What is going on with Ebay Thundercats auctions?

Collecting LJN ThunderCats Toys
1

Can somebody please tell me what is going on with Thundercats auctions lately?

A Stinger loose complete going right now for $222.50 please see here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6036710045&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

And this auction for a MOC Stinger was over a few days ago for less than $100 Please see here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6251798534&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Should’nt a MOC figure go more than a loose one or am I just crazy. Somebody please try to explain whats going on

2

:shock: :shock: Holy Moly, $222 for a loose figure!!! That is nuts!!!
I smell conspiracy :lol: :lol:

I do not want to know the logic behind that auction, ehheehe. There’s no way I’m paying anything over $100 for a loose figure. I’m not sure whether that guy is nut or I’m nut :lol: :lol:

3

Maybe we’re all nuts and are seeing the wrong thing…the funny thing is that all the bidders are actually legitimate bidders.Ive seen all of them bidding in previous auctions. Maybe Stingers are the craze nowadays…but $200+ for it is outrageous.I wonder what a MOC could go for or a AFA graded one for that matter

4

There’s no rhyme or reason to ebay prices and they are not a reliable guide to judge what something might actually be worth. I’ve seen beat of junk go high and mint stuff go low. It all depends on who wants what on any given day.

A lot of the times when we see crazy prices on something is because of people getting into bidding wars. The auction then becomes an ego battle between the bidders. It’s nuts.

5

All about what a buyer is willing to pay…but that much for a Stinger is outrageous. I cant talk because a few weeks ago I paid almost $200 for a lot of loose figures…check the auction here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16476&item=6030189394 but truthfully I didnt bid for the loose figures I was bidding mainly for the 8 back Tygra that is pictured. I got lucky because when i received it I got a dark colored accesory Mummra which I have been searching for a long time

6

:smiley: :smiley: Okay, okay, I confessed :cry: :cry:
4 year ago, I did pay $420 on a loose Transformers G1 Jetfire. To be exact, he’s more of MIB, but it’s still a loose figure to me. :cry: :cry:

This is what that figure looks like, I even write a review on the figure:
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/reminator2/HTML/g1auto/jetfire.htm

And once I received LionO, I’ll write a review on him too.

Yup, it’s all about what the buyers are willing to pay.

7

Hmmmm… That kinda ticks me off because I search ebay 20+ times a day (I have no life) and I never saw that MOC auction. Maybe I’m just dumb and only search the us site. So I guess my question is - how do you guys search the auctions for other countries?

8

If I’m being honest those 2 auctions are not fair comparisons.

The Stinger MOC auction was not labelled as such so it’s likely that a lot of collectors who need Stinger completely missed that auction.

Secondly, it was being sold from France and a lot of US collectors might be weary of buying from overseas (especially from a country whose native language isn’t English)

EDIT: Oh and on a second viewing, I noticed that he doesn’t accept Paypal either.

Those auctions aside, those prices ARE still rediculous, I agree. If the bids are legit it must be a very die hard fan who is pushing the bid up.

Personally I wouldn’t pay $200+ for a carded Stinger, nevermind a loose complete one! If your patient you could get 2 carded ones for that price and have some money left over.

It’s strange that The Stinger attracts so much attention now because a couple of years ago nobody was interested in him as he never appeared in the cartoon series. I guess they just didn’t know who he was. But now everybody wants him! What happened? :?

There was such a lack of interest that I kid you not, I got him MOC for just ?25. That’s about $40 American Dollars and my carded Stinger is mint (not far off C10) It would definately get an AFA 80 no doubt, likely higher.

I do agree about Ebay prices in general as they do seem to be going up steaply at a rapid rate. I remember a Tygra MOC (alone on a Canadian card) selling for ?200 (around $280 US dollars) last year. The year or so before that I paid around ?40 ($75 US dollars) for mine! :shock:

I know now, I won’t get a carded Bengali (US or UK card) for a good price because everyone will jump on the auction should it come up.

I’m putting these crazy prices down to 2 things. Firstly, Ebay’s appeal has expanded through it’s constant advertising (especially in the UK) so it has a lot more members and much more exposure to the public than it did a year or so ago.

Ebay is no longer the fun place it was, to buy anymore. It’s now serious business :frowning: Good for Ebay itself and sellers, but bad for buyers.

Then we also have the DVD boxsets being released in the US. This could definately spawn more collectors who want to collect the toys they had as a kid. With no new toys out, the only toy product available is the classic stuff.

9

It could also be that the people who grew up with Thundercats and still collect them are finally entering the workforce and can afford to complete their collections.

10

Makes perfect sense…I know 9 years ago and even 5 years ago I would not have been able to afford Thundercats. New DVD’s coming out is possibly the reason why now Thundercats are so expensive. I got my Bengali at a steep price of $225 carded and ungraded which IMO is not too bad. Stinger’s reputation as being a rare and valuable piece stem IMO from word of mouth from collectors. Blackiecats is true that you could very well get 2 MOC’s for that price, hell I just got 2 recently for close to that amount and it was a seller from France!!!We may be getting into the era where Thundercats may double or even triple what they were worth a year ago. Im glad I started my collecton 1 1/2 years ago and all i got left to get are maybe 2 very rare pieces and a few commons which i can get anytime.My advice is get them while you can cause price may not be lower anytime soon, specially if there’s a new toon coming out

11

It is hit or miss on eBay. About 6 months ago I bought a lot of 9 MOC that included Bengali, Cheetara, Cheetar/Wilykit, Lion-O, Snarf, Wilykit, Snowman, Ma-Mutt, and Tuska. They were all c-9 condition and I paid $300 for it. Lately there have been a few people I have noticed that bid like crazy. I see them bid all the time and they have the same pattern of bidding up certain items. I think patience is key with ebay.

12

Amen to that.

and as for getting carded figures Manny, you stole my trick! :lol:

I got my Driller MOC from an Ebay seller in France for just ?15 ($25 US dollars)

Not many Thundercats collectors in France to rival your bids :twisted:

13

While we are on the subject of over priced items, take a look at thins auction for a loose complete cheetara. Current Price is 60 UK Pounds!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/THUNDERCATS-CHEETARA-FIGURE-WITH-WEAPON-AND-WILYKIT_W0QQitemZ6036848640QQcategoryZ16476QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This doesnt seem right, and there is clearly some questionable bidding going on here.

14

Shill bidding for sure

15

Yeah, I think I have to agree.

I did notice that it’s a dark skinned Cheetara (though that should have no effect on price really)

16

Man what in the hell is going on here’s another one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6036906131&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_ReBay_Pr4_PcY_BID_IT I got mine MOC for that much. Ebay is going down the tubes…something fishy is going on.Once again the Dr. with a feedback of 1

17

Yea its crazy. Might I suggest that you guys exclude auctions like these when you do the next price guide revision? Im not sure what others feel about this but in my opinion these auctions are exceptions, and using their prices to calculate price guides doesnt seem entirely accurate.

On the other hand, people are paying these amounts of money for the figures so one could say that they do reflect current market value…

What do you guys think?

18

Man these auctions are getting nuts it is almost scary Ive still got so many rare ones to get I think these auctions are legit little iffy on the stinger but who knows maybe the guy just really wants it but with the stinger isnt the helmet not supposed to be able to come off if so then that stinger is broke

19

Regardless of the auction amounts they should be included. The price guide should be an average of all the recent auctions high or low and would only have a minimal effect on the overall prices.

20

The price guide is Manny’s thing. But I’m guessing he will only take these prices into account if the transactions are concluded. In other words if feedback is left by both parties to indicate the sale was valid and the buyer did pay for the auction he had won.