# EBay cracks me up



## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

Has anyone else noticed that there are suddenly an awful lot of Aurora Wonder Woman kits and Superboys on eBay lately? I even saw one very overpriced original Confederate Raider. One seller has started putting up resin recasts of Wonder Woman like crazy at what he claims is a bargain price of just under $100.

Kind of like what happened with Big Frankie a few months back, right before the Moebius repop debuted.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Happened with Rommels Rod and the Moon Bus... 

Of course I unloaded my RR and MB kits quite a while ago (both when the market was up and way before any reissue news...).


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

Same with the Monster Scenes.


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## wolfman66 (Feb 18, 2006)

I seen them poping up on ebay also and its funny cause they sat on them kits for the longest time thinking there made of Gold and thinking they will get a whole lota money for them when they put them on ebay.So when they see someone like Moebuis reissuing them now they are breaking there necks to get rid of them and trying to get top dollar before the reissues come out and kill the value of the OriginALS.My opion thats what they get for hording them kits and being greedy thinking that they will get rich from them down the road LOL


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## Moonman27 (Aug 26, 2008)

Yeah,I saw a guy who had a "factory built up" Big Frankie the other day on ebay for a mere $9999.99 plus $60.00 shipping. Cheap. Some people live in their own little worlds.:freak:


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## sprayray (May 13, 2009)

True that !!!!!!!!


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

wolfman66 said:


> I seen them poping up on ebay also and its funny cause they sat on them kits for the longest time thinking there made of Gold and thinking they will get a whole lota money for them when they put them on ebay.So when they see someone like Moebuis reissuing them now they are breaking there necks to get rid of them and trying to get top dollar before the reissues come out and kill the value of the OriginALS.My opion thats what they get for hording them kits and being greedy thinking that they will get rich from them down the road LOL


people also forget the fact that the only reason that these collectibles are valuable is that so few of them have survived to our time. 
once i was in a k-mart, picking up a friend who was getting off work, and i saw 2 fanboys filling a cart with all the new st:tng action figures. 
what guys like those 2 dont realize is that there are thousands of other fanboys across the country doing exactly the same thing, and that in 20 years time those "collectibles" will be worth barely more than their original value.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

^That's what happened with the comic industry in the 80s. All those multi-cover collectors' issues that everybody bought multiple copies of. That today are worth, well, maybe twice cover price.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I had to put up a big sign in my shop window NOT A FLEA MARKET I DO NOT BUY JUNK becuase lately I get 10 people a day dragging in all this collectible "crap" they hoarded up and want to unload. I hear it over and over... I paid $20 for this Dale Earnhart car... I paid $15 for this McFarlane figure... They don't want to hear the stuff is WORTHLESS. In the bad economy we have now, everyone is trotting out thier stuff to try to make money and no one is buying. I tell them just to go throw the stuff away.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Just remember...Original Aurora kits are STILL original Aurora kits... the new Moebius kits will be Moebius kits and there will be differences.... Even though the kits will be reproductions of the original Aurora they are not originals.. Part numbers may or may not be the same - injection colors may not be the same, the boxes will not have the Aurora Logo and the instruction sheets will be different...
If the Original Aurora kits were rare yesterday, they will still be rare next year....
The values will drop somewhat... but those kits are still collectible...

Dave


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

... and to be fair to the people who are trying to sell, the vast majority of these people didn't get these kits for _free_. I'll bet you that for every one "dealer" that paid nothing for one of these ultra-rare Aurora kits at a yard sale, there are 10 of them that are hobbyists who paid "collectible" prices and are now going to take a loss. Whether you derive a certain "schadenfreude" from that scenario depends on your perspective.


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## mrmurph (Nov 21, 2007)

I agree with Dave that the purists will still want the original Auroras simply for nostalgia and rarity. Eventually the market will stabilize.
On the other hand, Moebius is putting kits in our hands that we once thought were out of reach. For people who want to actually put the model together (or at least contemplate the act), this year will be a dream come true.


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## otto (Jan 1, 1970)

I'm listing a comic scenes superboy built up on ebay in the next week or two. LOL.. maybe a few (non reissued..as of yet anyway) other kits as well..


