darkSpyro

http://www.cindysbeans.com/pro...ERS-GIANTS.html

Wow freakey...

I've got an image of the outside of boxes and an image of the figures still packed in box. I've tried a bunch to get them uploaded--I'm frustrated. I'll figure it out in the morning.

I totes saw that coming.

Is anyone else finding it a bit weird that Miss Cindysbeans is the only one finding these similarly colored variants?

AND IT'S GONE!

Quote: lady_valdyme

Is anyone else finding it a bit weird that Miss Cindysbeans is the only one finding these similarly colored variants?

Yes. Me.

Quote: Sleepy0429

AND IT'S GONE!

If you go to her page without clicking the link, it will appear for you to see it. Thats how I had to find it.

I am still very skeptical of the whole thing. For sure there would be at least a few on ebay by now.

^is that yours?

Shelly, are you and Cindy Beans the same person?

Lmao---that's funny
No---boy I wish these were mine! Nope for the pics after asking her questions and she sent these.

I thought people would like to see --so I shared.

Quote: shelly9871

I thought people would like to see --so I shared.

Thanx Shelly! This clears up a lot. Cindybeans gets cases of Skylanders, and nailed the first variants of this wave. That's what it looks like to me anyways. Wish I could buy them by the case, then return all the regulars and keep the variants!

Ok ... honest question time now. For anyone reading this that actually knows the answer (not just guessing) ... does Activision actually distribute brand new boxed merchandise waves wholesale to individual scalpers like Cindy Beans? I would think Activision would avoid doing that since it could very easily tarnish the integrity of their cash cow name brand. It could also really irk the larger retailers that have established relationships with Activision.

So ... if Cindy Beans is acquiring these Wave 5.1 wholesale sealed boxes of brand new merchandise through legit avenues ... then how exactly does that happen?
And, alternatively, if Activision doesn't condone selling direct to people like Cindy Beans ... then Cindy Beans is either buying these "hot" on the black marke.

Help me out here. Who has some answers?

^I'm guessing CindyBeans works for or has hook ups to larger retailers...my .02.

In the messages back and forth she said some contradictory things.
In one message she said she
had 200 5.1 boxes to go through.
I asked her if she has specific older variants and she said
No but she'd check with her activision rep.
I asked how she orders directly because I didn't think small retailers could and she said
I don't order directly from activision blizzard, they won't even talk to you unless you have a net worth over 5 million. I am a large player I'm videos and other collectables.

So, my point for posting this to begin with was to see if anybody knows how she does this...
I'm so curious how she makes this happen.

^She has an inside hookup at a large retailer who can go through boxes before they ship them to the store. Makes the most sense to me.

Quote: GhostRoaster

^She has an inside hookup at a large retailer who can go through boxes before they ship them to the store. Makes the most sense to me.

But wouldn't that violate some sort of corporate rules or something? I dunno, the whole thing is extremely shady... It's driving me nuts. I'm a frequent lurker on the site, hardly posting anything except when I see something that may be foul, haha. It's something I'm super passionate about and I would hate to see anyone spend a ridiculous amount of money for a fraudulent item.

Quote: shelly9871

In the messages back and forth she said some contradictory things.
In one message she said she
had 200 5.1 boxes to go through.
I asked her if she has specific older variants and she said
No but she'd check with her activision rep.
I asked how she orders directly because I didn't think small retailers could and she said
I don't order directly from activision blizzard, they won't even talk to you unless you have a net worth over 5 million. I am a large player I'm videos and other collectables.

So, my point for posting this to begin with was to see if anybody knows how she does this...
I'm so curious how she makes this happen.

There absolutely is something shady and "behind closed doors" going here, at best. At worst, it's involved in large-scale larceny or racketeering and/or fraud, whether Cindy Beans is aware of it or not.

I wouldn't touch this Seller or her "purple" Skylanders with a ten-foot pole until we have a LOT more information about this nonsense.

Shady it is! When I think about how many legit kids and collectors who play it fair---it's just sick. No matter how many security systems they have in place---somebody always figures out how to get around them. When I think about the amount of profit that's being made---wow! It's not even just the variants---it's the whole thing that is bothersome

Quote: GhostRoaster

^She has an inside hookup at a large retailer who can go through boxes before they ship them to the store. Makes the most sense to me.

That's not the backroom of a major retailer. That's a pic of someone's garage filled with Skylanders and Beanie Babies, presumably CindyBeans. This scalper was somehow able to finagle bulk orders of Skylanders.

The other thing I don't get is ... how is this Cindy Beans person actually making any sales? Off people who have been banned from Ebay?

I mean, her prices on her own website are universally higher than the prices we routinely see on Ebay ... why would someone buy from Cindy Beans?

For examples:

Ninjini is selling for roughly $20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $30 plus $7.70 shipping.
Polar Whirlwind is selling for roughly $19-$20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $25 plus $7.70 shipping
Series 2 Wrecking Ball is selling for roughly $16-$17 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $20 plus $7.70 shipping.

I'm asking seriously ... why would anyone buy Skylanders from this woman?

Can anyone tell me that blue skylander variant is a variant of?

