This episode finds Jordan Hembrough is looking for a toy that he can use for a trade to get a Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot figure. Jordan heads to Florida to see if he can find the toy he needs to make this trade go through. The first person he visits is Scott. The first item that Jordan buys is a Star Trek Phaser Game. Jordan pays $40 and plans to sell it for $70.00. Checking Ebay we find that there are several of the Star Trek Phaser Game up there right now. One is at $79.99 and another is at $100.00. The third one is at $17.50 as it is an auction where the other two are buy it nows. Next Jordan buys a Mattel Basketball Game in the box for $25.00 which Jordan will sell for $45.00. Checking Ebay, we see the Mattel Basketball Game going for prices ranging from $14.99 to $142.00 depending on condition. The final items that Jordan purchased are Food Fighters by Mattel. Jordan buys a group of five for $100.00 and plans to double his money. Checking Ebay the carded versions of the Food Fighter go as low as $25.99 to as high as $79.99.
Next Jordan goes with Steve Savino to Peter, a toy designer. Peter wants to sell his toys that he has in his upper floor. Jordan and Steve soon discover that despite Peter wanting to sell, Peter wants to check the price first. Also many of the toys are damaged, are incomplete or the packaging is damaged. After several offers and getting a negative response, Jordan gives up leaving with nothing.
Jordan sends Steve back to shop in New Jersey and goes visted the final party of the show. Nader and his two sons Dmitri and Michael. The first item that Jordan buys is a Enevel Knieval watch in the box for $70.00 I have no note of what Jordan was going to sell it for. Two similar ones on Ebay are at $179.99 and $249.99. Next Nader shows Jordan an Ensueno Elastic Superman. This is the Mexican version of Mego Superman. Nader wants four figure price for the figure. Jordan makes several offers, but he is too low in what he is is offering Nader so Jordan passes on the item. Finally Nader shows Jordan a GIJoe Atomic Man Secret Mountain Outpost in Mint Condition, just the item that Jordan needs for his trade for Bigfoot. Jordan pays $800.00. Once again checking Ebay I found two mint sets one factory sealed at$475.00 and $590.00.
Jordan goes to his party with the GI Joe Automatic Man secret Mountain Outpost to see if he is interested. The person is, but Jordan discovers the Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot is not mint as there is damage to the box. The person has to throw in a Ideal Shaker Maker which Jordan values at $150.00. Both sides happy and the trade is concluded.
The first part of the episode is typical go to a collector and see what you can buy. The second part is more interesting as it shows what can happen when you go and try to buy from a collector. There are times you will go visit a collector and come away with nothing for your time. The reason this happens either the collector is really not ready to sell or the prices he wants are too high. Peter had items he wanted to get rid of but he want to get maxium dollars. The giveaway is I have looked the item up. Once I would have heard that I would figure my visit would be a waste of time. Also condition of many of the items that Jordan was looking at were not in a salable condition. The ET Game was missing ET figure and it is only worth ten dollars retail perfect. This kind of hunt is my least favorite as more time than not I am wasting my time. I prefer the flea markets and toy shows where the price is set and I can make a decison if I am going to purchase the item or not. I was surprised by Jordan’s claim that this rarely happens to him.
Also the section with Peter looked like it had been filmed for another episode and placed in this episode instead. Because it was for a different episode, Jordan had to do a voiceover explain why Steve was not in the last section. In realityif you had someone along on hunt, you would have them along for the entire trip unless they had other commitments or emergencies.
The last section we had Nader show Elastic Superman by Ensueno. Jordan lets Nader explain the toy and state why he wanted so much. This part would have been better if Jordan had done a cut away to talk about the figure. When researching my review, I found an article that explained the background on the toy. The Ensueno Super Heroes are rare and command high prices. In the article, the author put a price of $5,000 to $6,000 dollars on the Elastic Superman. Nader was looking for a price higher than that. Jordan made some offers trying to feel out Nader. There was no comment on what Jordan felt the item was worth or other information. It was a very disapointing section especially when we saw a Remco Captain America Ultitly Belt mint in a brief spot.