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

I agree, only Aurora kits are true Aurora kits. I'm happy with repops but see the value of the originals.

But the people trying to cash in do amuse me. And the guy selling the resin recast of Wonder Woman ... I suspect it's the same fellow who was listing Moebius Dr. Jekyll as Mr. Hyde kits on eBay for $350 several months before they were even available.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Oh yeah E-Bay is the home of buyer beware!
If you don't really KNOW what you are looking at on e-bay you can sure pay WAAAAAAY to much for FAR too little!!!
I very rarely buy anything on e-bay......

Dave


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

I don't know... buying stuff on eBay is no different or worse than going to Hobbytown where they jack the price 40% and just grabbing stuff off the shelf because its there... I buy and sell on eBay often. Buyers and sellers can get good deals.

With older kits value is relative. I have a friend that will spend pretty much any amount for a kit. He will pester me week after week about some of my Aurora airplane kits. It starts out $20... then next week its $30... I just say no, no, no... Eventually he will plop down $200 cash and I say YES. I could buy the same kit on eBay for $20 again... He doesn't have a computer.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

I like to hold something I'm going to plop money down for in my hot little hand.. I don't generally very buy much mail order .... When I do buy over the net it tends to be from established merchanrts I'm not an e-bay auction customer... I may sell on e-bay but generally won't buy there..
Dave


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## Dr. Brad (Oct 5, 1999)

Unfortunately, practically the only place I can get some of the Kaiyodo vinyl dino kits is on E-bay. But it is buyer beware, to be sure!


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## TAY666 (Jan 8, 2000)

razorwyre1 said:


> people also forget the fact that the only reason that these collectibles are valuable is that so few of them have survived to our time.
> once i was in a k-mart, picking up a friend who was getting off work, and i saw 2 fanboys filling a cart with all the new st:tng action figures.
> what guys like those 2 dont realize is that there are thousands of other fanboys across the country doing exactly the same thing, and that in 20 years time those "collectibles" will be worth barely more than their original value.


Very true. With the current market, and the way people treat 'collectables' now.
Very little will be rare 20 years from now. One of the reasons I wouldn't let my kids throuw any kind of cash at beanie babies back in the day when they were into them. I knew they wouldn't hold that value.
But there is money to be made in new 'hot' collectables.
They may be worthless in 10 years. But right now, some can bring you a great return on your investment. As long as you don't miss your window and hold it too long.

Back when I was realy into collecting comics. I used to trade dealers my newer 'hot' issues. You know, the ones that suddenly became popular, and everyone and their brother suddenly wanted it. I would trade those for the older comics I wanted for my collection. Stuff like the old House of Mystery, early Defenders, etc. I'd trade one newer comic for 10-15 older comics. Then in a couple years, if I really wanted that one back, I could usually find it again for a couple of bucks.


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

Tay666, I can relate. I did the same. I had a Harbinger #1 and the local comics store gave me 100.00 in credit for it. It wasn't hot for long. So, it was a bit of luck, that I cashed in. Many of us learned these things over the years. The stuff on ebay always pops up when a kit that has not been re-released is finally done. Can't blame them. The original kit mentality will always bring the original back up a bit, in time.


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## razorwyre1 (Jan 28, 2004)

Dave Metzner said:


> I like to hold something I'm going to plop money down for in my hot little hand.. I don't generally very buy much mail order .... When I do buy over the net it tends to be from established merchanrts I'm not an e-bay auction customer... I may sell on e-bay but generally won't buy there..
> Dave


ie all depends on what you are looking for. ive found that if i am looking for anything the least bit obscure to try ebay first


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## Auroranut (Jan 12, 2008)

The way I see it, the kits that we all long for were never considered collectable back in their day. They were designed to be built and not hoarded- and that's generally what happened. That was around 40 years ago. Now we're all nostalgic as adults and are trying to get them all back. 
The stuff that's coming out today might be worth something in the future but it'll take a long long time to become as collectible as the stuff we're collecting. There's too many people holding on to hoarded "collectibles" - kits or otherwise- to make them truly rare and valuable. 
It's mainly adults from what I can make of it that buy all the latest "collectible" toys because the kids can't afford the "collectible" prices asked! Back in our day building models was generally a kids hobby so the kits were built then trashed. These days it appears that model building's an adult hobby and the latest kits seem to hang around in kit collections longer...

