Topic: I know this is bad....BUT I LOVE CARD BENDERS!

[narceron]

so we have this hippy that sells figures down at the dirt mall and on EBay.  Well, anyway, when he pulls a figure out of a fresh case, he will bend the card on a lot of the other desirable figures.  My wife says this is to decrease supply, which will net him money in some gnome underpants pyramid scheme.

Well, anyway, as you guys know, I'm an opener and since this guy has started doing that, mid october, I've been able to find a ton of figures I thought would be impossible to find, woohoo!!

So, I know he's the enemy of MOC guys, but for me, he's made finding figs very much more satisfying.

And by the way, we have several yavin packs here, if anyone is interested, I just saw that in the wishlist thread and thought I'd toss that out, I got segnett one.  That is the one with the little pilot moving truck, right?

[Reconsgt]

I'd take one of those Yavin Packs,
 I can buy, trade or whatever

[Tamer]

If I find a card bender I let em know what I think about that. And it ain't pretty!

[narceron]

I'd take one of those Yavin Packs,
 I can buy, trade or whatever

Cool, I'll be out that way this weekend, I'll go ahead and snag a couple in case we have stragglers.

Funnily enough, no matter how many times I say I live in the mecca of SW(complete with jackass 501st dress up clowns) no one ever wants me to get them anything.

Also, if anyone remembers who I was picking up jean grey and warpath for, that would be great, or if anyone wants them, lol.  I have them on the table and no idea why I got them,

[Reconsgt]

Pat was looking for the Jean Grey and Warpath,

 I hooked him up with the Jean and he found a warpath, but you can drop him a PM if he wants extras, 

Thanks for the assist with the Yavin BP

[Luke Sprywalker]

Oh man do I want one! PM sent.

[B.R. Steel]

There was an old bag who did that back in the POTF2 days in my area.  I think God killed her.  He doesn't like that crap either.

[Darth Aussie]

If I find a card bender I let em know what I think about that. And it ain't pretty!

Same team as Shawn. Can't stand them. I can understand loose collecting but to a MOC guy, its just criminal.....

[narceron]

LOL, I understand its a jerk move, but to me, it means I actually can find a figure..and it won't bue stuffed in someone's tubberware.

[Tamer]

LOL, I understand its a jerk move, but to me, it means I actually can find a figure..and it won't bue stuffed in someone's tubberware.

LOL. That point I can understand, but all my carded figs are now put out on display. I won't get any that won't get displayed here everafter!

[Darth Aussie]

mmm wish i had the room to display but the den is small.....

[flaccideagle]

LOL, I understand its a jerk move, but to me, it means I actually can find a figure..and it won't bue stuffed in someone's tubberware.

Here in NYC and NJ, figure scalping is rampant, and has been for over 12+ years.

It's fair to say that if you see Star Wars figures on the shelf in a comic book store in NJ, they come from scalpers and re-sellers.

Almost every comic shop in the area will pay scalpers cash to bring in any rare or new figures.   It often takes two months of a product shipping to area toy stores in order for the majority of collectors to find them in the wild.  And as a former employee of two shops, I know most of them on sight.  Around the holidays it is almost impossible to find any new products across the board, as the two bigger guys actually pay cash to Toys R Us, Target, and WalMart employees to let them open the new toy cases and get first crack.  If an employee gets caught, then they send in their friends to negotiate the same deal with the new employee.  These guys, needless to say, suck.

There are a pair collectors out of Brooklyn we used to call The Benders, as they made it their mission to bend every card for every figure or toy that was getting short-packed or scalped at the local shops.  In 1999-2000, The Bender guys were actually the only way you could get POTJ figures at retail.  Scalpers went nuts on the message boards.   I'm sure these guys are still out there, as I saw three whole cases of GI JOE 25th Anniversary figures with Sharpie Marker marks on the bubbles and three bent corners.

While I feel for you MISB collectors, I love card benders, and in 2009 they are far more important in my area, as Target and WalMarts in my area are swamped by pull-and-repack returns (you open the figure carefully, replace with a POTF2 figure from your junk drawer, return to the store, get another figure, repeat) Luckily, WM and Target in my area now will only accept returns on figures who have straight undamaged cards.  So these guys who bend up cards are actually helping to keep Legacy in stores for collectors in my area.

[Squirepec7]

I hate people who bend the cards down to crap I keep the boxes after I open the figures and have maybe one or two moc figures but when I am in a buisness that is local and not chain I  just want to walk up to them and slap them with the figure box.