Bunker Happy ... mostly

[Brettc10]

What about the bottle openers that are FREE. Now I understand you have to spend money to get them but they are still FREE. Now I see a lot of them for sale on here. At any price that is more than what they paid for them which was nothing. Now I sold some bunkers for $260 even some less and some more. I did have time along with my niece to pick these up. We went to 4 different stores and did have to go as soon as they came in to get them. They would not hold them. I kicked her down some money for gas and helping out. I could have sold all of them on e-bay and made more. I chose to offer them on here and even told members in my listing as to why I was asking the price listed.
I have helped a lot of members on here, hell even on my vacation in Hawaii I posted pictures of bags I bought and with-in 10 min. I must have had 10 PM's asking me to get them some of these bags. I went out of my way back to the store to get these for people that had asked. Same thing when I was in Vegas. I posted pictures of the new Vegas bags. I must have gotten 20 PM's on that. Same deal I went back to get them for members.
Both times made a couple of dollars for my time.
Who is to say what is too much for any certain item?? I see glasses on here all the time double to triple what they cost. Are we going to start calling them out for over pricing??
What about custom glasses that people are doing? How do you put a cost or price tag on those? It is someones time to do them.
I agree there is a line not to cross since we are all collectors. But where is it and who is to say where that lies. Do we say NO mark up over 20% of what the item cost.
Who is to say what one person has involved in getting items. It is easy for someone to say it only cost this?? They may not know what it took to get that item.
I do my best to help out when I can. I have been helped out a number of times from members.
I just think calling out people when they have something listed is really disrespectful. That is my opinion. Do it thru a PM or thru a Forum moderator.
Again my opinion.

 

[TheWannaBe]

Is he saying LA or Alabama? Where are these bunkers?!?

 

[OakleyFrankFMJ]

Is he saying LA or Alabama? Where are these bunkers?!?

I was singing.

Basically, even though a store doesn't have it they are getting more in....some stores are getting more than others. I know one store that has 4-5 and another that had 3 the other day and yet another that had 2 and 2 more coming in.

You are in Washington.....
I'm waaaaaaaaaay over here on the East coast.

 

[kronin323]

When I tracked down the only two in Austin, I could not wait for a few days for it to become convenient for me to pick them up - they wouldn't hold them or sell them over the phone. Instead I would have to immediately drive clear across town and back in stormy weather.

Though I only wanted one, I considered getting both, hanging onto the other for a year, then maybe selling it for the FMV at that time (as opposed to trying to immediately flip it at an inflated price).

But then I had another idea - I txted another forum member, got a commitment to repay, then went and picked them both up. Met him the next week; my cost was also $162.38 but he didn't have the extra chump-change $2.38 handy so I was fine with accepting $160.

I've thought once or twice since then about what if I had kept them both, but overall I'm happy with how things went.

I'm not looking for kudos for altruism. And I don't have any problem with adding reasonable T&M and still considering it doing an "altruistic" favor; I probably would have done so myself in different circumstances. The key difference:

- I sought out a specific forum member that I've hung out with in person before and volunteered to do the favor before picking it up. Had I picked up the extra with no commitment and then offered it just first-come-first-served to anybody, adding T&M + shipping would have been reasonable.

Heck, if I used the same rate my employers charge their customers for my time, the thing would have been at ebay scalping prices anyway...

As has been pointed out, though they may be hard to find, they're still for sale at retail price at stores. If you're CONUS, all you have to do is put in the time and effort to find one yourself. With the associated costs...

 

[the_owl]

Some members here try and take advantage.
They only want to make a dollar. Treat them accordingly and remember them when they're asking for a favor . I know I will

 

[Mdgustaf]

I am going to look into getting any in my area if I can to do my part to help alleviate this issue (I wish I had from the start). The problem I personally have with this is simple, hypocrisy. Don't say you are doing right by the O community by marking them up nearly %100. If you have a legit reason that your costs warrant that pricing than I would think you would be clear with those reasons. Otherwise I don't see how you can say you are trying to help people out or get upset with being called out over it. I agree that it may be disrespectful to call them out publicly, but then again if the shoe fits!

For those that did help others out, and I am sure their are plenty more than even posted in this thread, thank you. You are what keeps this forum strong and heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, these same people that did good are the same people that aren't looking for the acknowledgment. You do the right thing because its the right thing, not because someone is looking over your shoulder or because you will be rewarded for it.

 

[Dallas O Hog]

I've been both sides. I got mine plus a few more for other members at cost. I also know someone who had multiples that didn't cut me a break that I had to mail and also bought. It sucks but at the end of the day u need to factor in tax, shipping, and time spent or what u would have had to spend to get then.

