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

It took 233 Auction Watch posts to figure this out. Taking a look at last week’s listings, the next week after ending, can be interesting.

I hope. I thought it was interesting last week. Let’s try it again this week.

The MUSCLEMANIA wasn’t done as I wrote this post. I’ll update it later. I don’t expect it to be particularly noteworthy. (UPDATE: The final price was $8.52. My earlier guess was correct; nothing really to talk about.)

The second auction is a damn shame. The final price was $119.16, and it was clearly a shilling situation. I hate shill bids. It’s so petty. It is even more offensive to me when it is obvious and ridiculous. This might be the most offensive.

If you look at the bidding the bids around $20 make sense. I know that a Part 91 keshi figure, especially in Flesh, can be pricey. I’ve understood the price to be around $350 (feel free to correct me keshi experts). Hell, not too long ago, this figure was available for $15. (Yes, I know it was six years ago – but a copy is a copy.)

In AW #233 I thought $50 was absurd. The shill bids are absurd too. But was 5***e (221) going to spend $116.66?

That bid might be the most absurd. Did the bidder think it was real?

That’s the only explanation, right? But if that’s true, then did they miss the last picture?

Let’s take a look at the new auctions. The first auction, Lot of 6 Vintage 1980s Custom Painted Muscle Men M.U.S.C.L.E. Men (See Pics), is surprising to me.

The figures are pretty nicely painted. I think they are better than most painted figures that show up on eBay. But the artist isn’t selling these figures. The seller states, “My uncle painted these for me when I was a child.”

That’s fine, but why the $14.26 price tag? It’s not the seller’s art.

I can understand an artist putting some value on their time. But the artist isn’t selling these. The seller isn’t even selling them for the artist.

Are these damaged figures or art?

I have to admit I think it is art. It is not art I would spend my money on. Or, more accurately, I would not spend $14.26 on this art. I especially wouldn’t spend $14.26 if I thought they were damaged figures.

Of course, his uncle is probably Shepard Fairey or Salvador Dali.

The second auction, Vintage M.U.S.C.L.E. Muscle Man 4 Pack Satan Cross 1985, continues a growing fascination. I am becoming obsessed with the unsold and relisted.

That’s not entirely accurate. The site has often tracked sellers, strange situations, and terrible listings through the AOTW tournaments. Most recently there has been the #167 race.

I guess I’m becoming obsessed with more consistently sharing my fascination.

The listing has a $300 BIN. I think that’s an absurd price. Not because I’m cheap, but because I’ve never seen one sell for a price even close to $300.

Around the time of AW #112 Satan Cross 4-packs started popping-up. From AW #115 I know one sold for $122 and the seller suggested they had 40 SC 4-packs. AW #116 was the last time I tracked the SC 4-packs because it was getting boring.

How long will this stay listed at $300? I know it’s been a few weeks already, but I’m going to start the count today.

I think around $150 is an arguably fair price, but I don’t think this seller would consider that a fair offer. If that’s true, then we could be tracking this one for years.

The third auction, Lot Vintage Muscle Men Blue yellow Purple Rare, might be trying to sell to one man – Nate (Nathan Newell).

If you don’t know Nate, then you haven’t done your M.U.S.C.L.E. homework. He’s also, at least to me, a dinosaur and fossil expert.

Could the seller of this auction taken this picture hoping Nate couldn’t resist?

I think it is the only logical explanation.

(Nate might go broke if he sees the other auction pictures. Don’t tell him.)