Week 6 Preview
I have decided to start a new part of this blog by previewing each week's auctions and giving my feedback, and the feedback of my collector friends, on the current week's auctions. Hopefully this information will help you make good decisions on the items up for bid. In addition, it gives collectors a chance to ask questions in the comments section that I will answer to help you in your Star Trek collecting.
This week is probably the best week yet for premium Star Trek items. Lots of great props and costumes. Of course it is really bad strategy for It's a Wrap to list so much good stuff in one week. but one thing we have come to expect is for them not to really have a great strategy for the whole long term eBay auction process. But there loss is our gain (assuming the stop with the ridiculous reserves). So here is what we have:
Admiral Janeway Costume
Ok, this is the creme of the auction and already, on Saturday, at $5,100, making it the highest priced item to sell so far, as there is no reserve. I know that the bidder has set his eye on this and this item will certainly go for over $ 6,000. It is stunning and a great piece. This is the uniform that Janeway wears in Star Trek: Nemesis when she orders Picard to Romulus. There are few collectors bidding on the auctions on IAW that will go after this, but it will look good wherever it lands.
Phaser Rifles
OK, why are there two of these in one week? Does that make ANY sense? Geez, these guys constantly baffle me. That being said, these are both nice "Nemesis" style Type III Phaser rifles. One has a working flashlight and the other does not, currently reflected in the differing prices.
There are reserves on both, which, knowing IAW, is probably in the $ 4,000 range. They still think they can get what items went for at Christie's. Now at Christie's a "Hero" version of this rifle went for $ 8,000 before buyer's premium. It had the flashlight and retractable strap, which is indicative of
the "Hero" versions. A lot of 4 resin, non-hero versions went for $ 6,500, or $ 1,625 each before buyer's premium. IAW simply doesn't tell you enough about the condition and features of each prop. So based on the current market for Phaser Rifles and what they went for at Christie's, I think these are probably worth $ 4,000 each. Their provenance is without question and they appear in good shape. I am simply not sure the eBay market will bear these prices, which is more than any prop has gone for so far.NEMESIS COSTUMES
There are two "Nemesis" costumes of note. The first is the Commander Madden uniform. Madden is the first officer taking over for Riker at the end of "Nemesis". Nice uniform with a Comm badge and rank. I would guess this one goes in the $ 2,000 range. The other is a Reman costume, which I think is gorgeous and will look great on display. Judging by recent auctions, and the fact that the Xindi costume, which is based on the Reman costume went for $1,200, I think this will go in the same price range.In addition, there are several Romulan Senator robes (there should be a bunch...look at that scene in "Nemesis") which would be a nice get as I think they go cheap. Don't pay over $ 400 for these. There are also two nice Romulan Fleet Officer uniforms. Now these are not nearly as nice as the hero ones (The Commander Donatra one that sold at Christie's was STUNNING and I am hating myself for not winning that during the Christie's auction). The Hero versions were custom decorated, while these are just screen printed it appears. I have always liked the Romulan uniforms, all the way back to TOS.
VOYAGER UNIFORMS
This is the Nemesis/Voyager week and almost every major Voyager character has a uniform in this week's auction. There is a Seven of Nine stunt costume, a Tuvok dress uniform, a regular Tuvok, a Chakotay, a Paris, a Kim, a Doctor, a Kes and a distressed Janeway. The thing to remember about these is that there are a TON of each of these. Think of it...7 seasons for which they probably made at least 3 each season. That is over 20 copies of each! At this point in the life cycle of these auctions (remember, there are at least 6 months of auctions) I wouldn't pay over $ 1,500 for any of these, and less fo rthe Janeway and Kes. I am buying a Doctor from a friend for $ 2,000 WITH a comm badge. That should tell you where the market is. This is a long auction and I know many of us would be amazed if there aren't a lot more of these to come.And if you are looking for something unique, look at the Captain Braxton future Starfleet uniform from Voyager.
OTHER SIGNIFICANT PROPS
The "Satan's Robot" is an awesome prop and I will tell you I am going after it in hope of snagging the Captain proton costume if it ever comes up. It is really cool, especially for fans of the Captain Proton episodes. The Dr. Chaotica costume went at a Profiles in History auction a few years ago and the Janeway "Bride of Chaotica" costume went at Christie's.
The Compression Phaser Rifle is nice, but it is rubber and I HATE rubber props. They crack and the paint flakes and in a few years they look like crap. Speaking of which, when you see Borg and Hirogen costumes BEWARE. They are made of latex which breaks down. I had a discussion with a former Hollywood model builder who said he wouldn't collect any latex costume because of the way they break down. Now, these have gone at reasonable prices it seems, but please beware of the problems and know you will have to take good care of any latex costume.
The Romulan Senate stools are beautiful, but went for INSANE prices at Christie's, so expect an absurd reserve from IAW. I doubt any of those will hit reserve.
OVERVIEW
If you search the It's a Wrap auctions as I do (click here), you should look on page 2. The second 50 items are all $ 100 or less as of Saturday night. There are some props that will go cheap and some costumes you will be able to get at good prices as they are not main characters. If you aren't a big collector, and more a fan, there are some bargains to be had there.
Feel free to email me with questions or post a comment here!
Good hunting!
Alec
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