Opened Figures with Cards

[WuhersStall]

First, my apologies, as this is probably going to be heart-breaking to some.

I've got 32 SW and ESB action figures that were stored inside their respective cards/bubbles for the past 30+ years. While I'm certainly far from an expert, most of the figures appear as though they were never played with, just opened and possibly used for a display and then returned to their plastic tomb. Virtually no scratches/scuffs or signs of use and all of their limbs are stiff and joints solid.

They all (except the Vader shown below) have their original bubbles. Unfortunately, many have 1 or 2 sets of staple holes from where they were secured back when they were placed back inside. A lucky few were very carefully opened and so the bubble is still sealed on one or two edges and they didn't receive stapling.

I know the cards have value. I'm guessing much of it is lost with the staple holes. My question is, when selling these, should I include the card and bubble or would it be better to sell the cards separately?

The Vader has no bubble so that card didn't get stapled. The C-3PO's bubble is still attached on the left side and the card has 2 sets of staple holes. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Palifan]

Hi,

If the condition of the rest of the card backs with bubbles is the same as C3PO then I'd say you have a great set there. It is a shame that the bubbles were stapled on most of these but it really should take much away from the value of them as the staples can probably be removed with little damage and then resealed afterwards (not that you should probably do this yourself if the plan is to sell them).

I would sell them with figures as it's nice to have the figure that came with the card and will also make a nice reseal (especially if the footers ((the small piece of cardboard that was packed inside of the bubble that the figures feet rest on)),can be found by yourself or the potential buyer).

They could go for pretty good money but it would be great to see some other pictures of them to see the condition. Out of interest are they all Kenner card backs (company name on the front of the card)? Also do you have a Boba Fett as this one alone could do quite well? Feel free to ask any other questions as I've been collecting reseals for years and it's nice to pass on what information I can (as well as see if there's anything there i might be interested in :wink: )

Ian

 

[WuhersStall]

Thanks Ian.

They're all Kenner. There's a Boba Fett figure but no card accompanying it. I didn't think it would sell for much so just put it aside to hang on to (it's not a "firing rocket" version).

The staples have all been removed (carefully, although obviously the damage has been done) because the figures were in such good condition that I wanted to get good close-up pictures of them. The condition of the cards varies -- some are just beautiful with no creases, no staple holes and unpunched, while others have POP cut out/many creases/paper peeling around bubble/etc.

Here are some more pictures.

 

[Palifan]

You've got some great looking cards there and in a way even though the bubbles aren't attached they would make great reseals as there's paper attached to the back of the bubbles and little damage to the card fronts so could easily be lined up and put back together. The 12 back Luke looks to be in great shape as does the R2, Han Hoth and Luke Bespin.

I've got a much better idea as to value of Palitoy ones and know that Kenner aren't quite as desirable in the UK as they are in the US. The last resealed Kenner 12 back Darth and Chewbacca I picked up recently were around 60 GBP each although they both were hard to notice that they'd been opened and had no damage to them at all with Chewbacca being complete with footer (unlike Darth's footer which was missing). You will find that some are more desirable than others so it is a shame that the Boba Fett doesn't have his card back but I really don't think you'll have a problem finding a home for them even with the staple holes.

Oh and I'm not sure if the Stormtrooper bubble is the right one as it looks to only have a single racetrack line on it like the Empire and Jedi ones.

Really nice to see and I can see these getting fixed up nicely at some point.

Ian

 

[CRAZYHAZY]

If your selling baggsey the Luke farm boy 8)

 

[x-wingMark]

Hi,

I also collect reseals like a few other members on here so think they will sell on here. Some others should be able to give you some more value's or you can search sold items on ebay to check recent prices.

I would be interested in seeing the others you have and would be keen to buy some if you do decide to sell.

Thanks

Mark

 

[tiefighterboy]

Depending on condition of cardbacks and Character I would say these will go for £30 - £60 each. With todays market..it could be more.


BTW..... If you sell...I would be interested in the snaggletooth.

 

[WuhersStall]

Thanks for the input, everyone. Much appreciated.

So I don't want to open a can of worms but since this is all new to me I have to ask.... is selling reseals an accepted practice in the SW community? I'm more familiar with the baseball card community and if someone were to sell an empty box, some nice conditioned wrappers, and the original gum from a vintage set they would be hung up by their toe nails and beaten with an angry shark.

 

[Mr-shifter]

At the end of the day, these were mass produced as toys at the time. The reason there are fewer Mocs these days is because they were opened. It's what they were for.

Some people don't like these, but generally they are not frowned upon in the way you are worried they are. People that don't like them just don't buy them. Some people like to buy and collect reseals as they are a hell of a lot cheaper, whereas others collect just the cardbacks.

The only thing frowned upon is when they are revealed with repro weapons or reseals and sold as sealed.

You will have no problems finding them loving homes here.

 

[Palifan]

As mentioned above there's no problem with selling them on here as long as everything is original vintage. People tend to like them or not but we all tend to at least acknowledge the fact that they're vintage and anyway of preserving any of these items is a good thing.

Out of interest as you mention baseball cards I'm wondering if you're based in the US?

Interested in 12 back Han, Hoth Han and Bespin Luke.

PM sent (Private Messages at top of the screen)
Ian

 

[WuhersStall]

Thanks for the responses. I didn't want to unwittingly do something frowned upon by the community.

Yes, located in the U.S. I want to thank everyone that's reached out via PM with offers but I'm about as ignorant to the value of vintage SW items as is humanly possible. Because of that, I really only feel comfortable just throwing them up on ebay as auctions and seeing what happens. I realize that I have to deal with fees and the such but, at the end of the day, I just want to have peace of mind. I know that's going to ruffle some feathers (I've already gotten multiple angry responses) and I know that the vast majority of folks here are true-blue collectors that are fair and honest, but I've already encountered a few that wanted to take advantage of my ignorance so I've decided to just go with eBay.

I hope that most can understand as I've thoroughly enjoyed reading threads and researching these items the past 3 weeks and would like to continue to visit the forum and hopefully participate. I am a collector at heart (and love the SW franchise) so the sad irony is that I'll probably end up putting together a collection of my own someday and will look back on all the photos of these items with a "wish I held on to those" sentiment. Unfortunately, I need the money at the moment so my hand is forced.

Anyway, thanks again for answering my noob questions and making this such an enjoyable place to come and hang out every day. I'll leave you with a few more photos of my (temporary) collection.

STILL WORKS!

This actually still has the cardboard insert that was used to pack everything into the box.

 

[WuhersStall]

As I said above, I'm not fielding offers on the items at this point in time but if anyone would like to see all of the photos of the collection thus far just PM me your email address and I can add you to the Google Drive account I have them all stored on.

I haven't gone through all of the non-toy stuff yet but all of the vehicles/playsets and action figures that have accompanying cards are up there.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help.

 

[steve obi wan]

Nice collection of boxed , I sold some card backs similar to these 12 backs got between £40 and £50 . The ones with the pop removed will go for less .


Good luck

 

[BlueDog]

Great items you've got there, big love for opened condition cards like that from me.

I certainly hope no-one on here has given you a nasty response simple because you have chosen to sell on Ebay, this place is set up to offer advice for people like yourself to ask questions exactly as you have done. This doesn't come with any sort of written guarantee that the person is then obliged to sell to members on here.

 

[WuhersStall]

Everyone on this board has been friendly and helpful. This hasn't been my only stop along the journey, though.

Like I said, I'm looking forward to visiting this site long after the items are gone. Just a great community and I enjoy seeing all the acquisitions and learning about the intricacies of the items.