Week 14I am sitting here writing this blog entry watching "Star Trek: First Contact" on Sci Fi channel. Damn, this was a good movie. I really think it was one of the best Star Trek movies. Certainly the best TNG based movie. When Lilliy Says "It's my first ray gun" I still laugh out loud. And James Cromwell really was awesome as Zephram Cochrane.
Back to the auctions.....I think we have settled into a routine the past couple of weeks of a mixture of items that is not as deep as the first two months of the auctions. There are some nice pieces, but not to the extent we first saw. Thus I think the better items are getting higher prices because there are fewer of them along with new bidders coming in.
The top item of the week was the Spock "Mindmeld" costume from Star Trek IV. Basically his underwear, it went for a RIDICULOUS $ 4,550. This one totally boggles my mind. Someone must love that movie a lot to pay that for this costume.
The Major Kira went for $ 3,250. Previous ones have gone for $ 3,601 and $ 1,554. I think this a bit high for this costume, but the market is driving the prices up on hero costumes.The "Nemesis" style dress uniform went for $ 2,425 which is very strong for a background costume. My friend won this costume and has wanted one very badly, so I know he was willing to go higher than I told him he should! :-) but he is happy and that is what matters.
The Ezri Dax uniform at $ 2,176 was the first Ezri dax we have seen, and it was pretty much in line with other hero costumes of this type. I think the price was fair and these costumes display well. (I have Sisko's in my family room and it looks amazing). I think if you can get a hero black and gray around $ 2,000 you are doing well.
The USS Relativity costume went pretty high at $ 2,026.89. This was a background player's costume, and though it has the rank and communicator badges, I think it went high. It is a beautiful costume with rich colored fabrics and quilting. I would love one of these as it will look great on display, but there are a few more of these and so I think this was only a $ 1,200-1,500 costume at best.The "Captive Pursuit - Alien Hunter" costume went for $ 1,536.99. I think costumes with strong visual appeal, ones that will display well, are going in this price range. This one is nice as it has a helmet and boots and so I think it is a good price.
The Dr. Bashir uniform at $ 1,525 was a reasonable price as was the Captain Picard civilian costume from Insurrection at $ 1,525. The Janice Rand from Star Trek: The Motion Picture went for $ 1,287.11 which was reasonable as well. Getting hero costumes in the $ 1,200-$ 1,500 range is a good investment.
On the prop front:
There were a lot of PADDs this week and some weapons, but nothing that really stood out. The top PADD was the System Analysis PADD which sold for $ 1,850.36. A less expensiv e buy was the Crew Roster PADD that went for $ 1,192. The Klingon PADD went for only $ 720, and the Romulan PADD went for a paltry $ 685 which shows that there are still good deals if you are smart.The giant Defiant console went for a healthy $ 2,000. Good luck with the shipping!
The hero Reman RIfle was beautiful and a good deal at $ 1,900.75. The one at Christie's went for $ 2,640 (before buyer's premium), so this was a good deal.
The Insurrection Son'a hand pistol went VERY high at $ 1,531, which I think is too high for a pistol prop like this. Yes it was resin, but still, i think this should be a $
1,000 item.The Klingon full head mask at $ 1,526 was $ 1,000 higher than these have gone for in the past. The first couple of these went around $ 500. There are a ton of these and it is just not that rare because they needed a bunch for Star Trek VI in teh Klingon Court scene. (Go check out yoru DVD and you will see what I mean).
As far as the other weapons go, the Bajoran Phaser Rifle went at $ 1,075. Not bad and a style that I think is one of the better ones they came up with.
My good buddy Dana finally got a Reman Pistol. He has been very patient and passed on two previous ones because they went high. He snagged this one for only $ 735 because he was smart and patient as I have told you all to be. The last two went for $ 900 and $ 1,000. Remember, there are a lot of props out there and you need to not overpay.
So here are some awards for the week:
Best Costume of the Week: USS Relativity uniform. Truly beautiful costume, but WAY too high for a background player's costume. $ 2,026.89Best Prop of the Week: Hero Reman Rifle. A beautiful piece at a reasonable price. It sold for $ 1,900.75.
Best Buy of the week: 2 Romulan Senate Stools for $ 698.88. These went for about $ 1,000 each at Christie's.
Worst Buy of the week: Spock's "Mindmeld Costume" at $ 4,550. Basically glorified underwear! Give me a break!
Sleeper of the Week: DS9 Ferengi costume at $ 467. These costumes are beautiful and this is a great deal, because even the background Ferengi costumes are beautiful..
And here are some prices realized:
5 HIGHEST PRICED ITEMS THAT SOLD
Star Trek IV Spock whale Mindmeld costume $ 4,550
Major Kira uniform $ 3,250
Operations Gold Dress Uniform $ 2,425
Ezri Dax Starfleet uniform $ 2,176
USS Relativity uniform $ 2,027
Finally, I hope you all keep our troops in Iraq in your thoughts and prayers. It helps keep life in perspective when you realize there are brave young men and women who are willing to risk their lives for the rest of us whiel we sit around and talk about props and costumes. (and hopefully they all come home safely soon).
Special thanks to Aaron Carlson, who every week, compiles all the stats on that week's auctions.
