Rare top 10 list?

[PastelPeaches]

I feel my first post was pretty confusing so edited it to get to point.
Also once again if this is in the wrong place please delete or move and I'm sorry 
3 Newbie questions:



Is  a rare pony just an expensive pony or does it just simply mean hard to find ATM?


Is there a guide to pony lingo for newbies?



What do you consider the top 10 rare ponies in the USA (not nirvana)? Just for fun.

[Pumpkin_Tart]

I am not an expert in nirvanas but I know there are a few people on here who know a lot about them! Strawberryreef would be a good source for identifying nirvana if that helps! As of rareness, I would say that any South African ponies like Bubbles and firefly, are probably in the top 20 rare nirvanas as they go for $900+

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I would personally steer away from StrawberryReef as it is no longer being updated and find that MyLittleWiki is a bit better of a resource for Nirvanas.
Rare, sought after, and expensive are like circles in a giant venn diagram that have lots of overlap but are not interchangeable. Rapunzel meets all three, but Mimic is not so rare huh? A lot of this can be picked up by just being in the community and learning as you go, which is what I suggest. I understand wanting to know which ponies are rare, but it's always a good idea to just collect which ponies appeal to you personally. Not every rare pony is the prettiest!
That said, the market is always in a bit of flux. For example, there was a time when the perfume puff ponies were not so sought after, and now? Red Roses is a bit up there! Things can certainly change. For average market value, I still hold the Bluerose guide in high regard as it is still being updated, but it is not perfect.
Also, just remembered the Wiki has a page about baits, including a list of ponies that should *not* be baited, which sounds like it should suit your needs of identifying ponies to not pass over.

[Pumpkin_Tart]

I would personally steer away from StrawberryReef as it is no longer being updated and find that MyLittleWiki is a bit better of a resource for Nirvanas.
Rare, sought after, and expensive are like circles in a giant venn diagram that have lots of overlap but are not interchangeable. Rapunzel meets all three, but Mimic is not so rare huh? A lot of this can be picked up by just being in the community and learning as you go, which is what I suggest. I understand wanting to know which ponies are rare, but it's always a good idea to just collect which ponies appeal to you personally. Not every rare pony is the prettiest!
That said, the market is always in a bit of flux. For example, there was a time when the perfume puff ponies were not so sought after, and now? Red Roses is a bit up there! Things can certainly change. For average market value, I still hold the Bluerose guide in high regard as it is still being updated, but it is not perfect.
Also, just remembered the Wiki has a page about baits, including a list of ponies that should *not* be baited, which sounds like it should suit your needs of identifying ponies to not pass over.

Oh I did not realize that. I have not been in the nirvana world lately.

[PastelPeaches]

 right now I am trying to get all the twinkle eyes because they are my favorite . I'll check out these sites though thanks

Post Merge: December 12, 2019, 08:00:03 PM

I am not an expert in nirvanas but I know there are a few people on here who know a lot about them! Strawberryreef would be a good source for identifying nirvana if that helps! As of rareness, I would say that any South African ponies like Bubbles and firefly, are probably in the top 20 rare nirvanas as they go for $900+

Thanks so much for your response! That is crazy! There must be very few of them! I want to buy the newer g1 guide. I got " the world of my little pony" by debra birch. Its helpful and nicely done but out of date. 

[Taffeta]

I would personally steer away from StrawberryReef as it is no longer being updated and find that MyLittleWiki is a bit better of a resource for Nirvanas.
Rare, sought after, and expensive are like circles in a giant venn diagram that have lots of overlap but are not interchangeable. Rapunzel meets all three, but Mimic is not so rare huh? A lot of this can be picked up by just being in the community and learning as you go, which is what I suggest. I understand wanting to know which ponies are rare, but it's always a good idea to just collect which ponies appeal to you personally. Not every rare pony is the prettiest!
That said, the market is always in a bit of flux. For example, there was a time when the perfume puff ponies were not so sought after, and now? Red Roses is a bit up there! Things can certainly change. For average market value, I still hold the Bluerose guide in high regard as it is still being updated, but it is not perfect.
Also, just remembered the Wiki has a page about baits, including a list of ponies that should *not* be baited, which sounds like it should suit your needs of identifying ponies to not pass over.

Oh I did not realize that. I have not been in the nirvana world lately.

Steer away from Strawberry Reef, period, because it's a long since abandoned dead site full of errors that nobody is interested in fixing.

