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Post by desslock on Apr 26, 2011 21:25:53 GMT -5
Maybe my obsession with Prehistoric Scenes has sparked similar interest -- some really high prices for these kits: This mammoth got into a bidding war at the last minute and went for $405 after being listed for about $70 for 6 days: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150595350604. Similar thing happened with an Armored dinosaur auction for the same guy, and other ones (sailback, etc. ) also sold far higher than market, it seemed. Are those prices as far from usual as I expect, or not really? |
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Post by TAY666 on Apr 27, 2011 19:07:29 GMT -5
I think the prices they sold for are not out of the ordinary.
Do they sell that high, all the time? No.
But these were decent, sealed kits, with good pictures.
That mammoth is one of the best looking sealed ones I have seen on ebay.
Yeah, it has some issues, but those boxes are a bear. Big and flimsy
doesn't equal a lot of nice boxes.
The armored looked very sharp.
Those are sealed collector prices. These were not bought to open and
build. These were bought to be displayed as they are. More than likely
in a climate controlled room with no direct sunlight.
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Post by desslock on Feb 27, 2012 15:08:31 GMT -5
O.k., the record for the past few years has been topped. $435 for a sealed 1971 Tar Pit kit: www.ebay.com/itm/110828872428?#ht_6492wt_976 . A nice Sail Back Reptile kit went for $265 at the same time: www.ebay.com/itm/110828872404#ht_6315wt_1143Anyone here the buyer? I'll belatedly confess that I was the buyer of the Armored Dinosaur mentioned above, which as Trev indicated was pretty sharp. I just feel better that I'm not the only madman willing to pay so much for good kits. I'm happy I'm done though - I can't imagine how high this weekend's kits would have gone if they came out during the period when I was auto-buying all the good kits. Could easily have been $600+ |
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Post by andymoscarts on Feb 27, 2012 17:41:17 GMT -5
Not guilty,as i have a wife and kids,and i have grown fond of them,and wish to keep them  Was watching them though. |
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Post by TAY666 on Feb 27, 2012 18:24:18 GMT -5
Not me either. I don't have that kind of cash to throw around  (not on $10 an hour to pay all our bills) I did get outbid on a very nice open box 71 Allosaurus yesterday. Very nice box, but I couldn't go over $50. www.ebay.com/itm/170788936001?#ht_500wt_924I was watching that Tar Pit though. That had to have been the nicest one I have ever seen! Colors were sweet, and all the corners and edges were sharp. |
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Post by desslock on Feb 27, 2012 23:52:34 GMT -5
62 separate bids for that Tar Pit is quite a war.
That was a nice 72 Allosaurus box - seems pretty pricey though considering it didn't even come with that edition's base and wasn't complete (although I'm sure you have lots of spare pieces to fill in).
I've definitely overpaid for some kits, but most of them I've gotten for under or around $100 and in mint, sealed, condition (and several unmade, complete kits in good shape for less) - once these guys who are filling out their collections are done there'll be some better deals again.
I'm happy I got what I consider a "steal" last week in an auction -- a mint, sealed "Gigantics" Wasp kit from Fundimension - the only kit that wasn't repopped by AMT/Airfix a while back. I've seen those go for over $300 and not sealed, and I almost bid on one a couple of years back that was actually in pretty mediocre shape (but complete) but gave up when it got to over $200. I managed to get a mint, sealed, great box original last week for $100, which seems like a steal. It's literally the only historical model kit that I still really wanted to get - so happy!
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Post by acroray on Feb 28, 2012 12:10:33 GMT -5
The Gigantics Wasp was the one I wanted the most. I wonder if they didn't repop it because of the cost of a second shot of clear parts? Disappointing...
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Post by Gamera on Feb 28, 2012 13:32:08 GMT -5
Hi all,
Just recently read some where , sorry I cannot remember where, that the giant wasp kit was not redone as they could not find the moulds.
G
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Post by desslock on Feb 28, 2012 16:27:12 GMT -5
Yeah, I've similarly heard that they couldn't find the mold for the clear wings - kind of a combination of your two rumors, heh.
Acroray - I also had the most interest in it for nostalgia reasons, since it was the one my cousin had when I was growing up. I think the scorpion and mantis are "cooler" monsters though, partly because I'm a fan of O'Brien's Black Scorpion. I always thought it was really surprising that they never made a Giant Ant kit, since Them! was obviously the most successful of those giant insect movies.
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Post by desslock on Mar 10, 2012 0:17:54 GMT -5
Record shattered again - these prices are just crazy. I thought that the record might be broken this week because of the sealed Mammoth kit being offered, since it's probably the most valuable/rare kit (at least in that condition) other than the T-Rex, but it "only" went for $370, which given some of the wild recent bidding is probably underpriced, heh. But then a 1971 sealed sabertooth goes for $455 (http://www.ebay.ca/itm/110835160936?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649). That's pretty nutty, since that sabertooth kit is the least rare kit of them all (and therefore probably the least valuable). Hell, even the 1972 kit that I nabbed which was advertised as mint/sealed only went for $149, and the 72 kit is more valued because of the 2-part base, and that was just a few weeks ago. Then even that was topped, by a 71 allosaurus kit going for $511: www.ebay.ca/itm/110835160974?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 and again, it's the lesser valued Allosaurus kit because it's missing the 72's base. That's wildly overpriced for what they've gone for in the past couple years, as it's also a pretty common kit - I got a perfect mint sealed one a few months ago for $100. Such mixed feelings about these prices -- on the one hand, I'm happy that there are other people who also greatly value them, but kinda bummed that those prices make them harder for us to pick up, heh. Wow. |
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Post by andymoscarts on Mar 10, 2012 7:38:29 GMT -5
Was keeping an eye on these two as well,had a feeling they would go for silly money,anyone know if its the same buyer>?
