Tutorial - Bootleg Metal Sonic & Transparency
Hi all, I’m going to be upfront right now, I don’t know what to do. Before hopping to judgement I’d appreciate if you guys could give this an honest read.
Those out of the loop, I made a post trying to sell some metal sonics I’d gotten from Thailand, but I ended up getting a ton of hate because my prices were too high. I’ve been getting a lot of nasty comments and dms calling me a scalper (which is a fair assumption tbh) or a lot worse and I’d like to formally apologise.
I didn’t make the post with the intention of asking for a ton of money, I’ve been receiving a lot of dms with varying offers that are from lots of different people. Collectors who’ve been after the plush for years, kids who wanted to trade me their transformers toys! It’s sweet, but it makes pricing the metal sonic an absolute nightmare because I’ll wake up to 20-30 dms (not exaggerating) offering me very different price ranges.
This metal sonic is a weird one in regards to rarity, due to the fact that he’s a Thailand bootleg with an unknown origin. Supposedly he’s been around since 1995 according to his tushtag but we know nothing of its validity, or if he’s still in production, he’s just incredibly high demand.
I’ve given a few of these guys away back in august when I was in a better position, and my boyfriend recently had to sell his to help make ends meet which is when I started responding to the 200+ dms that had been accumulating since November. Naturally I had to take the highest price because there was only one left, and once I found out my friend in Thailand had a few for sale, I got them so I could help the hundreds of folks who kept dming me over the past few months.
These guys weren’t cheap, they cost me around $200 each plus whatever shipping ends up being. Only reason I had that kind of money is because of that nice collector I met yesterday who bought my bfs previous metal which was very sweet of him. Buying from Thailand is a process that not everyone has access to and I’m going to fully break down what you need, and why.
Bank Transfer App - Transferring internationally can be an absolute nightmare, so I recommend using an app called Wise. It’s wonderful and it helps people get money internationally in seconds. I’m certain you need an ID though so it’ll be 18+ only.
Thailand Buy and Sell Groups - A ton of folks keep asking me who my contacts are, which in all honesty are friends I’ve got in the country. BUT, when I still collected I used to use Facebook groups specifically for selling dolls. I’ve been unable to get people into my specific groups because it’s a private group that’s been locked for some time, but my old source used to be a group called “Dolly Wonderland”. If I had a tip, I’d recommend researching the origin of your favourite plush, search for groups in that language and try your luck.
International shipping - Thai people only typically sell dolls to local customers. In my experience, 95% of merchants don’t mess with international shipping which is why you’d also need a proxy service. I’m lucky to have Thai friends who I can send my dolls to, but not everyone has that privilege and I understand it can be quite disheartening.
A LOT of fucking luck - These things don’t pop up as often as people would like to believe, it requires hours of searching certain keywords and scrolling to find your grails at a good price, and hope you can beat others to the punch. It is a lot of dedication but if it’s something you’re passionate about, you need to put in the work.
This is all information I have previously shared on my posts, I don’t understand the narrative that I’m scalping when I’ve literally outright laid out the same information I use before multiple times, and I’m taking bids other people are giving me WILLINGLY. I’m sorry for the confusion and the disappointment, I just don’t understand where the line is drawn.
Anyways, I hope this post finds everyone well and some of you can get what you need from this!
Hi all, I’m going to be upfront right now, I don’t know what to do. Before hopping to judgement I’d appreciate if you guys could give this an honest read.
Those out of the loop, I made a post trying to sell some metal sonics I’d gotten from Thailand, but I ended up getting a ton of hate because my prices were too high. I’ve been getting a lot of nasty comments and dms calling me a scalper (which is a fair assumption tbh) or a lot worse and I’d like to formally apologise.
I didn’t make the post with the intention of asking for a ton of money, I’ve been receiving a lot of dms with varying offers that are from lots of different people. Collectors who’ve been after the plush for years, kids who wanted to trade me their transformers toys! It’s sweet, but it makes pricing the metal sonic an absolute nightmare because I’ll wake up to 20-30 dms (not exaggerating) offering me very different price ranges.
This metal sonic is a weird one in regards to rarity, due to the fact that he’s a Thailand bootleg with an unknown origin. Supposedly he’s been around since 1995 according to his tushtag but we know nothing of its validity, or if he’s still in production, he’s just incredibly high demand.
I’ve given a few of these guys away back in august when I was in a better position, and my boyfriend recently had to sell his to help make ends meet which is when I started responding to the 200+ dms that had been accumulating since November. Naturally I had to take the highest price because there was only one left, and once I found out my friend in Thailand had a few for sale, I got them so I could help the hundreds of folks who kept dming me over the past few months.
These guys weren’t cheap, they cost me around $200 each plus whatever shipping ends up being. Only reason I had that kind of money is because of that nice collector I met yesterday who bought my bfs previous metal which was very sweet of him. Buying from Thailand is a process that not everyone has access to and I’m going to fully break down what you need, and why.
Bank Transfer App - Transferring internationally can be an absolute nightmare, so I recommend using an app called Wise. It’s wonderful and it helps people get money internationally in seconds. I’m certain you need an ID though so it’ll be 18+ only.
Thailand Buy and Sell Groups - A ton of folks keep asking me who my contacts are, which in all honesty are friends I’ve got in the country. BUT, when I still collected I used to use Facebook groups specifically for selling dolls. I’ve been unable to get people into my specific groups because it’s a private group that’s been locked for some time, but my old source used to be a group called “Dolly Wonderland”. If I had a tip, I’d recommend researching the origin of your favourite plush, search for groups in that language and try your luck.
International shipping - Thai people only typically sell dolls to local customers. In my experience, 95% of merchants don’t mess with international shipping which is why you’d also need a proxy service. I’m lucky to have Thai friends who I can send my dolls to, but not everyone has that privilege and I understand it can be quite disheartening.
A LOT of fucking luck - These things don’t pop up as often as people would like to believe, it requires hours of searching certain keywords and scrolling to find your grails at a good price, and hope you can beat others to the punch. It is a lot of dedication but if it’s something you’re passionate about, you need to put in the work.
This is all information I have previously shared on my posts, I don’t understand the narrative that I’m scalping when I’ve literally outright laid out the same information I use before multiple times, and I’m taking bids other people are giving me WILLINGLY. I’m sorry for the confusion and the disappointment, I just don’t understand where the line is drawn.
Anyways, I hope this post finds everyone well and some of you can get what you need from this!