Tales From The Collection Of Cool - The Big Jim Rant

I have gotten into the habit of watching this collection appraisal show on the weekends with my Mother. She has gained valuable perspective into how much a toy collection can actually be worth, relative to the amount spent amassing the collection.

One of the things I am most proud about in my collection is that I VERY rarely have paid more than retail for a figure or piece. I have a nose for bargains and for what will make me happy to have in my collection. I love those high end SIDESHOW figures that are perfect photorealistic representations of the characters we all know and love. These are gorgeous and go up in value but at 350 dollars a pop I can't justify having one on my shelves. I would just look at it and think about twenty other figures I could have gotten instead. Though if I could have just ONE it would be this numnut. He may have been the worst terrorist ever but you can never fault his style. That look is killer for a wannabe despot.

This year I have been using my resources to add some depth to my collection. I have been interested in getting some Big Jim stuff as I had many sets, costumes, vehicles and characters as a kid. The toys were well built and there were dozens of different themes to interest most anyone. One of my favorite toy stories of all time is the one about how I got my first Big Josh figure - another of my Holy Grail Pieces

http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.ca/2013/09/great-toy-stories-by-kal-big-josh.html

I have been very lucky with finding cool stuff on the Facebook groups that I belong to. It's the best way to find some really good deals IF the seller will ship to Canada. Often they won't because they view us as a third world nation. I don't mind paying a bit more for shipping if the deal is good. I refer you to the recent acquisition of the Mars Attacks saucers. 30 dollars for the pair but only 15 dollars shipping. I can live with that. On EBay the shipping would be twice or three times that. I swear, sellers just jack up the shipping price to add more profit to the sale. No way our North American society could function with shipping costs that high. Small businesses would go out of business.

So that brings me to what got me all worked up in the first place. I see this ad on a Big Jim group for the sale of this figure. The guy only wants 35 bucks for the lot and will ship FREE in the US and the US only. I would take that deal in a heartbeat and it frustrates the hell out of me that I can't even compete fairly for the piece. I just have to watch him put up great Big Jim stuff day after day and see it all go to someone else. I would even make a deal with the guy to put together a lot for me for say 100 dollars and see what we can agree upon. Show me what you are selling and lets haggle like a couple of old Bedouins in the desert, just the way Allah intended for it to be. Let's have a relationship that is mutually beneficial to the both of us. I got paypal. You get your money before you send me anything. All the trust is on my end.

 

Now a part of me thinks this guy is scamming everyone because the price is too low for the condition of the figure and accessories that I see here. Got to be. So in reality I am saving myself money and the disappointment of dealing with an unscrupulous person. Yeh, that is what I will tell myself to make everything feel right again.