Price of Rare Figures on the Web

[RobinGoodfellow]

Often people uses Ebay to fix the price for rare items.

Here some recent dino-auctions that (like it or not) define new prices for rare figures:







( The last price sounds crazy to me but......    )

[RobinGoodfellow]

New price for the Safari Mamenchisaurus:



Two months ago the price for the big Sega Amargasaurus had been fixed:

[RobinGoodfellow]

A rare Starlux figure:



(..a bit overpriced to me...  )

[Crackington]

It's often difficult to know how much to sell items at, there's not exactly a seller's bible out there with suggested prices and more constant sources such as the Prehistoric Times shop, tend to be higher than the usual e-bay going rates.

This makes it tough as on the one hand you don't want to rip people off, but you do want to get a good price. I tend to collect info on similar items from e-bay and Amazon over time before deciding on a price, but often go a bit lower, which helps to get bids in!

When buying I generally don't look at the item again once I've bid, so I'm not tempted to spend more than I should!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Think the amusing point in all this that most people somewhat miss, is none of these figures are truly rare. They are however highly sought after which means the current supply fails to meet the demand causing inflated pricing. This can be demonstrated watching an item like the Battats, where the reissues, which are obviously slightly different still tend to create a supply where none had existed, forcing the pricing down. There are no more or less of the original battats, which demonstrates they were never rare to start with, only highly collected which caused the supply to be less than demand.
   I see that term rare thrown around alot for items that were made in the millions and it helps to realize these things are not truly rare.Regarding pricing and being fair...why not just start the item at a dollar and bid where it goes? If it is worth x amount of dollars it should bid to that price anyways...

[CityRaptor]

It probably does not help that Schleich officially calls figures no longer in production offically Rarities...

Starting at 1 Dollar or Euro can however backfire if the seller does not properly label figure.

[RobinGoodfellow]

I agree with Amargasaurus Cazaui.
But an item, rare or not, has only the price that people wants to pay for it.
The Papo Brown Running Rex DOES NOT have a value of 684 USD ( a collector can buy 2 or 3 Sideshow statue for that price - and probably even Sideshow is overpriced- ...).
It's only a color variation of a toy....
But the auction started at 50 USD ( that could be the RIGHT price for it) and raised to 684 USD by the bidders.
Personally I won't spend 684 for a single figure, rare or not (and NEVER for a Papo figure).
Otherwise there are collectors thinking that a Papo toy could be 684 USD valued.

Same thing for the Papo retired Velociraptor, 2 months ago.
The auction ended at 110 GBP (168 USD)  by the bidders:



From now on everyone who will sell that items probably will start the auction from same prices...... like it or not.....

-----

[Moodyraptor]

I agree with Amargasaurus Cazaui.
But an item, rare or not, has only the price that people wants to pay for it.
The Papo Brown Running Rex DOES NOT have a value of 684 USD ( a collector can buy 2 or 3 Sideshow statue for that price - and probably even Sideshow is overpriced- ...).
It's only a color variation of a toy....
But the auction started at 50 USD ( that could be the RIGHT price for it) and raised to 684 USD by the bidders.
Personally I won't spend 684 for a single figure, rare or not (and NEVER for a Papo figure).
Otherwise there are collectors thinking that a Papo toy could be 684 USD valued.

Same thing for the Papo retired Velociraptor, 2 months ago.
The auction ended at 110 GBP (168 USD)  by the bidders:



From now on everyone who will sell that items probably will start the auction from same prices...... like it or not.....

