Title speaks for itself. I just found out on New Year's day that a Su Lab tama goes for 50 USD Shipped. When they get to the US, they re-sell for at least twice the price, or are only traded for other Su Lab Friction Clear tamas. I get the need to "hustle" and make money, but at what cost? Depriving people of the chance to experience something new?
To quote the Rolling Stones "You can't always get what you want." Free enterprise is just that, free, either participate or don't. Not everyone gets to have a Skyline R34 or any number of other things only available in Japan either. If they do happen to make it overseas they generally go for a lot more than they do in Japan; works the same around the world. Why begrudge someone who actually has the hustle to get something that was freely available online, and who's half a day out of sync because of time zones, their prize? Old Mugens have been resold for several hundred dollars and they were something like $10-$15 new. Sneakerheads and a thousand, thousand other niche groups have their own markets that do basically the same thing. To answer your questions directly though, there is no cost and there is no deprivation. It's not as altruistic as all that. It's not jaded or cynical, it's the market. In another year or two there may be something else that's hot and it'll happen again. And to finish this out, the next lines from the same song: "But if you try sometimes you just might find. You get what you need."
They’re not as scarce as people make it seem. It’s definitely just the current hype train. The drops are often and announced in advance. They also offer a membership program that gets you earlier announcements with earlier/exclusive drop dates.
That's fair sir haha. Let's just hope demand dies down after this hype train dies down. The kendama player in me can't stand seeing these tamas in their boxes not being used
I hear bots are scooping them all up at drop time too lol. Hope the scalpers have a hard time flipping them.
It's the offer and demand. And I have to say the hype is real. I have 3 sulab tamas and they play like nothing else. Nice grip and the durability is out of this world. None of my tamas have chipped paint and I tap and drop them like crazy. Even the coating isn't damaged at all after months of playing. I agree with you on the reselling point. As you said, I hate seeing them not being played or being reselled for way to much. But as it is for now, it seems to work and i'm happy for sulab for the appreciation they get because they make premium damas with attention to detail and playability. If you buy 1, you have a nice tama for a very long time so i'm very happy to pay a high price and stay up all night to hopefully not miss the drop.
Re-visiting this thread because I was finally able to get my hands on a 2nd hand Friction Clear tama. It's a great clear coat. Very durable and very playable (Even at a 8.5/10 Quality, my tama plays very well with a bang-on slip/grip ratio). That being said, the secondary market prices are definitely not it. I think it is reasonably priced at 50 USD Shipped (straight from Su Lab's online store), but for my preferences, I would not pay more than that. Then again, those are my preferences. Truth is, I love friction clear, but not enough to shell out hundreds of dollars on it.