The previous Auction Watch was quite a doozy. I tried to guess the order of ‘highest priced’ to ‘lowest priced.’ Let’s see how I did.
I’ll be honest with you guys. I started arranging the pictures in the last Auction Watch; fully intending to give it my best prediction effort. It got too frustrating because I can’t actually see the picture when I’m writing – just the code. I finally said, “fuck this.”
Without thinking I stuck all the Class B at the bottom and said, “Done.” I probably should have realized the Red #136 was with the B’s. Whatever.
I think the results were pretty interesting. That’s why this week will be even more interesting. Dani and Irene have 13 more French-Canadian 4-packs to get rid of. Some of the packs are similar, maybe some are the same…
Honestly. I don’t know. I hate eBay. I’m over this entire process. I don’t know how people do it. I gave my word, so I’ll stick to it and honor my commitment. But I hate eBay.
My hatred has offered me some seller insight. If I have such a negative reaction, then others must have, at least, a much different reaction. I can imagine how a seller’s self-worth is intertwined with the listing. And if not self-worth, then a certain amount of pride. Creating the listing is like setting this tiny, micro-goal. Selling the item means you’ve reached the goal.
Some of you are probably saying, “Duh.” But eBay doesn’t really help you set a realistic goal. When I created the new listings, I believe the average suggested starting price was $30. Admittedly, not a truly horrible opening price for French-Canadian 4-Packs stuffed with Class A figures.
However, M.U.S.C.L.E. prices are a matter of minutia. I have to assume eBay is setting sellers down a terrible path most of the time. eBay doesn’t understand the difference between a Light Blue #61 and a Dark Blue one. (Stop. Before clicking the link, do you know the difference?)
Their price suggestion system obviously, and rightly, can’t tell the difference either. Of course it’s going to make bad suggestions. It makes me wonder if some of the new Forever Unsold were bad eBay suggestions.
In the seller’s quest to meet their tiny goal, it seems reasonable, that they trust eBay for some guidance. That also helps explain their reaction to potential buyers contacting them:
- Distrust: eBay, knowing more than me (the seller) is protecting me from getting taken advantage of by devious buyers.
- Trust: eBay doesn’t really care about me. But this person seems to know a lot more than me – they must be honest and looking out for me.
Every collector forges their own path. I think it’s bullshit to contact sellers to be a hero or score an offline deal. But I’ve also always understood the thinking behind it. This process is probably the first time I’ve gained real insight into the seller’s dilemma.
For the first time ever, I feel some sympathy for people honestly trying to sell M.U.S.C.L.E. figures. For the people doing shit like this or this or this, I still hope they rot in hell.
Ok, what do we have this week?
First, all of these listings end on Saturday (12/12). When I was listing them I thought, “This is kind of like a wide open second chance for people.” I don’t think we need days and days. The potential buyers are probably ready. The listings break up into two groups: (1) Class A stuff; and (2) the other stuff.
Here is the Class A stuff:
Those are the absolute last Class A listings. This might be a second chance for some people, but there’s nothing else coming from Dani and Irene. The cupboards are officially bare after this round.
Everything else, or the other four listings, are just 4-packs. Sure, I pointed out the Class B stuff but that was due to my own fatigue. I’ve been looking at all these packs and I’m afraid of making a mistake. I don’t want to accidentally relist something. Or forget something. Or whatever other screw-up could happen.
The last 4-pack is opened and has become a 3-pack. Bummer?
I’m starting this listing at $0.01 because $0.00 wasn’t an option. I don’t know how collectors will react to this listing.
Sure there are two Class A figures, but how do we value something like this? More importantly, is it absolutely an opener?
I would vote opener. Time has already started the process.
The best part of this ‘3-Pack’ is the M.U.S.C.L.E.-scent vent (patent pending). I wondered if the figures would still have the M.U.S.C.L.E. smell. It was faint, but it was certainly noticeable.
It has been quite some time since I really smelled that distinct odor. It was awesome; like truly awesome. I didn’t expect such a flood of nostalgia, but it hit me hard. It’s amazing how strong our sensory memories can be – especially for something weird like M.U.S.C.L.E. figures.
#1 by Pete V on December 10, 2020 - 12:04 pm
I think price suggestions by eBay are asinine. I’m guessing it’s to make them more in fees. I don’t use eBay that much anymore. I stayed off of there for close to a decade at one point. I got back on there in 2017 to finally complete my GPK OS collection. While over the summer, I had to make an offer for the first time and had eBay suggest what my offer should be. Well, I didn’t take their suggestion and saved myself $250.00.
Ha, the M.U.S.C.L.E. smell. I remembered mentioning it to a fellow collector back in the day and he thought I was crazy until he took a whiff of them himself. I have 10-Pack that I opened probably in 2000 or 2001 and have since kept the figures inside of. The smell is very strong and takes me back to a particular time when I got a couple of 10-Packs while on vacation with my parents in Erie, PA and had opened them up on the floor in the cottage we were staying at. I got two green claws that day, which wasn’t by chance. I had examined the cans prior to buying them while sitting on a floor inside of a KB Toys. They were only 10-Packs with colored figures that I remember seeing when I was a kid. All of my other colored figures came from 4-Packs that were lingering in places like Gold Circle, Hills, and Ames.
#2 by GreyEagle06 on December 10, 2020 - 3:00 pm
I’m trying to convince everyone I know right know that these are what they should get me for Christmas!
#3 by Chad Perry on December 10, 2020 - 4:15 pm
That’s a damn good gift!