and so when certain figs are popping up in the tree more often than others (even tho we know it's from the same tree...) I assume that is due to collectors prefering or holding onto certain sculpts that are their favorites? So the ones that they are hoarding evolve into Class A status while the others from the tree get down graded?
I just saw this and had to comment.
Soupie and I (god I owe him a call) are trying to explain this. We're super close...I think. I believe Class A figures are simply the result of Bandai's production methods.
When I created the Class system I was just trying to give some rough guidelines for M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors. I always thought of it as something that would help a collector if he went into a store, found a box of over-priced figures, but could pick-out the few $2 figures worth saving. I recognized the risk (Class A = Rare = $$$), but if you put the information out there it's much harder to take advantage of other people. (Jesus, it's over six year old. )
Hoarding won't influence the Classes. It might make a figure seem suddenly popular, but that's it. Plus you'd have to be a full-blown lunatic to horde a figure in an effort to downgrade its Class - or even in an attempt to drive up the price. You'd just have a mountain of figures that you overpaid for.
Last part of the rant. The section is called "What's it Worth?" I will always argue that M.U.S.C.L.E. toys are basically worthless. No matter how much we love them 99.9% of the world does not care. Not even a little bit. The price of M.U.S.C.L.E. toys is much different than worth. You guys know my MRT rants: http://blog.uofmuscl...ule-of-two-mrt/
It's why a real M.U.S.C.L.E. price guide doesn't make sense. Sure we see some basic trends, but that's over like 10 items. The Non-Poster and Class A figures are impossible to predict, because you only need two nuts to alter a price that people will cling to. Having said that, I believe most Class A's are worth $20 or less. The coolest and most popular Class A figures are probably $100 tops, but that's a handful.