I miss the days when good deals can be found and had on eBay regularly . . .

See subject.

Over the years, I like many others relished the excitement of finding some great 1:6 deals on eBay ranging from unbelievable buy it now prices and patiently watching an auction and getting in a final sniping bid (manually) and winning the auction.

I'm sure many of us experienced the thrills of victory with the agonies of defeat ranging from being outbid, the price escalating to the point where it was unattainable, etc.

Those days nowadays are far and few compared to say 10 years. It's slim pickings for the most nowadays where if you're not necessarily alert then an opportunity quickly slips by.

If you're a buyer, then it's a mixed bag. Nowadays, buyers have a safety net of buyer protections in place. If you're a seller, then you're pretty much screwed due to the proliferation on unsavory buyers.

The online "second hand goods" so to speak on eBay as it pertains to the 1:6 hobby is not what it used to be because I believe what many of us saw as an almost endless supply have slowly diminished over the years. That's a fact and a reality so it's hard to find honest to goodness great finds and scores as in prior years. From time to time, a really good deal does surface, but like us . . . there are those who keep an active eye out for such through active searches, etc.

AH . . . those were the days. A bit of late night / early morning rambling.

I lack your sense of long perspective, because my days of being a sixth-scale collector extend over a period only half as long as yours. I see plenty still available on eBay, except of course for the very limited finds one can turn up for items that are both specific and several years old (where the supply has become exhausted). That said, it does seem that sellers now demand increasingly high prices, especially for top-tier companies like Hot Toys and (increasingly) others as well.

GubernatorFan wrote:I lack your sense of long perspective, because my days of being a sixth-scale collector extend over a period only half as long as yours. I see plenty still available on eBay, except of course for the very limited finds one can turn up for items that are both specific and several years old (where the supply has become exhausted). That said, it does seem that sellers now demand increasingly high prices, especially for top-tier companies like Hot Toys and (increasingly) others as well.

+ 1

I still manage to find a lot of things I’m looking for... eventually. But then the debate has to happen (am I willing to pay some of the extortionate prices, or wait until I find a better deal).

I do find that some old expensive items are now showing up occasionally for a cheaper price. I mean like Medicom and Cy Girls and things. In the last few years, 1/6 went into overdrive on quality & niche subjects, so a lot of the older stuff that was rare & cool started to look less attractive and have taken a hit in value (doesn't mean they're cheap tho).

I remember those days and, Chung's right.

It was before sellers bought up all the inventory of a particular figure to sell on ebay at inflated prices. It was before sellers figured out that certain figures would be in high demand later. It was before the unsavory business model of pre-orders dominated the industry (could go on, but will leave it at that).

Good deals could be found and enjoyed by the masses, which is what the site was set up as.

It has morphed into the cluster^(& we now call "ebay." I find it rather maddening, so stay away from it for 1:6 purchases for the most part (onesixthkit is a refreshing exception). Still some deals to be had on other things on occasion, but not in 1:6th for the most part.

I make offers on things that don't have " Make Offer " as an option.
Maybe it is offensive to some, many get ignored without reply, but I do get a fair number of "OK" answers.
I just bought a Wolfenstein Terror Billy ( neat, but not the highest end figure ) for what amounted to the shipping cost and a token.
The seller was a video gamer, did not care about the figure , just kept the game.
Nothing ventured nothing gained?
I try to avoid being insulting with offers, it doesn't need to be disrespectful, but I will make an offer on something I want and see what happens.
Surely, more work for you DFC, but the deal may still be there for you in a different form.
Personally, I always end my request with " I understand if you cannot part with ( item X ) for this amount, but my offer is sincere.Thank You."

Pontiacivan wrote:I make offers on things that don't have " Make Offer " as an option.
Maybe it is offensive to some, many get ignored without reply, but I do get a fair number of "OK" answers.
I just bought a Wolfenstein Terror Billy ( neat, but not the highest end figure ) for what amounted to the shipping cost and a token.
The seller was a video gamer, did not care about the figure , just kept the game.
Nothing ventured nothing gained?
I try to avoid being insulting with offers, it doesn't need to be disrespectful, but I will make an offer on something I want and see what happens.
Surely, more work for you DFC, but the deal may still be there for you in a different form.
Personally, I always end my request with " I understand if you cannot part with ( item X ) for this amount, but my offer is sincere.Thank You."

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God forbid when the time comes for me to really part with a lot of my 1:6 hoard online.

DeltaForceChung wrote:

Pontiacivan wrote:I make offers on things that don't have " Make Offer " as an option.
Maybe it is offensive to some, many get ignored without reply, but I do get a fair number of "OK" answers.
I just bought a Wolfenstein Terror Billy ( neat, but not the highest end figure ) for what amounted to the shipping cost and a token.
The seller was a video gamer, did not care about the figure , just kept the game.
Nothing ventured nothing gained?
I try to avoid being insulting with offers, it doesn't need to be disrespectful, but I will make an offer on something I want and see what happens.
Surely, more work for you DFC, but the deal may still be there for you in a different form.
Personally, I always end my request with " I understand if you cannot part with ( item X ) for this amount, but my offer is sincere.Thank You."

