20 replies to this topic

[GormTransMonsters]

Just I wonder if someone can explain a possible reason for so expensive price this Ebay auction reached.
It has ended at about 39 GBP about 44 €uros... An incredible price looking just to the MIMPs included.
Does anyone know what the other figures are in this listing none MIMP which may have increased its price.
Any comment or explaination are welcome.

This is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

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[ChristianG]

Just I wonder if someone can explain a possible reason for so expensive price this Ebay auction reached.
It has ended at about 39 GBP about 44 €uros... An incredible price looking just to the MIMPs included.
Does anyone know what the other figures are in this listing none MIMP which may have increased its price.
Any comment or explaination are welcome.

This is the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

csmhoff (Today, 11:33 AM) -- oops typed too fast, i mean orange herne and 2 toxics
its got a dinosaucer, a toxic avenger and a pink herne
csmhoff (Today, 11:32 AM) -- its got a dinosaucer, a toxic avenger and a pink herne

[Aikola]

csmhoff (Today, 11:33 AM) -- oops typed too fast, i mean orange herne and 2 toxics
its got a dinosaucer, a toxic avenger and a pink herne
csmhoff (Today, 11:32 AM) -- its got a dinosaucer, a toxic avenger and a pink herne

Thats still way to much for a couple of Dinosaucers and some Mimp, Toxic Avengers are pretty common too I thought.

Edited by Aikola, 26 November 2009 - 12:39 AM.

[DarrylWestley]

Toxic Avengers!? Are you guys referring to the Toxic Crusader: Psycho (yellow figure
at the top). I thought he was bumping up the price... Orange Herne also

[Strontium Dog]

Why is orange Herne considered rare? I thought orange was a standard series 2 colour?

[DarrylWestley]

Why is orange Herne considered rare? I thought orange was a standard series 2 colour?

Correct. Within the Series 2 line there are just certain sculpt/colour combination's
that are harder to track down. The three toughest appear to be Green Dragon,
Blue (cyan) Jabborwock and Orange Herne.

This auction the other week was the high end for a rarer Series 2 figure:
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Strontium Dog]

So Green Dragon, Blue Jabborwock, Orange Herne and Orange Ganesha are hard to come by... useful to know, thanks. I'm impressed that people know this because it seems to be the kind of knowledge you only get after years of watching and buying on eBay.

It seems we definitely need some kind of guide to the rarity of these things ASAP.

[DarrylWestley]

Or maybe as you say people could be more observant... Documenting rarities has a novelty
attached to it but also just gives people and excuse to charge ridiculous amounts of money
for bits of rubber.

Such guides I think just encourage 'non-collectors' to boost costs and collectors are the one
that get damaged.

[GormTransMonsters]

Such guides I think just encourage 'non-collectors' to boost costs and collectors are the one
that get damaged.

Absolutely Agree with you Darryl!!
The expert collectors are able to understand the possible price to pay for rarer figures, don't worry Strontium.
For example I know very well how much could be the price to pay for an auction with inside Bib Boy's figure instead an auction with green Dragon or with just a neon red Ghost.

[Strontium Dog]

Or maybe as you say people could be more observant... Documenting rarities has a novelty attached to it but also just gives people and excuse to charge ridiculous amounts of money for bits of rubber.

Such guides I think just encourage 'non-collectors' to boost costs and collectors are the one that get damaged.

I think non-collectors are already doing rather well out of things, judging by recent prices (!)

I think if anyone suffers from the lack of a proper guide to rarity, it is not all collectors, but people who are new to collecting this particular line; as you point out, experienced collectors like yourself already know what is common and what is rare. I guess there is no easy way into this clique and I will just have to track eBay auctions for a couple of years!

Also, for what it's worth, I think a proper guide can bring prices down rather than forcing them up. I am sure tens of thousands of non-collectors own MIMP cereal premiums, for example - just imagine how many boxes of cereal are eaten every year - but never considered putting them up for sale. However, if they were to realise their value, they are more likely to part with them. With more pieces on the market, prices are brought down.

We've seen this with Star Wars figures; every man and his dog knows Star Wars figures are collectable, and so many more people have decided to sell theirs based on this fact. Of course, the predictable result is that the market is flooded, and price guides printed 10 years ago aren't worth the paper they're printed on, with prices maybe a tenth of what they were.

Perhaps there is an element of self-interest here? Collectors with extensive collections obviously want to keep the value of their collections high, so it is in their interests to keep that knowledge within a select group.

[DarrylWestley]

I think you have just elected yourself to compile the guide 'Strontium Dog'.

