6 replies to this topic

[Doctor Dew]

I have a MIMP board game I am looking to sell but I've hit a road block:
I have tried to estimate it's value before posting it in the marketplace here, but I've been unable to find any form of reference. I've read that Series 1 is not worth that much, but I could find no past eBay auctions of the board game and the MIMP websites I went to did not have very much information on its scarcity. Rather then pick some arbitrary number out of the sky, I thought I would see if I could get some opinions on what would be a fair price. Something were the buyer is getting a nice deal and I am not selling myself short by avoiding eBay.

So if you have any thoughts/opinions (and what toy collector doesn't?) or if you have sold/bought a copy of the game before please let me know what you think. For instance, are people even interested in the game or is it just the figures that they want?

I don't really collect MIMP and this has just been sitting around for a few years, so I appreciate the help. Oh, it is complete with the four figures, card, spinner and board. The box top has a few dents.

[BaltanII]

I've got to assume that the majority of the game's value lies with the four exclusive figures and the fact that their colors would vary, meaning people go after multiple versions of the figures. I'm sure some people like it just as much for being MIMP merchandise, and perhaps there's even one or two crazy saps that want it for playing.

I believe asator actually sold the game here with three figures (missing the Tengu, but replaced with a common version) a while ago, and could share its price with you. I bought a lot of MIMPs only a couple weeks ago with two board game figures for $18, among other things.

Just throwing a number out there, but $40-45? I admit I would be interested in it too, but knowing which figures it has would help.

Edited by Boaconda, 18 August 2008 - 10:45 PM.

[asator]

I've bought 2 board games and have sold 1. The one I sold was on ebay and like Boaconda said, it had 3 of the 4 figures. I had made a post here to see if anyone was interested in buying or trading for it, but the post didnt have any bites so I went to ebay with it. I started it at $19.99 with a BIN of $40 and someone used the BIN option within 12 hours. It was an italian collector so they ended up paying like, $26 shipping if I'm remembering correctly.


The ones I bought, I paid $25 and $45 for respectively.


Personally, I've never played it. It makes a nice collectors piece though, especially if it comes with the figures.

Which 4 figures do you have?

[Doctor Dew]

Which 4 figures do you have?

The four figures are:

#4 Behemoth in light blue
#9 Tengu in dark green
#10 Triton in neon orange
#11 Kraken in hot pink

1) I'm not trying to complicate your discussion, but I would like to add an important comment about the price of collectibles: Collectibles are only worth as much as the highest-bidder is willing to pay.

That definitely doesn't complicate things, in fact that is the exact reason I started this topic. To get an estimate of the value of the item based on other collector's experience as sellers and/or buyers.

If there were only one MIMP board-game on eBay, and I really wanted it so I spent $200 on it, doesn't that mean that the board-game is "worth" $200? In fact, the only way to estimate the value of collectibles is by how much highest-bidders have paid in the past for identical or similar items. These prices are completely arbitrary, and someone can easily pay much less or much more than a past bidder did.

I am afraid I have to disagree with you on this. How much past bidders/buyers have paid for an item is not arbitrary. It indicates how much they thought it was worth. And their opinions as collectors of the item are important. As you said, it is the only way to tell the value of a collectible. If someone did pay $200 for a game, then it would be worth $200 at that point. If someone paid $40, then it would be worth $40 at that point. And so on. The price fluctuates, so naturally there can be no determined "set" price - hence the need to update any price guides. But the information of one crazy high bid and one really great score of a low bid is important because they represent the interest in that item at that time. By looking at that information, or in my case hearing about those transactions from other members, you can gauge an estimate of a collectibles worth.

So with the posts from Boaconda, asator and you I could estimate that the value of a MIMP board game with 4 figures is between $20-$45 and the figures might be worth more if sold individually. Granted I could put it on eBay at some point and get two people bidding that both feel it is worth $200 and sell it for much more. But since I am only trying to get an idea of its worth at this one point, there is no need to think about it that way. If ten more members posted replies that they all felt it was worth $15, then that would change things of course.

For me the discussion of a collectible's value is always interesting so I am glad you brought it up. I know some people who feel that an item is only worth its original retail value. So a sealed MIMP board game would be worth $5-7 (?) to them. Other people might feel it is worth more or less etc. So in that sense it goes back to what you are saying about collectibles only being worth what people pay for them.

But I am a fan of going with the majority when it comes to selling after market toys. If I know that 50 people in the collecting community think an item is worth $50, five people feel it is worth $100 and five people feel it is worth $10, I am going to price towards the majority. I am not going to sell it for $100 because I know that is not a reasonable price for most collectors. Likewise I would not sell it for only $10 because that would be doing me a disservice. And as much as I like helping people out, I would prefer something where both parties involved (me and the buyer) are happy with the transaction. In this example if I sold the item for $40 to one of the 50 people that felt it was worth $50, we are both winners. They feel they get a good deal because they got it for less then it was worth to them and I am happy because I was able to sell it for more then the lowest value.

