Book of Collecting Errors

[chris solo]

We can only assume that all of us have made mistakes in collecting.

I know when I got into vinty figs, my concept of a reasonable price was off. Lingering around Ebay I found myself paying too much for something thinking it was one of a kind and I'll never see it again.

My very first purchase was a beaten up vintage loose R2-D2. I found it in a bin at a flea market. It was that little b*****d that got me into collecting. I hadn't seen a vintage Star Wars figure since I was a child and thought it must have been one of the last ones on the planet. I happily spent $15 on it. On average he's worth $4 in the same condition over here. Yeah I'm an idiot.

What were some of your purchase disasters.

 

[Jedi Freezeman]

A little back story to this...

I remember going to a comic shop with a friend who was into GI Joe and X titles. While there I saw a Star Wars title- Dark Empire #5 and I thought "give me a break"

Then with the proliferation of videos and video rentals, I found myself 'remembering' how cool Star Wars was. I had become infected. Through College, I managed 'my disease' by only giving in to the Dark Horse Star Wars titles and the Decipher collectable card game.

Low and behold, on a trip to a comic shop I saw them, a complete set (1-6) of the Dark Empire series. Having refined my will power and economic budgeting skills all those years... I quickly bought the lot for $110.

A Special Gold edition of the set in currently on ebay, going for under $10. (so they have devalued slightly)

Maybe I should bid?....

 

[darthskellington]

Hmm....I think purchasing anything Hasbro makes at retail price might be considered a mistake Of course, everyone has passed up some hot items and never gotten a second chance to buy them (at a cheap price).

I can't think of any major mistakes. I tend to buy stuff as cheap as possible on eBay (vintage, etc), or not at all. When I set my sights on a target, I can spend a year tracking down what I want in teh condition I want at teh right price. (blue snaggletooth, for example).

I do have some advice, though. Haven't seen this come up recently, butit's good to know. US Post Office Insurance. How does it work? Let me explain:

You buy something, you insure it, it shows up broken. (Sigma ceramics anyone?) What do you do? You inform the seller. Then YOU take it to the post office. They look at the item, the package, and fill out a form. The last quesiton on that form is: IS FRAUD SUSPECTED? That's right, it's there to make sure people aren't pushing one over on the post office. Then, the Post office takes your item (it's theirs now). They send a form to the other post office to get signed by the seller. Then the Post Office mails you your money.

You DO NOT EVER have to mail something back to the seller. The only reason for this would be so the seller could fraudulently claim say, $50 insurance on an item, then send you the $20 you paid for it as a refund. (with no refund for shipping).

When I started receiving broken items, I asked the post office real quick how it is supposed to work. So, that's my advice in avoiding a disaster.

 

[darthskellington]

A Special Gold edition of the set in currently on ebay, going for under $10.

Maybe I should bid?....

Ouch that hurts. Sweet price on those gold editions though.


I thought of something, missed opportunities, that don't really count. Since i was born in 1980, I became a colelctor when everyone older thanme was throwing out their SW stuff. Yay for me. But, my knowledge was limited, as everyones wsa back then. I remember going to a garage sale and picking out SW fiugres from a basket. Givena choice between a Stormtrooper Luke minus helmet, or a C-3PO, I bought the 3PO. (I thought it was special because it looked silver in the dim light of the garage.)

Or, how about this, when i was in say....first grade or something, I passed on a GI Joe aircraft carrier a family friend was getting rid of. Why did I pass? I'd asked if it had all the parts, which it didnt'. Of course, in mind, I was thinking it was missing so many parts it wasn't worht playing with...but ...c'mon...it was the USS Flagg. Even missing every loose piece, it's still frickin awesome. Sigh.

I'm going to go rethink my life now.

 

[Darth Boru]

I know what you mean. When I started collecting again a few years ago I had no clue what was a good price for anything, so I ended up paying over the odds for a bunch of loose vintage figs. We live and learn.

On the subject of missed opportunities - I seem to remember passing on the original GG busts way back when. Just wasn't interested at the time. If only I had known they would now be highest on my 'seek out' list... <sigh>

Maybe we'd better open a meditation room to contemplate these things