-----

It amazes me how variable these things can be.  I've seen brown papo raptors going for this price, but also managed to buy one very recently for £30.  Likewise I've seen the green rexes start at £50, but been able to buy them for much less.  I think it often just depends who's in the market for one/paying attention when the listing comes out.   Or sometimes a listing just seems to get missed by serious collectors if it's not titled exactly right.  It's also sods law that whenever I try to sell something I've seen go for silly money, all the serious collectors have gone to Antigua for the week or something 

[Viking Spawn]

Besides the brown running Rex, green sitting Rex, and brown Raptor, are there any other retired Papo Dinosaurs that are harder to find?  Just curious since I've never really been able to find any form of checklist of every Papo Dino that was ever made.  (including variants)

I'd love to know where my collection stands in that regard. :/

[brettnj]

I'm one of those people who feels guilty about making money...

So, to see another side of this, in my case certainly and likely in some other sellers' cases, it's those overblown sales that allow me to sell everything else at what I think are great prices.

It is extremely difficult to make money selling Japanese figures, for instance, when I'm buying them from retailers, paying someone to help me get them, and having to essentially charge for shipping twice--first to me from Japan and then to the buyer.  Regardless of what else I do service-wise, I still have to offer the best prices or why would anyone buy from me?  I also believe that my selling has brought eBay prices down in certain instances over the past year, which means I have to lower my already low prices even more.

This all tells you that I pay more for my figures and still manage to sell them for less, which in turn tells you how (very) little I make per figure or set.

I sell for more on eBay than I do to my direct buyers and invite anyone who buys from me on the site to do so directly, which means the more direct buyers I get, the less I make per sale.  Double edged swordfish.

I also let my buyers request I search for rare items, so when we find them, they get our regular price structure.  That means I can't find something rare and choose to sell it for a more profitable price if it's already been requested.

On occasion though, I get lucky.  Though I have two buyers requesting the big Sega amargasaurus (after getting it for three others this year), both passed on bidding on the last one (nothing to do with the figure--just their finances at the time).  That's allowing me to try to sell it for $165 (the amount I saw the last garner) rather than pass it on for a 7.5% profit on the $50+ I paid.

Simultaneously, if I invest in too many endeavors as this (like the Favorite Desktop turiasauruses that my buyers got for the 15% mark-up (7.5% each for my source and me) but which no one else is taking (not sure why (Anyone?)) after I paid higher prices for more later), I could be and am stuck with expensive inventory I can't sell.

If I'm not able to make good money on occasion, I don't think it would be worth the time and work involved in selling everything else, and everyone loses.

[RobinGoodfellow]

Besides the brown running Rex, green sitting Rex, and brown Raptor, are there any other retired Papo Dinosaurs that are harder to find?  Just curious since I've never really been able to find any form of checklist of every Papo Dino that was ever made.  (including variants)

I'd love to know where my collection stands in that regard. :/

As Amargasaurus Cazaui said, ALL dino-toys aren't RARE (because they are mass-produced items) but  HARD-TO-FIND when they are retired..
So you can find all of them with the right time, checking on Ebay or other sites.
Sometimes they are overpriced, sometimes not. It depends on the seller ( or auction).
For what I know there are only a couple of prehistoric Papo figures hard to find (but not impossible):
the running Mammoth ( also called Steppe Mammoth ) and the Dodo.
But they aren't dinosaurs (of course..).
I found the Steppe Mammoth from a german collector this summer; but I never did a serious research for the Dodo ( I already have the Safari one..).
That's what I know about Papo "rarities" 

[EarthboundEiniosaurus]

Besides the brown running Rex, green sitting Rex, and brown Raptor, are there any other retired Papo Dinosaurs that are harder to find?  Just curious since I've never really been able to find any form of checklist of every Papo Dino that was ever made.  (including variants)

I'd love to know where my collection stands in that regard. :/

As Amargasaurus Cazaui said, ALL dino-toys aren't RARE (because they are mass-produced items) but  HARD-TO-FIND when they are retired..
So you can find all of them with the right time, checking on Ebay or other sites.
Sometimes they are overpriced, sometimes not. It depends on the seller ( or auction).
For what I know there are only a couple of prehistoric Papo figures hard to find (but not impossible):
the running Mammoth ( also called Steppe Mammoth ) and the Dodo.
But they aren't dinosaurs (of course..).
I found the Steppe Mammoth from a german collector this summer; but I never did a serious research for the Dodo ( I already have the Safari one..).
That's what I know about Papo "rarities" 

I wasn't aware the Papo Dodo was a hard to find figure, makes me all the more happy that i bought it when i did   It's one of the best Dodo figures out there in my opinion, far surpassing the Safari version (which i also own).

