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

I saw this on Twitter a couple of weeks ago.

I'm trying to follow back all retrogamers who follow me. But I need help!
If you are and you follow me and I don't yet follow back, tell me! pic.twitter.com/qBwmCfVgBr

— Lord Arse! (@Lord_Arse) June 11, 2017

It was an odd eye-opener for me. I would never do this. That’s not a judgment. It was a realization for me.

I don’t care about followers. It doesn’t matter to me, because I don’t get any intrinsic satisfaction from it. My intrinsic satisfaction comes from creating something (like this post) and then sharing it. I don’t need the adulation, or acknowledgment, that other people seem to seek with sharing and posting things online. (I know that’s a big assumption, but it’s based on the aforementioned tweet.)

I realize that a M.U.S.C.L.E. website, or social media account, will never appeal to a wide audience. But the realization is that I wanted an audience when I started. I was hungry for readers and followers and validation. I don’t know why.

I don’t know when, why, or how it changed. I’m glad it did. I’m having much more fun now. This post makes me think it changed around 2015~2016.

– That’s the price for the entire set. Not one figure.
– $20. Guess the lot.
– Fucking great Warp. Fucking terrible price.
– I like the knock-offs the best.
– Best offer? $0.75.

Ok, enough. I don’t always want to pick an Asshole of the Week (it would be easy to do, but I don’t want to do it too often). But this seller, masterkanaargames, forced my hand. I thought the $0.75 figure listed for $7.99 was my breaking point. Then I saw a faded, dirty #195 for $29.99. What a fucking asshole.

There are only two types of M.U.S.C.L.E. sellers on eBay: (1) $0.99 listings; and (2) fucking assholes. That’s it.

The worst part is that my Classes are helping these assholes. How do I un-ring this bell?

Of course, there have always been things emboldening asshole sellers. Longtime collectors remember the manipulation of the MUSCLEDB.com. There’s always something.

“What’s wrong with making some money?”

Nothing. But I hate parasitic fucks.

These asshole sellers aren’t working hard. They aren’t putting effort into earning their money. They are trying to prey on the weak – or, at least, the impatient and uninformed.

“Didn’t you say you wanted this to be fun?”

Sharing my thoughts and opinions about the state of M.U.S.C.L.E. hobby is fun for me. Turns out, this week, I’ve realized there are only two types of M.U.S.C.L.E. sellers on eBay. If you love M.U.S.C.L.E. figures, please strive to be the former.

One quick point of clarity. I don’t like this either, but they aren’t assholes. It’s $0.99 – but single figure auctions are dumb for the vast majority of figures. I think the most enjoyable way to buy and sell M.U.S.C.L.E. figures is in a lot. There’s something fun about sorting through a pile of M.U.S.C.L.E. figures. It feels like the “right” way to play with M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.

I do want to share two things that made my minifigure loving brain happy.

[instagram url=https://instagram.com/p/BVsgAR7jmig/ hidecaption=true width=320]

[instagram url=https://instagram.com/p/BV2_tVYhyL0/ hidecaption=true width=320]

Take.

My.

Money.