The Sunday Paper isn’t showing up every week, but once a month isn’t too bad.
Jesse sent in his continuing project to UofMUSCLE@gmail.com. He followed the vast majority of guidelines which kept things easy for me too. Thanks Jesse!
Remember the Sunday Paper is open to anybody. If you have a M.U.S.C.L.E. topic/question/rant that you want the world to see, then please feel free to send it in. I know M.U.S.C.L.E. collectors would love an extra day of content.
M.U.S.C.L.E. Market Analysis – July 2017 Edition
Eight months in to my price tracking and endeavor and I must admit I slid a little in June and was not able to collect the complete month’s data, so what little I do have I am rolling into July. Here we go!
June and July seemed to have a similar volume of sales as May. I added 82 sales to the database, accounting for 2703 figures with a value of just under $2,600. The single figure average for the period was $0.96, with three more Satan Cross and five more flesh claw sales coming in at typical prices. A few boring Class A and B figures came in at routine prices, and of course the early June Holy Grail Purple Claw brought in a sizeable $1051.01. To put this in perspective, two Purple Claws sold last December, one for $430 and one for $565, a total value for both over $50 lower than June’s sale.
The total volume of sales over the past eight months is now $19,300 for lots, closer to $20k in reality considering I missed a few weeks of data in June. I realized this month that my previous total volumes only included the lots, but none of my single figure tracking. Including the single figure sales tracked to date (156 sales for $6791.42), the total value of sales over the past 8 months is $26,092! That’s a whole lot of M.U.S.C.L.E., and a noticeably insane average value for single figure sales at over $43. Granted, this includes the purple Claws, many Class A figures, and Satan Cross. But this also covers some unfortunate $18 Class C Sunshines and an unfathomable $12 Satan Cobra, to name a few.
The majority of the single figure sales described above, while often pricey and beyond what I would ever pay, I can at least understand as they primarily represent desirable figures. However, what this data doesn’t capture is the growing and grotesque market for single flesh figures, which I simply don’t have the heart or time to track. However, here are a few recent data points for you to choke on consider: a flesh 63 Goriki recently sold for an overwhelming $9.90, a 231 Warsman sold for $8.67, and a 208 Dickieman sold for $10.90, and of course there was the chart topping 163 Mammothman at $13.90 that deserves mention. These are the worst of the worst over the past six weeks, but a quick search will show you that in July at least 36 low-end single flesh figures sold for $5 or more, when you factor in the cost of shipping. And this excludes anything remotely desirable.
While I believe that the vast majority of the M.U.S.C.L.E. community hate the single figure market clogging up the ever-hardening eBay arteries, the slow but continuous streak of nearly unfathomable sales will likely continue to drive re-sellers to overpay on lots to part them out in the hopes of vast profits, one Abe Lincoln at a time. However, there is one upside. With the insane number of garbage auctions up any given day, the good ones are a little harder to pick out, turning many casual hunters off. I can say that a few great deals slid through the cracks on me simply because I have been searching less and less given the state of the market. So remain diligent and keep searching, the deals can still be had for the those patient, strong-stomached M.U.S.C.L.E. heads!
Thanks for reading another month of M.U.S.C.L.E. Market Analysis. By the time this runs, another true auction of a Purple Claw will have ended, so it will be interesting to see how it fares after the rocketship $1000 sale in June. Until next time, happy hunting!
Thanks Jesse!
If you’re feeling inspired, then please sent in your article and pictures to UofMUSCLE@gmail.com.
