to buy for that sum than that Megatron. I'm sure others have made the same calculation.