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Joe Wilson
 
 
 
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 REAL NAME: Joe Wilson
HANDLE(S): PlotTwist, Joe
DATE OF BIRTH: March 10, 1964
SEX: Male
LOCATION: St. Louis metro area
OCCUPATION: Special Projects Coordinator
 
 
 
WHAT DO YOU COLLECT?
     
 Pop Culture artifiacts, including (but not limited to) McFarlane, SW, Pee Wee, Tick, oddities and kitsch from any era 
 
WHEN DID YOU START COLLECTING AND WHY?
     
 My parents never throw anything away, and they had so much stuff that they opened an antique shop in 1972. I spent my childhood vacations stopping at every little "junque shoppe" and flea market between St. Louis and Florida. I hated it at the time ("are we THERE yet?"), but as I grew older I got interested in super hero and movie stuff, and I began to appreciate my parents' "hunting" skills. So I'm not sure if my collecting stems from environmental or genetic factors. As with most disorders, it's probably a combination of both. :-) 
 
HOW HARD IS IT TO FIND THE TOYS YOU WANT?
     
 Too hard. I don't know if it's scalpers or if we just get slighted here in St. Louis, but I've never seen a Slave Leia (not that I'd want one) or any of the short-packed McFarlane toys around here. Comic shops here are almost always a 100% mark-up ($6.99 Spawn Movie figs going for $15). I find the best hunting in out-lying areas (rural Wal/K-Marts are good), and sometimes in inner-city drug or department stores (economic conditions playing a factor here, I suppose). I've bought/traded on the Internet when I can't find what I want. 
 
WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON SCALPING?
WHAT IS "SCALPING" TO YOU?
HAVE YOU EVER BOUGHT FROM A SCALPER?
WOULD YOU?
     
 I can understand both sides of this conflict. I don't like to see ridiclous prices for any item, and I appreciate newsgroup posts that let people know when/where an item can be found in abundance or for a more reasonable price. I will say, however, that "scalper" here seems to be a catch-all categorization, and ANYONE has the subjective power to label ANYONE ELSE a "scalper". This is dangerously unfair. Some people get bent out of shape at the thought of ANY $$$ AT ALL changing hands between collectors. To trade instead of buy/sell is looked upon as the higher road. To me, this hobby is not about moral high ground; it's about fullfilling desires. I really believe that the "value" of any item depends entirely on two things: what the seller is willing to take and what the buyer is willing to give. I certainly don't think it's anyone's job to police the free market by creating rules/punishments aimed at buyers/sellers, and I don't feel sorry for anyone that pays an outrageous amount for an item without first really looking for the best deal. Only you know how much you really want something and how much you can afford to pay. Only you know how much something means to you and how much $$$ it would take for you to part with it. If two people work out a deal that meets those conditions, how can it be called scalping? If someone is rude, manipulative or dishonest, I may lump them into a catch-all category (i.e.: ASSH*LE), but I won't disparge someone for simply making a deal. 
 
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER HOBBIES/INTERESTS?
     
 Screenwriting, PC games, my pet Tarantula Bela 
 
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?
     
 I hope my "scalper" comments above don't get me shunned. 
 
 
 
 
 
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