MetalRobotHead Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I am not really into Ray Guns, but I found this Buck Rogers Liquid Helium Water Pistol rather desirable when I saw it for auction recently. That is until the bidding took off and went into the stratosphere. $3500 + commission. Not knowing anything about this type of thing I can only assume it must be pretty rare in this MIB condition. :unsure:Correction, just checked it actually made $3250, still a lotHere is the link - Buck Rogers water pistol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunkclick Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Condition is certainly spectacular but $3500 + commission MIB seems to me way over the top. This gun isn't that rare , the box is however. Daft time of year Xmas.Clunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Actually, that's a very reasonable price for the boxed example of the Liquid Helium. The box is SUPER rare, and very desireable. Remember, you've got many different groups of collectors going after it -- Buck Rogers collectors, water pistol collectors, Daisy gun collectors, ray gun collectors... And that drives up the price.Add to this the exceptional quality of the gun itself, which is, more often than not, found in slightly roughed up condition, and you've got a prime example of the toy. (The gun in average condition runs about $400-$500, dead mint can bump it up to an easy $700-$800 as everyone tries to trade up!)Recent past examples of this toy, MIB, have gone for $5000+. However, I've seen them sell for as low as $2500. Average seems to be the $3500 range. This is one of my favorite ray guns, and I love it's box. Mine, however, will stay loose with prices like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunkclick Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Good info Dr A . However on your figures lets say a good price for a helium is $800 for unboxed mint , even at a suggested good price of $3500 for MIB means the box is worth $2700. MAD MAD totally mad! I might be in a minority but what is the hang up with boxes. Agreed they were there to advertise their wares in a crowded toyshop but mainly the boxes existed simply to protect their contents. Grief when I got a toy I couldn't wait to get in the thing, sod the box!very confusedClunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 I agree with you -- generally, I'm not into boxes. I have a bunch of ray gun boxes because in most cases, the whole package (gun and box) aren't that expensive. However, this is one of those cases where the box is so much rarer than the toy that it's worth more than double the price of the gun.As for whether it's worth it or not... Well, that's up to the individual collector. I don't agree, though, that you can really make the argument that the boxes aren't worth this much because of their utilitarian origins. Remember, these toys were meant to be knocked about for a little while and then thrown away -- they're "just toys," as the saying goes. Yet look at how much we value them -- financially, emotionally, and aesthetically -- today.A bowl from ancient Greece is just a thing you use for soup. But try grabbing one when you're on line at a museum caffeteria! :)For historic, cultural, and aesthetic reasons we ascribe greater value to these objects than their original, perhaps humble, intent might warrant. So is it madness to pay $XXXXX dollars for a simple cardboard box? I don't know... But if it is, I don't think it's because it's simply a cardboard box. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunkclick Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 Agreed. I like your soup story. Can you just picture the curators face! :D Clunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 And...it is, remember, a 71 year old toy (and box) that originally sold for 23 cents!http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/1936-Buc...quid-t6720.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 I like your soup story. Can you just picture the curators face! :DLet's just say that I can, and that I probably won't go back to the Metropolitan Museum of Art any time soon...;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.