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Post by desslock on Mar 10, 2012 12:01:32 GMT -5
Bidding history indicates different buyers, but the high prices were significantly driven by the guy who has been buying all the other kits for significant $$ in the past 2 months. Seems like he finally met his match, or was too slow on the draw and underestimated the size of the competing bids.
Anyway, pretty amazing that the seller got around $1400 for just 3 kits -- on another occasion he might have gotten less than half that. It does seem to help to sell a number of kits at the same time - that seems to attract more interest.
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Post by scooke123 on Mar 10, 2012 16:36:09 GMT -5
They both looked in very nice condition but STILL!!! I'm happy for the seller. Wish I had unlimited bucks and could outbid everyone just to have them even though overpriced. If you have a lot of money price is no concern - I just hope he isnt one of those guys who then rips the wrap off the sealed kits as well.
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Post by desslock on Mar 10, 2012 18:49:14 GMT -5
I just hope he isnt one of those guys who then rips the wrap off the sealed kits as well. No, that guy is me, lol. Actually haven't opened most of my sealed kits, but I do intend to, although I've just cut slits in the seal to permit the box to be opened and otherwise kept them. Why open sealed kits? Well, they're going to either: (a) be sealed forever; or (b) at some point be opened by someone. And frankly there's probably nobody who would enjoy opening them more than me, given my fond memories of the kits and appreciation for them - that just seems to make more sense than leaving them for my heirs to make a few bucks. They obvious could also just be kept until they've accreted further in value and resold, but none of this stuff will ever offer a comparable ROI relative to more traditional investments, so there's better use of the $$ if that's your reasoning. The main justification I can see for leaving them sealed is just because they give you pleasure to view them in that form, as a form of display or art. That's the only reason that I can understand, at least. |
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Post by TAY666 on Mar 11, 2012 2:05:51 GMT -5
I do plan to one day have all of them sealed, in real nice shape too. The sealed kits will be there to compliment my built collection. A way to preserve the beauty of the boxes, and relive the joy of seeing them on a shelf. Even if it is a shelf in my home, instead of a store shelf like I used to see as a kid. As to the prices. Hopefully it is just mainly one guy driving prices up as he completes his collection. That way things will come back down and normalize again in time. This happened a few years ago as well. A guy named Wally. Paid some crazy money for kits. He had the cash, and wanted them. So he paid whatever he needed to to acquire them as quickly as possible. He was on a spree with PS and MS kits. Both Mike and I made some nice sales to him. But it also really put a crimp on our buying for a while too. I'm just hoping that some of the European kits I am looking at now don't get too out of hand. But I am not holding out much hope. The mammoth is already at $80. and the $30 it will cost for shipping doesn't help either |
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Post by scooke123 on Mar 11, 2012 11:05:42 GMT -5
I agree with you on opening sealed kits - I usually open any kits that are sealed because I love that thrill of being the one who sees the contents first. The only sealed kits I wont open are the really nice ones with the super straight boxes. These I like to display as a true sealed kit (plus I would feel a little guilty about opning it!!)
Hopefully like you said this current buying frenzy will be short-lived. I keep watching boxed kits Id like to have sky-rocket.
Good luck on your European kits - hopefully wont go too high. It's too bad postage has to eat into the price so badly though.
Steve
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Post by TAY666 on Mar 11, 2012 11:23:23 GMT -5
It's not so much the postage is really that bad.
It's the exchange rate that is the killer.
Shipping a mammoth from the UK to the USA is gonna cost ya. The seller is asking 20 pounds. Which works out to $30 US.
Comes with the territory.
Now, outrageous shipping costs are what is holding me back from buying the Revell-Germany promo piece.
No way am I paying $81 to have a piece of cardboard shipped to me.
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Post by scooke123 on Mar 11, 2012 19:37:51 GMT -5
I hear ya ! Actually $30 isnt bad to ship a Mammoth- would almost cost that much to ship here depending what part of the country.
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Post by TAY666 on Mar 11, 2012 21:34:03 GMT -5
Yeah, a boxed mammoth would get you into dimensional weight with the post office.
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Post by desslock on Mar 12, 2012 16:17:45 GMT -5
There's another sealed Tar Pit kit up in an action ending in a few hours - current price is "only" $112, although I'm sure it'll go higher (the one last week went for $435) -- but maybe not anywhere that, as the box looks a bit faded, which probably reduces its overall FMV because of the diminished display value (although it might just be due to a misleading picture, as the other pics look better) www.ebay.ca/itm/251011236559?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 |
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Was watching them though. 
