UPDATE: Sold within a few hours of being listed.

Here’s a nice loose piece for your Kenner ALIEN toy and it’s available on eBay rigtht now; it’s an original dorsal crest.  These body parts are normally located between both shoulders but are  frequently missing from samples of the toy today.  As a result, the demand for them is high.  This listing features one for the princely sum of only US$68.95.  Cheap!

No, I am not kidding.  This is relatively cheap.  I’ve seen these parts sell for much higher than this but around US$60-70 is the going price for this item right now.  I’m thinking this item will take less than 24 hours to sell. Believe it or not.  Either way, US$68.95 may appear to be a lot of money to spend on a small piece of 40 year old plastic – but at the same time, its presence on the old toy will raise the value of your vintage Kenner action figure that much.  At least.

-Windebieste.

UPDATE: Sold for US $137.50 (20 Bids)

Listed on eBay today is this 40 year old piece of curved translucent plastic.  It’s absolutely useless to anyone – unless you own a Kenner ALIEN toy that lacks this particular body part.  Bidding started at US$0.99 today and it’s rapidly climbed to US$40 dollars already. There’s still more than 9 days left on the auction.  This is going to be good.These pieces are frequently missing from the vintage toy – around 80-90% of Kenner ALIEN toys lack this feature.  This one is in very good condition, notwithstanding some minor wear here and there. It’s not cracked, warped or damaged in any significant way.  All 5 small nubs are present on the underside edges.  It’s a generally nice piece.

How much is this relatively uncommon plastic relic worth?  It’s a prominent feature on the toy and there are many figures in the possession of owners who will find this piece highly desirable. Samples of the ‘dome’ for auction on eBay will exceed the US$100 mark with ease.  This one is already well on the way to achieving that goal.  The chances of this item selling for less than US$100 are remote at best.  This is going to be fun to follow over the next 9 days.

-Windebieste.

40 years ago, in October 1979, Kenner Products distributed retail stock of their spectacular new ALIEN action figure to retail outlets throughout the USA and selected nations around the world. Intended to capitalise on the Christmas season market of that year, the 18 inch tall action figure was based on an implacably hostile space monster featured heavily in a recently released R-rated movie. Despite the R-rating, the large toy was marketed at children, ‘AGES 5 AND UP’. An age group that was unable to attend sessions of the movie due to its violent and otherwise generally inappropriate content for children. A toy based on the horror/science fiction movie, ALIEN.

ALIEN was a big hit with audiences in 1979 and Kenner was eager to release their oversized toy to retailers late that year. Due to massive financial commitment to the Project, Kenner’s substantial expectation in sales were intended to follow in the footsteps of the massive success of their popular Star Wars toys. These popular toys were released the previous year and sales of the ALIEN product were expected to equal or exceed those sales.  It is estimated Kenner sold over forty million Star Wars toys in 1978!  As to how many ALIEN toys Kenner planned to move the following year is anyone’s guess and actual production or sales figures are not available. Christmas 1979 was rapidly approaching and the ALIEN toy was Kenner’s big entry into a potentially lucrative new property hot on the heels of the success of their Star Wars toys. Forty million units, though? Just keep that astonishing figure in mind for now. Continue reading →

UPDATE: This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing.

Let’s make a hat trick of these posts today, shall we?  Listed on eBay today is this 40 year old vintage Kenner ALIEN toy.  It’s the third one that’s appeared on the service today.  It’s complete.  It’s in the box.  It’s got a hefty price tag of US$1600.  Aside from that price, does this item attract my attention?  It sure does. Is there anything worthy of note about this item?  Yep. There sure is.  Let’s take a closer look at what US$1600 will get you…

Well, it’s a nice looking box.  It’s a little worse for wear and certainly not in pristine condition.  That’s not really a problem.  The price sticker has been picked at and there’s the usual dents and marks common to these older boxes.  It clearly has the front window attached and in place and that’s welcome, too.  Unfortunately, photos don’t show what the condition of the top and bottom of the box actually look like.  For US$1600, you might want to know the condition of those features.  I have seen boxes where the bottom has been damaged, rotted out from sitting on a damp surface for an unknown number of years.  You don’t want to spend US$1600 to find out your expensive Kenner box has a yucky bottom.  Nope.  That’s just tragic.

Nonetheless, let’s assume this box is in as good a condition as expected.  Let’s just take it for granted that the top and bottom of the box are in great condition; and the window in the top is also present. Are there any other issues we may want to be aware of?  Like, for example, has it been opened?  Continue reading →

UPDATE: Sold for US $187.50 (19 bids)

Oh, look!  It’s another 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy for sale!  Wait… didn’t I post about one of these things for sale just earlier today?  Sure I did; and this one is up for auction. “Hey, I thought these things were rare.  Aren’t these weird ass things rare?”  You may tell yourself.  Nope.  Actually, they are not rare.  For a 40 year old toy, there does appear to be a surprisingly large amount of them around – and demand for them is high.  Very high – just like the prices they command.

