Valuation / Appraisal Required

[itfciain]

I received this through the post the other day. Box was well wrapped and the figure in an acrylic case – however nothing in the case (peanuts) and nothing around the bubble – so unfortunately it looks like Boba's head has popped the top of the bubble – or at least the seller says that it was not like that before it was sent out.

The seller is actually a middle man and the original owner is refusing to help him so he has asked me to get an appraisal done for the figure and it's new value with the crack in the bubble. I have told him I can send it off but that they will be liable for fees. In the meantime, I thought I would get people's opinions on here

I paid $600 for him – what is he worth now ?

Cheers
Iain

 

[Lee77]

Gutted for you Iain. I'm not sure if you mean an AFA style acrylic case? If so, I've had about 8 figures shipped from abroad in AFA sealed cases and this hasn't happened to any of them. And I've had loads shipped back cased from UKG, including weak tri logo bubbles and nothing has ever been damaged.
Value wise, I can only go off the nearest one that I recently saw. Jim S had a Canadian ESB moc in perfect condition that was £600 but he probably would have taken £500.
I hope you get sorted with the seller, but the story about it being damaged in the post doesn't ring quite right with me.

 

[PGowdy]

Are you happy with the section you chose to post this valuation request in Iain?
:wink: :lol:

 

[itfciain]

Are you happy with the section you chose to post this valuation request in Iain?
:wink: :lol:

Cheeky bugger - thought more people would read it in here !

 

[Dark Sith Lord]

****in Hell Iain! Thats a real bummer! You must be really gutted! Hope you get some money back or something

 

[flycasual]

That sucks!

Do they have any pictures of it without the damage?

Does having packing inside the acrylic case make any difference? It would have to be pretty good to stop this kind of thing happening?

As the seller, is it their responsibility up to the point where you open it? What about insurance?

This must happen from time to time. But what are the odds?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Joe]

I paid $600 for him – what is he worth now ?

I would say the crack seriously decreases it's value now Iain as most people feel a crack is no longer a sealed MOC, if the figure had popped out completely it would have been a lost cause so at least that didn't happen.

I dunno really, $600 without the crack..$350 with?

 

[Joe]

Does having packing inside the acrylic case make any difference? It would have to be pretty good to stop this kind of thing happening?

It can, at least it is supposed to. If done right you can get peanuts/bubble wrap to absorb the shock of a knock in the post so that even if a figure has plenty of room to move in the bubble it doesn't pop through.

As the seller, is it their responsibility up to the point where you open it? What about insurance?

This is a grey area for me and always has been, especially if the package was wrapped up carefully. I know several people that have packaged with care and still had a figure break on them, in fact I was on the receiving end of a figure that turned up bombproof but had suffered a crack. I didn't ask for a refund as I do feel that sometimes these things can't be avoided due to the fragile nature of the items we send across the seas and the age of them.

This must happen from time to time. But what are the odds?

It does happen from time to time, even more so if the packaging is badly done, all sellers can do really is to pack well and hope for the best - I **** a brick when I ship anything in an AFA case or get anything AFA graded sent to me as I know there is no support for the bubble inside the acrylic but you just have to be courageous and do what you can to stop the figure moving around, plenty of bubble wrap around the case and between the case and the box usually does the trick - can never use enough packaging material!

 

[Grant_C]

Dam that pisses me off.

P+P is the biggest threat to MOC collecting these days.

Hope it works out for you mate.

 

[flycasual]

It seems ironic that the best thing we can do for the hobby is not buy anything, or at least not post anything.

 

[silver grin]

That is a real shitter for you Iain.

To me, and I can imagine you're in the same league, the bubble means everything, so for this to happen would be a huge downer.

I suppose you could sell him on (if you wanted to) but I wouldn't see you getting anything more than £125 unless that ESB card is a rare one?

Really sorry for you mate