youbastards Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I would say that X-Factor was still produced in lower numbers, because Custom cases were already in place with the Wave 31 Silver Age Angel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I find it very interesting that there's more Angel/Warpath out there than LCS variants. I actually know no more than Dino but I doubt that that comment is actually accurate in this particular case ,I'll qualify that by stating what I know............ although there are more exclusive TRU marvel sets than LCS variants (source: DST) in recent waves .... this was not the case withTRU Wave 4 where it was packed one per case. I'm not trying to score points here ,just saying . Unfortunately BHM, there is no solid rule governing the interjection of personal opinion as fact. If there was, TM2 would have been banned long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 I've noticed a sharp increase in desirability for the 'blue' Angel over time & I'll say it once more ......a male Marvel Minimate with wings becomes expensive/desirable/rare either immediately or in due course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karamazov80 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 (edited) I actually think there are two different definitions of "rare" we could also use, related in part to perceived value. Some figures, like the ones released at TRU and perhaps Suncoast etc., are produced and released in large numbers, but are not as readily available on the secondary market (i.e., eBay) as some others that all fall into collectors' laps through comic shops and online distribution. So there are all the figures in existence, then there are all the figures in existence we can reasonably expect to find for sale/trade, and the latter kind of rarity is the one we as collectors are ultimately concerned with IMO. The foreign C3 releases and foreign store exclusives may also exist in relatively high numbers, but we would never know it. Edited March 19, 2013 by karamazov80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WookieFodder Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 The rarest/most valuable minimates of any series are of course CUSTOM MINIMATES. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You can keep your unfinished prototypes and golden spider-men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heroic Slacker Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I think rarest as in quantities produced the 1/12 Army Builder 'Mates take the cake. Battle Damaged Hammer Drone Justin Hammer (pretty sure he won an award something about being the biggest pain in the ass to acquire) Selvig Laufey and the Red Skull in Hydra Uniform They might not be that expensive on the secondary market, or even wanted that much, but a production run of 500 is quite small for Marvel Minimates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highassroller Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 There were certainly more than 50 G&S, some were un numbered but there were also duplicate numbered ones. There were also the unbagged DD Golds. Thanks for the confirmation. So why on earth number sets if you are going to duplicate or repeat numbers? Was this due to a honest mistake, errors/rejects in productions, or just good old fashioned incompetence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaipo Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 I actually think there are two different definitions of "rare" we could also use, related in part to perceived value. Some figures, like the ones released at TRU and perhaps Suncoast etc., are produced and released in large numbers, but are not as readily available on the secondary market (i.e., eBay) as some others that all fall into collectors' laps through comic shops and online distribution. So there are all the figures in existence, then there are all the figures in existence we can reasonably expect to find for sale/trade, and the latter kind of rarity is the one we as collectors are ultimately concerned with IMO. The foreign C3 releases and foreign store exclusives may also exist in relatively high numbers, but we would never know it. Interesting.. I guess in this case, the "latter rarity" as you put it, would make Justin Hammer "rarer" than Battle Damaged Hammer Drone because in theory there were the same amount produced, but Justin Hammer seems so much harder to find! (The Drones are all over ebay and amazon) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Yeah, scarcity doesn't necessarily equate to value; there's gotta be demand. A few years ago, the variant Spider-Woman and Nightcrawler were among the more expensive 'mates because of their perceived "rarity", even though there were always plenty seemingly available on eBay. And now, of course, since both those characters have had new releases, the prices have dropped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I was once obsessed with being able to tell which minimate was hot & what was not ,to a lesser degree I still am . However I still can't explain why some people buy certain Minimates on ebay without doing any research on what they should be paying .....Wave 28 Deadpool ,I'm thinking of you specifically ! Now we all know that that one was the non-variant that eclipsed the variant pack in a stunning wave ....come to think of it Gambit 'came along on the inside' a little later & started to eclipse Deadpool. Now you should know that the 'Heroes & Adversaries' box set contains the same.....the exact same....figure . If i'm patronising anybody forgive me but according to ebay there are an awful lot of people who don't & who seem to be prepared to pay as much for a single W28 DP as an entire box set containing 'him' & 3 other characters Marvel Minimates have been in runs of up to 10,000* sets ....of that I'm sure........perhaps more...... so anything between 500 & 1000 