10 Things To Consider When Buying Action Figures on eBay for Christmas 2021

When doing Christmas shopping for your friends and family members who are action figure enthusiasts, action figures are an obvious gift for them. But what if the figure that they want is not longer being produced? In cases like this, its time to go to eBay.

Unfortunately, its not as simple as typing in the figure name in the search box and purchasing the first item on the list of search results. If you’re not used to buying action figures on eBay, then there are some things you’re not going to be aware of. In this article, I’ll cover a variety of good practices you should follow when Christmas shopping for action figures on eBay.

1. Filter by Cost + Shipping Lowest First

When shopping for an older action figure on eBay, you are going to see many listings for that figure, and a pretty wild range of prices. Don’t assume that just because an action figure is old that it should be extremely costly. Use the filter option “Cost + Shipping Lowest First” to get the best deal you can. Now, you don’t want to just go with the cheapest option by default, there are other things that you need to take into account as well which will be covered in the rest of this article.

2. Is That a Picture of the Actual Figure, or Just a Stock Image?

Stock images can sometimes indicate that a knockoff is being sold instead of an authentic figure. This is more often the case with more expensive and higher quality figures such as Figma or S. H. Figuarts figures, but if you’re someone who doesn’t really know much about action figures, it’s probably best to just apply the rule across the board, and avoid buying an action figure on eBay is the seller only features a stock image.

3. Does the Seller Accept Returns

Just because a seller doesn’t accept returns, doesn’t mean that the seller is trying to rip you off. I’ve bought plenty of items from sellers that don’t do returns, and I’ve never had an issue; however, if you’re going to make a purchase and the seller is displaying a stock image instead of an image of the figure that they have in hand, I would absolutely check to see if they allow returns. Honestly, if there is anything that concerns you about a listing, verify that they seller accepts returns before making the purchase.

4. Terms You Need to Know

So, there are certain terms and acronyms that get used on eBay to describe an action figure’s condition. “MISB” and “Loose” are the big ones I see used a lot. “MISB” means the item is in mint condition, in the box, and sealed. “Loose” means that the figure has been opened, and just to be clear, this term has nothing to do with the figure’s joints being loose.

If you see the term “blister” used, this refers to the plastic bubble that encases the action figure, and the “card” is the backboard that the blister is glued to.

If a figure is being sold as used and out of the box, but its complete, that will probably be indicated in the subject—it should say complete. “For parts” likely means the figure is broken and is being sold for parts.

If there is some term you don’t understand, just Google it, and you’ll likely find what you need.

5. Read the Description

The item description is going to contain additional information about the condition of the figure or the figure’s packaging. If you’re buying a used figure, the seller is going to specify any defects, loose joints, or general wear and tear in the description. Even if you’re buying a new figure that hasn’t been taken out of the packaging, its still important to read the description if you’re concerned about the condition of the box, card, blister, etc.

6. Check the Seller’s rating

Okay, so I’m not necessarily going to tell you to never buy from anyone who doesn’t have a 99.9% rating. Especially for new sellers, one bad review can have a huge impact on their rating, and sometimes the reason for the bad review is out of the seller’s control. That being said, if you’re buying an item that is expensive and the seller does not accept returns, I would absolutely make sure that the seller has a very good rating. 99.6% and above is the safe zone, but 99.8% and above is preferable.

7. Examine the Featured Picture(s)

So, I already told you to be weary of sellers who use stock images, but I think you should go a little further than that in some cases. If you see a good deal on a figure and the seller has pictures of the actual figure they are selling, well, that’s a good thing; but you want to make the sure they’ve taken good pictures, and you can see everything clearly. In this day in age, there really is no excuse for blurry, poorly lit photos, pretty much everyone has a smart phone with a decent camera.

To me, when I see poor quality pictures, that suggests to me that the seller is maybe trying to hide a defect or something. Especially if the seller is selling a used figure, I would expect high quality pictures. So yeah, if you’re not satisfied with the pictures the seller has taken, message them and see if they will send you some better ones.

8. Examine the Contents of the Package When It Arrives

When you get the package in the mail, open it. Don’t just wrap the box as is and wait until Christmas to find out what kind of condition the contents are in. Open it to make sure everything is complete and in the same condition as advertised. And just to clarify, if the figures is new and in its original packaging, don’t take the figure out of its packaging—the recipient of the gift will make that decision. The only box you should open in that case is the box that the seller shipped the figure in. Just wanted to be clear about.

9. Smell the Figure

Yeah, you heard me right some action figures from eBay can smell. I’ve bought a few over the years that have a really musty odor to them. Musty odors do seem to go away over time, but it’s up to you to decide if the person you’re buying this gift for will be fine with dealing with it for a little while.

10. Message the Seller

If you have any questions or concerns, message the seller. Honest sellers will be fine with answering your questions, provided it doesn’t require an essay or anything crazy. I’ve messaged sellers to ask for clearer pictures of the figure, and every time they send them over. So, yeah, don’t be afraid to message the seller. Just keep your questions straight and to the point. Don’t write and essay. There are some people who sell a lot on eBay, for some people this is their full-time job so be respectful of their time when writing up your questions or concerns.

Conclusion

For action figure collectors, shopping on eBay is like second nature, but for those who don’t collect action figures (or other collectibles), they probably don’t shop on eBay all that often. When Christmas or birthdays come around