It's a Wrap eBay auctions - Week 7 results

Week 7

Week 7 of the Star Trek auctions on eBay from It's a Wrap Hollywood ended with a record 96 of the 99 lots selling for a total of $61,374. The record low number of items that did not hit reserve
was due largely to It's a Wrap's judicious use of reserves this time. It seems that IAW is finally getting the message and reserves are becoming rarer each week. Some sources tell me there are only two overworked (and presumably underpaid!) workers in the warehouse who are doing ALL the work for these auctions. Not sure if that is true, but it would explain the delay many buyers seem to have to endure in getting their items, as well as the lack of a cohesive strategy and inefficient technology IAW is using. If this is true, my hats off to those two poor guys! Tell the boss to get you some 21st century technology! This past week saw a wonderful variety of uniforms, costumes and props from Deep Space Nine. I must congratulate It's a Wrap on these "themed" weeks as they offer the fan of a particular series a great variety of items. It is fun to see so many items of one show.

As far as what sold, this was a VERY strange week. The Sisko Commando style uniform should have been the top item in the sale. It was a uniform that could have gone over $4,000 with no problem, but it only fetched $ 3,100 to regular buyer filmwelt_Berlin. What is crazy is that this wasn't the highest selling item in the auction! That honor was reserved for Major Kira's Bajoran uniform, which went for an insane $ 3,601, which was 50% higher than the price these costumes realized at Christie's last October! That is the first time this has happened in the 7 weeks of these auctions. It should be noted that the buyer had zero feedback.


Garak's costume went for $3,250, which was well over where it should have sold. This was the final costume Andrew Robinson wore in "In the Pale Moonlight" one of the very best DS9 episodes, where Garak helps Sisko bring the Romulans into the Dominion War. The scene where Sisko knocks Garak across the table and then Garak tells Sisko how saving the Alpha Quadrant was worth his self respect, is one of the very best scenes in the entire run, and shows why Andrew Robinson did such a masterful job portraying the Cardassian spy. Still $ 3,250? That is WAY overpriced. This eBay member, has only won two oither items in a year and a half and one was an autographed photo of Andrew Robinson as Garak, so a true fan!

There were good buys out there as well. I really think this was the week when people looked for the second tier gems. I got the Nog Cadet uniform, which is one of my Star Trek holy grails. I was totally fired up about that one. At $1,075 it was a good deal. A friend of mine won the "Ishka" (Quark and Rom's Mom) and he was excited to have won at under $ 800 (with a Versace bag that was worth that by itself!). The Romulan Disruptor at $1,237 is a stunning prop. Made of resin, the detail photo in the ad showed how sharp this weapon is. The lot of two Quark green costumes was a good deal also at $1,348, coming out to $ 675 per costume.

Only three items didn't hit reserve this week. It was interesting that the first Jem H'dar costume went for $1,561, but the second didn't hit reserve at $566. Limited audience there I would guess. The Romulan Phaser didn't hit reserve at $400.25. Not surprising as it is a foam rubber one, and those are notorious for cracking and looking poor after a few years. The Jadzia Dax costume didn't have the grey undershirt, making this costume incomplete.

I think there are a lot of great alien costumes that are going in the $1-2,000 range that will look awesome on display. This week there was a nice Cardassian that sold just over $ 1235 and a female Klingon that went for $1,805. The Reman last week was another, as was the earlier Xindi. All went for less than $2,000. All will make someone very happy as they are quite striking.


Week 7 Awards:


Best Item of the Week: Captain Sisko "Commando" style uniform

Best Buy of the week: DS9/Voyager blue Sciences jumpsuit. Under $ 500? A steal!

Worst Buy of the week: Garak Costume $3,250. An INSANE price for a good costume.

Sleeper of the Week: Quark costume $1,035 A truly beautiful costume. Amazing details and fabrics.

And here are some prices realized and some sales that didn't close because of high reserves:


5 HIGHEST PRICED ITEMS THAT SOLD

Major Kira Bajoran Uniform $ 3,601

Garak Costume $ 3,250

Captain Sisko "Commando" style Uniform $ 3,100

Klingon Warrior Uniform $ 2,850

Chief O'Brien Uniform $ 2,050


TOP 5 ITEMS NOT HITTING RESERVE

Well, there were only 3 items that didn't sell this week!

Jadzia Dax Uniform Jumpsuit $ 598.88

Jem Had Military Uniform $ 566.00

Romulan Disruptor Rifle $ 400.25


Special thanks to Aaron Carlson, who every week, compiles all the stats on that week's auctions.


This week I won the Nog cadet uniform. I am a huge DS9 fan, it being my favorite of all Star Trek shows. Nog is a great character, and like many DS9 characters grew a great deal through the course of the show. I loved the episode where he had to convince Sisko that he wanted to join Starfleet. (Very "Officer and a Gentleman" at one point.). It was great seeing Nog finally get into the academy and then become a full fledged ensign. This costume has been one of my "holy grails" of Star Trek costumes. When it came up this week, I went full bore after it, and was happy to land it in my collection at the reasonable price of $ 1,075.

Comments

philip said…
I bought the Kira costume. Was the last major TNG/DS9/VOY character I did't have a uniform for. Apparently someone else had the same dilemma and bid up the price. I particularly wanted worn uniforms for all the series first officers which were relatively rare.

I'm pretty much out of the auction now, the only question is what to do with these things - lol. If you have an idea let me know. I have a uniform for every major character (incl. worn Sisko dress uniform) plus a metal Bath'leth & Romulan hero pistol.

Thanks to the Okudas, Mr. Sternbach & others for their work on the series and recent blog comments. The uniforms are beautiful, basically like fine art except with more reach. The real "trek" was the influence this series had on so many people, maybe there's still time for the world to listen.
Loken said…
Thanks for the comment Phillip. My email is alecpeters@bellsouth.net and you may email me directly if you wish. I am glad you finished your Star Trek costume set! While you paid more than might be expected, a collectible is always worth more when it is the final piece of a collection. I know I always am willing to pay much more for the items I really want, so you bid is easily understandable.

I would love to see photos of your collection and even do a profile on you and your collection for my blog. Are you interested?

Alec
philip said…
I'll let you know when they're all received and photographed. Thanks.

You should convert this blog to a full-fledged web site about Trek memorabilia. A virtual museum of sorts.