12 back C Death Squad Commander valuation request

Hi there,

Just one more favour to ask tonight I was wondering if you could help me out with the valuation of the following 12 back C Death Squad Commander? Just to highlight, the back of the card has some extensive creasing, and the bubble has some very minor dings - one at top and one at bottom.






Thanks,

Hi there guys,

OK. Let me rephrase this question. I hope you don't think I am being funny here. I know how much this thing is worth mint - afa 85 (£900), afa 80(£700) and afa 75(£500). Anyone can work that out from looking at EBAY. I suppose the question I am asking here, and in my other post about the valuation of a 12 back Luke, is how much these items would be worth in their current conditions. In order to work that out there is probably another question that an expert would need to ask his or her self: what grade would the item probably be? And that's the question I suppose I am asking here. If you can tell me - at a guestimate - what grade you think this is, then I can pretty much well work out what it's worth. I am new to this hobby after being away from collecting for almost 15 years. In saying that, even back then I didn't get anything graded, so I am completely green when it comes to grading, and therein lies the secret to the current value. To me grading, although based on guidelines, appears to be somewhat arbitrary. I would be very happy to be corrected on that I'm not asking anyone to categorically grade these items for me - that would be dangerous - just to guess at the grade so that I can work out whether I've wasted my money or not. Unlike when I was a kid, there is some method in my madness to collecting

I hope this makes sense.

I have a lot of questions to ask about the hobby and its future, but I will leave those to the main board

Thanks,
Gerry

Hi Gerry.

Grading is far from arbatory. History has proven it to be both inconsistent and inaacurate, as well as no guarantee of authenticity. There are many arguments to the pros and cons of grading here but do not take it as accurate.

There are some of the most prolific flippers in the game, guys who make a living from buying, grading and selling Mocs. These guys see hundreds of graded and ungraded figures and still cannot get the grading right in terms of buying a moc they are certain will grade at x and finding it grades at y.

Most of the value in an 85 is there because people collect the numbers and not the contents, which is a sad state of affairs.

The ungraded market is more difficult to follow as comparisons from piece to piece are seemingly harder to make, but trust your instincts. You may have been out of the game for a while but you know wether an item is in good condition or not.

For the record, I think you paid about right for your luke. It's a premium figure that attracts a premium price and an a back is the most desirable. An iconic card back and one of the most popular figures. The market is nuts at the moment but if your patient you can pick most things up at a fair price, which is what you have done with the luke. On another day it would have gone for more but with the demand there I don't think it would have gone for much less.

What did you pay for the dsc?

Thanks for the reply,

I thought maybe, once graded, Luke might be worth anywhere between 500 and 1000 (on a good day) - depending on the grade. But I have no idea what grade it would ultimately be

As for the DSC, I bought the two items together from the States for £550. After import taxes - :twisted: - it comes to just under £750. I hoped that Luke would be worth at least 600, and the DSC - which wasn't the reason for buying them - might be worth around 200. Once graded (DSC), even if it's just a UKG 50%, I hoped it might be worth even more than that.

What do you think? Have I wasted my time? Oh, To live and learn

Thanks,
Gerry

Firstly, have a read of this:

http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19613&hilit=Import+tax

Good luck. Some members have had a lot of sucess with it.

Now, if you disregard the import duties, I think you got a good deal. Those two Mocs for £550 at current market rates is a good deal.

As for grading them? Unless you are going to sell them there is little point. Even then if they score poorly you will probably only be able to sell them for what you will get selling them ungraded. Infact you will probably limit your market as people who collect less than perfect Mocs don't buy graded. You will loose your grading fee.

If you want to display them nicely, g w acrylic do some cases that are as good as Afa cases. They are cheaper and the guy behind the business is a member here.

If you want to grade them I would say use ukg rather than Afa, as ukg are based in the UK and have a more responsible policy regarding u grading. Afa will get more if you sell as small minded Americans don't recognise anything outside of their own country (Disclaimer: not all Americans are small minded)

Ask yourself this. These figures have come from the U.S., where Afa are based. If grading these would have added hundreds to their value, why hasn't the seller graded them already?

Hope this helps.

I would say the DSC in that condition would be worth £150 max.

Hi there,

I agree, you would think someone would get something graded if it meant they would get more money for it. So why wouldn't they get it graded? In answer to your question, I don't think many people outwith the community of collectors really know anything about grading. When someone just happens to come across a collection of expensive items from a house sale I don't think they would care for going through the process of getting a figure graded - even if they knew about the process. They probably just want to get the item sold as quickly as possible. In this instance I don't think the sellers knew anything about what they were really selling, not unless they were master scammers - possible. For starters they advertised the sale of the two items as "Original 12 back star wars figures." Now, bearing in mind this is a 12 back A Luke, don't you think if they really knew what they were selling they might have advertised it? I think, like they said, they simply picked up the items from a house sale, did a little bit of research and tried to quickly get as much money for them as they could. Again, I might be wrong.

Here is the link to the auction page:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161795292398?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

What do you think?
Gerry

Hi Gerry ,

At the minute , there is so much fluctuation on the 12 backs , I sold an afa 75 C3PO for £320 , 4 weeks prior to that one went for £495 . It's supply and demand , Luke will always attract a higher price , however there are no guarantees on prices

Thanks, Steve.

Yes, it's just fun thinking about the possible numbers, though. I'm looking to collect just now, with no intention of selling anything I get in the near future. I keep telling myself that it's to pay for my kids higher education, which is a good 10 years away. We'll see

Thanks again.