UofMUSCLE.com – M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures from Mattel

As I started AW #196 I thought, “Where else are people buying and selling M.U.S.C.L.E. figures? Is it Instagram? Facebook?”

I’d love to know where people are buying and selling M.U.S.C.L.E. figures besides eBay. Then I received a pleasant surprise. It seemed like there were more M.U.S.C.L.E. listings than normal – even if some of the prices sucked.

The first auction, Spinning Head Ashuraman Super-Rare M.U.S.C.L.E. – not original head!! NO RESERVE, caused an intense flashback to last time I saw a SHA for sale.

Admittedly I didn’t remember anything about the past prices when I saw this new listing. When I saw this new listing I thought the BIN was totally absurd, but I was conflicted about the opening bid. It felt a little bit high, but not offensively absurd.

When I found out the last documented headless SHA sale price was $91 I became less conflicted. The $99 opening bid is probably closer to a final price, but it doesn’t feel absurd at all.

The second auction, Vintage M.U.S.C.L.E. / Kinnikuman Lot, 150 Muscle Figures, was another auction that caused me to flashback.

This lot feels like it could be from the dawn of eBay. It’s a huge pile of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures with an opening bid of $0.13 per figure. M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors rarely see prices like this anymore. A messy pile of figures has become even more rare. The picture actually makes me nostalgic.

This auction makes me foolishly sentimental, but it can’t completely silence my cynical side. I find myself wondering about the potential buyers of these lots. Are there really people out there still trying to complete Flesh sets?

The cynical voice in my head thinks most of the bids come from people hoping to resell the figures. I hope I’m wrong. It just seems more feasible than a collector still trying to finish a Flesh set.

I didn’t mean to end on a down note for the second auction. Oops.

The third auction, NESTLE QUICK Sealed M.U.S.C.L.E. 72 Sunigator MUSCLE MEN Kinnikuman, gets the fun flashbacks going again.

I love everything about M.U.S.C.L.E. and Quik. That’s not true. I didn’t like Rick.

Anyways, here were have a #72 figure in the Quik packaging. There’s nothing intrinsically attractive about the packaging. The figures isn’t special either; it’s a Flesh figure. But it is just a great piece of M.U.S.C.L.E. history.

The seller has a bunch of great M.U.S.C.L.E. auctions, which include more Quik figures that also have $0.88 opening bids.

If a M.U.S.C.L.E. collector has ever considered owning a single Quik figure, then there may never be a better time than now to buy. Lots of figures to choose from and awesome opening bids. The Quik figures are a cool part of M.U.S.C.L.E. history, but they certainly don’t deserve a premium price tag. Take advantage of these auctions! The next seller may not understand that fact.

The fourth auction, ~~~ M.U.S.C.L.E. MEN MUSCLE kinnikuman – MIXER TAITE – Purple Wrestlers #171 ~~~, reminds me that you can’t wish for the past. The present always wins.

This Class C Purple #171 has a $14.99 BIN. If you don’t like the BIN price, then you can also make an offer. I feel very confident the seller would accept the $0.63 the figure is worth.

This auction fuels the cynical voice you read in the second auction.

My favorite part of the forth auction may be the title itself. The “~~~” both sets the auction apart from its competitors and makes it jump of the screen. Plus “~~~” is one of the most common search terms.

I have a daily eBay alert for the search, “RARE OOAK ~~~ A++++.” You would be blown away with the results. Ok, here are the results. I’m just saving you from having to do it yourself. I’m sure you’re as blown away as I am each day.