 

[pjd1234]

I was just thinking to myself... I am very impressed with the spirt [we have] shown in collecting these Bunkers. I personally have had a rough few months as a collector, observing my own mental and emotional processes as they relate to my collecting, and seeing all the hype around these, mostly positive, has done me some good [Thank You - you know who you are]

I really think Oakley got it right with this piece; a good intention of the right size, scope, delivery, and [retail] price. A true collectors item!

I'd also like to say - in the most positive way I can, knowing that some of you will be looking for a 'dislike' link to tag this post... Here it goes:

It is a good thing that I appreciate the collectible spirit and related aspects of the Bunker, because the item itself is already exceeding my 'price point appreciation' - seeing these things for $300... $400... or more, at least double and almost triple their cost is a bit silly to me. Granted, it does validate the market while providing proof of life that capitalism is alive and well , but still...

Part of it is the Bunker itself - it is just 'ok' to me. When I see it I see the fervor that has become one with this piece in our community. The listings doing our fellow collectors a 'favor' at 100% markup or greater are another. Those two things combined are a bit too much for me.

I guess would really like to see more of these shared at a more reasonable cost. Giving someone $50 or $75 to cover their time, tax, and shipping is one thing, but these markups are getting out of hand within our community. I know, I know - who am I to say? I'm not - its just my opinion and opinions are like, you know, and I know - I have one and occasionally act like one of those too

No apologies on my behalf if I rained on anyone's parade here. If I irritated someone making a point of prices - good - they probably irritated me with their prices already. It's a free market and all are welcome to charge what they want, what they feel they can sell anything for - for maximum profit. If my issue was with price alone I would not have posted this commentary. I feel it is an average piece with a strong following at what is becoming a ridiculous price. I just don't think the piece is worth that personally overall, and feeling more strongly about folks being overcharged from a fellow collector, our O-brothers and sisters... Sure, its nice, but everything nice has its price. Had I not obtained one for what I consider to be a reasonable price I would not have one. I feel like Oakley could have sold these for $80 and we would still see them approaching $500.

As I was saying... I am very impressed with the spirt [we have] shown in collecting these Bunkers.

Well i could have agreed more on the pricing part. If they have 100 9f these here you will get one from me for 185.00 shipped you know me but even me is having a hard time getting one thanks to svt for the trade if it was not for him i probably wont be getting one.

 

[Wicked]

Lets play Devils Advocate for a moment:

I have purchased 3 Bunkers myself and have paid more than the MSRP ($150.00) for ea. of them. I don't have the availability in my area so I have to rely on other that are willing to help out. I truly appreciate those that are willing to help and compensation for their time is what I can offer. There are only 500 of these Bunkers to be had so supply (very low) and demand (very high) will dictate the market price and it's your decision to pay the asking price that is being driven higher due to collectibility. There are many many limited pieces out there that I'd like to add to my collection but are just out of my conscious price range so I decide not to purchase those items. I want both 24K Juliet and 24K XS but there is no one selling them at a fair marked up price and there are 250 more of ea. of those than the Bunkers........IF anyone has either they would like to sell at cost to help out this collector please PM me my inbox is clear

(This post is not directed at anyone so please don't take any offense, it's just to point out the unfortunate side of being a collector of very limited things)

 

[Nortika]

What about the bottle openers that are FREE. Now I understand you have to spend money to get them but they are still FREE. Now I see a lot of them for sale on here. At any price that is more than what they paid for them which was nothing. Now I sold some bunkers for $260 even some less and some more. I did have time along with my niece to pick these up. We went to 4 different stores and did have to go as soon as they came in to get them. They would not hold them. I kicked her down some money for gas and helping out. I could have sold all of them on e-bay and made more. I chose to offer them on here and even told members in my listing as to why I was asking the price listed.
I have helped a lot of members on here, hell even on my vacation in Hawaii I posted pictures of bags I bought and with-in 10 min. I must have had 10 PM's asking me to get them some of these bags. I went out of my way back to the store to get these for people that had asked. Same thing when I was in Vegas. I posted pictures of the new Vegas bags. I must have gotten 20 PM's on that. Same deal I went back to get them for members.
Both times made a couple of dollars for my time.
Who is to say what is too much for any certain item?? I see glasses on here all the time double to triple what they cost. Are we going to start calling them out for over pricing??
What about custom glasses that people are doing? How do you put a cost or price tag on those? It is someones time to do them.
I agree there is a line not to cross since we are all collectors. But where is it and who is to say where that lies. Do we say NO mark up over 20% of what the item cost.
Who is to say what one person has involved in getting items. It is easy for someone to say it only cost this?? They may not know what it took to get that item.
I do my best to help out when I can. I have been helped out a number of times from members.
I just think calling out people when they have something listed is really disrespectful. That is my opinion. Do it thru a PM or thru a Forum moderator.
Again my opinion.

So you should be compisated for doing favors? Selling for 260 is fine, but not on here, you should have gone and scalped it on eBay. I'm sorry if that offends, but you were after making a profit off of members here. You should be pointed out!