UPDATE: Sold for US$200.
Looking for a poor quality forty year old toy to throw US$200 at? Well, good fortune is smiling upon you! One matching that description is available on eBay right now for US$199.99. Aren’t you lucky?
Let’s get this out of the way first. For US$200, you can easily purchase a better sample of the toy than what is being offered here. For what you get, this poor ALIEN toy is horrendously over-priced. It’s easier if we start with the usual suspects. All the pieces commonly missing are absent from this figure; and then some. Gone are the head dome, both parts of the tongue and the crest between the shoulders. Also missing is the tail. The arms are included in the listing, but you’ll need to re-attach those. Everything else is there – but even some of those remaining features on the toy have problems. Let’s take a closer look, shall we? Continue reading
It’s been a couple months since one of these appeared on eBay. They’re uncommon at best but not to the point of justifiably being called rare. The description on this item is a little scant, “…Great Condition Authentic. Condition is Used. Minor scratches.” but that’s essentially all you need to know what you’re buying. It’s in very good condition and just lacking in a little quality detailing to make it perfect. Pricey at US$150? Sure it is. Then again, these smoky hued things will frequently exceed the US$100 mark when being bid for on eBay at auction. While this “Buy Now” figure sits at the upper price limit the seller is taking offers. Regardless, it’s a safe bet this single, much sought after body part will still sell for no less than US$100. Not bad for loose piece of plastic from a forty year old toy nobody asked for in 1979.
The fact these old toys appear with such regularity on eBay is testimony to the conclusion their rarity is an illusion. It is true they are scarce outside of the US. Try looking for one in Australia, UK, Europe or anywhere else beyond the borders of the US and you will have a challenge on your hands. In the US, however, there would appear to be no shortage of them, at all. Yup. Kenner sure made a lot of them to go around in 1979.
Nonetheless, this is indeed a beautiful figure. All of its features are present and they look terrific. Just take a peek at that excellent glow in the dark paint work! It’s near perfect without chips, scratched or otherwise blemished. It’s pretty clear how this paint pattern on the toy’s face kept children awake at night and they then refused to sleep with these things in their room. Just imagine that face leering at you out of the darkness, glowing green and creepy. Yep. It’s a great toy, huh and this is a wonderful sample. It also includes one of those cheap Chinese metal display stands which actually work very well for around only US$4. Mind you, the vendor has admitted to keeping the upper dorsal crest in place “with a drop of glue since it is always loose”. As these pieces are innately loose, anyway, it may be possible the figure may have some damage to the slot it is being held in – which is very common – and shouldn’t need glue. Otherwise, a really nice figure and at US$400, this listing won’t last long. It’s simply a matter of how high the starting price will climb to.
While it’s not unknown for samples of the 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy being sold for over US$1,000, this boxed item in Japan isn’t anywhere near near what is expected from a vintage toy at this price. It would have to be unsealed, in immaculate condition and stored in an acrylic case with profressional toy gradings. This item certainly is not. The vendor describes it as “Used Kenner Alien Hobby Toy Collection With Box Rare.” It’s brief at best and for the asking price, you’d want more details. …and more photos, too. Let’s take a closer look and determine the real value of this item. 
Taking a look at this figure it appears good with all of his parts present. The dome is clean, tongue and teeth are very complete without chipping of the chrome. The tail is full length and he stands confidently – even on a soft surface like the bed he’s posed on – so we can determine his hip joints are firm. This is a great sample of the toy which can so often be found in substantially worse condition than this. Upon release in 1979, RRP for these toys was US$12.99. They were then later discounted to under US$5 in 1980 due to their unpopularity. Now, unless you’re lucky, you can’t find one in good condition like this for under US$300. This sample is going to be a treat for someone. Just don’t expect it to stay at this lowly starting bidding price of US$250 for very long. This one is going to be fun to watch! It’s just a matter of how high the closing bid on this prize actually climbs to. Wow…
This sample of the toy has issues that you’ll want to consider before investing your hard earned cash in. Both the head dome and the upper dorsal crest are reproduction parts. Being facsimiles will immediately reduce the value of the figure. People seeking a Kenner ALIEN toy want it to be as original and closer to 100% as possible. The high demand exists. It’s one of the reasons people want to purchase these things. There’s a depth of unique history tied to these old toys and while such reproduction parts don’t diminish the history – they do diminish its claim to possess 100% original parts. Why does this matter, anyway? 
Sure, his severed arms are being held in place with a rubber band, his left foot is broken, there’s a jagged crack with glue residue on the slot in his back where the dorsal crest is supposed to be and he’s missing his dome. It’s just another normal day on eBay for one of these oversized ugly ass vintage toys. His jaw works, though; and his tongue parts are both present. He stands well, too; which means his hips aren’t loose. That’s a good thing. …but with bidding starting at US$250 in the middle of a pandemic driving most peoples’ concerns towards other matters? 
