Guide to Vinylmation – Buying Online.

Welcome to the DisKingdom Guide to Buying Online.

While most collectors buy their Vinylmation’s direct from Disney either via Stores or online through Disneystore.com (or .co.uk/fr/co.jp), lots of collectors buy from the secondary market to buy older retired figures and to cherry pick figures from blind boxes that you want without all the added cost of blind boxing.

Using different sources to get your Vinylmation’s is in my mind, always a good thing, while over time you will probably develop relationships with different collectors, its not good relying on just one person for a few different reasons.

There are lots of places to buy Vinylmation’s from including Ebay, Amazon, Forums and Facebook Groups.

DisKingdom runs a few different Facebook Groups which allow collectors to buy Vinylmation’s from other collectors such as our main group along with an Auction House

Any group will have its own rules so its always wise to check with those rules before buying any item. However there are some general hints and guidelines that will make your experience more pleasant.

• If you have a problem, first try to handle it yourself with the other party. If you are still having issues, you should contact one of the Admin’s (Administrators) of the group who will try to assist you with your deal.
• Feedback is important, not just for the person your dealing with but also for yourself, so its always worth reporting good feedback through a group’s feedback system.
• The purchase is between yourself and another partner, so its always worth checking their feedback before agreeing a deal.
• No Group will take liability of your purchase but will help in any way they can.
• Remember the moto “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.
• Unlike Ebay or Amazon, Facebook Groups don’t have as much buyer protection so if you purchase something from someone that you do not know, DO NOT send as a gift. Use the following website to calculate fees. http://thefeecalculator.com/ . Buyers, always assume that whatever price someone quotes you does not include paypal fees and you will need to add it on. It is up to you to protect yourself as much as possible.
• Communication is the key, messaging the other party with information such as when the item was posted, Shipping Confirmation number and also when it arrives, really does make a difference to the overall experience. If there is a delay in shipping or something comes up, let the other party know.
• Be polite. Be courteous. Don’t be argumentative or overly sarcastic to people. We’re adults or should act like one. Breaking common decency rules can cause problems and getting into slinging matches with other collectors isn’t going to do anyone any favors. Bullying will generally never be accepted anywhere.
• One thing that is extremely helpful, are group buys, often when a new blind box series comes out, group buys take place,  all 24 vinyls are placed up for grabs in a first come, first serve order with the chaser being raffled off between the participants. If the group buy is popular, there might even be a second or third tray offered. This is a great way of getting just 1 or a couple of series and at retail price, however usually there is always 1 or 2 designs from every series that people want, so they can fill up quickly.
• Always ask to see pictures of the figure your buying rather than just a generic official photo (this applies to eBay too).
• If your located outside the US, it’s worth mentioning this at the start of any transaction.

eBay is without a doubt one of the most popular places to buy Vinylmation, pop Vinylmation into the search bar and you will be shown over ten thousand items to purchase related to Vinylmation.

Ebay is obviously one of the most well known ways of getting hold of Vinylmation’s as its nice and simple to use plus there is a protection scheme built into it plus you have a mix of people trying to sell on their own doubles or just downsizing as well as professional sellers who constantly have vinyls for sale. Ebay is often used as the benchmark for prices as if there is 5 identical items on eBay, its pretty obvious to work out the average price and prices will be usually inline (cheaper items will sell faster while the expensive ones will just sit it out or reduce their price). Buy it Now also makes it extremely easy to purchase and you know the postage prices before you even purchase.

However there is a whole other way of getting hold of Vinyls on the secondary market which isn’t quite as easy as eBay but is often usually cheaper (eBay fees etc) and more personal.