My buddy Frank came up with these. Some of you may know him as Ender089.

Rules for Collecting!!

1. Hook up thine own self first. Man, you’re in this for YOUR collection. Your brothers (fellow Collectors) are important, but get your needs taken care of first! This is NOT being selfish!

2. Hook up a brother when you can. If you got one and they are hard to find, and you see another on a shelf, and CAN AFFORD TO…grab it…a brother will need it eventually. Hooking up brothers in need comes back to you when you are hard up! Trust me!

3. NEVER SCALP! If you got a Zombie Viper and he’s worth 5 blue shirts…it’s your call…if I followed rule #1 and I gots mine…I go one for one…once I have what I want, that figure is worth 1 figure itself, despite what ebay and the speculators say! This goes back to rule #2!!! Remember one day that brother will have that Renegades Storm Shadow you can’t find and remember how you went one for one and helped him out! Trust me!

4. NEVER RENEGE on a promise. Your word is your bond and building a reputation as someone who is a fair person and deals straight is the greatest accomplishment. It takes ONE bad deal to make it all pointless. We all fall on hard times, and sometimes dudes can’t follow through. If they have ANY sense of Honor, they will make it up to you when they are back on their feet.

5. Always give a fellow the benefit of the doubt. Postal systems ain't perfect. Doo-doo happens. If he’s honorable, he’ll make up for it and look out for you!

6. DO NOT HESITATE to call a thief a thief. Joey Mackay comes to mind here. If someone scammed you and more than one other person, let others know…this goes back to rule #2…not letting brothers get taken advantage of!
(This guy, a Candian(!), traded Frank a Renegades Storm Shadow and and two suited SDCC Destros for a SDCC Sgt. Slaughter, and about ten other figures. Frank mailed off his part and never received his part. A couple other guys had similar dealings with this guy, all trading big and getting nothing. Trader beware and the reason for the next rule...)

7. DO your research before trading with a brother. If you haven’t traded with him before, check him out…see if he has scammed anyone….and start small. If you don’t…you get taken big…..

8. Little Stuff pays BIG dividends! Throwing a few freebies in a care package says a lot and helps build a community. Even if they CAN’T use it…they probably know someone who can and they can “freebie” it forward! I made a LOT of good friends by throwing in a few marauder guns or some dollar store Motorcycles!

9. If you know of a deal, get the word out! Don’t sit on a secret like Big Lots has Rhino’s for $9.99. Rule #1 and then Rule #2….at that price…Rule #8…I know a FEW people who would LOVE to get a $9.99 Rhino in the mail!

10. If you can’t afford to hook brothers up, don’t feel guilty. Times are tight. Spend your Money on your kids and families. But if you got it…you know…

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That is awesome advice to follow.

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I think I dealt with that Canadian...Grrrr.

Definitely good rules for the community. I can think of 2 - 3 more that should be added from personal experience.

Such as .... ?

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I can sum all this up with the "Golden Rule", do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That and Wil Wheaton's Law, don't be a dick.

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Q ta tha F ta tha T.

This.



my humble additions ...

11. " When ever possible provide confirmation and C.Y.A. when trading or sending items to help out a fellow community member "
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Postal Tracking #'s. Pictures of receipts. Heck even detailed pictures of what you sent in the box with bubble wrap before sealing the package and mailing. Anything and everything that will support a clear understanding of the transaction was established between the 2 parties before items were shipped and details actual shipping. I've been extremely fortunate in that i can count the number of what i would call "bad" transactions i've had online in 15 years on one hand. Of the 3 that i've had each was with a Joe community member who had a "good" reputation at the time and was an active known community member. In each case each feigned ignorance or outright lied until irrefutable proof was provided countering their fabrications. And in each case, early on at least, the "reputation" of these community members shielded them from the fury of the community until that proof was provided and to a degree even afterwards until their nature eventually became evident over the course of time. None are around this site anymore for various reasons. Karma's real. Point: ALWAYS have proof because we all want to give guys we know the benefit of the doubt. That "guy "could be a sleazeball you're dealing with.

12. " Avoid having a middle man in your transactions" -



...you already see where this BS is going . After Kevin ships the agreed upon figures to Joe inevitably Jane is in some way shorted when her package is received from her "friend". Joe and Jane are internet buddies so naturally the odd man out is Kevin despite his sending out all of the agreed upon figures.

Avoid this scenario like the plague at whatever cost. Potential problems: 1. Joe steals Janes items and claims they weren't inside the original package. 2. Joe swaps Janes items with lesser quality versions from his collection before shipping them to her (this is avoided by following rule #11) . 3. Joe cherry picks the best from the lot and ships the worst to Jane.

Deal with people individually so they know that you're a person of your word, you keep records and , God forbid , a mistake was made by either party that both will make an effort to fix it immediately


The third is a variation of number 4 on the original list so i'll just say " Keep Your Word". If you say your going to do something (like pick up specific figures locally for someone) don't backtrack and take the figures for yourself. If that is something you feel like you may do make it known in advance that you may decide to keep things for yourself on a whim. It's s****y but at least it's honest. I respect that far more than bold faced lie.

i would also say #6 on the original list is critical. No matter who he is if a guy is a thief make it known.

I have had to do this a few times when I have needed something but the seller has not been willing to ship to the UK or the postage price has been completely outrageous, eg, $28 for a loose figure in a padded envelope. I have been very fortunate in that I have been able to deal with several very trustworthy and reliable members on this board.



But if you do scalp on the side, DO NOT brag about how you butt-raped members of your local collectors group by trebling the price you paid for a figure. It just gets people angry. Saw this regularly from one member on another forum before he got banned for weird behaviour.

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The third party rule is a good one, but I'll add, "unless you know both people well enough" I've done several three party transaction that have all worked out.

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Agreed. That should be always be a consideration when dealing with people Truthfully i've had it work out as well but i still keep it as a rule 99% of the time as it only takes one bad situation like that to cause irreparable damage (to the "friendship" via the 2 friends being suspicious of each other following the transaction, to the original sender having aspersion cast upon them despite doing his or her part and the community as a whole). It's just not worth the trouble.

Very nice post!
Joe

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Agree about that, and if stuff is on sale and you've met #'s 1 & 2, it goes over better to not mention the volumes to which you met #'s 1&2. at least leave something for someone else and don't brag about the volume to which you took advantage of a sale. Example: The last star wars mailaway boba fetts, people were bragging over the #'s they cashed in on from using old UPC's etc. It's one thing i you like them and get a lot, but don't brag about it. Its not that impressive.

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Followed this rule today, and I think I have developed a new personal mantra: "No joe should have an empty holster!"

From now on, if I trade or sell a figure and he has a holster or knife sheath, he will ship out with something in his holster or sheath....

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Rule Number ____: Don't be a dick based on how much of a collection you have, it really doesn't make you better than anyone.

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