Listed earlier today with a starting bid of US$9.99, four bids have already been made and it currently sits at US$36.00. Not bad for a piece of old paper featuring a forty year old toy few people wanted back in 1979. The auction will last for another four and half days. It will be interesting to see how high this item climbs during the next week or so. Usually, one of these posters will easily sell upwards of US$80, without flinching. Right now, however, we are all experiencing a global crisis of medical and economic stresses. I am curious to see how these current conditions will affect the outcome of this item. Collectors are an odd bunch, though; and this item could still easily sell for over US$100 regardless of the world health drama that continues to unfold around us.
This is definitely a rough condition figure for the high asking price. Covered in dust, missing multiple parts and in generally average condition at best, these toys are often found in the wild in this degraded state. Usually, samples in this state are discovered in estate sales, garage finds, under houses and inside dog kennels. Yeah. I know of one such instance where a Kenner ALIEN in similar condition was discovered in a dog kennel. It was fine – just covered in loose fur and leached with dog odor. Nonetheless, this particular sample possesses so many issues it’s going to be hard to justify the price on this item. Lets take a closer look. 
One of these things hasn’t appeared on the service for a month or so, now. So how much will this loose item sell for? It’s hard to say except these pieces are in high demand. Today, many samples of the vintage toy are missing this particular piece and people will throw money at them. As to how much cash someone will spend in the middle of a world wide health crisis accompanied by global economic downturn? Now, that’s an interesting question. Regardless, this forty year old piece of plastic will most likely sell for upwards of US$80. Considering it’s basically already sold at this point, that figure may even be a conservative estimate. It was up until recently.
Of most importance, this piece is damaged. The shaft that fits into the figure’s torso is broken away from the base of the neck and the severed stump is not included in this sale. This is important because if you want to affix this item to a torso, it will be difficult to do so. If the severed stump was included in the listing, you could screw the matching pair of pieces together and make the head whole again. This is quite easy to do. Unfortunately this loose piece is not included in the listing so you’ll need to use some other less reliable method to re-attach this noggin to a headless body. Aside from this notable major issue, it’s a decent sample only missing a couple of other frequently absent pieces and suffering from one other common cosmetic complaint. 
While the presence of the dome is welcome, even that comes with a caveat. It’s a little blemished and scratched. Imperfect, to say the least. Much like the rest of the figure. It will raise the value of the toy but US$445.99 really is top dollar. For that kind of money you can purchase one in perfect condition and if you are lucky, one in a box. This figure unfortunately falls well short of that lofty price tag. Let’s make a closer inspection of this old toy. He’s still a wonder to behold, after all. 
These vintage B&W items are relatively uncommon, appearing on eBay once a month or so. As such, these double sided posters tend to fetch prices much higher than this item advertised for US$60 and frequently do break the three digit ceiling. Fetching an excess US$100 isn’t unusual or unheard of for a copy of this single sheet. In which case, why is this sample so (relatively) cheap, then? 
I’ve never used the Jauce service so I don’t know anything about it. I understand it may be necessary to ensure you have adequate funds in an account with them prior to bidding. I don’t know anyone who’s used the service before, either. Nonetheless, this is a near complete set of two Kenner ALIEN toys, including boxes up for grabs. One figure is complete while the other is only missing the dome. The boxes do look a little rough around the edges and knocked around for sure; but the posters appear to be OK. If you are familiar with using Jauce and would like to land – not one, but two – 40 year old Kenner ALIEN toys including all too valuable boxes with posters for the low, low price of one, then this is your big moment to bid!
Firstly, we’ll start with the fact this figure is populated with half a dozen reproduction parts. All the pieces that are frequently missing from these old toys are replaced here with facsimiles. The head carapace, the upper and lower tongue pieces, the teeth on the upper and lower jaws; and the dorsal crest are all replacement pieces. Without getting into any debates about whether these forgeries are worthy or not they simply do not add value to the figure. While such bootleg replacement parts do make the figure “feature complete” this doesn’t change the fact these are counterfeit replacement parts and are completely valueless. At least the vendor has made the responsible action of declaring the presence of these reproduction parts. If only this figure’s problems ended there. Let’s delve deeper and determine the overall quality of the figure itself. 
Featured in these new images are bootleg samples of the Queen, Scorpion, Gorilla and Bull Alien toys. These four blister carded oddities are derived from Kenner ALIENS products of the 1990s. At only three inches tall, these figures are diminutive and considerably smaller than the five inch Kenner items they are sourced from. As such, these twenty plus year old items are rare and very difficult to find today. Furthermore, this is a complete carded set, making it a great privilege for me to be able to post these photos on the site.
