Scalpers. Resellers. The most hated members of the collecting community. If it is popular, it will be stolen from under your nose and later listed on a second-hand selling platform for 5x the amount of the retail price. Why do they do this? Because it is easy money. They know what collectors like and they know what collectors are willing to pay for something. Basically, if something is "trending," the Scalpers will hear about it and they will attack full force. Profit, profit, profit. That is all it is about.
This article describes the top ten items Scalpers love to go after. Some of these items are all day, every day; some of these items are just current trending items that will eventually die down in a couple of months, but that doesn't stop the Scalpers and that does not stop the collectors for supporting this evil. (As a collector, I am a bit biased)
Let's get started. There is no particular order, they are all "number one."
Funko. This is absolutely the number one most scalped item, probably ever. Some of the figures are pretty cool and you can see why they are highly sought after. Meanwhile, some are really dumb but go for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on Ebay. Like everything on this list, it all depends on quantity and popularity. An example of a Funko that falls under the "Popular" category- the Stranger Things: Eddie- Target Exclusive Funko Pop!. If you have caught up with the Stranger Things series, then you will understand Eddie's sudden popularity. SPOILERS AHEAD!!! In the final episode of Season 4, we see Eddie's end. We watch his awesome metal scene, his heroic decision, and his heartbreaking death. It was this scene that made the Pop! show up on Scalpers' radar. The retail price of this Funko is $11.99. This one in particular is a Target Exclusive, meaning it can only be found at Target. Sure, that alone can make something valuable if it is only found in one store. However, the popularity of the character, his death, and the Exclusive sticker made it skyrocket in resell price. As of right now, August 2022, this Funko can be found on Ebay, Mercari, Poshmark, and other selling websites/apps from anywhere between $99.99 all the way to $230.
The annoying part is the fact that people are actually paying those prices. Scalpers know they will, and that's why it continues to happen. The best way to defeat a Scalper is to simply not pay their dumb, greedy prices. Another annoying fact is that most of the time, the Scalpers either A) don't even watch the show/movie/whatever or B) they don't even collect Funko or anything they are attempting to resell. It is literally just for the profit they know they will get. Personally, the most I have ever spent on a secondhand Funko was $24. That was the Funko Pop! Gamestop Exclusive Jin Sakai in Ghost Armor (Ghost of Tsushima). I paid that amount because it was an older pop (I played the game later than everyone else) that was an exclusive and it wasn't sold in stores anymore. This is only for the "normal" size Pops!, too. I spent close to $50 on a larger Funko that was purchased secondhand; the original price was $36.50, anyway. So really, it wasn't that huge of a difference.
2. Ok, I spent a lot of time on Funko. Next on the list, we've got Pokemon Cards. I'll keep this one short. Pokemon has always, always, always been popular. Many of my generation literally grew up with it. Some born the same year it came out. So, Pokemon is always highly sought after by collectors. Recently, I would say I noticed a huge Scalper rate when Shining Fates came out. This is because of the rare full art holo Charizard card that could be pulled. At the time, it was listed on Ebay for $700-$1200 (depending on condition and PSA rating). Now, it is closer to the $150-$215 range, still depending on condition.
When Shining Fates released, people went insane. So insane, in fact, many stores stopped selling Pokemon Cards. The store I worked at began selling them at 8am on Friday's for one hour. Items were limited per person. They were sold in only one place in the store. It was crazy. One store in another state had someone pull a gun over the cards. It was bad. So, anyways, Scalpers were always first in line. The Elite Trainer boxes retailed for $50. Scalpers sold them for $200. I was lucky enough to be able to buy some for regular price and I was even luckier to pull the Charizard in a random Boltund Tin that I paid $20 for.
3. Next up, we have a more broad category: Trending Toys. Basically, whatever toy is hot at the time will definitely be noticed by Scalpers. Some examples include:
-Hatchimals
- Magic Mixies
- Mini Target Shopping Cart for Kids
- Animal Crossing Monopoly
Of course, there are many, many, many more you can probably think of, but these are of my most recent memory, especially working in retail. The newest "trending toy" is currently the Mini Target Shopping Cart. It retails for $20, exclusive to Target, and is currently on Ebay for $100-$120. I can guarantee you 100% of those listings are Scalpers. As of right now, it completely sold out in less than one hour.
