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

It seemed unlikely that the lot from last week would sell. Unless someone took my momentary mistake further. Nobody did.

Yet.

This week there are three listings that I wanted to examine. The first auction, M on chest Muscle man strong fighting thumb wrestling plastic figure vintage, features two Thumb Wrestlers.

The pair of figures has a $17 opening bid, plus you have to pay for shipping. This is too expensive for these figures.

I’ve always had a fondness for these oddities, but they are not worth $8.50 each to me. Having paid $5 for mine, I believe that is top dollar. The figures are much smaller than I realized. The plastic and colors don’t demand a premium either.

There might be a Thumb Wrestler super fan (zealot) out there that would disagree. But he’s probably the only one. These figures fall into arguably one of the smallest subsets of M.U.S.C.L.E./Kinnikuman collecting, because most people don’t care.

If this listing had started at $0.99, then I would have participated. Instead, I think we’ll see this lot remain unsold. Unless the zealot picks it up.

The second listing, M.u.s.c.l.e. Vintage #89 Dark Blue Class C, stopped me as soon as I saw, “Class C.”

It didn’t stop me because I was proud a seller was using the Class system. It didn’t stop me because I thought the seller was well researched. It didn’t even stop me because I thought, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Ok, maybe a little bit on the last one.

It stopped me because I had to see the seller. Was it someone I recognized? It was.

This is the same seller, foolbus1986, that had the $450 BIN for a Purple #60, cried about being ‘damned’, and was the only one surprised his Purple #41 didn’t sell for more. Stupidity is a trend that tends to continue – just like lying. But we’ve spent enough time on his stupidity.

When I saw the listing, it also reminded me of something James Sullivan recently said on LRG, “Personally placing figures from 1-233 in classes was a bad idea from the start.”

Wrong. Stupidity is never the answer. Ever.

I have addressed this topic before, so I won’t completely repeat it. I will only add that willing ignorance is terrifying to me – these days more than ever.

Collectors, and especially Master Set Fools/Zealots, will always have differing opinions. They should. They have spent years and years building an utterly useless knowledge-base.

Not everybody will have that experience and knowledge. That’s ok too. That’s why a guide helps. It also helps us spot stupidity when someone lists a $0.75 figure as a Class C figure with a $6 opening bid. Stupidity is a trend.

The final listing, M.U.S.C.L.E. / COMPLETE UNOPENED CASE / 24 TRASHCANS / MINT / RARE / BRAND NEW /, has me asking a serious question, “Why would you buy the 10-pack display case?”

Forget the price. I’m not talking about that…yet. I’m really asking why a collector would want to add this piece to their collection.

Compared to other M.U.S.C.L.E. items, I wouldn’t classify this as particularly rare. In the ten years of doing this website it has shown up seven times in Auction Watch (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). That doesn’t count Epilogues or times that I didn’t record it.

Owning 24 10-packs isn’t intriguing to me either.

The Quik Tube could be an interesting comparison to the 10-Pack Display case. It’s a unique item. But you’ll likely have to deal with shenanigans and it’s a stamped toilet paper tube. I love M.U.S.C.L.E. stuff, but let’s be honest.

What about the Pre-Pack as a comparison? Not even close. The Pre-Pack is crazy obscure. And the art is so much cooler. But both are incredibly awkward to display.

And don’t say “love” or “nostalgia.” That’s a lazy answer. Hell, murderers say they killed because of “love.” That certainly doesn’t justify their behavior.

Help me out, “Why would you buy the 10-pack display case?”