2021 Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show Fun Time

9 Responses to 2021 Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show Fun Time

1. George Albany says:

   April 19, 2021 at 8:19 AM

   Bummer. Wish I could have been there.

   Reply
   • Stewart says:

     April 19, 2021 at 11:30 AM

     You’re not the only one! What a wonderful event. I belong there.

     Reply
2. AJ says:

   April 19, 2021 at 12:25 PM

   Good to see that the shows are starting to come back. There’s something to be said about seeing what you’re buying in person, especially if you need to match colors of figures or need a good idea of scales and sizes. I’m reluctant to buy any vintage toys online unless I know the seller well. As we all have found out the hard way, there are some real pieces of work selling on eBay. I can remember buying a Barzso piece that was listed as “excellent” that had been broken and glued. When I contacted the seller, he told me “it was listed as used”….. Good thing that Paypal will usually get you a refund!! Maybe the prices of old Marx sets will come down so that they will actually be SOLD vs. displayed from show to show!! 🙂 We old guys who are interested in this stuff are getting fewer every year.

   Reply
   • Stewart says:

     April 25, 2021 at 11:04 AM

     What a delight to see the Gettysburg photos. Aside from the figures displays, the “Toy Time” calendar is a great nostalgia piece, with plastic toys that were regular giveaways with what we called Lucky Bags, containing a mixture of dreadful sweets and a not at all dreadful toy just like those on the calendar.
     But it is the figures that make me wish I could be at Gettysburg. Instead I have to rely on eBay, which has transformed collecting for those of us in remote places, far from shows at any time, let alone when a pandemic is raging.
     So, denied the joy of inspecting figures up close, we have to rely on sellers’ descriptions, and terms like”used” and “playworn” have to be scrutinised with our best judgment, mindful of the inherent problems that AJ points out.
     Some readers may remember a weekly magazine called Exchange & Mart. Containing thousands of small ads for products of every kind, it was a pre-Internet version of eBay. Its advice for buyers began by saying, “Most people are honest, otherwise nobody could do business.” That still applies today, so it is the occasional bad sellers we have to beware of when reading descriptions.
     To me, “used” should mean don’t expect near-mint figures with shiny clean plastic and no parts missing, but still the acceptable quality of figures that have been in storage for a while and are better than what we would expect from “playworn.”
     I recently bought on eBay a batch of MPC spacemen, described without any elaboration as “used,” and backed up with fuzzy photos that looked OK, so I thought I knew what I should reasonably expect.
     Unpacking them was a growing disappointment. Only 3 figures were intact, but all were grubby, such that no amount of cleaning would restore them. Parts were broken off, bases split or deformed, and hands not so much broken as melted, not evident in the photos.
     The seller told me: 1) the listing said “used,” 2) the photos were clear, and 3) “No returns,” rounding off with a sarcastic “Sorry.” Thankfully, eBay wasted no time in finding in my favour and I got a full refund. Well done, eBay, for the role it plays in overseeing such transactions, otherwise I would be stuck with a load of junk.
     In this case, “used” was a description that was simply inadequate, meaning whatever the seller decided, and allowing bad sellers, if they could get away with it, to exploit our trust, so I think it is time for a discussion about better descriptions, and meanwhile, sellers should find alternative ways to describe figures that are not so much “used” as “misused,” or even, in my recent case, severely ABused. Such things would never happen at Gettysburg.

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     • AJ says:

       April 25, 2021 at 11:54 AM

       Glad you pursed it and got your refund Stewart. Paypal is also a good recourse to avoid being ripped off. More and more bottom feeders emerge on eBay all the time. As I said, there are some “sellers” whom I automatically AVOID and some whose listings I look forward to. A real red flag is when they list a mold shot of figures with the disclaimers of “our choice” of figures” or “actual items may vary from picture” or “not responsible for broken parts”!! The “comical” part is that the ones I avoid also seem to have the highest prices and least integrity. SEMPER Caveat Emptor!!

       Reply
       • Stewart says:

         April 28, 2021 at 5:09 AM

         Quite right, AJ: PayPal also deserves recognition. They have never let me down, and when it is not an eBay transaction, PayPal is our only line of defense and they simply do not put up with any nonsense from sellers. Thinking of your Latin maxim, it could be that, thanks to PayPal, the tables are finally turned: let the bad seller beware

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         • AJ says:

           April 28, 2021 at 1:35 PM

           LOL!!! Caveat VENDITOR!! I’ll bet you’ve run into some of the same characters as I have!!
3. Wayne W says:

   April 19, 2021 at 12:53 PM

   I agree on the kick one gets out of buying something in person. It’s fun waiting on the package to arrive, sure – but nothing beats the kick out of seeing an item on a shelf and taking it home with you. Then there’s the fun of seeing folks in person you normally communicate with online in sites like this or on the phone and getting to know them personally. That’s even better when the show is at a great place. My wife and I always loved our trips to the Texas Show because it didn’t take long for San Antonio to become one of our favorite places to visit. I’ve been wanting to return to Gettysburg for years now I just wish I’d known they were doing it this year sooner. It would have been worth the trip from Alabama for both the show and visit to the battlefield – as good as being next door to the Alamo IMO.

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4. Mike Handley says:

   April 20, 2021 at 1:01 AM

   This was the first time for Dave Pitman and myself to set up at this fine show. We both did very well both buying and selling items. We plan to return every year and hope we can get some room trading started as well.

   Reply

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