Despite the high prices of these old toys, it would appear nobody knows how many of these things Kenner actually made.  Any quantity you choose to nominate is valid.  The fact is, these things appear on eBay with incredible regularity – and often at astonishing prices.  Even incomplete figures like this one can result in hundreds of dollars from an eBay auction.

As of this post, this particular auction started 2 hours ago with a starting bid of US$0.01 and 2 bids have already been place.  Let’s see how high that one cent starting bid climbs.  It can escalate to any amount.  Nonetheless, it’s a safe bet it will exceed the US$100 mark with ease.  It may even do so within 24 hours.  This item is almost complete but it is missing the dome on the head. Everything else is present, albeit a little scuffed and scratched around the edges.  Everything appears to be in good working order, too.

I’ll be surprised if this sells for less than US$150.  I love watching these auctions.  Sometimes they can surprise me and the piece will sell for less than expected – or possibly even sell for double if a bidding war starts.  This is going to be fun!  I’ll be keeping an eye on this item and will update this post with a result in 5 days time, when it finally concludes.

-Windebieste.

Today’s 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy for sale on eBay is in a condition that is very commonly found. 40 years have passed and these things are appearing on the online service regularly.  Almost on a daily basis, you might say.  Quality can range from immaculate figures in an unopened boxes right down to individual parts for sale extracted from stripped down figures.  This one is in ‘average’ condition.  Let’s take a look at what this means.

For US$225 let’s see what you get for this four decades old ugly toy.  Firstly, he is incomplete.  That’s the most important consideration here, otherwise this Kenner ALIEN toy is in reasonably good condition. First, let’s see what is absent from this figure as those missing components and parts will aid in determining its ‘average’ status. Continue reading →

UPDATE: This listing was ended by the seller because the item is no longer available.

Listed on eBay today is this curiosity.  This 40 year old 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy being sold in Japan includes it’s box and poster.  Painted in flat gun metal grey with silver highlights, this is a modified figure and significantly removed from its original condition.  Yet, it still maintains all of its original parts.  It’s 100% complete.

While it is unusual for a custom item like this one to include a box, it certainly does happen.  Neither the figure or the box can be considered in excellent condition, though, and certainly a long way from the “Near unused“ state the seller is claiming.  The US$999 price tag is very hefty.  For this coated item to be anywhere near that value, it would have to have been painted by HR Giger, Salvador Dali or maybe some other artist of reputation or fame.  Sadly, I suspect this is not the case.

Continue reading →

UPDATE:  This listing has ended, presumed sold.

Posted today on eBay is this ‘feature complete’ 1979 Kenner Products ALIEN toy.  He’s got it all – dome, both split tongue parts and the strange shaped shoulder crest on his back!  All important parts for a vintage toy to possess.  But wait, what does ‘feature complete’ actually mean – and is this sample actually worth US$500?  Let’s find out.

Firstly, let’s just say that one of these toys in complete condition is highly sought after by collectors.  Unfortunately, many of them are now missing critical parts.  The dome on the head, the crest on the back and the split tongue halves are frequently absent from samples.  About 80-90% of ALIEN figures are now missing these parts.  Figures lacking these parts are astonishingly easy to come by and it is common for owners to replace lost pieces with reproduction parts. Continue reading →

UPDATE: Both of these items are now sold.

Listed today on eBay are a pair of Kenner ALIEN toys from different sellers.  They are both used and missing common parts.  The major difference is the level of cleanliness each is demonstrating.  One item is in dire need of a bath; the other one?  Not so much. Otherwise, they’re both in very similar condition.

While both figures are missing common pieces, being the dome and the dorsal crest, there’s an obvious difference in condition and an anomalous listing in price.  The Grub Monkey on the left is clearly in a lesser desirable condition than the more presentable item on the right – yet the Grub Monkey is priced at an additional US$25 more than the other superior figure.  Sure, the Grub Monkey has an additional mouth piece present but the inclusion of that item doesn’t warrant the US$25 increase in price.  No.  There is simply no official price guide for these things so they do get listed with all kinds of expectations.  They do sell at any price and both of these items are listed with ‘Make an Offer’ option.

Surprisingly, despite it’s obvious dirty condition, the Grub Monkey may yet sell  for that amount.  Regardless, it’s a safe bet the cleaner and cheaper sample that will sell first.  It’s simply less risky as well.  Covered in so much dirt and looking like it’s been exhumed from a dog bone burial site raises other questions about the Grub Monkey sample.  Sure, he can be cleaned up very well and made to look presentable but other questions need to be asked: Continue reading →