Updated November 2007: See End For Details.

Don't Be Ripped off!

If, like me, your children have inhereted a major Doctor Who habit then you might have been tempted to buy some of the figures you can find in (as they say) good toy shops everywhere.

We don't have a lot of money so can only afford to buy toys like these when they are on special offer; BOGOFs and the like. Fortunately our children appreciate our situation and accept it. They don't nag or badger us for things they want but know we can't afford.

Anyway, to get to the point

It appears that someone has whipped up interest in one of these figures, the Sycorax Leader to be precise. They have generated an enourmous demand that can't be satisfied because it would appear that particular figure ceased production over a year ago.

Naturally, the opportunists have crawled out from under their rocks and these action figures can now be found for sale on eBay, Amazon and other similar sites for ridiculous prices.

Several people have recently paid over £45.00 for one of these figures on eBay and another is on Amazon for £99.00 (both plus P&P).

Unless you are a heavyweight collector of action figures and are 100% sure the figure you are buying is still carded and both it and the packaging are in absolute mint condition then (in my opinion) you would have to be crazy to pay more than £15 (inc P&P) for one of these figures.

What To Do

Sadly, the only way to avoid being ripped off is to set yourself a limit, a realistic price (see above) and bid that price.
If you win, Congratulations! But if you don't... Just WALK AWAY.

The only reason people get away with selling these things for stupid prices is because other people get caught up in the moment. They forget they are bidding on a child's toy, a five inch piece of plastic which their child will leave on the floor, tread on, drag along brick walls, bury in mud, chew bits off and (eventually) lose interest in.
Perhaps it will surface weeks or months later and be played with for another few hours but don't kid yourself, pretty soon it WILL get thrown away or lost forever.

If you look at it like that, is it really worth paying over Fifty Quid for a tiny bit of plastic? Or over £100 on Amazon!

The Sad Truth

It is all in your hands, it is totally up to you, the buyer can't force you to bid on their item, it is YOU who makes the bids.

So, I'm afraid there is no other way to avoid being ripped off but to be realistic and exercise a little self control.

Oh, and having understanding children certainly helps!

I do hope you have found this helpful, even if it wasn't what you were expecting...

Update: Nov 2007

Christmas is coming, the scum are getting fat, please don't get caught in a scammer's trap...

Yes, the festive season is upon us once again and all the dross of the net will be flocking to eBay to rip us off with overpriced, poor quality or simply non existent 'bargains'. And with another much awaited Doctor Who Christmas Special on the schedules what better present to buy for your favourite Doctor Who fan but a piece of quality Doctor Who merchandise?

Please, please, please, please, please... don't become another dissatisified eBay customer who pays over the odds for a piece of tat.

Having been bitten by a couple of scammers recently I am currently writing a new guide on how to detect the fraudsters which, hopefully, will be out in time to help you avoid some Christmas misery. Keep your eyes open and thanks for all the votes!

Regards
tbod