Thanks,

EarthboundEiniosaurus

[amargasaurus cazaui]

It probably does not help that Schleich officially calls figures no longer in production offically Rarities...

Starting at 1 Dollar or Euro can however backfire if the seller does not properly label figure.

I completely agree with your comments here for sure...and for us buyers that often serves up some super finds!

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Part of the discussion here is a simple issue with mixing terminology. We are trying to use rare and in demand or highly collectible interchangeably.They are not and should not be if you wish to understand the market. As I pointed out, most of these items are made in the millions and are not rare by definition. However there are those who want them badly enough to pay more than the next guy so the price rises. This is a simple dynamic of supply and demand...the shorter the supply, the higher the demand and the price with it. What you have to remember is, as the prices rise, try and remember WHY the supply is shorter...is it due to low production, high demand, hoarding, or flash collecting/investing on the new trend for this time period?
   If you ever dabble in the comic book world, you quickly learn the dynamics of real vs. inferred rarity. A few examples might be....back when they decided to kill superman and it was a world press event....the sealed bagged version was selling for fifty bucks the day it was released, largely due to speculation, hoarding, and an insane demand fueled by hype. Today the comic can be gotten for less than ten dollars easily.
Flip side of the point might be an Incredible Hulk #1...now percieved as being the rarest of the silver age Marvel comic keys. In the heyday of printing it likely had 250,000 copies printed. By todays standards that is a hideousy low print run, where most new comics are printed in the millions. But that was 1962 compared to now...the 53 years have done alot for the comic book industry and population as a whole. I have seen guesstimates there may be 2,500-3,500 copies remaining in existence. Time has again worked its magic, between kids with crayons, scissors, mother's cleaning kids rooms, flooding and house fires etc.The comic book, that was released some 53 years ago for ten cents cover price, today in mint condition brings around 180,000.00 dollars. That is a by product of the remaining few being highly sought after and coveted, as opposed to there being a print run of millions that are all being held and hoarded up. And the capper to my point is this comic book is not by comic book terms considered........................rare or even scarce comparably speaking. A Katy Keene Pinup Parade #15 is a rare book, at less than 20 copies known to exist. However the price for that comic sits below three hundred dollars in mint state, because it is an Archie's comic character, that is not appearing in Avengers movies every other year and in such massive demand the price has risen to enormous levels. It is not just rarity that determines what something sells for..demand, true supply level, hype, alot of things factor in. Always felt the best policy was collect what you love, and if it appreciates in value consider yourself twice blessed for having done what you loved and perhaps profited from it a bit as well.
    As for buying and selling in that market world, why feel guilty? If there is someone willing to meet the price, for them that item is worth that price and will serve their purposes. Sometimes a piece will find a niche in someones collection where it will be highly valued, because of WHO and why they want it. I recently traded basically an entire set of the five repainted battats to a collector for the Salvat Psittacosaurus pair......most would call that at best rather poor skills trading, but because I specialize in collecting psittacosaurus and its various close friends, for me this was a decent trade. My partner in the trade did benefit from that, but so what? I actually made the offer myself because it served my purposes.He seemed quite happy with the arrangement and I am too so why question the nature of it all.  It isnt always about money, rarity or even demand so much as timing, and luck plays its part too. Selling things for the current market value demand price should not be something to feel guilt over...even pricing slightly ahead of the market to test current prices can be productive. Just avoid outright gouging and you are being fair...as the commerical says....why ask why?

