Toys for Christmas .... Don't get ripped off on EBay there are alternative that are much cheaper!!!

[Tiger Bait]

Just in case some of you are looking for H2 toys for Christmas, please be careful on EBay. I never shop there because of real horror stories of ripoffs that have happened to my friends. A search engine took me there and I was horrified by the scams. Now I know lots of you will flame back saying "I have/had great experience on EBay" or "I sell and buy there all the time." I am sure you have and I am happy for your luck, but after browsing there I have discovered some real ripoffs relative to the toys posted there. One guy was selling in multiple "auctions" Maisto 1:64 Yellow H2 and Green Humvee sets. They are listed on his page as $13.95 plus shipping. You can go buy these at any WalMart for 97 cents plus tax. He says they are very rare. What crap. Please........ I was at the local Walmart last night and there were 6 on the rack at 97 cents along with another 5 pack that had the SUT in it for $2.96. They also have a set containing the pewter H2 towing a Mini Cooper on a trailer in 1:24 scale for $12.96. There is also the supposedly rare pewter H2 Power Racer in 1:27 scale for $1.97 (It's $4.99 on hummerstuff.com).
For you radio control vehicle fans, there is the Radio control yellow H2 for $29.95. One Walmart had it for $18 (I got it.) They also had the RC SUT in Sunset Orange for $20, but more probably a miss marked for $29.95. Just for reckless fun, Target has the RC H2 in black, red, yellow, and orange for $10. (blue box generic toys). KMart has the radio control SUT in either police or fire and rescue markings for $39.95. ToysRUS has various H2 and SUT configurations, but al are more expensive than other outlets like WM, Target, and Kmart. One last RC bargain, if you have a Costco nearby and are a member. If you lusted after the Spycam Nikko SUT with the built in camera and controller monitor that was selling for $499.95 on hummerstuf.com, it is now at Costco for $249. half price!!!!

For those of you in California, Arizona, and Texas with access to Fry's Electronics. I found the big 1:18 (high detail) Maisto Yellow H2 model for $19.95 there. It's $32.95 at hummerstuff.com and higher on EBay. The same Yellow one (1:18 scale) is also available at Walmart in a three pack with a green humvee and a white H1 for $39.95 for all three.
I want to help keep the Christmas spirit high with this info to help my last minute toy shopping friends here on the forum get their toys for less and not have to sweat the UPS person before Christmas. My six year old loves these things and Daddy kind of likes them too. /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

[Tiger Bait]

Just in case some of you are looking for H2 toys for Christmas, please be careful on EBay. I never shop there because of real horror stories of ripoffs that have happened to my friends. A search engine took me there and I was horrified by the scams. Now I know lots of you will flame back saying "I have/had great experience on EBay" or "I sell and buy there all the time." I am sure you have and I am happy for your luck, but after browsing there I have discovered some real ripoffs relative to the toys posted there. One guy was selling in multiple "auctions" Maisto 1:64 Yellow H2 and Green Humvee sets. They are listed on his page as $13.95 plus shipping. You can go buy these at any WalMart for 97 cents plus tax. He says they are very rare. What crap. Please........ I was at the local Walmart last night and there were 6 on the rack at 97 cents along with another 5 pack that had the SUT in it for $2.96. They also have a set containing the pewter H2 towing a Mini Cooper on a trailer in 1:24 scale for $12.96. There is also the supposedly rare pewter H2 Power Racer in 1:27 scale for $1.97 (It's $4.99 on hummerstuff.com).
For you radio control vehicle fans, there is the Radio control yellow H2 for $29.95. One Walmart had it for $18 (I got it.) They also had the RC SUT in Sunset Orange for $20, but more probably a miss marked for $29.95. Just for reckless fun, Target has the RC H2 in black, red, yellow, and orange for $10. (blue box generic toys). KMart has the radio control SUT in either police or fire and rescue markings for $39.95. ToysRUS has various H2 and SUT configurations, but al are more expensive than other outlets like WM, Target, and Kmart. One last RC bargain, if you have a Costco nearby and are a member. If you lusted after the Spycam Nikko SUT with the built in camera and controller monitor that was selling for $499.95 on hummerstuf.com, it is now at Costco for $249. half price!!!!

For those of you in California, Arizona, and Texas with access to Fry's Electronics. I found the big 1:18 (high detail) Maisto Yellow H2 model for $19.95 there. It's $32.95 at hummerstuff.com and higher on EBay. The same Yellow one (1:18 scale) is also available at Walmart in a three pack with a green humvee and a white H1 for $39.95 for all three.
I want to help keep the Christmas spirit high with this info to help my last minute toy shopping friends here on the forum get their toys for less and not have to sweat the UPS person before Christmas. My six year old loves these things and Daddy kind of likes them too. /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

[bklynh2srock]

Thanks for the warning. I am a big booster of eBay, but that doesn't mean you can throw caution to the wind and trust anyone, especially those that claim the item is "rare." You must shop around. Thanks again!

[Texas Red]

Thanks Tiger (Go LSU). I know what I'll be doing tomorrow. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Jim
Red H2 in Texas

[Tiger Bait]

They have had them at the Costco in Southlake for several days and haven't sold any. I'm going to wait for an after Christmas clearance markdown.
Thanks for the boost for LSU, I'll have my Yellow H2 in the Fair Park parking lot bright and early New Year's morning for the Cotton Bowl. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[MAC]

Thanks for the extensive study.
I don't buy toy Hummer, I have a big Hummer toy. I like eBay, I only had very few buy/sell in years, but it is great to find things and know the market prices. I just sold my Hummer tool/medical kits(which I never use/need) for over $200, bought a real Army Kevlar helmet for my son(Xmas), bought new Xenon bulbs, Beatles Let it Be DVD, Supertram, ELO, sold a MB SL and Cadillac Fleetwood. Great for people who don't shop in stores.

[Dan]

Case & point - I was bidding on a Maisto 1:18 SUT model on eBay & gave up because the price went too high. It was up to about $33. this AM a few hours before auction close.

A quick Google search later & I got one for $22 from an online diecast store. Shop around!

I do love eBay, you just have to be careful...

- Dan

[Pizza Man]

I know people who look on E-Bay to see how much people are paying for certain items. They look at the ending bid price. Then they go out and buy several of those same items at places such as Wal-Mart, at a cheaper price, and sell them on E-Bay for the going E-Bay higher price. Kinda of smart thinking on their part.

[MAC]

It worked out fine selling cars(real cars not toys) and the Hummer tool kits on eBay. Unlike a few lines in newspaper ads, eBay offers pictures and detailed descriptions. Lots of eyeballs (over 1000 visits for cars) and intense bidding. Bids for my cars came from around the country, but only local(North and central Californians) came to see and drove the MB SL. Cadillac Fleetwood was sold online sight unseen with fund wire transfered. The buyers generally know what they want, know the prices and the cars, and have been searching for exactly that vehicle only. Final prices were almost exactly what I estimated to be the fair prices. The best part is that I don't need to talk to most of the potential buyers as in the case of paper ads, by the time buyers came to see the SL, I knew they were real buyers.