Subject:
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Why the Star Wars license isn't always good for builders
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.starwars
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Date:
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Sun, 7 Sep 2008 22:40:58 GMT
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Viewed:
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21817 times
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It’s entirely possible that this particular equine corpse has been beaten so
many times that you could read newsprint through it, but I have to get this out.
If it’s already been discussed ad nauseum, please just move on.
After browsing Bricklink this weekend looking for a few things, I’ve had to
continually pick my jaw up off the floor in awestruck horror at the prices that
Star Wars Lego sets and mini-figs are commanding. Apparently, my Greedo
mini-fig is worth at least thirty dollars! Holy galactic ripoff, Batman! I
should seal him in carbonite for another decade and retire in glory!! Or better
yet, any Star Wars collectors interested in trading him for a bottle of Buffalo
Trace?! This is just ridiculous! One store is asking almost a hundred bucks
for this one little chunk of plastic!! I sincerely doubt that this offer will
be met, but the fact that this price is even considered viable is absolutely
astonishing!
More to the point: a few months ago I’d created a few custom insect-like
mini-figs using Geonosian wings. I loved the look and wanted expand the number
of mini-figs so that I could create an entire theme. No such luck, as the
lowest price on Bricklink (just for the wings alone!!) is twelve dollars, with
the highest being forty! JUST FOR THE WINGS?!
Anyways, my issue is this: FAR too many “collectors”, who are probably not even
Lego hobbyists, are warehousing multiple copies of Star Wars sets so that a few
years from now they’ll be able sell them to some other equally obsessed fan
looking to increase their collection. I’ve no doubt that many of them have been
smugly congratulating themselves at their foresight. I would pull several
muscles in my already atrophied brain trying to come up with a less viable way
to make money. Don’t you realize yet that EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING THE EXACT
SAME THING?! The reason that original Star Wars toys are worth so much money
is that they were actually taken out of the box and played with, not cached in
a closet or hidden in a garage like some depression-era granny stuffing her
mattress with dollar bills.
If you want to invest in the future, young padawan, learn to buy stocks on Wall
Street. In the meantime, please stop killing the aftermarket in parts that the
non-lobster-bib-wearing Lego fan would like to use in their MOC’s.
Here’s my main example; # 10123 Cloud City. I remember it being an exclusive of
some kind and not even found on most store shelves. Of course, the Lando ‘fig
made it extra hot so it got gobbled up like the first round of crack vials on a
street corner. Unfortunately, this is the only set so far where one can find
the three-stemmed flower base in brown. What a perfect part for landscaping!
Imagine being able to denote areas of a field where the grass is not growing
well because the water table is too low (or a cow took a mean whiz!) by having
clumps of brown grass mixed in with the green!
However, if you want to do something like this in your next diorama, you better
be shagging an oil baron because you’ll be shelling out at least $300 for a
complete set. That’s three times the original MSRP (for only three of the
parts I’m talking about)! Here’s a quote from an Amazon review that perfectly
summarizes the insanity around this license:
“So if you don’t have the funds to get this set, make sure it’s at the top of
your Christmas or birthday wish list. Because, really, you shouldn’t live
another day as a Star Wars Lego fan without the Cloud City set in your
possession. Let the force be with you.”
May the Force lead to you to realize that all this hoarding leads nowhere.
It’s a dead end and the Dark Side of collector commerce will seduce you with its
empty promises of future financial dominance! Do you really want to start
hating your fellow fans because they cannot or will not squeeze out the
exorbitant “collector” prices that you’re expecting? Do you really want to turn
a hobby that can continually inspire your creativity and your enjoyment of life
into a cutthroat business of buy low, sell high?
If you’re only thinking about the money, you’re in the wrong line.
Dave S.
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