[Crackington]

I agree with most of that and you shouldn't feel guilty when you buy either. For example, I remember feeling a bit funny when I spotted an SRG large T-Rex for sale hidden amongst a bunch of cheap Chinasaurs. I was lucky and won them for about £3. I had a twinge of guilt thinking that this person clearly didn't realise that it was worth more and I had taken advantage of their ignorance. But thinking further, I realised that a) they wanted to sell it and b) I knew what it was because I invest a lot of my spare time reading up on dinos (it may be a hobby but the knowledge doesn't come free!) and c) if they'd spent 15 minutes googling metal dinosaurs they'd probably have spotted it and been able to sell for more.

I've lost out selling too by having a too low starting price, so you win some you lose some....

[SBell]

Part of the discussion here is a simple issue with mixing terminology. We are trying to use rare and in demand or highly collectible interchangeably.They are not and should not be if you wish to understand the market. As I pointed out, most of these items are made in the millions and are not rare by definition. However there are those who want them badly enough to pay more than the next guy so the price rises. This is a simple dynamic of supply and demand...the shorter the supply, the higher the demand and the price with it. What you have to remember is, as the prices rise, try and remember WHY the supply is shorter...is it due to low production, high demand, hoarding, or flash collecting/investing on the new trend for this time period?
   If you ever dabble in the comic book world, you quickly learn the dynamics of real vs. inferred rarity. A few examples might be....back when they decided to kill superman and it was a world press event....the sealed bagged version was selling for fifty bucks the day it was released, largely due to speculation, hoarding, and an insane demand fueled by hype. Today the comic can be gotten for less than ten dollars easily.
Flip side of the point might be an Incredible Hulk #1...now percieved as being the rarest of the silver age Marvel comic keys. In the heyday of printing it likely had 250,000 copies printed. By todays standards that is a hideousy low print run, where most new comics are printed in the millions. But that was 1962 compared to now...the 53 years have done alot for the comic book industry and population as a whole. I have seen guesstimates there may be 2,500-3,500 copies remaining in existence. Time has again worked its magic, between kids with crayons, scissors, mother's cleaning kids rooms, flooding and house fires etc.The comic book, that was released some 53 years ago for ten cents cover price, today in mint condition brings around 180,000.00 dollars. That is a by product of the remaining few being highly sought after and coveted, as opposed to there being a print run of millions that are all being held and hoarded up. And the capper to my point is this comic book is not by comic book terms considered........................rare or even scarce comparably speaking. A Katy Keene Pinup Parade #15 is a rare book, at less than 20 copies known to exist. However the price for that comic sits below three hundred dollars in mint state, because it is an Archie's comic character, that is not appearing in Avengers movies every other year and in such massive demand the price has risen to enormous levels. It is not just rarity that determines what something sells for..demand, true supply level, hype, alot of things factor in. Always felt the best policy was collect what you love, and if it appreciates in value consider yourself twice blessed for having done what you loved and perhaps profited from it a bit as well.
    As for buying and selling in that market world, why feel guilty? If there is someone willing to meet the price, for them that item is worth that price and will serve their purposes. Sometimes a piece will find a niche in someones collection where it will be highly valued, because of WHO and why they want it. I recently traded basically an entire set of the five repainted battats to a collector for the Salvat Psittacosaurus pair......most would call that at best rather poor skills trading, but because I specialize in collecting psittacosaurus and its various close friends, for me this was a decent trade. My partner in the trade did benefit from that, but so what? I actually made the offer myself because it served my purposes.He seemed quite happy with the arrangement and I am too so why question the nature of it all.  It isnt always about money, rarity or even demand so much as timing, and luck plays its part too. Selling things for the current market value demand price should not be something to feel guilt over...even pricing slightly ahead of the market to test current prices can be productive. Just avoid outright gouging and you are being fair...as the commerical says....why ask why?