4. Another broad category, Bullseye's Playground at Target items. Usually, the highly sought items are seasonal decor, like Halloween items, Christmas, Spring, etc. In 2022, it was the organization containers and plastic tubs. Most recently, those darn Mushroom Jars. I'll admit, I hunted for them because I loved them, and I now own 6 and I did not pay $20-$36 for them! (I also had a work friend and my husband keep an eye out for them for me). I use them for coffee storage and other coffee related things. Scalpers use them to dangle over those who can't find them because the Scalpers got to them first. They retail for $5. They are brand new. I beg you, do not spend $40 for one Mushroom Jar.
5. Squishmallows. I love them. They are cute and they are my friends. And they are nearly impossible to find in the wild. I have gotten very, very lucky finding the ones I have. My husband did get me three secondhand, but all the rest have been my own personal findings or a pick-up by a friend who saw some while out. The most popular ones are the Bigfoot ones and the Mushroom ones, as yearly, common, plushies. Seasonal-wise, the Halloween ones are extremely popular. Scalper prices vary depending on the size and rarity, and like Funko, popularity. Benny the Bigfoot can be anywhere from $10-$200, Malcolm the Mushroom, $15-$215. Halloween ones can be anywhere in those price ranges, as well. Keeping the tags on them helps a lot, too. Mercari does tend to have the better prices when it comes to Scalper items. I would stay away from Ebay Scalpers at all costs.
6. Monster High Dolls. This is a new one for me, as I do not collect them. They are, however, very cool and I enjoy watching box opening videos on them. The newest release, I believe, was the Dracula one. I've seen resell prices between $100-$200. Like, I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty darn cool! All of them are. I just do not have room to collect dolls, especially the ones with special boxes that are keepers.
7. Limited Edition Video Game Packages. I have not yet been lucky enough to snag a box edition of a video game. These box sets come with the game, usually Steelbook, a figurine, a statue, some small accessory, a poster of some sort, maybe an "Art of..." book, etc. First, the God of War one got away from me, and then, most recently, the Elden Ring set. Scalpers usually buy these and sell the whole thing for 3x the price. Meanwhile, some Scalpers will separate each item and sell them individually and make 4x/5x profit.
8. A smaller broad topic, Seasonal Decor. For this one, I am mostly talking about anything Halloween. Every year, stores will come out with limited release items. For example, Cracker Barrel comes out with a ghost statue that glows and can hold a lantern, that also glows. I literally don't even know the retail price of this item because I have never been able to find it in time. I see it resell for $200+. There are other stores
that make and sell copies of this ghost, so be careful not to buy a knock-off. I know Wal-Mart sells one that is very similar and it goes for $12 retail price, I do believe.
Another big one would be the Halloween collection from Bath and Body Works. I was lucky this year to get some stuff before it sold out everywhere. Bath and Body is expensive, already, so the Scalper prices are even higher.
Target appears on my lists a lot. Their "Hyde and Eek" Halloween collection is very popular every single year. Their most popular being the Spooky Plants. I try to get the new ones every year because I really do love them. They are fairly retail priced and are of good quality. Scalpers know this, too. A big plant is usually $20-$25 and are resold for $50-$100. I would not be surprised to see those number increase this year (2022) just based on how things are going.
9. Playstation 5. I don't even like hearing those words. It's been 100 years since its release and they are still somehow impossible to find in the wild. They are easily resold for over $1000 by the Scalpers who somehow find them. It's just ridiculous. That's all I have to say about that.
10. Finally, we have Pop Culture Themed Make-Up Collections. ColourPop Cosmetics is the first one that comes to mind. They have had Animal Crossing, Sailor Moon, and The Mandalorian themed collections and they all sold out immediately upon release. I do believe some items are back in stock, but it took a while. The items itself are very well priced. But Scalpers wave their magic wand and somehow resell a $7 eyeliner for $32. In the Scalper world, not even make-up is safe.
Scalpers make collecting very hard. It's annoying, infuriating, and unfair. There have been so many occasions where I have personally been checking out online and by the time I reach the end of the "submit your order" screen, I get an error message that says the item sold out. It literally seems impossible, but Scalpers have bot systems and sometimes whole teams that literally do that stuff all day long. It seems exhausting, if you ask me. But hey, it works. Collectors will pay whatever price they can for the item they want. Number 11 would be Comic Books, but I do not collect them or know a single thing about them. I just know that if it is something that is popular, Scalpers will sniff it out and engage in click-to-click combat.
What would you add to the list? What do you collect?? Let me know!!
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