It came from eBay: Ridiculously overpriced Skylanders figures

Scalpers are a serious problem when you want to purchase collectibles, video games, and toys. They build their entire web enterprises around buying up limited stock then extorting the rest from desperate consumers.

For the last few months, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventures figures have been hard to come by and likely will be until later this year when the next game comes out. Activision is still shipping new toys, and even issuing limited edition versions of already common characters, but they aren't any easier to find on shelves.

This pearl Hex looks really cool but good luck finding one for a decent price. This figure is currently going for $430 on eBay.

pearl hex

Scalper culture is the problem here. Skylanders are very hard to find because people want them and online retailers are capitalizing on that. If you do a quick search for Sklanders on eBay or Amazon, you'll get hundreds of results at some fairly astronomical prices.

I'm not sure if Activision increasing production would solve this problem, but releasing "rare" and "limited" figures into an already hostile market just encourages unscrupulous Internet profiteers to buy even more. I suppose Activision doesn't care as long as they make their money, but they aren't making anything off the used sale. That is often 100 percent profit for the various second-hand retailers.

The ultimate solution would be to charge people for activating/re-registering used Skylanders just like online passcodes, but I really hope that isn't the future of Skylanders.

Tags: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventures

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Edward Varnell

March 13, 2012

Oh it gets worst. For someone who sells these at work, we get around 15 calls per day and when they are on sell, they are gone with in minutes. When we first got them, the sold slowly but by the third week, they were all gone. It has gotten to the point that some people wait around the store to see when or if they are coming in. I understand that these kids want them but who knew they would want them this bad. Its on the same level as a Mario Game.

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Chris Demato

March 14, 2012

Ok so i am the current seller of the auction stated above... Lets get 1 thing straight these toys are based soley on supply and demand.. Look at all the current auction.. Staring bids were very small... Its everyone else bidding jacking up the prices.. So before you blame "scalpers" talk to the consumers...

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Bryan Harper

March 15, 2012

So taking all the supply out of the market at the set MSRP and forcing people who might have need for the items bludgeon each other to get the item wherever they might be able to is fair game? You're right, you're a bastion of free market practice. "It's not my fault I bought all 9000 gallons of water at the store during a drought and can now control the demand now that I control the supply. It's the buyer's fault." Jog on. I knew you were special as soon as I read the $16 shipping fee on a toy that costs $3 to ship priority.

Buying something to take it off the market simply to resell it is playing dirty, plain and simple. Scalpers hold a monopoly on these items. Of course they're going to be expensive, because they aren't sitting in a store with a $16 price tag on them, or whatever they were to begin with. They're in your greasy palms.