(NOT) TOY NEWS FOR 5/5/2013 - EDITORIAL ON COMIC-CON EXCLUSIVE AFTERMARKET PRICES

After seeing yet another thread of bitching about "scalpers" selling SDCC exclusives on e-bay, I posed this up over at thefwoosh.com

"For those waiting for Hasbrotoyshop.com, I wouldn't hold put too much hope in that. Last year I spoke to a rep at the Hasbro booth and asked him why there was such a quick sell-out on the site after the show. His answer was that the only reason they put ANY up on the site is due to some rule or California law that states that an item can't only be offered to a select group. But here's the catch, he said the only hold back about a dozen of the items that sell out at the show (which this will) for the site, just so they are in compliance with the law. He said flat out that this is special stuff for people who attend the show. This is why everything sells out in like 30 seconds-- there's only about a dozen pieces.

Also, YES, it sucks to pay high prices for items-- especially when you know the show cost-- but let me tell you THIS: for someone who is JUST a fan and collector (as I am) here is what you have to go through to get these things:

Last year a woman was almost crushed right in front of me because 500 maniacs all stampeded into a 10 square foot area to be "first in line" when the show opened. You are then yelled at and threatened by moronic "security" for 15 minutes who demand that the front of the line to "move back!" while the back of the line pushes forward. (Obviously physics aren't their strong suit.) You get pushed, shoved, sweated and breathed on, and many of these people smell like a sewer or worse. Then, as the line moves, even if you are within the first 30-50 people (which you won't be unless you're in the hall before the show officially opens, which requires special "tricks"), you will be in line for about 2 hours. This is Preview Night.

If you want to buy anything on Thurs, Fri, Sat or Sun, you must get up at-- and this is no exaggeration-- 4AM to be at the Con by 5AM to get in line that actually opens a 9AM to HOPEFULLY get a ticket that will allow you to get in ANOTHER line later in the day to buy from Hasbro.

It is so crazy, stupid and ridiculous that it practically ruins the entire Con experience.

SO-- if you see Fett for 80, 90 or 100 dollars, is it more than the Con price? YES. Did you have to go through ANY of this insanity to get it? No-- and be thankful! And also be thankful that you didn't have to pay 150 dollars just to attend the show, or 1,000+ dollars for a hotel 5 miles away with a 40 minute shuttle ride because ALL of the downtown hotels sold out in 3 minutes (this is a fact-- look it up!)

Bottom line, I attend the show every year and it is SO horrible and debilitating just to get a figure that I want from Hasbro that even I consider paying double or more the Con price just to skip this crap and be able to actually ENJOY my time there!

So, before you get angry and start hammering out your indigence on that keyboard, just take a few extra factors into account and you might actually realize that by skipping all the BS and just buying the figure for more actually makes YOU the lucky one."