Mystery Minis and Ebay - Friend or Foe?

[Oblong]

It would seem that buying box after box in the store hoping to find the rares you need is maybe not the best plan of attack. I just got into collecting MM's and while my collection has grown to almost 200 figures I've tried to be frugal and only have about 15 doubles in the process. My normal process has been to buy a case and then use ebay to fill in the ones I miss.

Buying on ebay takes some patience. I have seen some wild prices on rares and new releases. It seems few people are willing to let them go to auction and let the market decide; rather they put a ridiculous "buy it now" price.

My other concerns with ebay are avoiding sellers with low or dubious feedback ratings. Also I have steered clear of sellers from China for fear they are selling fakes.

Curious what others feelings are regarding using ebay to fill their collections. Are you patient and come across good deals? Bite the bullet and pay the piper to finish the set? Have you found better places to buy opened MM's?

What is your best ebay find? Or best ebay tips?

[Squird]

Patience and caution. I use Ebay to fill holes in my collection all the time. Like anything else, establish what you want to spend and stick to it.

I budget based on the ratio and I stay away from sales that look 'iffy'.

I figure on paying retail for a 1/12
Double retail for 1/24
Triple retail for 1/36
Up to 6 times retail for a 1/72.

If I really want something I will spend more, but Minis aren't so rare that I'm afraid of missing out on the ones that I want by waiting.

I scored a Rocketeer for under 30 shipped by waiting. Far and away one of my all time favorite Funko pieces.

[battymatt]

What Stephe said... also sometimes you can get really lucky and a seller will post a 'lot' which sometimes has rare pieces in it.
So i consider Ebay a friend.

[LordBlackCat]

Patience and caution. I use Ebay to fill holes in my collection all the time. Like anything else, establish what you want to spend and stick to it.

I budget based on the ratio and I stay away from sales that look 'iffy'.

I figure on paying retail for a 1/12
Double retail for 1/24
Triple retail for 1/36
Up to 6 times retail for a 1/72.

If I really want something I will spend more, but Minis aren't so rare that I'm afraid of missing out on the ones that I want by waiting.

I scored a Rocketeer for under 30 shipped by waiting. Far and away one of my all time favorite Funko pieces.

This is really good advice and I generally try to follow this. I've only bought one through eBay so far, but it provided me my most wanted Malcom Renolds mini!

(I'll probably be buying a Voltron through eBay before too long as I'm not super confident that I'll be able to pull one!)

[Squird]

Patience and caution. I use Ebay to fill holes in my collection all the time. Like anything else, establish what you want to spend and stick to it.

I budget based on the ratio and I stay away from sales that look 'iffy'.

I figure on paying retail for a 1/12
Double retail for 1/24
Triple retail for 1/36
Up to 6 times retail for a 1/72.

If I really want something I will spend more, but Minis aren't so rare that I'm afraid of missing out on the ones that I want by waiting.

I scored a Rocketeer for under 30 shipped by waiting. Far and away one of my all time favorite Funko pieces.

This is really good advice and I generally try to follow this. I've only bought one through eBay so far, but it provided me my most wanted Malcom Renolds mini!

(I'll probably be buying a Voltron through eBay before too long as I'm not super confident that I'll be able to pull one!)

Voltron looks pretty sweet. There's only a few I want for sure from this set, but he's one of them (the others being Kirk & Bender).

[wenhol8710]

I agree with Stephe...I fill holes with eBay all the time too. Often times there's only 2 or 3 minis in a set that I actually want, so even if I have to pay a little bit more on eBay, I don't get stuck with figures I don't want that I have to try to later sell/trade myself.

Minis are always highest in price when they first come out, but the common ones always start to come down to around retail price once everyone buys in stores and ends up with lots of duplicates.

[ShyGuyPal]

Patience and caution. I use Ebay to fill holes in my collection all the time. Like anything else, establish what you want to spend and stick to it.

I budget based on the ratio and I stay away from sales that look 'iffy'.