One man's rubbish is another mans treasure, the nature of collecting is always
personal preference. What 'you' are prepared to pay over the 'next' man/woman
will vary. If you wish to generalize on price figures it might be best as you say
just to observe Ebay auctions etc over a given year to check how there prices
fluctuate otherwise who ever provides the source of data is merely just putting
their personal opinion forward based possibly on objective experience
and observation.

Self interest is over-ruled if you think about the possibility of selling these figures
public. It would be counter productive just to assume others know the rarity
of items. It is this argument that actually falls flat on it's face. Because if as you
say for example I was interested in my collection keeping it's value I would sing
from the rooftops the rarity and label the prices accordingly. As it is... I am more
concerned the appeal of the figures remains the beauty of individual sculpts
rather than which cost more or is rarer... My aim was just to get a full set of Black
figures from Mexico, the rarity didn't come into my initial impulse. I just like the
colour shade. Now would I be miffed if people bought them just to make a profit
and not out of appreciation for the object? Sure I would!

I agree that it would bring people who just got toys in the cereal to come forward
and exchange their rubber for millions. This is 'good' as they didn't end up in land-
fill sites but I am not sure about your theory regarding prices plummeting, this
would require a massive increase in activity (lets think Series 3 figures) I don't
think could be possible. There are those that would buy items to sell on at higher
prices later anyway. It's much to business orientated if you ask me, sucking the
life out of a harmless 'toy'.

The funny thing is most of the people I know (non-collectors) would laugh that I
am actually debating this.

Trading is the way?

[Acidonia]

Wow never knew Green dragon was rare have 2 of them. It's the Only colour I have of it. Thought green would be a common colour for that figure.

[RareBob]

I need a green dragon - interested in a swop please PM as i have many different figures series 1 and 2

Bob

[DarrylWestley]

Great Acidonia, thanks for proving that sometimes 'rarity' of figures can often
be based on merely personal experience.

[TOPHER]

That auction was over priced if it were for the MIMP
but I don't have a clue to the worth of the other figs.

Personall from my own stats CYAN Jabborwock is the hardest to find,
I the past 5 years I've seen 5 and own 1.
Petersmitharcher was the first I'd seen
second= I won on ebay from England
third= won by an Italian on ebay who was bidding against Brojo it came from England,about 2 years ago.
forth= Petersmitharcher sold a complete set on ebay last year.
And the fifth was about 2 weeks ago ,the cyan Jabborwock was missing one of it's wings.

The Green Dragon was my last piece to complete my Series 2.
Though I did see it more frequantly agout 9 time,I wasn't about
to bid over the stupid price it was at then.

Orange Herne and Orange Ganesha (were Spagetti-O's mail aways)
got them early in my nebie days of collecting so I never thought
of them as rare since I already had them.

Beleive it or not , but I still don't have a Series-1 Yellow Ghost yet! ,
not that it's hard to find,real easy,it's that one hasn't showed up
at the right price or the right place.

[Strontium Dog]

Great Acidonia, thanks for proving that sometimes 'rarity' of figures can often be based on merely personal experience.

Judging by how you just paid £23.69 for a blue mummy, I'm guessing that's one of the rarer S1 premiums?

[DarrylWestley]

Great Acidonia, thanks for proving that sometimes 'rarity' of figures can often be based on merely personal experience.

Judging by how you just paid £23.69 for a blue mummy, I'm guessing that's one of the rarer S1 premiums?

The Cyan Mummy was actually not of interest but it's inclusion made the
auction more worthwhile...

The price I spent for the Neon Green Behemoth (the last
Matchbox one I require). To add to my 20 other Behemoths that I own!
Based on my personal experience he was rare to find...

I was surprised I had such competition on this particular auction!

Edited by DarrylWestley, 16 January 2010 - 04:13 PM.

[Strontium Dog]

I thought it might be the Behemoth you were after, but I wasn't sure if that was a rare one or not.

Dunno who pushed it up that high though, I bailed out at 4 quid.

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the prices MIMP auctions have been fetching lately.

[Strontium Dog]

This is another one that has me stumped. There's still 32 hours left on this MIMP auction, but it's already at £72.51 ($108)

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...em=110498015895

 MIMP_Auc_3Mar.jpg   36.29K   24 downloads

What is it that's driving the price here? A couple of uncommon neons or something else?

[KungFuMan]

Might be the neon red figures throwing it so high, possibly at least two bidders that took a look at it and thought they were orange. Either that or someone *really* wants one of each figure...

[Strontium Dog]

I suspect it's one or more of the 8 neon figures, but that's just a guess. Some neon figures are EXTREMELY rare.

Mm, I've learnt as much, but that's still silly money in my book.

I just paid £11.50 for a lot which included a "rare neon" (Catoblepas neon red) AND a pink Triton:

http://cgi.ebay.co.u...em=250581794938

So you'll forgive me if I think the people bidding on this auction are ever so slightly crazy (!)