(Not a complaint, just a mere statement of fact.)
Our weather, mercifully, has been not awful. Not good, but a mere shadow of a shadow that hit the East Coast this week.
The only troubling thing I experienced was watching a transformer explode about a mile down the dark and sleet-covered road I was travelling for work yesterday morning. It was already being repaired when I drove back via the same route about nine hours later.
A small programming note - and unrelated to my personal issues with the concept of time - the big "reveal" will be Sunday night, not Saturday. Nothing nefarious going on, really: it was always scheduled for Sunday. It wasn’t until a day or so ago that all parties involved realized that this Sunday was the fourth, not the third. (My excuse: the way my work schedule is, it’s just better/less stressful for me not to look more than two or three days ahead.)
Like everyone else, I got my Glossy Zenyatta Foal, too. Oh my goodness, he’s beautiful:
There’s some variation in the run - some lighter, some darker - and mine’s on the darker side. My certificate says he’s #259 out of 500, but according to the letter included in the box, they were sent out randomly, and not according to order number. As I talked about before - and more experienced hobbyists know - the numbering doesn’t really "mean" anything anyway, outside of the personal meaning any number has for anyone.
Speaking of that letter, Zenyatta’s people did a beautiful job of marketing and packaging the little fellow - not just a letter, packing slip and receipt, but a "Certificate of Authenticity" that doubles as a "Birth Certificate", and a lovely little Thank You/Business Card.
Ah, if only every super-special were so carefully packaged and tailored to hobbyists. We all love our little bits of paper, don’t we?
Even if I hadn’t gotten him this week, I would have known it from all the Foals popping up, well, everywhere. I know I shouldn’t be surprised by it, at all, but it still grates a little.
I’m old school when it comes to very limited or exclusive Special Runs, always will be, I think. My first thought whenever I stumble across one early enough to take advantage of it is: Do I Really Want One? My second thought is Does Anyone I Know Want One?
If the answer is No to both questions, I generally pass, unless it’s so super-cheap that it’s worth the effort to resell. That’s generally the case when I stumble across something at the flea market, though there have been plenty of instances where I’ve let even those good deals go, just because it wasn’t worth the hassle.
I’ll let someone else have the pleasure of a good deal - or the aggravation of trying to resell it.
5 comments:
I bought one - I love Zenyatta, and I came across the post on Facebook (from "Zenyatta") that announced him. So I was among the first people to buy one.
I never thought about buying more than one, because I hate the greed in the hobby when it comes to limited things. Like the Lion Hearts going for 3x issue price - why not just get the one you want, and let someone else get one for cost? Why does everyone have to hoard them and then turn around and gleefully make a huge profit?
I like Lion Heart, but not enough to let someone get rich for being greedy. If I find one at a store I'll get one for myself, and perhaps one for a friend (which I'll sell, at cost).
Good model karma and all. I may not get rich, but I won't feel slimy either.
The whole Lionheart phenomenon was a good example abut why all good things can benefit from regulation. In our area, there were three branches of the same store that received and sold Lionhart. Two of them limited preorders to ONE per customer in order to satisfy the most customers. The 3rd store did not. All those Lionhearts showed up on eBay at the same time, minus one, which the seller most likely was keeping for herself. SAD. Regulation is necessary due to human greed. All it takes is ONE greedy person to make sure nobody else gets any. I'm human so I'm glad I was not tempted with the opportunity of buying 8 Lionhearts!
Always amazing the number of people who just so happen to have some bills pop up, or an "opportunity to buy a grail", right after they plunk down change for a model that's sure to resell big on the 2nd hand market.
Ah, well, I'm glad you got one. He sure is a pretty little guy.
People that snatch up as many models as possible so they can make a profit, irritate me a great deal. That is one of my biggest pet peeves with the hobby. However, it is what it is, and it's never going to change. I bought one glossy colt for myself and that is it. And at this point, I'm only dreaming about Lionheart. sigh.
I'm torn - I have been very happy paying high amounts for a model I want. I have also sold models for a profit. I like to think that the money goes back into the hobby. It also starts to get a bit fuzzy for me because many people spend a lot of money and time searching for vintage models and no ones seems to complain when those people resell.... but if someone spends time/money obtaining recent hot models to resell - they are vilified. Not to mention that if I came across someone selling 2 vintage wedgewood fighting stallions for $5 each, I sure as hell wouldn't leave the other one on the table. Food for though.
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