The auction causing the excitement, M.U.S.C.L.E. Men Toys, Muscle Men, Kinnikuman Class A #153 Purple Claw,authentic, is a perfect Purple #153 listing. And the listing comes from a well-respected M.U.S.C.L.E. community member; known as lint-speed on eBay.
As I was fleshing out AW #214, I found myself in a corner. As I started talking about Purple #153 I realized I had said it all before.
I started to collect a few auctions that could cast a spotlight on stupid sellers that think their #153 figures are Purple-like. There were two auctions that I thought were very representative of the #153 madness. Two auctions that seemed unthinkable, over-priced, and utterly misinformed.
Again, I started to feel déjà vu. I was going to point to recent completed #153 auctions to acknowledge people pay more for the #153 figure. But I’ve talked about the #153 prices since 2009.
What more can be said? We’ll see sellers use The M.U.S.C.L.E. Ruse or try a $1,199 BIN – those blips can be fun to talk about. But two things have become crystal clear to me writing AW #214.
One, the Purple #153 figure deserves his high price. He is the M.U.S.C.L.E. grail item. I’m especially hopefully that lint-speed’s auction sells for top dollar. He’ll be happy and a collector will be happy.
Two, I think being a M.U.S.C.L.E. collector is harder than ever. It was difficult when there wasn’t any information easily available. It must be so much harder now. There are so many resources to find bad information. I’m starting to ponder the thought that bad information is causing the most damage to the hobby.
#1 by walker26 on June 7, 2017 - 8:44 am
“He is the M.U.S.C.L.E. grail item.” Yep, and I imagine many others agree. The figure is already at $640. Wonder if it will break $1000. Won’t be surprised if it does.
#2 by walker26 on June 12, 2017 - 8:57 am
Claw sold for $1051.
#3 by Chad Perry on June 12, 2017 - 9:00 am
Fuck me.
#4 by Majorstrange on December 30, 2017 - 6:06 pm
I’ve been cleaning up at my retired folks’ house and going through all my toys that I never let go, putting stuff on Ebay. The M.U.S.C.L.E stuff and Battle Beasts have been sitting here, pulling at my heart strings.
I just about had a heart attack when I saw this. I’ve had the purple claw since I was a kid and know I’m half ready to sell, half (foolish) ready to keep. It is my hands down fave and I had no idea the background til today. I stored my figs in the box of the board game with him nestled in the dead center on top.
I’m gonna list it soon, I reckon. My wife will kill me if I try to keep it.
This site is awesome, too.