Via Thestar.com:
WASHINGTON — Mike Collier watched intently as the “Star Wars” action figure came up for sale on eBay last month at more than $10,000. It was a vinyl-caped Jawa from 1978, less than four inches tall, just like the one he’d bought for almost $5,000 two years ago.
“I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty impressive,” said Collier, 50, a Los Angeles TV producer whose “Star Wars” collection numbers in the hundreds of items. “The old characters will not just die off.”
High expectations for the first new “Star Wars” film in 10 years, a relentless marketing push from franchise-owner Walt Disney Co. and a population of collectors coming into their top- earning years have translated into record prices for old toys.
Many fans will be looking for the next big thing on Friday, when merchandise from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” goes on sale. This time around, Disney and licensees led by Hasbro Inc. are creating exclusive items for retailers such as Toys “R” Us Inc. To stoke demand, the company is withholding information about the products until a global unveiling set for Thursday, starting in Sydney.
With interest building, collectors have been bidding up prices. In January, an action figure of the bounty hunter Boba Fett sold for £18,000 (about $36,000 Cdn.), the most ever for a mass-produced “Star Wars” character, according to Vectis Auctions Ltd., based in Stockton-on-Tees, U.K., which handled the sale. A cardboard model of the “Star Wars” Death Star sold for $9,750 Cdn. in June, more than twice the original estimate.
“The vintage toys are red hot right now,” said Kathy Taylor, who supervises “Star Wars” toy sales at Vectis. The auction house plans additional sales in October and December.
The most coveted items are those produced in small quantities or with some quirk that makes them rare, such as a variation in hair colour or packaging, according to Steve Sansweet, a collector who runs the non-profit Rancho Obi-Wan museum near Petaluma, California.
The “12 Back” figures, the original 12 characters from Kenner Products with their images on the back of the packaging, are particularly valuable. Unopened toys sell for much more than ones that were played with.
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