Toys 'R' Us 1: Shouldn't they be in gigantic blister packs?

"Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?"

Princess Leia Organa, Star Wars IV: A New Hope 

In the wake of postings about my co-worker's 12-pack of original Star Wars toys, I was a bit disappointed not to find a rack of current Star Wars action figures at Toys 'R' Us.  But look at the alternative!  Did anyone else know that these were a thing?

These First Order Stormtroopers stand four feet tall, cost $149.99, have more articulation than the original 3 3/4 inch Empire Stormtrooper figures, and produce sound effects and lines from The Force Awakens if you press a button on their chest. I would loved to have owned one of these when I was ten - and I was a little tempted by them right now.*

On the other hand, it's hard to imagine storing twelve of these in a box in the attic and forgetting that you own them for 40 years.

- Sid

*  Apparently the word is out that $150 is my top limit for ridiculous SF geek toy purchasing.

"I'm in it for the money."

Luke Skywalker: Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be...
Han Solo: What?
Luke Skywalker: Well, more wealth than you can imagine!
Han Solo: I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit.

Star Wars IV, A New Hope.

My coworker Damon brought in his collection of vintage 12-back Star Wars toys today, and it's definitely the original twelve, and it's obviously the vinyl cape Jawa.  Far more interestingly, and more difficult to ascertain from a closed package, the Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker figures look as though they have a two-part telescoping lightsaber rather than a one-part.*

Darth Vader and Obi-Wan toys with the two-part lightsaber are incredibly rare, and it would probably boost the value of the collection to nearly six figures, which sounds ridiculous (and probably is, considering that we're talking about children's toys made out of molded plastic sandwiched between two cents of four-colour printed cardboard and one cent's worth of styrene.

At that point, I told Damon that I was out.  I'm an interested geek with good Google™ skills, but that's it - I have no solid knowledge about these toys. It's definitely time for him to seek out someone with the resources and knowledge to accurately assess the value of his collection, and hopefully give him some guidance in selling it. There's a major collectible/antique fair of some sort here in Vancouver next month, and he'll be attending in hopes of getting further information, if not an actual buyer.

Good luck, Damon - and may the Force be with you.

- Sid

* My girlfriend Karli quite logically asked me how you ascertain whether or not it's a one or two part lightsaber without opening the packaging and destroying the MIB value of the toys.  According to the Internet, the instructions on the back of the card for extending the lightsaber are different for the one and two-part versions - which, again, leads me to think that these may be the two-part versions.

Toys in the Attic.

A co-worker named Damon came to me today with what I only describe as a challenging question. Apparently he inherited a collection of Star Wars toys from the original movie, in their original blister packs, and he was curious about their potential value.  He'd done some research online which suggested that they might be worth a substantial amount of cash, and was hoping that I might be able to help him confirm that research, and perhaps offer some advice on how to sell them.

Collecting vintage toys and action figures is one of those areas of obsessive geekhood that can completely consume someone's life - and very probably their bank accounts, in some cases.  I’ve made a few forays into the shallows, as it were, with Major Matt Mason and my Buck Rogers disintegrator pistol, but Star Wars toys are very deep water indeed.

In 1978, Kenner released twelve 3 3/4-inch Star Wars action figures in standard blister packs with a cardback that showed all twelve figures from the initial release: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Artoo-Detoo, Chewbacca, See-Threepio, Darth Vader, a Stormtrooper, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, Han Solo, a Jawa, a member of the Sand People, and the Death Squad Commander.

As time went on and more toys were released, the 12-back became a 20-back in order to include the new characters that had been introduced. Then a 21, a 31, a 32, and so on, culminating in a 92-back* in 1985. It’s generally considered that there are 111 distinct variations of the Kenner figures, ignoring minor variations in colour and so forth from different production runs.

However, some of the small variations in production can make a large difference in the value of a collectable toy. The Jawa featured in first run of figures had a vinyl cape, but Kenner felt that it made the toy feel cheap, given that it was a smaller toy than the others, and replaced it with a fabric cloak.  Due to the relative rarity of the original vinyl-caped figure, they're worth more on the market - a vinyl cape Jawa in its blister pack is generally valued at about $4,000 USD, and they have sold for as much as $18,000 USD**.

Damon's little collection is made up of the original 12-pack, including the vinyl cape Jawa, so he's obviously a bit excited about that particular sale price. However, the sad truth of any sort of collectible item is that there often a substantial difference between what a dealer will sell it for, and what they will pay you for it.

Based on online sources, if Damon's set is in reasonably good shape, it would probably be valued at between $14,000 and $18,000 USD, but that's not the same as selling them for that much.  Obviously, it would be to his advantage to bypass any sort of middleman and go directly to potential buyers, but what is the best way to do that?  eBay?  Some other form of auction?  Even eBay takes a cut, as would an auction house, but the benefit is that the transaction is protected on both ends.  How would someone go about doing a completely independent sale and feel confident that it was a safe transaction? 

But there's a more subtle question.  If we assume that the toys are worth $18,000 now, what would they be worth in another 20 years?  Toys are probably more subject to the ebb and flow of trend and fashion than most vintage items - today's treasure may well become tomorrow's trash, and as much as I'd like to think that Star Wars toys would continue to appreciate in price, there's no way of knowing that for sure.

As Damon quite accurately put it, “It’s like owning a bottle of fine wine - do I hold onto it in hopes that it becomes more valuable, or should I sell it before it turns to vinegar?”

- Sid

* In the interests of complete accuracy, there was a 93-back intended for distribution outside of the United States, which included the “Yak Face” figure from Return of the Jedi. Some sources say that the 93-back actually was made available in some American outlets - regardless, the figure is considered to be a very collectable rarity.

** Because of this, there are actually fake vinyl cape Jawas constructed from the fabric Jawa plus a cut-down version of Obi-Wan Kenobi's cloak. There are also "restoration" repro blister packs available on eBay. Caveat emptor.