10 replies to this topic

[GRANDTHEFT]

G'day MuscleHeads
i've noticed on ebay at the moment that there are 63 lots up for auction
some have sky rocketed with price
others seem to be left untouched.

my question i put to you is:
should we try to set a standard , common , universal, fixed price for muscle men?

something that the general public could judge how much they should pay for lots on ebay , thus protecting us collectors from inflated prices.

or should we let let nature take it course!

do good guy's


Mischa ( ebay account =sheriff23mrx ) i have a sheriff's badge tattoo

[Tortle]

should we try to set a standard , common , universal, fixed price for muscle men?

Well, Ebay is pretty much a free market, and I don't think that we should set a price. There really isn't an inflated price for MUSCLEs... whatever people bid is what they'll pay for them, so the price on Ebay is, in most cases, the market value.

Of course, some auctions have higher prices, but that's usually due to which figures are in the auction (i.e., auctions with Hand usually cost more).

Even if we decide to establish a market price, there are a couple of reasons that I don't think it would work. First, how would we enforce it? How would we stop people from bidding more once the established price is reached? Second, auctions with more figures usually cost less per figure than auctions with few figures. How could we establish a single, fixed price?

I opt for letting nature take its course.

-Nathan

[Adamantiumwulf]

I say let nature take its course.

The price fluctuates but not a lot the highest I ever saw it go was about a dollar per figure for a couple weeks, that was about 2 years ago.

The average I would say is about 50-75 cents per figure. I am sure each one of us has a fixed price in our head of what we will pay per figure.

Who can put a price on the memories of these little guys though? I will always remember the first muscle men I received one Christmas. A colored 28 pack. I loved looking at the art on the back and looking at the figures and the detail. I wish I would have kept my original muscle men separate from the ones I started getting off ebay. If there are any new collectors out there you might want to think about it a bit and keep at least a few original figures separate.

Like Nate said larger lots get less per figure then small lots do.

Ebay is a great way to gauge what your collection might be worth. I am a firm believer in that something is worth only what people will pay for it. Who needs a price guide when you can look on ebay and see what people are actually paying for them.

[jkaris]

Ebay is a great way to gauge what your collection might be worth. I am a firm believer in that something is worth only what people will pay for it. Who needs a price guide when you can look on ebay and see what people are actually paying for them.

You can't put a price cap on a market like this for a couple of reasons.

1. This is a free market item we are talking about and to try to put a price cap on a free market is as unethical as "scalping", i.e. Hoarding an item in hopes of artificially hiking the overall price and demand for the commodity.

2. Even if we wanted too, and together, all 100+ of us on this board and the email group tried, we could possibly drive the price a few pennines closer to whatever price we set, but all in all it wouldn't make that much of an impact. But that still has no effect on someone willing to pay a higher amount for favorites or guys needed to complete a collection.

Generally when we do a tansaction in the group it stays between .50 and .75 per M.U.S.C.L.E. or we do a trade for it. As far as folks not in the fold yet, they tend to pay a higher price. This situation is similar to collective bargaining, because we do have some control over the prices we give each other in our group.

I will tell you this though. If the Kinnikuman cartoon is a sucess, I foresee MUSCLE's going up to $1 each average. At least for a limited time. My suggestions, buy in bulk, and look for Buy IT Now or misdescribed listings to get a better overall price. I have thousands of MUSCLEs and my average purchase price is .51 cents.

[Adamantiumwulf]

We know when the show is coming out any idea when and if toys will be released for the show?

I Think that the popularity of muscle will increase greatly once the show comes out. How huge is wrestling? Kids will like seeing charcters pulling stunts off that cant be done in reality and odd looking charcters.

[Doctor Dew]

I Think that the popularity of muscle will increase greatly once the show comes out. How huge is wrestling? Kids will like seeing charcters pulling stunts off that cant be done in reality and odd looking charcters.

i think that is a great point. wrestling has gotten so huge! and tv shows/toys from Japan also usually do exceptionally well. whoever decided to bring over Kinnikuman should probably get a raise over there at Fox.

but yeah, it would be difficult to set a price. people who weren't "in on it" and just view this board as guets would take advantage knowing they could outbid everyone here. and what would happen with auctions? whoever saw it first would bid the maximum agreed upon value and then no more bidding...

[RubzOne]

I usually will pay no more than 1.00 a figure with the exception of rares

[NamaNiku]

To quote the author of the Satan Cross Manifesto: "it is called supply and demand folks."
Until the day comes where MUSCLE are so common, it is cheaper to whipe my arse with them instead of 99 cent toilet paper, I don't mind paying a few bucks out of my paycheck for a little nostalgia. Adamantiumwulf said it best:
"Who can put a price on the memories of these little guys?"

[GRANDTHEFT]

I hear ya Guy's
you have all made great points to the debate
and i respect all your views
i myself am a believer in the nature option the two man reasons are

a) if there were a lot on ebay i needed to complete my set , or i knew there was a satans cross hiden in the back i'd trade well over a dollar for them + my soul

if the day came i had a number of duplicates and wanted to sell them i would want top dollar for em ( so call me a greedy bastitch )

do good guys

mischa

[theCrazyest]

Hey:

Adamantiumwulf is completely right on this one. The price will skyRocket once the new show hits the airWaves and the market will be flooded with MUSCLEs & Kinnikuman merchandise (which will be both good and bad).

[arforbes]

M.U.S.C.L.E.'s are worth what people will pay. It can be dirt cheap in some cases or damned expensive in RARE FIGURE cases!