It may be ok for G3 stuff. I can't comment on that, I'm not a G3 expert. But it should never be used for G1 stuff, and especially not anything outside the US. The idea of using it for Nirvana makes me shiver, given how many problems there are for just for regular international releases.

Wiki has a lot more Nirvana stuff and is still updated but I would recommend asking at the Arena's Nirvana forum as well. I don't know if the Gallery is still locked down, but it was the best Nirvana space I was aware of before that happened.

To the questions.

Is  a rare pony just an expensive pony or does it just simply mean hard to find ATM?

I think it means both, but geography can play a part in that as well. For example, a pony that is common in the US, like Firefly, is like gold dust here in the UK. But we have ponies we can find more easily than the US collectors can. The ponies we have that the US didn't have mostly sell for more than ponies of equivalent rarity in the US because of supply and demand and at least 2 decades of trades and sales. But that doesn't mean you can't get a bargain, or that expensive ponies are always the rarest ones.

It's really something better asked on a pony by pony basis. Bluerose's work on the price site is also exhaustive and price recommends are asked here regularly...the market does fluctuate.

Is there a guide to pony lingo for newbies?

I don't know about this, but I did think there was a post on here somewhere like that once...?

What do you consider the top 10 rare ponies in the USA (not nirvana)? Just for fun.

So I am a bit confused by this question because I'm from the UK and in Europe we had a whole slew of ponies that the US didn't have, but they are also not considered Nirvana ponies. You're not including those?

In that case I can only go by my online impressions, but I would think they are mostly mail order ponies from the later years. Not all though. I don't think expensive ponies like Mimic are as htf as their price suggests. I've even found her over here, where she wasn't sold :/ And she comes up a lot online.

It's hard to write a specific list though.

I have the original book Debbie wrote in a time when much was not known, and it is not very accurate. I have none of the others, but good things have been said about Summer's US release book. Suggest if you want a US pony guide you upgrade to that

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Glossed over the lingo part! Here's a post full of a list of acronyms you will see out and about.

[brightberry]

I think for ponies found in the US, it’s going to be later year mail order ponies.


Mimic isn’t actually rare.  She’s just in demand.   I think both the misconception that she’s rare and the willingness for people to pay more for her keeps her price high.

However, flutter ponies with intact wings and Big Brother ponies with all their accessories can command higher prices.  So can ponies in minty condition or those that still look nice on card.

[Taffeta]

Yeah. Mimic was commanding a highish price in comparison with her set-mates even back in the late 1990s, so after 20+ years of this idea of her being expensive and rare...her price is probably never going to come down to normal levels, even though she's not rarer than Bright Eyes or Quackers. In fact, Quackers in nice condition might be harder to find because she discolours so easily.

(This is nicely on topic actually since the OP mentioned collecting TEs!)

The fuss over the MOC Mimic didn't help, either, as it just added to her cult status. Of course MOC Mimic exists, and in multiple, but those go for over $1000 sometimes now, all because some idiots invented the idea that there couldn't possibly be one, and so when the first one showed up people thought she was the only one in existence.

There are a gazillion ponies rarer MOC than Mimic who sell for much lower prices.

Also, to the OP, Twinkle Eyes are awesome, good luck collecting them all!

[goddessofpeep]

There can be more to a pony's rarity than just the number made.  There are quite a few ponies that can be easy to find, but not in good condition.  Probably the rarest pony out there is a TE Party Time from the birthday party set without regrind(a breakdown of plastic that creates what look like "highlighter" splotches all over the body).  I've seen WAY more Rapunzels in my time than decent Party Times.  I don't think I've ever even seen a Party Time that didn't have at least a little regrind. 

Dabble with unfaded green stripes is another one.  You just never see her with her true green stripes.  If you're lucky, you'll find one with washed out greenish white stripes.  Flutter ponies with undamaged original wings, "fading pink" haired ponies with unfaded hair, and So-soft ponies with perfect flocking are all very, very hard to find.

[TornadoLovesMelody]

I'm going to add Big brother Quarterback, 4-speed and TE Sweet Stuff and Gingerbread to ponies rarely ever found in mint condition without regrind/cancer/discolorations.
Those things are RARE.

Other than that, what has been stated above - mint condition late Mail order ponies like
Sweet Scoops, Mommy & Baby Beachy keen with unfaded hair, The birthday twins with unfaded hair ..
Pricey and very uncommon/rare.

And then of course- it all depends on demand at the time.
Prices used to be -fairly- stable 10-ish years ago. Nowadays we have many more collectors and scattered all over social media and I have noticed a culture of "if you want it- I will want it too". I'm sure there's a name for that xD