On the trade that was the high point of the show, we did not have any idea what Jordan felt the Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot was worth and more importantly what Jordan was going to sell it for. Base on what Jordan paid for the the outpost of $800.00, the Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot should sell for between $1100.00 to $1200.00. Not having the price left people in lurch wondering what the Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot was worth. When I looked at Ebay and there was two Six Million Dollar Man Bigfoot loose for $100.00 each. Doing a final check I find there are three box sets up on Ebay. Two are Buy it nows at $750.00 and $950.00. The third is an auction which had nine hours to go and was at $430.00. Also the show should have made its audience aware that there is a newer made versions of the figure, which is smaller the the Kenner version.
One other thing that annoyed me was the bad writing through out the episode. Little tibits were missed such as Bigfoot was played by two different people Andre the Giant and Ted Cassidy. Ted Cassidy played Lurch on the Adams Family. The toy was based on Ted Cassidy appearance. That Bigfoot was an alien robot. Adding the tibits would have made the episode more enjoyable.
Next episode Jordan is looking for toys for his set up at Seattle Comicon.
Yea, I liked the guy who wanted to sell but just couldn’t accept any offers until he first “checked the price”. Additionally, does he not realize that ebay prices are “asking” prices, but sometimes have no relation to what someone actually will pay for an item? The “Pawn Stars” deal with this type of bonehead all the time, who announces that “this item is going for $xxx on ebay”. Pawn Stars have to invariably point out that ebay “prices” are “asking” prices, like at flea markets.
Of course, I see this at toy soldier shows sometimes, too. You have 20 dealers all asking for the “going rate” on common Marx figures. They don’t sell, because the “going rate” is no longer the “going rate”, and they take the figures home with them. Why should anybody buy them when they’re all over the place at the same price? When you have a big supply that exceeds demand, inevitably at least one dealer will recognize the reality of the situation and lower his price.
About 15 – 20 years ago, at OTSN, I found myself wishing to acquire 40 – 50 Timmee Civil War figures. I didn’t have any, and was starting to think they would look kind of neat in a big formation, especially the marchers and the standing “on guard” pose. Room after room was offering them in the $2.00 – $3.00 per figure price range. I found my enthusiasm for acquiring them to be somewhat dampened. Then, on the Sunday morning of the actual show, I found a dealer with a big box of both blue and gray figures marked at $1.00 per figure. I bought 50 of them, without trying to get any quantity discount. The dealer mentioned to me that when he marked them at $2.00 per figure, the figures just sat, and he ended up taking them home with them. When he marked them at $1.00 per figure, he said he always sold big quantities and was quickly getting rid of them, which was what he wanted.
Of course, you can get better prices when you go to shows, where there’s competition, but you have the expense of getting to the show — gas, food, lodging — but the fun of seeing old friends and acquaintances, as well as such a large collection of diverse toy soldiers all in one place, makes it for me a worthwhile expenditure.
Don
People who want to check prices or they get prices from Ebay are a fun bunch. They get upset when we dealers offer less than what they want. They think we are ripping them off. They don’t know or want to know that we have overhead and have to offer less. They are not my favorite group.
You find out quickly what dealers you can buy from. As I am buying for resale I have to look for dealers who can give me fair prices. Dealers who want maxium dollars get pass by.
Yes, I had forgotton that other aspect of a dealer who’s buying things for resale. Again, as the Pawn Star managers have to keep pointing out to the people who bring in things for sale, they (the Pawn Star managers) cannot buy things for what they are “worth” at retail. They have to buy for less in order to pay their overhead and then, above all, to make a profit. The guy who wouldn’t sell to Jordan will have to learn that he can sell his toys at their retail price: All he has to do is set up an ebay account (with the attendant fees), and/or travel to shows and pay the attendant expense of that. After doing that, all he then has to do is find a buyer who will pay his price. He’ll quickly find out that everyone at the show is looking for a “deal”.
The guy should have sold to Jordan, who basically offers reasonable prices for someone who then has to take the risk of trying to resell at a higher price. Since the guy didn’t understand that concept, I imagine he will continue to be unable to sell what he said he wants to sell.
Don
Many people when they sell items, they think the can get retail. They do not realize or want to realize the overhead dealers have. My friend Les had a used book store and would have people come in thinking they are going to get retail for their items. If they got too high and mighty, Les would tell them to set up a store. EBay is a lot of work, I do not might it as I have done work in the real world and found it unsatisfying. Through Ebay and my lists I have help a lot people find items for their collection and I made a profit. If I paid full retail, I would have been out of business.
There is a debate among dealers on the prices that Jordan pays and sells his items. I feel he has over paid on some items and underpaid on others. Likewise his prices have questions.