UPDATE: This item has been sold.
Here’s a nice item on eBay right now. It’s a mint in sealed box (MISB) 1979 Kenner ALIEN toy. It not only includes the unopened box but a bonus of the original JC Penney shipping box it was delivered in. Such shipping boxes are rare and as such will drive the usually high value even higher. You can purchase this item right now for US$3,499.99. Both items are packed into a protective acrylic case, ready and perfect for display in your awesome mansion packed full of old expensive toys.
It’s a nice pair of items, for sure, and well displayed. Is it really worth US$3,500? Probably. I’d say so. There is a “Make Offer” option with this listing so the vendor will probably accept the best one. Either way, you can bet it will exceed the three thousand dollar mark when actually sold. My only issue with this item is there simply aren’t enough photos.
If I was to purchase this item, I would want to see images of all sides of the box including top and undersides; plus as much as possible of the right side which is largely obscured by the shipper box. I’d also like to see the taped areas on both of the top edges and underside to make sure that the seals haven’t been tampered with and are still intact. I’d also insist on images that clearly show the figure through the window. I want to know more than just if the ties have been tampered with – I want to know about the condition of the figure itself. Especially the arms.
These vintage toys are now 40 years old and the materials from which they are constructed weren’t intended to last for 4 decades. For such a high price tag on this item, it should be as perfect as possible. “Mint” is out of the question simply due to such material degradation over many years. One of the problems these old toys is the neoprene rubber anchors that hold the arms onto the figure. This material perishes and breaks easily. For my US$3,500 (if I was going to purchase this item) I would want to see photos of each arm connected to the shoulder as they should be and thus be assured that the figure is perfectly intact within the box. I have seen so-called MISB figures before with the arms detached from the shoulder and only being held in place by the zip ties that hold them to the insert card. Mint, is a term used very, very carefully with these figures and is arguably no longer appropriate, anyway.
For these reasons it’s not unrealistic to want to see more photos of the contents of the listing. 3 images is not enough. For US$3,500 it’s not too much to ask for a dozen images to be included in the listing, really. There’s probably no such issues present here, but eliminating any doubt with just a few extra images is highly desirable.
-Windebieste.
