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Non-affiliated, Non-lengthy, Non-articles about Transformers

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Recent Departures - April 2014




I may not have sold much recently (not for a lack of trying) but the one item that I have sold has been a big deal. There are only about 10 people worldwide who can claim the honour of owning a Finnish Diaclone 'Black Tracks' Corvette Stingray, so I have been incredibly fortunate to have had two at the same time. I bought the second broken one loose to try and upgrade the damaged parts on mine. Alas, virtually everything on mine was in better condition anyway, so it ended up being a loose display extra of the absolute highest quality. Eventually though, circumstances and priorities won out, and it got sold. Good, no one collector should have two of these when so many don't even have one.


Finnish Diaclone "Black Tracks"

You must know about this toy by now, unique colour scheme created by Takara, exclusive to Finland in 1984, exclusive to the kiosk chain "R-Kioski", if not then you can read more HERE. Now a toy this rare should be an absolutely easy sell, blink and it's gone. The problem is, I am a knowledgeable collector so this figure's rarity and value was completely known to me. For another collector, they actually could not have wished for a worse seller, because I was always going to squeeze out every little drop of value I believed it to be worth and a bargain was never on the cards. In addition, financial circumstances meant a trade was never going to be much of a possibility, although I nearly caved when a C-325 Greatshot was offered in part exchange. 

The weapons are worth more than most other toys

In actuality, this was a really hard sell, and not because of the missing side door and break/glue damage. Because it was a Black Tracks, because it displayed amazingly well despite damage and because it had all its weapons for display, I wanted a great deal for it and I went to a Diaclone collector who had bought lots from me in the past for premium prices. He needed 3 months and I agreed, after all for that amount of money I could wait. Three months turned into 5 months turned into no contact. I cancelled the deal and offered it to another collector who I knew would love it, but the price did not agree and he refused. Another collector I sell to was interested but he too needed a few months to pay and also needed a little convincing of the price. 

So eventually I turned to someone who initially had not shown much interest, but I gave it another shot at a reduced price. Finally, six months after it was first made available for sale, I was paid and the Book of Black Corvette Ownership has a new chapter. A fine owner he is too I might add, it warms my heart to know how loved this specimen will be.

You can read more about the difficulties in selling rare toys in tonight's TFSource Article HERE.

One is more than enough

All the best
Maz

2 comments:

  1. What a headache it was to get rid of such a nice piece Maz but in the end it sounds like it went to a good home so all is well that ends well.

    I read your TF Source article on "Who will buy my collection" and it really struck a chord for me.
    1. My close collector friend and I are always commenting on what items are worth and debate whether we could ever get our money back if we had to sell, but of course that's not why we buy
    2. I too have also said to my wife that if I wanted to I could easily get back back at least what I paid for my TF's........of course you are right when you said it could take years to find the right buyers for everything.

    I was a little surprised to hear that that the Vintage Valkyries are taking such a big hit with people buying the reissues. Those vintage boxes alone make the reissues pale in comparison. I need to get myself one.

    Keep up the excellent articles!
    Cheers,
    Joe

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    Replies
    1. Many thanks for the comment, Joe. I think I need to re-iterate just what a bonus it is for us to be able to make back anything at all on these toys. We get our money's worth just by having them in our collection, photographing them and transforming them or displaying them. Any return on that is, as I say, a bonus. If that initial pay out amount does not cover the enjoyment of having it, and is justified in part by the resale, then something's wrong with the purchase I reckon.

      All the best
      Maz

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