Sometimes the common figures are harder to obtain than the supposed rarer figures, I think the rarer figures sometimes are just more popular. I have had 3 Skull Grotess figures in the last year, they are not really that hard to get. But they sell quick and usually between $225-$275. But the figure sculpt is one of the best in the line. The only 2 figures I still need are the Scope Cougar and Hustlebear. You get to the point where your pretty much willing to pay twice the price just to get that much closer to completing your collection. Just my 2 cents.
Eaon
Interesting point here made by roland13... I'm personally to the point where I only need five more figures before my collection is complete and of the five I need, only one (#110, Grin Reefer) is a supposedly hard one to find.
While all this may be true, I have actually had a harder time trying to find a #90, Grencats! As funny as it may sound, I don't see myself completing my collection for quite some time due to the fact the figures I need will probably sky-rocket in price whenever they do pop-up on ebay or wherever else I might be able to buy them...
Eaon's post does make a lot of sense to me though, I feel he has a point when he states that you'd be willing to pay twice as much for a figure simply to get your hands on one. And of course, if Murphy's Law has taught us anything, it's that as soon as you buy a figure at a given price, you're guaranteed to find him for less within a month or so of that transaction!
This happened to me last summer. A seller on ebay contacted me about purchasing a #102, King Buster for $200. I bit and bought the figure partially because I had always seen him go for more than $200. Well not even a week after I bought my King Buster, I found an auction (by a different seller) for a King Buster, in what appeared to be the same condition, with a BIN for $150!!
To finish this post out, I do agree with Eaon that when you get to a point of finializing your collection, you tend to get a little more desparate and, shall I say, triggerhappy, to get the job done...
Opinion's?