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

When I saw that MMMM #32 was posted five years ago I was going to talk about how much I’ve always like the picture to the right.

It is pretty cool, right?

But as I got to the bottom of the post I noticed there were some comments. Specifically the post from “Alan.”

Five years later, I know it was the Alan Mask that posted it. But I can’t remember who did it. I’m 70% sure that it was the Lucas, the King of Counterfeit, Rage but I’m not 100% confident. I hate that feeling.

392 Figures – Guess the Price

Take a look at this listing. Write down what you think would be a fair price.

Now take a look at it’s final sale price. Were you close? Post your guess in the Comments. I’d be curious to see what everyone guessed. Five years ago I guessed that the range could reasonably be $295 to $392.50, and the final price was in that range.

When I saw that the seller had said that the lot is worth “well over $1000” I laughed all over again. I laughed at my breakdown of that suggestion too. But then I realized, this is literally the start of random sellers believing these things. This is the poison dripping into eBay that has largely killed M.U.S.C.L.E. on it today.

This post might be the most boring post I can clearly remember writing. It took a couple days. It was tedious. But I genuinely thought it was a good idea.

It was not. The final result is not helpful. Too much scrolling. Too small. Too confusing. Awful.

It got me to update Auction Watches with final price a few more times, but the practice eventually died. When I recently brought it back, in easily its best version, eBay died.

Finally, there is the Epilogue from five years ago. These things run so hot and cold for me, but this is one I like looking at again.

$39.99

This fucking idiot is still trying to sell the same figure, for the same price, FIVE YEARS LATER!!!

And the Epilogue shows they’ve already been for sale for about a year. So, at least, six years of stupidity. The opening to the Epilogue somehow became even more poignant.

I was sad that there wasn’t a final price for the MUSCLEMANIA set. Thankfully luck was on my side and the result could still be seen. It sold for $27. The last two pictures from that Epilogue might be some of the most honest things I have ever posted.

I’m good at something (M.U.S.C.L.E.) that 99.999999% of the world doesn’t care about, doesn’t need, and won’t remember.

I don’t know if that is self-actualization or pure stupidity. I want it to be the former, but I know it’s a mix of both.

The second picture, of the laundry girl, was probably dismissed as an excuse to post the picture. Maybe it was.

But reading it five years later, that shit is 100% accurate. My brain is a strange thing. I had the exact same reaction – like a carbon copy.

Knowing I had the same reaction brought on a feeling I wasn’t expecting – optimism.

A person’s perception is their reality. I might feel like M.U.S.C.L.E. is dying on eBay, but I’ve seen there are still good people keeping it alive. Maybe the death of M.U.S.C.L.E. on eBay will lead to a M.U.S.C.L.E. rebirth somewhere else.

Maybe it is time to devote some serious time and effort into the new MUSCLEDB.com.

(But, don’t hold your breath. It’s not going to happen soon. I am crazy busy. This isn’t like a teaser that it is days away. I just want to start figuring out how I could actually accomplish Chuck’s idea.)