Post by kuyabert on Nov 20, 2010 22:01:59 GMT 7
i had a nice chat with sir ma'tto this afternoon at his house. sir ma'tto if you don't know, is the founder of PNN (pinoy na nagmamanyika) and one of the good fellow collectors we met way back toycon 2008.
before you guys come up with any weird ideas, i was at his house to pick up a doll for someone and sir ma'tto was very kind enough to find me one at a good price. we spent more than an hour chatting and talking about collecting and our respective groups (ZPH and PNN). PNN was founded just over a year ago. with just over a year, they have already made some milestones such as displaying their dolls this last toycon and guesting in UKG just a couple of months back.
unlike us, their group has limited membership and they don't focus on quantity. indeed, they were considering quality over quantity. in their group, almost 90% of the members are active in their group activities considering that some of their members hail from different provinces north and south. of course, there are the occasional members who go to their events and meetups just to get a good buy for their collections. it's a common denominator for all groups out there and we're not excluded from this.
the one thing i noticed that differentiates PNN from the other groups is that most of them are in their hobby for the fun and enjoyment of playing and collecting dolls and not more to gain an advantage on each other. heck, most of their dolls are shipped from other countries and they don't have all doll brands locally available. i thought to myself, well, we're luckier then since we have a local distributor of Zoids and some specialty shops also help us ship in those that are not locally available. heck, do you even see specialty shops in Greenhills with ball-jointed-dolls and barbies up for sale?
the point i'm trying to make here is that we don't need to fight over who gets to get what and how many, it's every person's privilege and ability (connections and finances) that allows them to get hold of the kits they want. maybe some acquire these kits to gain a profit from them but you should be aware, "walang scalper kung walang papayag bilhin ung mga kits sa mas mahal na presyo"
yes, maybe what some of these people do, strip the new collectors of the opportunity to get kits at a more reasonable price(it doesn't matter if MIB or not coz a Zoids is still a Zoids) but you should remember that we are collectors and not holiday shopping parents who just need to get toys at a cheaper price to give away each holiday. as a collector, i believe we should bear in mind that we are not the only collectors out there trying to complete or even hoard a line. we should understand the bearing of starting and continuing a line - it's never cheap and easy.
for the new members, please be patient and understand that unlike the old members, you have just started out in this hobby and as unfortunate as it may sound, Zoids have become rarer and rarer by the minute. if you intend to expand your collections then don't expect kits to come cheap. of course, if you keep an eye out, you could have what you want at a much cheaper price than what is dictated in the market. it just needs effort and time. if you worry about having to collect 2nd hand kits then please by all means, don't buy 2nd hand kits. personally, i have tons of 2nd hand/built kits which i bought from fellow collectors and i still enjoy these kits in such ways as disassembling them and cleaning/washing the parts then reassembling them. if i wanted to cut parts off sprues then i would have bought gundams instead, which by the way are locally abundant. the thing is, we are all on the same boat and it's just that older members started earlier and were able to save us the time and effort of removing parts from sprues. boy, their hands much be swollen by now.
for the old members, hopefully i myself included, let's not try and sell used-to-be-locally-availble kits at much higher prices than SRP. of course, i can't dictate this for all of us since we all have our own priorities in life. we can post stuffs for sale and it's always up to the buyers if they'll acquire those kits at the price we're offering. if they want to haggle, try to not dismiss them like some dirty old dog looking for food. there are always good ways of dealing with every person. if you think a particular buyer has become too much for yourself to handle, then by all means, let the admins know of these and maybe we can all come to a good compromise.
we can discuss hoarders and scalpers offline but let us not try and make a fuss over these matters. they just cause more tension with each member of the community. i don't want to drag this thread further but all i hope is that we don't get to see backstabbers and people with larger egos trying to ruin a good community. yes, i believe ZPH is a good community, great even. that is why i try and make myself available for any events, even weekends when i have work to do.
for those who were not man enough to discuss their concerns and just post some random rants in the chat box below, please, if you still have the decency of being a collector, take it out on your hobby in a more positive way, not negatively on the people into the hobby. if you have concerns, then the admins are here to help, even if we don't get to reply to your PMs ASAP. if your problem is the admins, then i have no control over what you decide. you may want to discuss this in a more constructive outlet rather than bashing on people. if you don't agree then there's always the option of leaving - we wouldn't want to force you to come and join events and activities that you'd rather not be interested in.
