Full value

[bowski]

Itīs pretty sad when something you buy out of passion, comes to be more of a treasure just waiting to be sold. My collecting is now respected by my wife, but Mr Robin needs to help out the only way he can.

There for I think I have to sell my Robin now but need to get his full value to be able to live with the fact that he is leaving me!

Thereīs Ebay naturally, and then thereīs these other auction sites like Hakes(that sold a Robin for $12,200 some years ago!).

This is something Iīm probably selling to US and Iīm in Sweden, so I need to get this right. Where would most of the potential byers see the auction?

Regards/Bowski

[clemso]

Dear Bowski,

I think ebay would be the fairest route to go, your Kresge Robin is not like the one in Hakes which was the yellow shorts/sleeve variant with removable mask. To me that is what made that one so desirable. I myself would not pay $12k for it though, not even half.
As I say, ebay would give you fair market value.

Clem

[toys2cool]

I agree,ebay would be the place.But the markets down man. If the Greatest American Hero figure just went for $4000 and the Logan's run went for $1000,I can't see that Robin going anywhere near $12K I think the last one I saw a year ago went for like $5K

good luck though man,I know it sucks to have to sell your stuff

[Bizarro Amy]

When you say "full value," that can mean a variety of things. Vintage toys don't really have a set value, the way, say a piece of money does. If you mean that you want to get back what you paid for it, then set that as the Reserve on eBay or the asking price here. If you mean you want to get as much as you possibly can, you might want to wait for the market to adjust, because people just aren't spending as much on toys right now. Unfortunately, your location and the likely shipping costs is going to hurt your price in an online auction.

[Mikey]

I think ebay will get you the most looks, but Hakes would get you a lot more high-end serious bidders.

For an item like this, you don't need 20,000 people looking at it ... all you need is a couple of serious bidders.

If I were you, i'd try Hakes first.

[clemso]

Yeah but what is Hakes commission?

Clem

[Mikey]

Yeah but what is Hakes commission?

Clem

I dunno, but with ebay the way it is now, it might be worth paying the extra few dollars to Hakes.

Ebay kills people with listing fees, final value fees and paypal fees anyway.

[Megotu]

Plus it is almost worth it not to have to deal with eBay...

[Bizarro Amy]

Plus it is almost worth it not to have to deal with eBay...

Yeah, with all the ways they protect buyers and screw sellers, I'd hate to see you end up with a chargeback for something like this

[bowski]

With full value I meen that I just donīt want to see it sold sex months later for twice as much, whatever the price is.

If youīre prepared to bye this I donīt think shipping costs will scare you off, however there might be a trust-issue. Even if Swedenīs supposed to be neutral itīs pretty far away!
And if you have an auction that doesnīt have a set time limit, it probably helps(me) if thereīs just two guys bidding right? Does Hakes have that?

Sad Mego-thread perhaps, but interesting to hear your views.

[Mikey]

Sorry I can't help with more details about how Hakes operates today.

I've delbt with them numerous times in the past -- mostly in the early 1990's.
Back then, they were fantastic ... I've delbt with Ted Hake himself back then -- he bought some stuff from me outright ... Nice guy that offered more for my stuff then anyone else I contacted.
I also won some of his auctions.

Today with the internet and all i'm sure things are different at Hakes... but back then, I have nothing but good to say about them (him)

[bowski]

Iīve been buying stuff, this is the first time Iīll be selling anything. The hole point with collecting is to get things into the collection, not out.

I guess I can start with a reserve soo high nobody buys it. And if somebody does, I can use a part of it to buy more!?

[Bizarro Amy]

I guess I can start with a reserve soo high nobody buys it. And if somebody does, I can use a part of it to buy more!?

If your wife told you that you had to sell it, you could do that, and then say, "Sorry honey, no one was interested. I guess we'll just have to keep it." Unless that would prompt her to set up the yard sale table...