Armada Optimus: some market research

[Uberman]

I'm looking for some opinions and such on the relative market value of Armada Optimus Prime. I've never really been able to decode eBay, so I'm asking for the feelings of people here.

I've seen an in-box Supercon version floating around in a store. The box itself is fairly beaten to a pulp, and it's quite obviously opened and played with and repacked at some point in the past. The figure itself looks in perfectly fine condition, but there's a note on the side of the box stating "Missing one smokestack gun, all other parts included. Lights and sounds in trailer not working."

I can only assume the self-transformation also doesn't work. Based on the note, I am going to assume Sparkplug and the big gun are included, despite not being able to see them in the package [maybe they're in the trailer?].

Having taken all this into account, and assuming for some reason you actually want this silly, non-posable, bepants robot, what would you value this thing at? [And again, if Sparkplug and the gun are absent.]

Thanks, guys.

[Pascal]

Incomplete and not working? I wouldn't invest a single penny on that thing. A complete working Supercon Prime can be had for $30-45 +shipping on Ebay I'm sure. At best it's worth $15 for parts.

[Scrapper6]

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I'd have to estimate that the value of this figure would be between 75-100$. BBTS is charging 98.99$ for the Powerlinx/Final Battle version of this toy last I checked. (I so wish I had the $$$ to get it, I've wanted that figure ever since seeing the last episode of Armada.)

You don't need no auto-transform gimmick, if you're careful not to strip the gears you can manually convert the trailer. (I've removed the batteries out of all my electronic TFs, after a while the novelty of hearing the classic transformation sound from Cybertron Scourge and Energon Bulkhead wore off. So I took out all the batteries and tossed'em in the trash. Since I have no intention of ever replacing them.)

The only Transformer that NEEDS his electronics which I own is Movie 1 Leader Class Optimus. (I removed his batteries to prevent alkaline leakage within the robot figure and keep them stored in a ziplock sandwhich bag with my Movieverse figures.)

Without Sparkplug or the large gun Optimus's value would probably be a little lower than what I said, simply because the Mini-Con gimmick is one of the reasons to own this toy in the first place. He may be as poseable as a brick in combined mode, but so's Powermaster Optimus Prime and he's still loads of fun.

If you want a more poseable representation than the Super-Con version is great for the cab. But he can't combine with Jetfire or Overload.

A lot of Armada figures sacrificed poseablity for gimmicks of some kind, it did not detract from their fun factor or their display worthiness. (Although it is a shame you can't pose Hot Shot with his cannon flipped up and ready to fire without removing the missile.)

So yes, as I was saying, between 75-100$ max. Anything higher than that is a total rip off for an obviously not mint condition figure. Some people might think just because it's Optimus Prime he should be worth more, but the Armada series isn't really as old as G1 and quite frankly nothing outside of the figures from the 1980's should ever cost more than 100$ on the secondary market depending on size class and rareity. (Leastwise not in a perfect world, in the real world, some people will just try and milk you and really if you're willing to be milked/hosed than it's your decision to accept such a price.)

[Dark Rage]

You're better off buying from a board member/ebay. Stores tend to overprice loose TFs.

[Scrapper6]

Originally Posted by Pascal

Incomplete and not working? I wouldn't invest a single penny on that thing. A complete working Supercon Prime can be had for $30-45 +shipping on Ebay I'm sure. At best it's worth $15 for parts.

Boy am I really not good with guesstimating dollar values on TFs.

[Uberman]

It's marked at 29.99 right now [the price tage says "Vintage" on it, so it's gotta be good!]

I have neither the room nor the spare money, but still. Interesting all the same.

[Team Jetfire]

Wow, doing a quick ebay seach found a few loose, near complete, but MISB is all over 129.99. Never knew that he wold be worth so much...

If you are just using him for display I would say 30 bucks isn't bad. You may even find a smokestack gun somewhere...

[Uberman]

Yeah, for what I'd actually be getting, it's not bad. I'm actually mostly interested in the Minicon base, as dumb as that sounds.

I think I'll confirm if Sparkplug is or isn't there, 'cause that's fully a dealbreaker at this point.

[Pascal]

$2.25 right now:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-Armada-Super-Base-Optimus-Prime-Loose-Comp_W0QQitemZ190370898337QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_De faultDomain_0?hash=item2c52fd61a1

$50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Transformers-Armada-Optimus-Prime-100-Complete-w-Box_W0QQitemZ220553236186QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Def aultDomain_0?hash=item3359ff4eda

Looking at recent completed auctions, a loose complete one sold for $15 and 2 for $50.

[hugh_da_man]

In the condition you describe it's probably worth $10 or less. Damaged and missing pieces makes it impossible to say it should be worth above $10.

Especially with how Pascal is pointing out that you can get cheap ones off ebay even with the cost of shipping included. Don't buy it!