Is it really worth that much?

[Zenith27]

Originally Posted by Shockwave 75

I've been thinking about this for some time now.

It seems like the non-retail commerce side of our hobby is dominated by lots of people who think their crap is treasure.
After a recent perusal of eBay and seeing incomplete, badly yellowed G1 Slugslingers going for over $80, and yet an incomplete Pointblank, who shares the Targetmaster gimmick, and technically has more accessories, can be had for just over $10. With a complete one still going for less than the incomplete Slugslinger.

More and more I see people at places like flea markets, second hand stores, and even garage sales, trying to sell broken and/or incomplete toys for outrageous prices. Like there's this belief that just because it's a toy from the 80's it must be a gold mine!

And it doesn't stop there.
Recently I've been looking around for a BW2 Diver/Niagara base set, and the prices are completely ridiculous!!
I would expect to pay a bit of a mark up due to the fact that it's old (BW was 22 years ago, guys!!), and Japanese, but the prices on a MISB specimens range from about $290 to over $500!!! Which forces me to ask; IS IT REALLY WORTH THAT MUCH?!?!

Are sellers just being greedy? I get wanting to make some money when you sell something, that's fine. But come on!
When I sell I take a look at Bay, and look at what people are actually paying for stuff (vs just looking at what people are selling stuff for) and try to price my items at a reasonable average price, and I'm always willing to negotiate too.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever heard when it comes to selling old stuff is; Just because it's old, doesn't mean it's worth money.
And I think that can be extended to; it doesn't mean it's worth a lot of money, too.

There is ONE Pointblank SOLD for less than $10 currently on ebay history and 3 over $20 compared to an average of about $70 for complete figures. Clearly few are interested in an incomplete Pointblank so it's not a good comparison. Slugslinger is of course going to go for more since a) his targetmaster is harder to find unbroken b) he tends to yellow c) he looks way cooler

Whine about Amazon marketplace if you want to bitch about gouging. The market clearly dictates the prices.

Also, I used to buy 80s Transformers at garage sales and they were maybe $2-5 each. This was of course back in the early 90s when all those kids that had them first grew up and their parents were selling them off. Guess what? Some of those toys from the 80s ARE a gold mine now because they're in demand. Get over it. If you want to pay "fair" prices, collect the current toys.

Here's a tip. Ignore all those people selling for way over the current selling average. The selling average is there for a reason, the item you're looking for will come up at some point for the average price. Just be patient!

Originally Posted by Pascal

I'm both a buyer and a seller, actually more a buyer than a seller, and let me tell you that entitled lowballers are becoming a much bigger issue than greedy sellers. They look on Ebay, look at completed auction, look for the lowest sold price regarding of condition/completeness and decide it's the price they deserve to pay, no matter what. With free shipping, since Chinese sellers do that. Eh.

Hear, hear. It's a lot of work selling stuff on ebay and people seem to think that for me it's 100% profit and forget that there's a reasonable amount of effort cleaning something up, taking pics, posting the item, figuring out the cost of shipping, answering questions, then packing and shipping the thing. From Canada (of course) and I have to provide free shipping or I'll sell very little so I have to bump up the price to cover it. I get messages from people all the time just to tell me I'm a ripoff artist. Also, son't forget the scammer buyers that claim what you shipped was incorrect, busted, and you have to eat the difference a lot of the time.

Originally Posted by Bruticus82

Yeah, e-bay is not great anymore, and hasn't been for a long time for finding deals.

That said, you have to consider the figures you're comparing and the issues that they have to explain why some figures might command a premium versus others.

Slugslinger, as you said, is commonly yellowed. Slugslinger also had a targetmaster gun that frequently broke at the leg hinge, and had a separate "gun" attachment for his targetmaster which was small and often lost.

By contrast Pointblank had a sturdier targetmaster, and a large shield/engine which was less likely to get misplaced. End result is it is easier to find a complete and good condition Pointblank than it is a complete and good condition Slugslinger. Oh, and if you have all the accessories and a really bad condition Slugslinger, you can probably sell it for nearly as much as one that is in good condition, because it's the accessories that are hard to find, and people will buy a crappy Slugslinger just for the accessories that come with it.

Hear hear again!

Forgive me the harshness of my tone for some of this post. I collect Joes and you want to see high prices!?

I just won this auction:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-Hasbro...vip=true&rt=nc

Expensive no? I paid $61 USD. You know why? It's hard as hell to find a nice example of that figure! And that's one of the lower expensive ones. Look up Payload, Heavy Metal, Viper Pilot, Storm Shadow, Keel Haul, Hardtop, Silver Pads Grand Slam, Starduster, any Steel Brigade figure. Then look up the USS Flagg, Terrordrome, Defiant, Cobra Missile Command HQ, MSV, hell, one Skystriker usually goes for more than $100 and they made a million of those things.