Wrecking ball

Quote: BahamutBreaker

The other thing I don't get is ... how is this Cindy Beans person actually making any sales? Off people who have been banned from Ebay?

I mean, her prices on her own website are universally higher than the prices we routinely see on Ebay ... why would someone buy from Cindy Beans?

For examples:

Ninjini is selling for roughly $20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $30 plus $7.70 shipping.
Polar Whirlwind is selling for roughly $19-$20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $25 plus $7.70 shipping
Series 2 Wrecking Ball is selling for roughly $16-$17 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $20 plus $7.70 shipping.

I'm asking seriously ... why would anyone buy Skylanders from this woman?

My only guess is that she routinely shows up in Amazon when stock is out, so I'm guessing "perceived" supply being low, she offers her wares for more. And then doesn't bother lowering it because of supply going down later in the release cycle. I'm betting she does well since she apparently has the goods no major retailer has early on or between "restockings".

But to answer your question...no one who is patient enough

No, in the bottom right corner, it's a water type, looks like . Possible blue

Quote: Rickorio

No, in the bottom right corner, it's a water type, looks like . Possible blue

Are you looking at the Metallic Lightning Rod or the Completely Normal Slam Bam?

Sorry, I got the shade of blue that air have, with the one that water has, yeah, you're right, it is metallic purple .

Gill is not in boxes of 5.1.

Maybe she works for some place that allows her to take home boxes of stuff, go thru them then bring them back? idk maybe not some huge retailer but a smaller store that has skylanders? I would say a gamestop would be easy for this cause its a smaller store but we know they ull the variants out before they ship them to ppl (i think someone said that somewhere)

While I cannot vouch for Cindy Beans source of her merchandise I will say that she does do a good job at shipping items in a timely manner and does pack collectibles in a suitable way so they will not get damaged in shipping. I have dealt with her in the past in buying a Beanie Boo off of her for my Daughter and I can't say anything bad about the item or the condition that I received it in. The item I purchased from her was on the high end in price but she had what others didn't so unfortunately if you want it you have to pay for it. Again, I am not vouching for her questionable actions in the field of Skylanders figures I am simply saying that my interactions with her went without issue. People are going to make money any way they can and I think that especially in the collectible market it can bring out the worst in people. Collectibles in general is a horrible thing to get involved in. It can be rewarding and fun but at the same time it can be time consuming and way too expensive. If we look at any company that is manufacturing a collectible to consumers they already know the whole thing is a scheme from the start. If by Activision placing achievements within their game based on the amount of money you spend and how many figures you collect doesn't tell you something I am afraid nothing will. We all still eat it up though right? I am a grown man and I enjoy collecting the figures with my son and playing the game together with him but I wish I didn't have to spend approx. $200 to see everything there is to see in a game I already purchased. I know I am going off on a tangent here but it seems like as collectors we are never happy no matter which way things are for us. I started a thread awhile back about how you could get a Giants starter pack for $1 at Target and I got trashed by some for committing coupon fraud amongst other things. Just yesterday we got word of a huge sale going on at Gamestop.com and people were complaining about how other websites like slickdeals.com were garbage because it was full of scammers and Ebay vultures and that they were buying up everything. I was able to get 7 figures that I needed for my collection for $28 after tax and I was elated. Now some of us are putting down this lady whom none of us know personally, for having the ability and access to items that we want. Perhaps her motives are questionable or maybe she is actually just a very smart business woman who knows how to make a living off of an already questionable industry. This stuff has been going on forever. When I was in high school, before the interwebs, I played a game called Magic the Gathering. It is a collectible card game in case you are not familiar with it. Basically, the more packs of cards you bought, the more chances you had at building the best deck, thus your chances of winning increased. Businessmen got smart and started selling the rarer cards individually at an obviously inflated mark up. We paid the extra price because we didn't want to have to purchase multiple packs of cards only to just have a hope of getting what we wanted. Was it fair that the card shop owners could buy multiple cases of cards, open them themselves and then sell the good cards individually at a high price? Fair? Yes, unfortunately. Was it a necessary evil? Maybe. Did it prevent us from buying a ton of unwanted cards to get what we wanted right away? Definitely.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

And, alternatively, if Activision doesn't condone selling direct to people like Cindy Beans ... then Cindy Beans is either buying these "hot" on the black market, or sleeping with someone at Activision or Toys R Us?

Seriously? Accusing someone of prostitution over little plastic toys?

Disgusting. That pretty much takes the cake.

andi still cant see!

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: BahamutBreaker

And, alternatively, if Activision doesn't condone selling direct to people like Cindy Beans ... then Cindy Beans is either buying these "hot" on the black market, or sleeping with someone at Activision or Toys R Us?

Seriously? Accusing someone of prostitution over little plastic toys?

Disgusting. That pretty much takes the cake.

UncleBob, no, not seriously, man. I was joking about the "sleeping with someone" part. A joke ... ya know, designed to elicit amusement and/or laughter?

Although, since you've made a stink about it now, I will say that people in this world have undoubtedly whored for less than little plastic toys.

Sorry, I don't find misogyny to be a "joke".

