Settle for a flawed pony or save for a mint one?

[Leave a Whisper]

Oh - to add -

I recently bought one of my grails off of ebay - Bonnie Bonnets - she was actually a re-hair but that was cool with me - the re-hair was of great quality and she has a long, silky, mane and tail. I was absolutely delighted with her  - but I know some folks would rather buy an original haired version.

Can we see? 

OK - I have popped her into temporary storage as we are preparing to move house, but I do have one of the seller photos:

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She is a lovely re-hair, gorgeous long, slightly curly locks! 

Ooh, she's so pretty! 

[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

When I find a pony in the wild that I don't have I buy it regardless of condition. If a flaw is so severe that I cannot fix it, then I just make a mental note to upgrade it in the future. If a flaw is more minor like something I can easily fix myself or a flaw that I don't mine too much (a small age spot or small area of paint rub isn't enough to warrant an upgrade for me unless I actually find a better one in the wild), then I will keep that pony and not upgrade it.

I'm more picky when I buy online usually. If a pony has minor flaws and is really cheap I may get it, but when I'm buying online I usually search out ones that are in better shape (not necessarily mint, but at least pretty nice).

OK - I have popped her into temporary storage as we are preparing to move house, but I do have one of the seller photos:

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She is a lovely re-hair, gorgeous long, slightly curly locks! 

Beautiful! I love alt rehairs!

[NightGliderSA]

I know what you mean. The Sugar Sweet
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,393220.msg1741011.html#msg1741011
I dug out of a box of horrors last summer at the carboot sale I totally meant to sell when I'd cleaned her up and recurled her messy hair, but she's still sitting on top of my briefcase in my room as if to say, "well, I'm staying now, and there's nothing you can do about it."

You know... she has done that to me to. I received one in a lot, who I did not intend on keeping. But she is still there with all the other ponies, firmly ensconced.

Regarding mint or 'fixer-upper' ponies, for me it depends on the pony. I have Baby Pictures who looked a bit gruesome because she only had half an eye. But I have painted her a new one now and I love her - can't find that photo just at present, sorry! Also a Glory who had no symbol, so I decided to give her a new symbol and I like her so much that now I am keeping her.

Baby Fifi was partially rerooted and her symbols were repainted.

And of course there was slimy mold-filled cat pee covered Munchy.

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There are many more, but I suppose you can say I try to do the best I can for the ponies in my herd. Small rubs to symbols I leave, but if they need major work then I will do it.

[Moonbreeze]

Depends on the rarity of the pony of course I settled for a French Moondancer with some flaws.
But she's still one of my favorites. However, since my (G1) collection isn't that big, I usually havethe funds to buy a NM one

I did rehair one Peru Moonstone. The poor thing was bald

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[gemini_pony]

I have only found a few ponies here in thrift shops.  Most mine were gifts and I love my herd even with all it's flaws.

[Ponyfan]

I have a Sparkle Baby that I can't seem to part with. Someone gave her mane a buzzcut and cut her tail to about a 3rd of its original length. I usually don't like ponies with mane or tail cuts but this little baby has made me love her anyway. If I get an upgrade one day the buzzcut baby will also stay in my herd.


Ponyfan

[mlp4me]

Much of my collection is flawed, I guess I'm not really that picky. Would I take a mail order or more expensive sea pony with a hair cut, yes please!

[Loona]

I know what you mean. The Sugar Sweet
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,393220.msg1741011.html#msg1741011
I dug out of a box of horrors last summer at the carboot sale I totally meant to sell when I'd cleaned her up and recurled her messy hair, but she's still sitting on top of my briefcase in my room as if to say, "well, I'm staying now, and there's nothing you can do about it."

You know... she has done that to me to. I received one in a lot, who I did not intend on keeping. But she is still there with all the other ponies, firmly ensconced.

What is it about Sugar Sweet? Add me in too, she came to my herd the same way! I still have to get around to restore her.