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God forbid when the time comes for me to really part with a lot of my 1:6 hoard online.

DFC, I solemnly promise NOT to send you offers when you start to sell your collection!
If you have something I wish to purchase, I won't try to talk you down!

Part of what I enjoy most about the hobby is the hunt of finding things.  I buy very few newly release full figures, so it usually involves looking for a part or and older figure long sold out.  I agree that there aren't many amazing deals on eBay, and you really have to hunt to find them.  For what it's worth, here are some of my strategies:

-Cast a wide net.  Two of the figures I landed were because the seller left out key words or even used the wrong model number. I found a DAM figure I wanted because the seller only listed it as 'DAM elite series' and nothing more.  On a WorldBox figure, the photo didn't match the descriptor.  I asked if it was the one in the photo, and it was.  Most looking for these would have missed it entirely because the seller made it incredibly difficult to find.  It involves a lot of sifting though.
-Most important variable to turn on is 'global'.  Most important variable to turn off is the category.  If I have to turn it on to exclude too much unrelated stuff, I only choose Toys & Games and nothing deeper.  Stuff can end up in Collectables and Dolls & Bears too though.  Once you turn it on, it starts excluding things.  
-Estate sales.  This is what happens when you die I suppose.  Someone is going to sell all your stuff and not know what it is.  They usually have descriptors like 'Lot 73, young man in fatigues with a gun'.  I've found some good things this way.  I'm usually not the only one bidding though.  Again, cast a wide net to find it.  
-Shopping with different addresses.  I discovered this by accident on other things because my family is split between the UK and US, and I legitimately shop in both sites.  If you change country addresses, you get different results through the eBay algorithm.  If I'm looking for item A.  I will look for it first with my UK mailing address chosen, then I will search for it with my US address chosen.  Often, the items will show in one and not the other even though they will indeed ship to the desired country.  I feel bad for sellers because this is a big hole, and they are missing out on business.  
-Shopping in other country sites.  Without logging in, go to random country sites and search.  Again, the algorithms exclude many things from your home country site that have global shipping.  Sometimes, you can find things and negotiate the the seller.  I bought 10 figures from a guy in Singapore who listed them as local pickup only.  I politely asked if he was willing to ship them to the UK, and he decided to make the exception given the volume.  That leads me to....
-Exceptions.  I know DFC doesn't like this, but sellers make them all the time.  I usually get an exception made for me on shipping to the UK from US sellers who say they won't ship outside the US about 40% of the time.   I ask politely and indicate I have a good rating and the UK is a low risk country. It doesn't hurt to ask...nicely. If they say no, then I have it sent to my relatives for forwarding but try not to use them as a mail mule too much.  I also do what Pontiacivan does on asking for lower prices (but really only if it's priced high and on the market for a while), and it has a good success ratio.  
-I have currently a couple dozen saved searches that I check daily.  Again, if you write your search parameters too tightly, you can miss things.  It's a tough balance though.  Something with more generic words like Soldier Story is much more difficult to search compared to let's say (Dam, Damtoys).  

It's always nice to find something being 'priced to sell' by a regular person seller and get a deal.  Of course, it could come smelling to cat pee and cigarettes like one of my 'good deals', so you don't really know until it's in hand.  ;-)

The hardest 1/6 thing to search for is clothing imo.  It's scattered everywhere and categorised a multitude of ways.

Several of these tips had never occurred to me, thanks MarkEl!

Wow. Thanks for the tips, MarkEl. Some of those I've done, but not all.

I agree, MarkEl, these are some great tips.
With the figure I mentioned, it wasn't listed as 1/6, action figure or any category that would come up in a normal search. I specifically searched for Terror Billy and found it under video games.
I also have to remember to search for 3A as well as ThreeA when searching for my favorite robots.
I hear you on the clothes!
The number of ways they can be listed is amazing!

MarkEl wrote:-Exceptions.  I know DFC doesn't like this, but sellers make them all the time.  I usually get an exception made for me on shipping to the UK from US sellers who say they won't ship outside the US about 40% of the time.   I ask politely and indicate I have a good rating and the UK is a low risk country. It doesn't hurt to ask...nicely. If they say no, then I have it sent to my relatives for forwarding but try not to use them as a mail mule too much.  I also do what Pontiacivan does on asking for lower prices (but really only if it's priced high and on the market for a while), and it has a good success ratio.

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I don't ship outside the US, but if it's someone I know and they'll pay all applicable shipping with insurance, etc., then I would be open to ship outside the US.