I figure on paying retail for a 1/12
Double retail for 1/24
Triple retail for 1/36
Up to 6 times retail for a 1/72.

If I really want something I will spend more, but Minis aren't so rare that I'm afraid of missing out on the ones that I want by waiting.

I scored a Rocketeer for under 30 shipped by waiting. Far and away one of my all time favorite Funko pieces.

Yeah this sums up my thoughts on it too. Also great job on that Rocketeer!
I haven't bought any 1/72's online, but I think anything around $35 is a great price for any 1/72. I'll pay a premium for ones I want, especially if they are out of production.

[Battastic]

Remember to check the trade section here. I have been able to unload some doubles to finish my sets.
Also check poppriceguide.com for minis for sale/trade if ebay scares you.

[Juggernaut209]

I consider it a friend for sure, but some sellers are certainly foes. In my experience, a case purchase, then ebay/trades is the only way to put together a full set without going crazy.

[gogman]

I agree with what everyone's said so far and use it myself to fill the holes left after buying a case.

[Tilter]

Patience...search daily...sometimes a good Buy it now gets scooped up quickly.

[spacemonkeytoys]

What do you guys consider retail for the mystery mini? Do you expect a different price online than you do in person? What do you think is an acceptable shipping cost?

[Pobble]

I consider ebay a friend because I'm in control how much I wanna spend. If an auction price or BIN is too high, I just move on. As others have said, patience is the key.

[tuChunky]

$5.99 is the lowest I've seen at store for MM at retail. I usually keep that in mind and add couple dollars for shipping.

[RogueSolo]

I've actually seen a few pieces down below $4 from time to time, usually on something that's not as popular but can still help me fill some holes in my collection.

[HookedOnVinyl]

eBay is definitely a friend as being from the UK we don't get anything like the choice you guys enjoy in the US. I've visited the US on 10+ occasions and each time I stock up with pop culture items. I also sell doubles on eBay, so yeah, it's a friend alright!

[hawkswin2008]

It really depends on what you are doing. I have had awesome results when filling my gaps with Hot Topic Exclusives or those hard to find 1/144 's. The sellers are usually legit. Watch out for the Chinese sellers though....i received a robb stark in memorium that had some strange paint and touch up work done.....needless to say i spent another 15$ to get an original one from a USA seller. I rarely have had issues with sellers in the states.....except one time a guy didn't pack a bunch of common ones I ordered very well...they arrived all dinged up with paint from other figures but he refunded me 50% of the cost and all the marks cleaned very well with magic erasers.

That being said I ordered a case of 24 unopened boxes of series 1 game of thrones from someone; and i STRONGLY advise to NEVER purchase unopened boxes from Ebay. I opened 5 of the 24 and they were all duplicates....3 of one common and 2 of another. The boxes were clearly tampered with, as well as the black packaging...they were all slightly opened or clearly resealed. HE refunded me in total (with no hesitation) when i returned them and never said a word except kept to his story of them being factory sealed. So NEVER buy unopened boxes on Ebay, always use a legit seller like barnes and noble or hot topic they will not tamper with the purchase. Anyway that's my two cents, good luck.

[Oblong]

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

I've made a good number of purchases in the past couple months and the results have been great overall. I did get a tampered case with doubles (should have been all 1/12's) but the seller is making good replacing my dupes. I am very wary of buying full cases though.

My best ebay buy just happened last night. I found a Dr. Lazarus (1/36) for $7.50. I assume they didn't realize it was a chase figure. I have also found some nice deals buying complete opened sets. It may take the "mystery" out of the mini, but it really saves money by buying in volume and not messing with dupes.

[RogueSolo]

Nice snag on that Dr. Lazarus!

[hughie1987]

(I'll probably be buying a Voltron through eBay before too long as I'm not super confident that I'll be able to pull one!)

I pulled Voltron very easily Still havent been able to pull a hellhound from supernatural set!