Oh. My. Goodness.

Last night several highly sought after Japanese exclusive G1 Transformers sold on eBay.  Several of us TF collectors in my local circle were closely watching where these auctions would end...and let me just say we are still in the process of picking our jaws up off the floor this morning.

If you are a die hard TF collector then you know these particular toys don't come up for auction very often, let alone listed on eBay.  One could argue that the popularity of Transformers is still at an all time high and there are more collectors competing for vintage items now.  However, these prices seem insane.  I would expect these prices for complete, boxed versions in mint condition...not loose.  Of course we'll never known how these were obtained, why they were being sold or why someone bid what they did.  Then again who knows at this point if the winning bids are legit and the seller will receive the winning amount.  For the sake of the seller I hope the back end goes smoothly.

$606.00!  I acquired a boxed Roadfire in the late 90's for $200.  I later sold it at one of the OTFCC shows in Rosemont, IL to fund my entire trip.  I believe I got around $450 for mine in the mid 2000's.  $606 doesn't see too awful all things considered.  Box looks to be in good shape, toy is complete and no yellowing.

I only know one guy that owns this toy and I don't know what he paid for his MIB specimen, but $710.00 seems like a lot for a loose toy.  At least it's complete and again it's not yellowed like so many I see.

I'm wondering if this one didn't fetch more than $415.00 because people still think he could be re-issued at some point?  It's not a stretch since Sixshot was just re-issued a second time for the Asian market.  Personally, I'm still hoping Mastermind Collectibles still tweeks Hexatron for a Greatshot release.

I so prefer this deco over Quickswitch's.  Even though he's loose, he comes with all his paperwork and even the tech spec card and still finished at $395.00.  I can't remember the last time I saw a sold Sixknight so I can't really comment on the final price.

Holy crap!  $1,406.99?!  This one stings...a lot.  Not sure if I've shared this story before or not, but I swear it's true.  I used to run a very crude Transformers database I had Tripod host.  At some point a seller in Malaysia contacted me and asked for my help identifying a Transformer be just acquired.  Take in mind this was really before digital cameras and the ease of sharing photos.  He described to me Blue Bacchus.  Complete in it's original box.  I was in shock.  I asked if he was selling it and he said yes, so I made him an offer of $50 shipped and he agreed!  I can't remember the year, but it had to be in the late 90's as I was in college still.  I held onto this guy for several years, but ended up selling him to a guy I can across at Botcon 2001 held in my home state of North Carolina.  I sold him for $800 and I was happy w/ my profit margin.  Now I really hate myself for parting w/ a toy that I'll probably never own again.  Fun fact - I believe the seller was Paul Hitchens of the famous Space Bridge.

Here's another one that surprised me.  $1,225.00!  I know that is more than a friend of mine paid for his, a lot more.  Speechless.

$971.01 for a loose Dinoking.  Man, that makes me really happy owning MIB versions of all 6.  I always thought if I had to sell I wouldn't take less than $1,250.00.

I guess it's encouraging to see that in these economic times we live in people can afford to pay that much for pieces of plastic.  I know I can't and I sure hope that prices on vintage pieces like these come back down to earth so the speak, otherwise I know that I'll never be able to afford another vintage Japanese G1 TF again!