KOs of 1987 Japanese exclusive Headmaster Heads + more

[5FDP]

Na I think its fair, it will be mass produced no one is going to be naive enough to think a KO maker is going to produce a limited run!!! Give it some time and price will come way down. Look at the devastator KO giftset and others boxed KO's.

The guys that produce them will be laughing all the way to the bank, and the lucky ones who own originals will be very pi55ed.

There have been many KO's that have had limited production runs e.g. G1 minibots, G1 cassettes (+ clear versions), Reflector, so there is good reason to suspect that these will be limited as well.

KO makers have the same limitations that Hasbro / TakTom have such as mold degradation and production costs. Given that most KO makers operate on a smaller scale with limited funds, there is no such thing as an endless supply of toys.

Your other point perplexes me - if someone already owns the originals, why would they care about KO's being produced? I know I don't because I'm not looking at resale value, however in most cases, original toys hold their value even more due to being original. I only feel for those that have yet to track down original toys and have to be especially careful when making a purchase because of so many dishonest sellers looking to flog-off KO's as legit toys.

[Skullcruncher]

Your other point perplexes me - if someone already owns the originals, why would they care about KO's being produced? I know I don't because I'm not looking at resale value, however in most cases, original toys hold their value even more due to being original. I only feel for those that have yet to track down original toys and have to be especially careful when making a purchase because of so many dishonest sellers looking to flog-off KO's as legit toys.

Well say if you bought a transformer for $400 and for health reasons or whatever you need to sell it - would you mind if you got $300 because of KO's being freely available decreasing the amount of demand or $500+ which is its actual worth. You could advertise it as a buy now but with KO's vitually the same quality you could be advertising for a very long time.

[1AZRAEL1]

Well say if you bought a transformer for $400 and for health reasons or whatever you need to sell it - would you mind if you got $300 because of KO's being freely available decreasing the amount of demand or $500+ which is its actual worth. You could advertise it as a buy now but with KO's vitually the same quality you could be advertising for a very long time.

But there are still those out there (myself included) that would rather have an original than a KO. The value of an original won't necessarily go down.

[5FDP]

The value of an original won't necessarily go down.

Correct. In fact there is no supportive evidence whatsoever to suggest that KO's have any adverse effect on the price of original toys.

[Skullcruncher]

Correct. In fact there is no supportive evidence whatsoever to suggest that KO's have any adverse effect on the price of original toys.

And until there is some evidence either way I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

I can still see people getting caught like even with the obvious KO's (MIB Prime, Devestator Giftset) some still go for way to much.

[5FDP]

And until there is some evidence either way I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

Put it this way, if KO's did effect the cost of original G1 toys (in that they went cheaper) I would have bought them all by now

I can still see people getting caught like even with the obvious KO's (MIB Prime, Devestator Giftset) some still go for way to much.

Agreed. However if they already have them, then there shouldn't be a problem.

[reillyd]

Well say if you bought a transformer for $400 and for health reasons or whatever you need to sell it - would you mind if you got $300 because of KO's being freely available decreasing the amount of demand or $500+ which is its actual worth. You could advertise it as a buy now but with KO's vitually the same quality you could be advertising for a very long time.

I actually HAVE had to sell part of my collection to pay for health treatment, and it really IS quite distressing. My experience has been though that you loose SO much trying to sell a MIB item that you purchased MISB..... or because Takara decides to reissue a toy that was really left of field and not expected, like Seacons, or Skylynxs.

*no*person in their right mind should seriously consider buying plastic toys that age and crack as "investments"

Comics, maybe, if you're talking gold or silver age, but any collectible that's only a few decades old? I mean we may pay a small fortune for a SDCC exclusive toy, but in our hearts we know its really NOT worth that amount for a toy.

[heroic_decepticon]

relliyd, sorry to hear about that.

Interesting discussion about whether KOs will affect the price of vintages. I think it depends on lots of factors, the basic ones being supply and demand.

Having KOs flood the market means an increased supply and if demand remains constant, would decrease the price of the toys. However, this must also be seen in light of how many people (from the existing demand pool) are willing to buy the KO substitute for the real thing. In terms of percentage, I think its not large (but I could be wrong, as I often am). Looking at it from the sellers' perspective, the supply for genuine toys may actually decrease because they are not willing to sell their wares for fear of it being mistaken for KOs and thus fetching a much lower price than its worth. Less supply, demand constant = price for vintages actually goes up! (did I say I've been known to be wrong). Certainly the evil-bay trend over the last 4 to 5 years have shown that vintages still register a strong demand with correspondingly high prices, despite the deluge of KOs and "reissues", both legit and not-legit.

In that regard, I think 5FDP seemed to touch on the right note. There may, however, be the odd auction here and there that goes for a very low amount or a very high amount, but those are the exceptions rather than the rule.

[heroic_decepticon]

*apologies for double post, but talking about different stuff*

Back on topic.

Just checked out the seller's iOffer sales thread and he has as of today already sold about 40 sets (just based on the number of unique buyers). However, most buyers buy more than one set. Notably, some guy from Netherlands bought 6 sets each; some guy from Singapore bought 13 sets, all no doubt to scalp.

Over the course of today and yesterday, there have been a number of Australian buyers. They are from Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Glebe, Wiley Park and Sydney.

True to his word that he is doing it for the fandom, the seller has not marked up his selling price and has also kept his shipping constant and modest at US$25 to ship anywhere in the world, despite the craze in demand.

Na I think its fair, it will be mass produced no one is going to be naive enough to think a KO maker is going to produce a limited run!!! Give it some time and price will come way down. Look at the devastator KO giftset and others boxed KO's.

The guys that produce them will be laughing all the way to the bank, and the lucky ones who own originals will be very pi55ed.

You could be right, but I guess only time will tell. However, I tend to agree with 5FDP. Some KOs and repros indeed do have a very limited run.

There have been many KO's that have had limited production runs e.g. G1 minibots, G1 cassettes (+ clear versions), Reflector, so there is good reason to suspect that these will be limited as well.

KO makers have the same limitations that Hasbro / TakTom have such as mold degradation and production costs. Given that most KO makers operate on a smaller scale with limited funds, there is no such thing as an endless supply of toys.

+ 1

[GoktimusPrime]

Regardless of how KOs may affect the cost of originals, it doesn't change the fact that they're just counterfeit imitations.