I would tend to agree that the hardest things to deal with are speculation and hoarding; the first, because it takes common figures (think Force Friday a month ago--those SWA toys are mass produced, they will not be valuable) and the latter because it means that those speculators will buy up entire stores on the chance that they become valuable, while fans or casual enthusiasts can't find what they want (for a few days or weeks--there's no way that merchandise train will stop running). But that's just an example.

When looking at auction prices, it's really important to look at the SOLD numbers, not the asked numbers, in completed auctions. And even then--like those silly Papo auctions, sometimes it strikes a chord at the right time; I remember a Battat Diplodocus selling for over $800 in 2006-7. I also remember a set of 8 PV Prehistoric Amphibians selling for that! In both cases, that just seems crazy; yes, those bidders were probably happy with their wins, and hopefully it was not actually beyond their means; but at the same time, they are PVC toys that were mass produced (the amphibians sold for $1 apiece in bins originally!). So, sometimes, common sense should enter into it (unless you're the seller--then you want common sense to fly out the window!).

But never feel guilty for getting a hidden bargain. We've all done it at one point or another. Sometimes things work out.

[tyrantqueen]

From this point on, I've decided I'm going to buy early or limited paintjobs of Papo figures and hoard them somewhere. Not because I particularly care about the colours (I can repaint things myself if I wanted an overrated brown running rex or a brown velociraptor) but because it seems to be a wise investment, given the ridiculous prices that they can go for.

I collect and like Papo anyway.

[Viking Spawn]

Besides the brown running Rex, green sitting Rex, and brown Raptor, are there any other retired Papo Dinosaurs that are harder to find?  Just curious since I've never really been able to find any form of checklist of every Papo Dino that was ever made.  (including variants)

I'd love to know where my collection stands in that regard. :/

As Amargasaurus Cazaui said, ALL dino-toys aren't RARE (because they are mass-produced items) but  HARD-TO-FIND when they are retired..
So you can find all of them with the right time, checking on Ebay or other sites.
Sometimes they are overpriced, sometimes not. It depends on the seller ( or auction).
For what I know there are only a couple of prehistoric Papo figures hard to find (but not impossible):
the running Mammoth ( also called Steppe Mammoth ) and the Dodo.
But they aren't dinosaurs (of course..).
I found the Steppe Mammoth from a german collector this summer; but I never did a serious research for the Dodo ( I already have the Safari one..).
That's what I know about Papo "rarities" 

Thanks for the info Robingoodfellows!  Its good to know I already have the harder ones from their dino line. 

[Halichoeres]

Besides the brown running Rex, green sitting Rex, and brown Raptor, are there any other retired Papo Dinosaurs that are harder to find?  Just curious since I've never really been able to find any form of checklist of every Papo Dino that was ever made.  (including variants)

I'd love to know where my collection stands in that regard. :/

As Amargasaurus Cazaui said, ALL dino-toys aren't RARE (because they are mass-produced items) but  HARD-TO-FIND when they are retired..
So you can find all of them with the right time, checking on Ebay or other sites.
Sometimes they are overpriced, sometimes not. It depends on the seller ( or auction).
For what I know there are only a couple of prehistoric Papo figures hard to find (but not impossible):
the running Mammoth ( also called Steppe Mammoth ) and the Dodo.
But they aren't dinosaurs (of course..).
I found the Steppe Mammoth from a german collector this summer; but I never did a serious research for the Dodo ( I already have the Safari one..).
That's what I know about Papo "rarities" 

Thanks for the info Robingoodfellows!  Its good to know I already have the harder ones from their dino line.

Viking Spawn--as far as I know, this page has most of the "official" repaints, barring minor variants like the Stegosaurus with more or less white on the plates, things like that. http://toyanimal.info//index.php?title=Papo_Dinosaurs It's a little out of date, but I'm sure before long somebody will add the rainbow rex and raptor.

[Viking Spawn]

That link is exactly what I was looking for!  Bookmarked!  Thank you Halichoeres!