I see this post ALL THE TIME in the Joe forums and you know what we tell those people. You picked the wrong hobby if you want ALL the figs. Buy lots, it's the only real way so jump on West Coast late closing auctions to snipe.

Transformers collectors have it EASY! Quit whining and get back to me when you're trying to get some crazy rare Takara gold metalized Jazz or black Tracks or something.

[Ninjatron]

Originally Posted by Shockwave 75

I
Recently I've been looking around for a BW2 Diver/Niagara base set, and the prices are completely ridiculous!!
I would expect to pay a bit of a mark up due to the fact that it's old (BW was 22 years ago, guys!!), and Japanese, but the prices on a MISB specimens range from about $290 to over $500!!! Which forces me to ask; IS IT REALLY WORTH THAT MUCH?!?!

Yeah, actually, in this case, I'm not too surprised. It's been considered hard to find or highly sought after or had a low production run or whatever it is that makes people pay more money to get it for a long time. It's kind of an oddity in the realm of Transformers collecting, being a playset. Whether or not it's actually worth every penny of that $500, I can't say, but even if I didn't know that what it was going for, I'd assume it was a big ticket item as I have heard that kind of buzz around it for awhile. It might not have even been easy to get in Japan at that time.

I mean, how else are you going to get ahold of it? Probably not at a garage sale or thrift store, that's for sure!

Sayonara.

[oroboru]

Originally Posted by Zenith27

Transformers collectors have it EASY! Quit whining and get back to me when you're trying to get some crazy rare Takara gold metalized Jazz or black Tracks or something.

Every hobby is easy... it's optional so you can always just drop out and move on to something else.

[Pascal]

Originally Posted by Zenith27

I just won this auction:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-Hasbro...vip=true&rt=nc

Out of curiosity, why are they called "straight arm" if they can bend at the elbow?

[Shockwave 75]

Originally Posted by Ninjatron

Yeah, actually, in this case, I'm not too surprised. It's been considered hard to find or highly sought after or had a low production run or whatever it is that makes people pay more money to get it for a long time. It's kind of an oddity in the realm of Transformers collecting, being a playset. Whether or not it's actually worth every penny of that $500, I can't say, but even if I didn't know that what it was going for, I'd assume it was a big ticket item as I have heard that kind of buzz around it for awhile. It might not have even been easy to get in Japan at that time.

I mean, how else are you going to get ahold of it? Probably not at a garage sale or thrift store, that's for sure!

Sayonara.

Yeah, it's nuts. I posted this over on The Allspark too, and someone there said the going price for the set in Japanese stores is between 45 & $65 US.
Even checking the Mandarake website, the had an sold listing for the set at 8000 Yen, about $74 US, $97 CAN.

Originally Posted by Pascal

Out of curiosity, why are they called "straight arm" if they can bend at the elbow?

Because it doesn't have the bicep swivel.

[Soundwaves]

What better reference for market value exists than the sold listings on Ebay?

[Pascal]

Imaginary deals seem very popular too.

-You're selling this item $100. I found another guy selling it for $60!
-... then why are you contacting me if you know I'm selling it for $40 more?
-...

Imaginary nephews too.

-Can I get a better price? It's not for me, it's for my nephew.
-You're buying your nephew $150 toys?
-...

[RNSrobot]

ebay is fucking hilarious. It always gives me a kick to filter to "sold listings" and see what things ACTUALLY sell for vs their idiotic asking prices.

[Dark Rage]

For high end, rare items, I'm finding ebay the way to go, especially if it's for sealed/unopened items.

The price will sell for whoever's willing to pay for it. You can always wait for a 15% off sale every once in awhile, (props to Yonoid keeping an eye on it and posting it on the boards), so it makes certain items at a better price to buy (ebay just eats up the difference).

Certain toy lines are actually going up in value, like Japan Beast Wars (weird, since Hasbro BW stuff is still cheap). One can always keep hunting on the boards for a loose/cheaper version, but for mint condition stuff/rarer stuff, ebay is the way to go, both as a seller and a buyer. All the details are laid out in plain sight, no hassle of haggling on free/discounted shipping when selling, just work out a best offer price (if the seller offers such). At least on ebay there's something such as etiquette. Kijiji is terrible with constant lowball/rude offers, at least ebay filters out low offers (for the BIN or best offer).

But yeah, especially when selling items, especially loose, it's time consuming to take pictures and upload them for interested people and never heard back or attempts at lowering the price for minor blemishes from the factory paint/design.

[python]

Originally Posted by Pascal

I'm both a buyer and a seller, actually more a buyer than a seller, and let me tell you that entitled lowballers are becoming a much bigger issue than greedy sellers. They look on Ebay, look at completed auctions, look for the lowest sold price regarding of condition/completeness and decide it's the price they deserve to pay, no matter what. With free shipping, since Chinese sellers do that. Eh.

THIS!