Pete writes:
Happy June Space Freaks!
Over the past few months we’ve had a lot of great fodder on
eBay for our monthly updates. During
this time a question has come up around including Facebook and Rebelscum
transactions in the monthly MarketWatch. Let me be clear that I think that this is a great idea, and fully
support it. However the reality is
this, this article comes under a great deal of scrutiny every month, whether
through the Facebook page for the Archive, direct emails to me or PMs on one of
the boards I get chopped up all the time about what I included, why I included
it, and in some cases the possible legitimacy of some of the items I list. A lot of this is just talk and banter that
comes with the hobby. However I’ve
tried to ensure that everything that I put in these posts is verifiable and
indisputable when it comes to a listing ending and being sold
definitively. When it comes to FB and
RS posts there are some verification challenges with this. To be straight forward there’s no way for me
to prove that a transaction went through other than the people’s word who were
involved in it and the status on either of the sites. On eBay I have the auction webpage as a
verifiable source, I can go back and look at items that are classified as sold
as well. Does this mean the transaction
was completed? No, but it does show that the auction ended a certain way and I
can verify that beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Someday maybe we’ll be able to change this up, however for
now I’m going to continue to use the source that I have, that is most
representative of the general market, that being eBay.
This month we have some fun items to cover so let’s get into it.
ROTJ Ewok Plush Line Hang Tab Proof - $139.50
This is a pretty fun little item. There are so many 2D prototype collectors
out there that I’m surprised by the end price on this item, especially given
the end price of another Ewok related item in this post. Here we have the proof sheet for the hanging
tags that were attached to all of the plush Ewok toys. Now the plush items are really on the border
of being included in the vintage toy line, however they were produced by Kenner
and were usually found alongside the vintage action figure line at retail,
which gives them just enough proximity to be included here.
Boba Fett POTF Mail Away Coin AFA90 - $780
One of my favorite coins in the Power of the Force series is also one of the
most expensive to find, but then again anything Fett related is high priced
these days. A great example of an AFA
graded coin, this particular piece was definitely above the current market with
this piece going for rougly $400 consistently on eBay. However this does have
the AFA90 grade to it and that does crazy things to prices on virtually any
item.
ROTJ Catalog Mailer 4 Pack - $1,326
My personal favorite of this month’s update is also one of
the rarest of all catalog mailers out there: a MISB ROTJ Mailer including Boba Fett, Luke X-Wing, Yoda and Darth
Vader. When it comes to character value
you really don’t get a more impressive foursome anywhere is the catalog mailer
world. This piece in particular hasn’t
come up in several years and to see one in a sealed box is pretty unique... well at least we thought, until a month
later when the seller listed a second one. This isn’t that uncommon as many who have sealed mailers have a few of
them for some strange reason. While most
ROTJ mailer sets go for around $400-700 depending on condition and character assortment, this particular piece hit the $1,300 mark, with the second
auction going for over $1,600, showcasing the pent-up demand for an item that is
about as rare as they come when you talk about production pieces that weren’t
in some type of unique short run situation.
ROTJ Ewok Combat Glider Cromalin - $1,396
Our next item could be the rarest of this month’s
update. Here we have a Cromalin for
the Ewok Glider from the Return of the Jedi release. One of the few new releases for small items
in the ROTJ toy line, this piece has a special place in the
series. Like most large scale packaging prototype items, you get the visual of all 6 sides of the original boxed item with this. However, that creates some challenges in
displaying, as it’s impossible to get a matting for this and when graded it’s
extremely heavy. Thus, a lot of people
stay away from these large sheets. Given that, it was interesting to see an Ewok-oriented piece go for
over $1,000 in an auction setting. The
seller should be quite happy with the final price as it was well over
market expectations even in the crazy market we’re seeing today. A great item and one we may not see come up
again in the future.
Millennium Falcon – ROTJ AFA80 $1,675
The next item is one of the most famous vehicles from the Original Trilogy and one that is sure to make an impression on a new generation
with it being featured in The Force Awakens. The ROTJ version of the Falcon is my personal favorite. It has a great
image and features a scene that was ultimately cut from the movie. The Falcon always brings a hefty price when
it’s up on the market, regardless of what banner is featured on the box. With an AFA grading cost of over $100 on the
piece it’s not hard to see one go for over $1,500, which is right on the mark
for where they have been selling historically. The ROTJ run of this vehicle is the shortest of any in the vintage line,
given that there were several other large scale vehicles and playsets such as the Imperial
Shuttle, Ewok Village, and AT-AT that were taking up the premium retail shelf
space.
ESB Yellow 6 Pack AFA80 - $4,456
Featured several times before, it’s hard not to showcase
these Six Packs when they come up on the market.
This example of the Yellow ESB Six Pack is in great condition and rounds
out our listings for this month. Much
like the red counterpart, these pieces demand extremely high prices regardless
of market conditions. In this case (the
less rare of the two), we saw an incredible price realized of over $4,000. Even for a piece like this that’s an
incredible price, not only over historical prices, but because these tend to be
a bit more niche then a lot of the mainstream items. In the past 5 years we’ve seen examples
from $1,800 to $2,400 and thus a $2,000 increase over historical performance is
quite impressive.
That wraps of the coverage for this month. Join us next time as I take a look at how the hot Summer season has affected prices in an
already hot market.
Until then...
Wampa Wampa,
FB24
Some amazing pieces and prizes. Thanks again for a great update Pete.
ReplyDeleteI've been listening to your excellent research on the 'Chive Cast for years now, but this is the first blog entry I've checked out. Very interesting information in an engaging article. Well done, sir!
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