darkSpyro

Believe it or not, if you didn't get a Ninjini, keeping an eye on ebay might be your best bet. I got curious about how the release would affect ebay prices, and they are dropping like a stone. In fact, with ebay fees, paypal fees, and store tax, if the price gets below $20, the people who waited for hours to buy them all and sell them on ebay are might just be losing money. I'm to laugh pretty hard if that happens.

They might lose money AND one lucky winner got slugged. Nice.

The best thing to do is to just wait till they come to stores regularly. If this was a special limited edition figure I'd have skipped classes and waited in line. But this is one that's going to be out in droves over the next couple months. Like, we all thought Thumpy and EB were going to be really rare due to how little Gamestop was getting them in, but now they're out pretty much everywhere.

I agree with SpyroFlame, waiting is the best option. But I will laugh pretty hard if that happened. Wouldn't shock me. I'll laugh at both the scalper AND the people who decided spending 500+ on a fig that isn't a special edition OR variant. Its times like this when the phrase "It pays to be patient" work the best.

Yeah, that's hilarious. And as Amazon has shown now, this isn't just a TRU exclusive thing. She is going to be everywhere really soon. It would be great to make a scalper take a loss, but even more fun to have them have to sulk back to TRU and return them. I did see a few auctions from clearly delusional people like a $189.99 BIN one that just got put up. The only real money in scalping is in getting one early somehow, because TFB isn't playing around this year - stock is flowing really fast. I'm sure there are some people that got one in NY that are kicking themselves now for not taking some lower offers back when they had the market cornered.

Or people who bought one of the NY ones for 200+ are kicking themselves tight now.

Quote: Bazinga

Or people who bought one of the NY ones for 200+ are kicking themselves tight now.

There are alot of suckers out there in that boat. Let's not forget those who bought the Ninjini bundled with the Toy Fair Chop Chop for $700+! Not they can get Ninjini for less than $50, and Chop Chop for around $200ish.

I hope the Chop Chop falls a bit more. I want to get one of those I think they are very very neat.

Its not looking to be a viable ebay purchase anytime in the next week or so, if not the next month or so. I figure there is about an additional 10k Ninjini's out in the general public today due to the TRU early release, yet the price still is around $80 final bid on ebay. I don't get people who pay that price for what will be a common character in a few weeks, but to each their own.

Given that Ninjini is arguably one of the most popular giants, it will be a while before prices are at or below $20 on ebay.

Plus, for anyone who has a Gamestop nearby, I was told by an employee that you can order characters in-store and that it should (eventually) apply to Ninjini. Patience combined with a nearby Gamestop, and you should be able to get a Ninjini at cost with relatively little effort and time.

Not everyone wants to wait, so if they can get one for near regular price and make a scalper lose money, I'd call that a win-win. Not promising that will happen, but once all the ebayers have put them up tonight, there might be so many that I think it would be worth checking.

You're more of an optimist than I am

The only reason to pay ebay-inflated prices is if you just can't get the figure anywhere. Patience is a virture and waiting until the figures are widely released will mean obtaining them at retail prices. Paying those ebay markups is a clear case example of "A fool and his money are soon parted".

Ninjini is the most popular giant? I find that very hard to believe. Every time I go to ANY of the retailers of Skylanders the shelves are always overflowing with the female characters. Bar none. Sprocket/Flashwing/Chill/Hex/Stealth Elf...I could buy at least 20 of each of them if you gave me a 1/2 hour to go out to a couple stores in my area. My guess is Ninjini is all over shelves in no time once the "must have them all" crowd is satisfied. Scalpers better sell their inventory fast or they're going to eat it on this one.

I think it is a bit different with the giants as far as being popular. I think she will be hard to find for awhile as she is a giant and not a regular sized character. Also, I feel that just because they are on the shelf does not mean they are more or less popular. It also has to do with what comes in a box. I have not seen a single Slam Bam since the first week of giants being released. Why? I am pretty sure he was not released in any of the other boxes after wave 1. Wave 2 and wave 3 have had more of the other characters in them.

I would need GM78 to confirm what was in each box for me but, it is my feeling that they are just more available as they are in boxes more.

Wave 4 Case:

2x Ninjini
2x Thumpback
1x Eye Brawl
1x Crusher

Yeah, I don't think Pink Ninja Barbie will be hard to find long term. Pre-teen boys tend to shy away from the girl figures. Thumpback or Eye Brawl is my guess to be the highest selling Giants after the dust settles.

Quote: Rhonan

Plus, for anyone who has a Gamestop nearby, I was told by an employee that you can order characters in-store and that it should (eventually) apply to Ninjini. Patience combined with a nearby Gamestop, and you should be able to get a Ninjini at cost with relatively little effort and time.

I was told that too when Eyebrawl and Thumpback first came out. However, they are only going in their computer and ordering it through the website. I found that out after the employee that told me in the first place tried to do it and then dissapointedly told me they weren't in stock.

I knew in the giants W4 boxes were like that. I was thinking more a long the lines of the regular size figs.

Quote: Skylanders Dad

Ninjini is the most popular giant? I find that very hard to believe. Every time I go to ANY of the retailers of Skylanders the shelves are always overflowing with the female characters. Bar none. Sprocket/Flashwing/Chill/Hex/Stealth Elf...I could buy at least 20 of each of them if you gave me a 1/2 hour to go out to a couple stores in my area. My guess is Ninjini is all over shelves in no time once the "must have them all" crowd is satisfied. Scalpers better sell their inventory fast or they're going to eat it on this one.

Maybe its just my area, but I rarely see chill or hex on the shelf (and I need chill for my niece's birthday). Stealth elf is uncommon and sprocket and whirlwind are semi-uncommon. Flashwing and sonic boom are the only ones I see commonly and mainly at Target/Walmart, respectively. But at the same time, they aren't as common as some of the other characters, such as stump smash and drill sergeant. Not to mention, its hard to tell flashwing and sonic boom are female characters.

Personally I think it is more to do with an aesthetic and cultural cool-factors combined with in-game useability than female vs male.

Flashwing has become a bit more common in my area lately. Sprocket can still be had but not like she used to. GITD Sonic Booms are everywhere... but regular version of her not so much. I haven't seen a single chill in a couple of months.