Chris.


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## Dave Metzner (Jan 1, 1970)

Chris,
I think that you have it just about right... the reason that old kits are valuable is becaus they are rare... they are rare because everybody built them then trashed them - so not many "mint" kits remain... that makes them collectible and valuable... Most of today's collectibles will never be really valuable because they'll never be really rare... They are bought and haorded not bought built and discarded... so twenty or fifty years from now they will still be more common than the original aurora kits...
Some really low production items will probably gain in value but most of the stuff will never appreciate like the old stuff has....
Dave


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## Marko (Jul 11, 2002)

Well said, Chris and Dave.


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## gimijimi (Jun 23, 2008)

*There's Only One First Time.*

Well said Chris and Dave:

I have an original 1966 long box version of the TOS Star Trek Enterprise that I purchased some years back on Ebay. I was very lucky with Ebay that day. Bought from a reputable seller, who packed the item perfectly. But, I have experienced plenty of not so lucky days with Ebay, too.

I also have the re-released long box versions (plus the one in the collectible tin box) of the Enterprise, and still my best friend will ask me to take out my 1966 version so he can look at it.

He will re-tell the story about how we raced from school to the hobby shop to buy my Enterprise. He even remembers what the weather was like, even what we had to eat (Philly Cheese Steaks), that night while we watched Friday night TV, and argued (bickered) about the best way to build MY model.


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## sprayray (May 13, 2009)

Check this out .

Robert 


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120489186496_


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## MightyMax (Jan 21, 2000)

Zorro said:


> ... and to be fair to the people who are trying to sell, the vast majority of these people didn't get these kits for _free_. I'll bet you that for every one "dealer" that paid nothing for one of these ultra-rare Aurora kits at a yard sale, there are 10 of them that are hobbyists who paid "collectible" prices and are now going to take a loss. Whether you derive a certain "schadenfreude" from that scenario depends on your perspective.


Your theories are well founded. When I heard of some of the Repops that Round 2 and Moebius is doing I was kinda sad since the kits I sought as grails and paid handsomely for are now not so rare. Also some kits I thought were lost to posterity when PL went to RC2 ( example, Stooges) Were hunted down and obtained. That's not so bad compared to paying a few Ben Franklins for an Aurora kit.
Collecting kits is all of a sudden not so much fun anymore. I should have collected bonds!

Max Bryant


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

sprayray said:


> Check this out.


Wow! More than a thousand dollars for an original Captain America. More than I'd ever spend, but the kit was in rare condition, no doubt. I wonder what this Superboy in similar condition will sell for.


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

djnick66 said:


> I don't know... buying stuff on eBay is no different or worse than going to Hobbytown where they jack the price 40% and just grabbing stuff off the shelf because its there... I buy and sell on eBay often. Buyers and sellers can get good deals.
> 
> With older kits value is relative. I have a friend that will spend pretty much any amount for a kit. He will pester me week after week about some of my Aurora airplane kits. It starts out $20... then next week its $30... I just say no, no, no... Eventually he will plop down $200 cash and I say YES. I could buy the same kit on eBay for $20 again... He doesn't have a computer.


Nothing like screwing your friends to make the day go by.


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

Another point to ponder..is generations Change...._our Generation_ goes after these kits...when this generation changes..few will be interested in many of these kits, as they would need to remember them...


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Zathros said:


> Another point to ponder..is generations Change...._our Generation_ goes after these kits...when this generation changes..few will be interested in many of these kits, as they would need to remember them...


When this generation is gone, no one will care. Sad but true. Like the ships that go to the wrecking yard so will our kits end up in the trash.


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## Vindi (Mar 20, 2009)

Buyer beware.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=140309210192&Category=2622&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1

Vindi


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

Antimatter said:


> When this generation is gone, no one will care. Sad but true. Like the ships that go to the wrecking yard so will our kits end up in the trash.