is IMHO rare. *Can you guess which one I'm specifically thinking of ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 BHM, I think part of the appeal of the Wave 28 Deadpool is his pairing with a really nice Wolverine. I think its a situation where two a-listers are in the same box. The Heroes and adversaries pack is certainly an a-lister bonanza, but that pack seems to rarely pop up in my searches. I think your logic is solid, but I quit trying to figure out buyer trends long ago. I see a lot of uneducated buyers on a daily basis. People buy things on Ebay for high prices when the same figure or 2-pack can still readily be found at or below retail with a small amount of hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 That really nice Wolverine comes in the 'H & A' pack as well I would however really like to give that Parker a dap on the nose for just looking so bloody cakey ! Keep the mask on my friend....keep it on ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Yeah, hence I never bought multiples of either pack. I think the H&A pack would have been a great set to make in unlimited quantities like the Best of stuff, considering all four figures are already released in 2 pack form. A "Best of" four pack, if you will... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohawk_Jones Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 "Sorry Rob, but you're actually... wrong? Yes, the early waves were 1 per case, same as LCS. But even still, TRU ordered more cases than LCS did. Sometimes only by the hundreds, but they were always more. We'd have to go back and dig out the numbers, but I'm almost certain that there are always more TRU exclusives than LCS variants. Even at 1:1 per case. The perfect way to prove this one way or another is pull the order numbers for wave 30 and wave 4, as those hit at roughly the same time." Don't forget too that you have to add the direct market "god" cases into the equation where the variants are packed evenly. that throws the ratio vs TRU cases off a little bit more and even the playing field between the two on those early TRU 1:1 cases. So in other words unless Zach can chime in with more exact production run numbers (and that's if DST even really tracked them that closely) it is one big mystery... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellpop Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Okay, so, changing the question up a bit... do you guys think that Heroes and Adversaries set is the rarest set? It was only sold via one retailer, and I don't think it ever made it's way to other sellers like other store exclusives have. I can't imagine that it was produced at a higher number then the minimum DST needs to make a set profitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 3000 sets of 'Heroes & Adversaries' were made . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 3000 sets of 'Heroes & Adversaries' were made . Considering the popularity of at least 3 of those in the set, 3000 seems like a drop in the bucket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minimatetastic Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I order cases from my comic store, and they are all numbered on the side. Each wave has a different number for how many total cartons there were. The last wave I got was Marvel 48, and the "Carton Number" was "393 of 500". So, with Alicia Masters being the Variant at 1 per case, could the argument be made that she is as equally rare as Red Skull from the Captain America army builder case? They aren't always of 500, I remember some being around 800, and I think a few at 1000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) Rightly or wrongly ,I've based nearly all my assumptions on production numbers on the method you've mentioned Minimatetastic ! Bear in mind however that custom-cases (god- cases) have their own 'carton numbers' & their own specific 'run' .......so you need to add whatever number of cases & then multiply that figure by 3......& add it to the '500' . Incidentally ,Wave 48 apparently had fewer god-cases than expected (& hoped for) due to a production issue (source:Luke) . Edited March 20, 2013 by buttheadsmate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut2thechase Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 The Spider-Man Friends and Foes set seems pretty rare to me. Anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 The Spider-Man Friends and Foes set seems pretty rare to me. Anyone else? I think this one is another that falls under the "in high demand" category. It has the only appearance of Vulture, the best looking (so far) Doc Ock, and a better (imo) Black Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM2 Dinobot Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Rarity = How many of something were made. Scarcity = How often something appears. Value = How much someone is willing to pay for something. That sound about right? Are we missing anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Is Chef Duff a Marvel character yet? I know Disney's been on an acquisition spree lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttheadsmate Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Rarity = How many of something were made. Scarcity = How often something appears. Value = How much someone is willing to pay for something. That sound about right? Are we missing anything? Army building,I think we can factor in army building as something that increases scarcity ,thenceforth rarity . There's plenty of them but people buy plenty of them . AIM guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanester Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Yep, I have one AIM guy and one Hydra guy. I want three of each but AIM guys are as rare* as hens teeth, it would seem. Hydra guys are not nearly as bad, but still a tough find. *I use the term rare loosely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.