Just like everyone else, when it comes to buying an item I have my own sense of what it is worth. So if I was one of those people that felt it was only worth $10 I would just sit and wait until I found it for that price. And it could happen because there could be a seller who thinks it is only worth $7 and feels that selling it for $8 would be a great deal. So if I bought it from them, we would both be happy. Etc. Etc.

Thanks for all the info/discussion gang, I appreciate it.

[asator]

I think part of it can be how much you expect to get as well. Myself, when I sold my board game, was content with $40 plus the cost of shipping. I'm sure I could have gotten more for it but I was happy with what I got so who cares?

The same with the 2 lots that I recently won on ebay. I got 2 lots of 5 of the same figure. The cost to me was around $42 total. So, with 4 extra sets of two, I figure for $10 per set, I break even and still get the 2 figures that I needed basically for free. And in the process, I can hook my fellow collectors up and give them a deal, perhaps setting the table for future deals for myself. "Do unto others", right?

Now, I know I could sell all those figures on their own and probably make more than $40 bucks, but to me they arent worth it. I got what I wanted and if I can break even, I feel as if I got them for free. It's also nice to help out the cool cats on this site. It gives me a sense of real community. Its kinda like "paying it forward" I suppose. In other communities I've been part of, everything was "I'll do this for you, but only if you do that for me."

I'm getting side tracked...

The point I'm trying to make is, if you are happy with what you are offered for your item, and the buyer is happy with what they are getting in return for their offer, thats all that matters. As for how much to ask for it, you have plenty of info in this thread to make an educated guess as to what people are willing to pay. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a price that is fair and will make both parties happy.

Good luck!

[BaltanII]

The four figures are:

#4 Behemoth in light blue
#9 Tengu in dark green
#10 Triton in neon orange
#11 Kraken in hot pink

That's a bit of a shame, and I was hoping that you had one of the other figure combinations instead. I haven't looked nearly as long as others, but it seems to be that these four are ones I see more often than others. If anyone else knew for certain whether certain assortments were more common than others, I'd love to know as well.

Still, I only have the pink Kraken, so not a total loss to me, if you prefer sell it on the boards first.

[Doctor Dew]

I think part of it can be how much you expect to get as well. Myself, when I sold my board game, was content with $40 plus the cost of shipping. I'm sure I could have gotten more for it but I was happy with what I got so who cares?

The same with the 2 lots that I recently won on ebay. I got 2 lots of 5 of the same figure. The cost to me was around $42 total. So, with 4 extra sets of two, I figure for $10 per set, I break even and still get the 2 figures that I needed basically for free. And in the process, I can hook my fellow collectors up and give them a deal, perhaps setting the table for future deals for myself. "Do unto others", right?

Now, I know I could sell all those figures on their own and probably make more than $40 bucks, but to me they arent worth it. I got what I wanted and if I can break even, I feel as if I got them for free. It's also nice to help out the cool cats on this site. It gives me a sense of real community. Its kinda like "paying it forward" I suppose. In other communities I've been part of, everything was "I'll do this for you, but only if you do that for me."

I'm getting side tracked...

The point I'm trying to make is, if you are happy with what you are offered for your item, and the buyer is happy with what they are getting in return for their offer, thats all that matters. As for how much to ask for it, you have plenty of info in this thread to make an educated guess as to what people are willing to pay. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a price that is fair and will make both parties happy.

Now that is an excellent philosophy and a pleasure to see online. Just like in customer service, people are more willing to help you out if you are nice and have helped them out in the past. I agree with everything you said.

Still, I only have the pink Kraken, so not a total loss to me, if you prefer sell it on the boards first.

Of course the boards first! Gotta keep it in the family. Look for it in the LRG Marketplace.

Yours was a very eloquent response, Doctor Drew
I wish you nothing but the best with the sale of your board-game. I hope it fetches a record sum
Please let us know how much it ends up selling for, so that we can use that as a future reference point for how much the Decipher board-game is "worth".

Thanks, it was your interesting post that got me started. Hopefully it will sell for the very non-record sum I'm asking.

All this talk of "worth" makes me want to put all the dollar amounts into an Excel spreadsheet and make a bar graph!

Italian collector Mr. Federico Mazzotta told me that he considers some or all of the two exclusive colors of #073-#080 figures from Bob's Big Boy restaurant's "Secret Monster Packs" (dark-purple and yellowish-orange #073-#080 figures) to be worth MORE THAN $450 APIECE!

Hahaha that is an amazing amount of moolah. Sounds like super rare Muscle Men.

I've heard of other sculpts and/or colors of Series-1 figures coming with the Decipher board-game, and I even have several photos of opened Decipher board-games with other sculpts and/or colors. However, the problem is proving whether those figures originally came with the board-game, especially since exactly the same 4 colors of figures were available as cereal-box premiums.

That is an interesting point. You would have to find a sealed version of the game somewhere and then check it out. But pictures of it being opened could be doctored/edited, so would you ever know for sure? Maybe a video? But that might be a bit much, even for toy collectors.