As Zorro has pointed out many times, plenty of the things our fathers loved are pretty much forgotten. Our kids have their own things and some of them are pretty neat. And my kids, for sure, will have models I build on their shelves until they fall apart, hopefully quite some time after I'm gone.

Vindi, the item in your "buyer beware" link seems to be gone. What was it?


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Sad but true, after we are gone the importance of these kits will go away. There need to be memories along with these kits and that is the real value I feel. My kids used to be involved with modelling when younger and went to model shows where I had a vendor table and helped. At least they know my models have some worth at least to me and they wont just toss them. But I doubt by then they will be worth the monetary value they were once upon a time.
Steve


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

I personally believe there is _MAYBE_ a 10 year ( if that much) of what I prefer to call "shelf life" of these "pop culture" kits left to profit from from any model company that is manufacturing them...10 years from now...who is going to really care about an Aurora lost in space robot?? or a wonder woman?? or even a 1966 batmobile??who is going to even remember them besides those of us left?? even now...these kits really have no "mass appeal"..they were always, from the time of Polar lights inception, a niche product...for we adults that grew up in those days, when the shows and comic subjects of the day made them widely recognized and marketable..Military subjects I feel will always be around, as they have a factual historical significance...but the TV show/comic book/sci fi pop culture from the 60's and even the 70's just wont be able to maintain any general appeal big enough to justify any kits continuing to be made..

Z


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## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

Zathros said:


> I personally believe there is _MAYBE_ a 10 year ( if that much) of what I prefer to call "shelf life" of these "pop culture" kits left to profit from from any model company that is manufacturing them...10 years from now...who is going to really care about an Aurora lost in space robot?? or a wonder woman?? or even a 1966 batmobile??who is going to even remember them besides those of us left?? even now...these kits really have no "mass appeal"..they were always, from the time of Polar lights inception, a niche product...for we adults that grew up in those days, when the shows and comic subjects of the day made them widely recognized and marketable..Military subjects I feel will always be around, as they have a factual historical significance...but the TV show/comic book/sci fi pop culture from the 60's and even the 70's just wont be able to maintain any general appeal big enough to justify any kits continuing to be made..
> 
> Z


Sadly..Amen! We should be greatfull(and we are)for these bountiful times
:thumbsup:


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

at least we have an abundance of great kits on our way to fulfill dreams of missed kits we didnt build or have a chance to do our favorites agaim. I'm concentrating on the building aspect now along with the "Cool" factor of some of the collectble limited kits coming out. We all need to enjoy th moment!!!
Steve


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## Zathros (Dec 21, 2000)

That is the best part of this..that since 1995, with polar lights, which got in at just the right time, and then Frank, at moebius, we can get alot of kits 
that companies like aurora made, and also passed on making...to me, the repops are virtually identical to the originals...I dont have to have the aurora logo on the base...LOL..how many people will come into your home, or friends etc..and LOOK _under _the base of your kit??or check to see if the plastic is the same color as an original??..as long as they copy the kit in the same scale, and dont really change it all that much..I am happy...& I dont have to support the collectable dealers...I never bought kits to keep in the box and "stare at"..I do like to build and display them..

But I fear we are all guilty of doing what we regret or were too young to do when the originals came out...that is "hoarding" these kits, in the hopes of thier value going up...sadly, aside from a few of them...I dont think thats gonna happen..its a different time, and again,these are made for adults that love the nostalgia of the whole thing....I am enjoying this greatly..but not so naive as to to think its going to go on forever...I think that model kits will always be around...but just not the kind of repops that we like...or new subjects from the same old genres..to ME, we are incredibly lucky that so many of Auroras kits were actually reverse enjineered and made available again that we never thought we'd ever SEE without getting second mortguages on our homes..actually, there really isnt all that much left to repop that I can think of from Aurora aside of 2 or three kits.. 
Z


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## Bruce Bishop (Jan 17, 1999)

Actually, the only hoarding of kits I have done in the past is when I would buy maybe 2 or 3 of the same kit (when it was cheap enough), so that if one was broken or lost parts, I would be able to build another. 

