Week 36 had about 100 items, but the bid news this week is that the zero feedback bidders who are fraudulently driving up prices are becoming a REAL problem. A lot of expensive lots were won by bidders with zero feedback and 5 of the top 6 items were to fake bidders! . What is very interesting is that every one of those zero feedback bidders has a similar name. It usually has something to do with the lot being bid on and a number. This will become a big issue the next few weeks as bidders are getting tired of this and feel thet are being manipulated.
I will be posting an article on just this topic tomorrow, so please stay tuned. Also, I will post part two of this wrap up Tuesday as there is a lot to cover, and this fake bidder (I think it is one person) is causing a lot of headache I have to deal with.
The Saavik Maroon Uniform lot went for $ 6,400 to a bidder with ZERO FEEDBACK vulcangoddess79. So I am going to assume we will see this again as this wasn't a legit bidder. The winning bid SHOULD HAVE been $ 6,101, as the 3rd bidder was at $ 6,001, and with a $ 100 bid increment, $ 6,101 would have been the winning bid.That being said, the lot has multiple items, but the jacket was NOT Saavik's. This is the same situation that happened with the Admiral Cartwright costume. There is little to do here, as the tags from the Maroons were constantly removed it seems, and so there is no way to know who wore what. Thus, this is as close to Saavik's uniform as you are likely to get.
I can't stress enough how damaging the zero feedback bidders are to this process as they are undermining faith in the process.
The Star Trek: TMP Spock Class D uniform went for $ 6,200 to a legitimate bidder. I guess it is sad that I have to qualify the purchase as such. What is interesting is that this is the one that sold for $ 6,100 in week 21. Obviously that bidder didn't follow through. Another sold for $ 7,810 in week 26, though that one had an unattached bio-buckle. The constant re-selling isn't good for IAW.The Enterprise Hoshi Sato Starfleet Uniform went for $ 3,675. It is amazing that Hoshi costumes continue to go for such high prices. This is captain's territory, and three Hoshi's have now gone high, the other two going for $ 2,703 and $ 3,606. HOWEVER, this is another ZERO FEEDBACK bidder, so this too is an invalid sale. The bidder is startrekjunkie999 . Zero feedback and this is the only item bid on.
We have seen the Enterprise MACO complete uniform before, but not a female one. Once again, this one went high. But a ZERO FEEDBACK bidder ( maco1701nx ) was the winner at $ 3,051, so I expect this one back up soon as well. The 3rd highest bidder was at $ 2,500, so this SHOULD HAVE sold for $ 2,550 to the under-bidder (2nd highest bidder).
There was another Star Trek: Enterprise Terran Empire two-piece female uniform which went for $ 2,825 which also went to a ZERO FEEDBACK bidder, dirtyharry767. The last one went to my buddy Grant for $ 1,900. This would have gone for $ 1,525 if there was no fake bidder as the 3rd highest bidder was at $ 1,500, and so the
underbidder would have won at $ 1,525.The Klingon costume with full head mask was a good idea by IAW as they probably have a lot of these masks. This was a fair auction, with no zero feedback bidder, and I think at $ 2,480 a good deal. The mask alone is a $ 500-800 item. And the costumes generally go for $ 2,500.
The guy who won the Nemesis Starfleet uniform jumpsuit was SCREWED with a $ 2,375 high bid. The under bidder AND the third bidder had zero feedback and the 4th bidder was at $ 926.07. So he SHOULD HAVE won this at $ 951.07 (next bid increment).
If I were this bidder, I would refuse to pay this winning bid. You were bid up by a fraud. Considering that IAW was selling these at $ 1,000 at Vegas, I think that is what they should sell for.
The TNG Command Red Starfleet Uniform at $ 2,025 was about twice what these went for in Vegas. It was a legitimate sale though.
The Feature Style Crewman's Uniform Jumpsuit went for $ 1,825 while the named character "Dax" version of this went for only $ 710 and had all the same parts! That made no sense. The Dax costume was a great deal!
Tuesday night I will review some of the background costumes and the prices we are seeing.
As far as props go:
The Porthos Submerged Stand-In Dog went for a hefty $ 2,750 but was a very cool prop. I got to see this in Vegas and the winner will be happy with it. Another ZERO FEEDBACK bidder, so this should have gone for $ 2,550 to the under-bidder.The pair of Romulan stools went for $ 1,635, which is the highest these have gone for so far. They are cool, and I think IAW may have more. The fact these went so high, shows that there are new bidders driving certain prices up.
The Dr. Soong Lesson PADD went for $ 1,525 to the same ZERO FEEDBACK bidder who won the MACO costume. This would have gone to the under bidder for $ 1,075 if not for the zero feedback bidder.
The DS9 Starfleet "Projection Data" PADD also was sold to a ZERO FEEDBACK bidder, guitarheo99865. This should have sold to $ 659.
Finally, the rubber Tricorder and Holster went for $ 860, which I think was a pretty good deal. Yes, it is rubber, but still, a cool piece.
THIS WEEK'S AWARDS:
Best Costume of the Week:The Saavik Maroon Uniform lot went for $ 6,400
Best Prop of the Week: The Porthos Submerged Stand-In Dog at $ 2,750 was pretty cool.
Best Buy of the week: The Crewman Dax uniform at $ 710 was a steal!!!!!
Worst Buy of the week: The Nemesis Starfleet uniform jumpsuit at $ 2,375 bid up by a zero feedback bidder. These were $ 800-1,000 in Vegas at the IAW booth.
Sleeper of the Week: Nemesis Starfleet Dress uniform at $ 898 was a great deal on a beautiful costume.
5 HIGHEST PRICED ITEMS THAT SOLD (Is this even valid anymore?)
Star Trek: TMP: Saavik Maroon Uniform lot $ 6,400 ZERO FEEDBACK BIDDER
Star Trek: TMP Spock Class D: $ 6,200
Star Trek: Enterprise Hoshi Sato Starfleet Uniform $ 3,675 ZERO FEEDBACK BIDDER
Star Trek: Enterprise MACO complete uniform $ 3,051 ZERO FEEDBACK BIDDER
Star Trek: Enterprise Terran Empire two-piece female uniform $ 2,825 ZERO FEEDBACK BIDDER
More info on the zero feedback bidders tomorrow!
Alec