I'm totally not a picky collector, and have a lot of flawed ponies. I do not mind most flaws. I have yet to try restoring cut hair or symbols, but I do have candidates who are waiting for such restorations. Since I don't enjoy looking for ponies online and spending a lot of money on them (I usually just see the money I spent in them, and not the backstory of stumbling upon them), most of my collection comes from second-hand, thrift or charity shops where I don't get to choose their condition. That is OK, as the pleasant memory of finding them accidentally makes up for any signs they carry on their bodies from their previous life. I also often wonder where they might have come from, and how long a way they've travelled until they got to me

[Taffeta]

I know what you mean. The Sugar Sweet
http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,393220.msg1741011.html#msg1741011
I dug out of a box of horrors last summer at the carboot sale I totally meant to sell when I'd cleaned her up and recurled her messy hair, but she's still sitting on top of my briefcase in my room as if to say, "well, I'm staying now, and there's nothing you can do about it."

You know... she has done that to me to. I received one in a lot, who I did not intend on keeping. But she is still there with all the other ponies, firmly ensconced.

What is it about Sugar Sweet? Add me in too, she came to my herd the same way! I still have to get around to restore her.

It';s the face. It doesn't have quite the same effect with Moondancer or Sunbeam, but it's such an awkward, shy looking pose and when you get that, coupled with a bush for a hairdo, it just makes you want to fix her. Big sad eyes and all that. And then when you've spent all the time working on her, suddenly she seems to belong. xD

I dunno. I am not a huge fan of the pose, but it really works on Sugar Sweet somehow. I am sure it's all in her expression.

[Artemesia's Garden]

She does look pretty with those colours.

Thanks - I was really pleased when I got her in my pony-mail! It would have cost me a lot more to get an "original" haired one from here or the US (high postage fees are such a killer) and then I saw her for a decent price in the UK! I guess no one else bid on her as she was a re-hair but that's fine by me! She has gone to a good home! (albeit now waiting in a box until we move and I can display her again, lol)

She's gorgeous, she looks like a completely different pony. I definitely prefer her to the original.

[Loona]

It';s the face. It doesn't have quite the same effect with Moondancer or Sunbeam, but it's such an awkward, shy looking pose and when you get that, coupled with a bush for a hairdo, it just makes you want to fix her. Big sad eyes and all that. And then when you've spent all the time working on her, suddenly she seems to belong. xD

I dunno. I am not a huge fan of the pose, but it really works on Sugar Sweet somehow. I am sure it's all in her expression.

Haha, there must be truth in this. And coming to think of it, I also always found the Moondancer pose awkward (which doesn't stop me from happily having Moondancer in my herd), but with Sugar Sweet, it feels like it's not the same pose. I don't know if it's the greater amount/differently styled hair, the colours, or both, but it feels different, even if I know it's the same.

[Taffeta]

There's something gentle and fluffy about Sugar Sweet somehow

[brightberry]

I tend to settle.  My childhood ponies mean a lot to me so I'm not inclined to replace them.  I don't really want a valuable collection of ponies to worry about.  I just want ponies to hold, admire and twirl their hair. 

But if you mean going on ebay and buying a cheap worn out pony, I would rather hold out for a pony closer to mint.  It's been a long time since I've bought a G1 pony.  My want list is tiny and I have a lot of other interests.

[StayGoldPonyboy]

I absolutely don’t mind “flawed” ponies at all! I’m the same about my Transformers (I have a G1 Inferno who’s missing his everything, even hands haha). I’m here for childhood nostalgia, not a flawless collection if that makes sense. I see all these ebay listings and stuff on here for “bait” ponies that have like, a few marker dots and some messy but still fixable hair! I appreciate how worthless people seem to think they are though because I’m broke 😂 The only pony I would think of as beyond redeemable would be if all their hair was missing/cut or if they had mold/regrind/cancer.

[Loona]

I absolutely don’t mind “flawed” ponies at all! I’m the same about my Transformers (I have a G1 Inferno who’s missing his everything, even hands haha). I’m here for childhood nostalgia, not a flawless collection if that makes sense. I see all these ebay listings and stuff on here for “bait” ponies that have like, a few marker dots and some messy but still fixable hair! I appreciate how worthless people seem to think they are though because I’m broke 😂 The only pony I would think of as beyond redeemable would be if all their hair was missing/cut or if they had mold/regrind/cancer.

Themeaning of the term 'bait' is so different from person to person... I agree with you, to me a lot of (I may even say the majority of) ponies sold under this term are far from bait. In the past I've bought ponies that were sold as bait, and they cleaned up perfectly in my eyes. I enjoy them just as they are