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i havent done much with the hobby over the past 15 years or so but back in the day ebay was a reliable source of getting used models for a reduced price. looking through listings these days doesnt seem like that is the case any more. most listings seem to be charging for poor paint jobs or selling new product at near retail pricing. that doesnt include the many listings that want something like 2500 yen (roughly $25) for shipping. i mean i get some of these items can be heavy and trying to recoup a possible low selling price by having a high shipping cost has always been a thing, but whatever bargain you may find is immediately lost with the high shipping cost and in some cases costing well above retail.
my question then becomes are there any other places to go to try to find models? amazon seems to be only new kits and while i have used mercari in the past they seem to have the same issues as ebay while only having a fraction of the listings. so where do people go for used models these days or is that no longer a thing?
What kind of stuff are you after? As Illumini has said FB groups can be pretty good, especially if they are smaller ones where the users all know each other.
I was able to get a ridiculous deal on some Epic stuff where the guy knew I wasn't a shark and going to sell it on at profit (which I think happens a lot on eBay now for some games) and I think pretty much probably sold the stuff to me at cost, just said he didn't need it any more and we sorted the payment through Paypal.
I do find deals sometimes on Twitter too although again it depends what circles you are part of on there. I've found the pricing varies a great deal, from very reasonable to pro-painted stuff that costs a bomb.
Forums can be good (Dakka has a trading spot); but after ebay and forums I'd say Facebook groups as well. It's simply such a high concentration of people that the market (both buying and selling) on FB is huge for most countries.
Just use sensible precautions; don't deal with any who sound odd; always use goods and services with paypal (and if they insist friends-family avoid them); these days always ship to the registered paypal address*
*there's a scam :
Seller - offers model for sale
Scammer - offers to buy model
Scammer - puts up sale ad for the same model
Buyer - offers to buy model.
Scammer then gives the Buyer (a legit person) the Sellers paypal address; but says that they want it shipped to their work/unit/parents home/ or another address than the one registered on the buyers paypal.
Seller gets their money, sends the item to the scammers address.
When it all comes to contest both the legitimate parties blame the other through paypal disputes whilst the scammer gets off. Smart ones will use addresses that are neutral to themselves - eg a big business; a neighbour etc...
thanks for the suggestions. to be honest im not really sure what i am looking for. i guess something that catches my eye and is a good value. ive had facebook recommended before but their marketplace doesnt seem to be available in Japan and the groups ive seen tend to be private and im not sure how to get in. as far as local sites mercari is about the only one i know of. im not a reddit person but is there a special group there or is it just a search?
Most private trade groups you just click on join like any facebook group. They might have one of those "answer questions" things that pops up that normally will have something like "did you read the rules" to which you say yes or they'll ask something hobby related "Name a Xenos race" or something to try and filter out spammers.