Never mind.

Ugh, we already have a Wrecking Ball variant. And I have a feeling he'll be in Triples.

I SERIOUSLY would've preferred Spyro or Drobot.

its in another topic i belive

Back "in stock".

http://www.cindysbeans.com/pro...ERS-GIANTS.html

Can someone ask her to look through the rest?

i would if i could.....

Variant is out of reach.. 399..

Quote: UncleBob

Sorry, I don't find misogyny to be a "joke".

I'm sure women everywhere are honored to have UncleBob bravely defending their honor on Internet forums. And, you know, CindyBeans might be run by a man, they haven't identified themselves as either. Unclebob, why are you assuming that when a joke about someone refers "sleeping with someone" it involves a woman doing favors for a man? Mysogyny indicates the woman is debasing herself towards a man in power, why can it not be the other way around? Are you stereotyping?

A) TheGooch has conducted business with her and has said she is a woman. Doesn't 100% mean it is the case, but I'll take someone's word who has dealt with the person over a random guess.

Your definition of misogyny is off. A lot.

C) The "other way around" would be called misandry. Funny note - Firefox spell check recognizes misogyny, but not misandry. EQUAL RIGHTS!

D) You don't have to be a woman to be insulted by small minded, misogynistic comments.

Actually in another thread there was a link to Cindy Beans personal
Face book page. It's a woman for sure. I bought a glow in the dark skylander from her awhile ago---packed well, cheaper than eBay etc. would I like to pay less for the different chase variants--yes--but I wait and when I see one at a lower price point--we buy it. I use that price charting site a lot to gauge prices over a period of time.
Now-do I think $400+ is outrageous--yes--but people can take it or leave it.
Do I think it's "unfair" that she has this type of access to new boxes from activision-again--yes!
But it is what it is. I thought it'd be interesting to hear if anybody at DS could figure out how she does this.

mi·sog·y·ny
noun
hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women. (dictionary.com)

Do you believe that Bahumut's comment indicates he has a hatred, dislike or mistrust of women because he used a term that is typical Internet slang for getting something others did not?

Example usage: Wow, Bob got some great tickets to that concert, who do you think he had to sleep with to get those?

You miss the point though, it is obvious that the comment didn't literally mean giving sexual favors in return for more rare figures. Suggesting otherwise indicates you are either being intentionally daft for the purpose of faux indignation in order to debate a strawman, or you are exceptionally touchy. If it is the latter, then UncleBob, buddy, you might want to limit your Internet usage because it can be a very scary, upsetting place.

If you disagree CindyBeans is getting these cases through some special avenue, then fine debate that point and mention why you think that is inaccurate. But don't act like he made some horrible, horrible offensive slur against women by using a common slang term that is regularly directed at both genders.

What I think is that they acquire the cases through wholesalers or smaller shops that allow them to buy whole cases or piggy back on their orders. Or they may have an account through a wholesaler since they do seem to have quite a decent stock and business. TFB doesn't even see those boxes when they ship, Chris in particular said he has to hunt for chase variants the same as the rest of us. They simply got lucky by getting some chase variants in their cases.

Are you seriously trying to claim that it's okay for someone to post "She has something I don't. Must have ****ed someone for it."? Because that's what you're doing.

If that's the mark you want to leave, then so be it.

Something being "typical" slang doesn't make it okay. I hear a lot of folks use the term "******-rig". Doesn't make it an acceptable term.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

The other thing I don't get is ... how is this Cindy Beans person actually making any sales? Off people who have been banned from Ebay?

I mean, her prices on her own website are universally higher than the prices we routinely see on Ebay ... why would someone buy from Cindy Beans?

For examples:

Ninjini is selling for roughly $20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $30 plus $7.70 shipping.
Polar Whirlwind is selling for roughly $19-$20 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $25 plus $7.70 shipping
Series 2 Wrecking Ball is selling for roughly $16-$17 (including shipping) on Ebay currently. Cindy Beans price is $20 plus $7.70 shipping.

I'm asking seriously ... why would anyone buy Skylanders from this woman?

I once saw a guy buy a Scarlet for $40 from a scalper at a ComiCon stand the day she came out, even when I told him he could get it cheaper as she had just come out.

People are often stupid and would rather pay outrageous prices for something rather than looking around for a good deal. CindyBeans is merely a low-life scalper taking advantage of this.

Quote: UncleBob

Are you seriously trying to claim that it's okay for someone to post "She has something I don't. Must have ****ed someone for it."? Because that's what you're doing.

If that's the mark you want to leave, then so be it.

Something being "typical" slang doesn't make it okay. I hear a lot of folks use the term "******-rig". Doesn't make it an acceptable term.

That's not what he said. The word you use is specific, the one he used is slang. Your high morals have been noted. My wife was very amused with your support, however she suggested you use find a more effective form of supporting women's rights.

Oh, and by the way, your use of the second term DID offend her. She has much more harsh words for people that use that term, even in jest or example. These are things you wouldn't understand but she does, and your meager attempts at "respect" are more insulting than anything to her.

I make my mark through my actions, not through Internet forum crusading.