That's interesting you can buy your GI Joes cheaper from the US, than the ones from Brazil. I guess we don't have it so bad after all.

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Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!.

The Official "atjoe1972" Theme Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2NnnzhJ6nA

Urban Saboteur, thank you for sharing your well detailed post! It would be easy to say ditto to your points, because they are very true to the subject. For better or worse, the toy companies have found a large customer base that supports their products that fall outside their targeted demographics. "Us" the fans and collectors of GI Joe. I think it makes Hasbro try harder at making their products better. Since we demand bigger and better. And worse in that they took a child's toy and turned into a collectible for adults. (Do kids still play with GI Joe's?) In doing so, they have figured out that making some figures more collectible, people like us are more apt to track them down. Thus creating a artificial demand. And the scalpers have figured out how to profit on that artificial demand. So who's the bad guy, Hasbro, Scalpers or the adult fans who "collect" the products? My thought on the subject is, let Hasbro go back to making toys, that kids can afford and find without a bunch of old dudes fighting over something designed for a six year old. Create a Collectible division to cater to the old farts like us who can't abandon our childhood. And cut the scalper out of the picture. Just a rambling thought on the subject.

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Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!.

The Official "atjoe1972" Theme Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2NnnzhJ6nA

LOL, SIC DETH, we think a lot alike. If I keep going back to Ross, I'm going to be riding the poor train to bankruptcy. Collector's drive the demand, Scalpers provide a service to the collectors. And hoarders like us just wallow in the excesses of our compulsive purchasing. I won't pay what the scalpers want for their goods, so I just wait until the right opportunity presents itself. And since scalpers are looking for MIB figures and packaging, they won't mind me scooping up the ("Ugly Betty's") laying around. They have their games, we have ours. I just hope I'm not some greedy old dude stomping on some six year old's desire to play with GI Joe.

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Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!.

The Official "atjoe1972" Theme Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2NnnzhJ6nA

To late for me bro. I have gone off the deep end. Just the other day I told this lil kid that the Arctic Destro was the hottest thing going plus he can play with him in the snow, so he would put down a Shock Trooper!!! I grabed the ST and ran down the aisle yelling you sucker!!!

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Whos Da Masta

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXSWI0oWHg

LOL, you're horrible! Did you tell him Santa and the Easter Bunny were dead too!
I'm proud of you taking one for the team, the kid would have lost half the ST gear before he got home. And been a total waste for the rest of us. But Arctic Destro,that's like a turd in the punch bowl. There wasn't a Zartan or Recondo laying around. Even Dusty would have been better than Arctic Destro.

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Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!.

The Official "atjoe1972" Theme Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2NnnzhJ6nA

Ahahahahaha!! that is classic

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One of my local shops has the Shock troopers going for 14.99, the arctic hiss for 30 and the best of 80s for 89 bucks!! Sucks that they hit every Ross, which we have two, the four targets and probably the 4-5 wal-marts and TRU. It makes me soo upset that I have to compete with them just to keep up to date with any of the new stuff coming out..I pretty much say the hell with army building any more. I feel lucky to have gotten six of the Shock Troopers. If I had the money id have bought them all when i saw them at the store just to spite them and sell them at cost to my fellow collectors. They had A jungle gun from Ross in the store the other day..Were they willing to sell it to me...Eff NO!! They were more concerned that they could get 25-50 bucks for the damn thing come christmas time!!WTF??They cant help out a customer that buys from them when they have something really cool? Hell i spent 11.99 on Low Light cuz the stores here dont have them yet..Yes they get orders directly from Hasbro..I didnt mind paying a few extra cuz i REALLY wanted Low Light. I plan on getting more as they come out in stores.. But come on really?? Do we as collectors have to unite against this tyranny and buy the crap so they and the scalpers dont get it and sell it to our fellow collectors at price or just a lil over to cover P&H? Has it really come down to this??

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"If it doesnt have a fire coming out the ass end, it isnt worth flying"

Well put vespapilot! You must live in the same town I do. I can almost duplicate every event you've just referenced. It's BS that a small group can hijack the hobby so they don't have to get a job. There's a comic store around the corner from the only TRU on this side of town. Don't bother going to TRU to see what their exclusives look like, because the jerk around the corner has them all sitting in his store. The key word in all of this is GREED! Hasbro makes a limited amount of product , to drive the market. Scalpers take advantage of that. And the rest of us get screwed. It's one thing if a store wants to sell vintage stuff and mark it up. That's where the focus of their attention should be. But not cleaning every peg at the Big Boxes and creating their own Monopoly. If you notice the scalpers always have the cool figures, but never have any of the crappy ones. Which brings me back to my original post, we hate scalpers, scalpers hate bad packaging.

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Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!.

The Official "atjoe1972" Theme Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2NnnzhJ6nA

I agree with you death! I have another solution though! I either go to the front desk and tell them there is a scalper in the store and they wont sell him more then one joe at a time or if I get mad enough ive been known to knock em out right in the toy aisle! Im a pretty peaceful dread nowadays but for instance when the new zartan on his shitty skier bike was coming out I ran into target as soon as they opened. Ran into the toy aisle to find the guy in front me of running literally had picked up all four on the shelf turns to his friend and says ill sell each of these for 20 bucks on ebay! hah! i asked nicely if I could get one he said some stupid american fraise like you snooze you lose so I in turn said Im not american im cuban and in cuba we have im stronger and crazy so put it down before i knock your head off your shoulders. in turn he replied what do you think were in america you think your from the everglades you think your a dreadnok I will have you arrested! I just smiled and and said have it your way! before he could get another joke in I punched him in the face and elbowed him in the neck he crashed into the whole transformers aisle and hit the floor his friend went running i picked up a zartan gave it to the kid in the aisle and got one for me. i kneel ed down and told him how you gonna call the cops i just knocked you the f%^& out! tell all your friends not to scalp or they'll run into me! a true dreadnok! same thing with the other scalper in town. they literally leave the stores when they see me coming in! I dont care for bullsh^&t! I want me my toys and to be left alone dont piss me off! Scalpers don't like me and dont get me started about garage sales! lol im just glad i dont collect anything new anymore! lol


* i bet this will get deleted! lol

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"All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. "
Friedrich Nietzsche