PS: the doll is still not mine ok? peace out!
before you guys come up with any weird ideas, i was at his house to pick up a doll for someone and sir ma'tto was very kind enough to find me one at a good price. we spent more than an hour chatting and talking about collecting and our respective groups (ZPH and PNN). PNN was founded just over a year ago. with just over a year, they have already made some milestones such as displaying their dolls this last toycon and guesting in UKG just a couple of months back.
unlike us, their group has limited membership and they don't focus on quantity. indeed, they were considering quality over quantity. in their group, almost 90% of the members are active in their group activities considering that some of their members hail from different provinces north and south. of course, there are the occasional members who go to their events and meetups just to get a good buy for their collections. it's a common denominator for all groups out there and we're not excluded from this.
the one thing i noticed that differentiates PNN from the other groups is that most of them are in their hobby for the fun and enjoyment of playing and collecting dolls and not more to gain an advantage on each other. heck, most of their dolls are shipped from other countries and they don't have all doll brands locally available. i thought to myself, well, we're luckier then since we have a local distributor of Zoids and some specialty shops also help us ship in those that are not locally available. heck, do you even see specialty shops in Greenhills with ball-jointed-dolls and barbies up for sale?
the point i'm trying to make here is that we don't need to fight over who gets to get what and how many, it's every person's privilege and ability (connections and finances) that allows them to get hold of the kits they want. maybe some acquire these kits to gain a profit from them but you should be aware, "walang scalper kung walang papayag bilhin ung mga kits sa mas mahal na presyo"
yes, maybe what some of these people do, strip the new collectors of the opportunity to get kits at a more reasonable price(it doesn't matter if MIB or not coz a Zoids is still a Zoids) but you should remember that we are collectors and not holiday shopping parents who just need to get toys at a cheaper price to give away each holiday. as a collector, i believe we should bear in mind that we are not the only collectors out there trying to complete or even hoard a line. we should understand the bearing of starting and continuing a line - it's never cheap and easy.
for the new members, please be patient and understand that unlike the old members, you have just started out in this hobby and as unfortunate as it may sound, Zoids have become rarer and rarer by the minute. if you intend to expand your collections then don't expect kits to come cheap. of course, if you keep an eye out, you could have what you want at a much cheaper price than what is dictated in the market. it just needs effort and time. if you worry about having to collect 2nd hand kits then please by all means, don't buy 2nd hand kits. personally, i have tons of 2nd hand/built kits which i bought from fellow collectors and i still enjoy these kits in such ways as disassembling them and cleaning/washing the parts then reassembling them. if i wanted to cut parts off sprues then i would have bought gundams instead, which by the way are locally abundant. the thing is, we are all on the same boat and it's just that older members started earlier and were able to save us the time and effort of removing parts from sprues. boy, their hands much be swollen by now.
for the old members, hopefully i myself included, let's not try and sell used-to-be-locally-availble kits at much higher prices than SRP. of course, i can't dictate this for all of us since we all have our own priorities in life. we can post stuffs for sale and it's always up to the buyers if they'll acquire those kits at the price we're offering. if they want to haggle, try to not dismiss them like some dirty old dog looking for food. there are always good ways of dealing with every person. if you think a particular buyer has become too much for yourself to handle, then by all means, let the admins know of these and maybe we can all come to a good compromise.
we can discuss hoarders and scalpers offline but let us not try and make a fuss over these matters. they just cause more tension with each member of the community. i don't want to drag this thread further but all i hope is that we don't get to see backstabbers and people with larger egos trying to ruin a good community. yes, i believe ZPH is a good community, great even. that is why i try and make myself available for any events, even weekends when i have work to do.
for those who were not man enough to discuss their concerns and just post some random rants in the chat box below, please, if you still have the decency of being a collector, take it out on your hobby in a more positive way, not negatively on the people into the hobby. if you have concerns, then the admins are here to help, even if we don't get to reply to your PMs ASAP. if your problem is the admins, then i have no control over what you decide. you may want to discuss this in a more constructive outlet rather than bashing on people. if you don't agree then there's always the option of leaving - we wouldn't want to force you to come and join events and activities that you'd rather not be interested in.
PS: the doll is still not mine ok? peace out!