After having lost a couple of kits, and half a Dr Jeckyl as Mr Hyde kit from when I was a kid, and replacing them with relatively VERY expensive copies to build once I got back into kit building, I wanted to have a backup whenever possible.

As far as selling any kits, so far I have sold or traded away maybe 10 total, including the Confederate Raider, which was the most expensive kit I had in my collection. And when I sold the kits, I sold them for what I had paid for them, just because the guys who wanted them wanted to build them for nostalgia's sake, just like me.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Bruce Bishop said:


> And when I sold the kits, I sold them for what I had paid for them, just because the guys who wanted them wanted to build them for nostalgia's sake, just like me.


I've done that too when I was selling to someone I know. Sometimes I've sold them for even less than I paid and have been more than happy to do so.

But, yes - we have been the luckiest "generation" by far when it comes to re-living our youth. Not only re-pops of model kits and toys but all of our favorite movies and TV shows _too_. 

Now, if only I could re-pop my hair .....


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Vindi said:


> Buyer beware.
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=140309210192&Category=2622&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1
> 
> Vindi


This listing () has been removed, or this item is not available.


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## Antimatter (Feb 16, 2008)

Zorro said:


> I've done that too when I was selling to someone I know. Sometimes I've sold them for even less than I paid and have been more than happy to do so.
> 
> But, yes - we have been the luckiest "generation" by far when it comes to re-living our youth. Not only re-pops of model kits and toys but all of our favorite movies and TV shows _too_.
> 
> Now, if only I could re-pop my hair .....


I just buy kits and build them. I don't buy muti items and let them to let them sit on a self to say I have them. Having 15 unbuilt kits of the same thing is weird, unless they're investments to be sold later. Some wait too late, then their family has to deal with them later at yard sales for a buck each. Like old cars sitting in a yard that the owner never sells just to rust away. Here is a popular website to drive this point home:

carsinbarns.com


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

I put my Green Beret on EBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260504631922
Maybe the BIN price is high, but compared to others, it may be reasonable to some collector (I hope!).


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

$427.77! Good luck with that.

Now I see a seller offering presales of the Moebius repops of Wonder Woman and Superboy, plus several Polar Lights/RC2 reissues, for a mere $66 plus twice-the-price shipping. Those kits are going to retail between $20 and $30 each and won't be available until 2010 (well beyond eBay's presale rules).

Buyer beware!


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Todd P. said:


> $427.77! Good luck with that.
> 
> 
> Buyer beware!


Well, you never know- I should get at least the starting price for it.


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## Todd P. (Apr 12, 2007)

The "buyer beware" wasn't directed at you, Mitch. If someone spends that much on the Green Beret, it will happen honestly.

I just meant the seller offering false terms on a presale.


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## Mitchellmania (Feb 14, 2002)

Oh I know it wasn't- My kit is very rare and I think at least the starting bid is a very reasonable selling price.:wave:


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## aurora1craig (Apr 25, 2008)

Does any one think when a kit like Wonder Woman might be re-issued, Are the original kits in high demand? Or does the Price$ of orig. go down?


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

aurora1craig said:


> Does any one think when a kit like Wonder Woman might be re-issued, Are the original kits in high demand? Or does the Price$ of orig. go down?


Thats what this whole thread is about... 

Yes the value of the original will go down to some extent. If you really want an ORIGINAL kit, that will alwyas have value as an Aurora original. But if you want a kit to build, the reissue/revised/new kit is the way most people will go.
I sold my original Rommel's Rod some while ago... before there was any talk of a reissue or new kit. I got a lot for it and was happy. I'm glad I sold the kit back then, becuase right now the original isnt going for squat. I just looked on eBay and a largely complete, built Rommel's Rod didn't sell at all for $6 and a complete, unassembled, boxed kit went for $150. Thats about 1/3 what I got for my kit.


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## scooke123 (Apr 11, 2008)

Hey I sold my Rommell's Rod a couple years ago for around $300, glad I didnt hold on to it now! There will always be a market for mint in box Aurora kits though - esp if they are still shrinkwrapped. I got rid of all my original monsters right before the PL ones came out and just the speculation of what they were going to release heurt my prices a little. Then really nice boxes still got top dollar.
Steve


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