I am here to document SHENANIGANS. (No, not the g3 pony.)

[Heelys]

I'm crossposting this from MLPTP to get more exposure, so you might feel some deja vu.

I mean I'm here for DRAMA. Specifically, an incident that happened last year that piqued my interest and made me laugh a lot.

I'd like to compile some sort of piece about the eBay Rapunzel incident from 2021. You know, the eBay listing that fluctuated between $10,000-$20,000 and had a dramatic description about a child proudly declaring that this garage sale plaything with a clearly damaged mane would pay for a college tuition (in, may I add, THIS economy). I've also been told that the seller responded poorly to inquiries about the price, and made some declarations about how they, as the sole seller online at the moment, controlled the market.

Come on, man. I got a B- in high school economics, and even I see the holes in that.

So... what am I looking for?

Well, sources! I'd like to either write an article or produce a YouTube video discussing the incident, and journalistic integrity is important to me. If you have any of the following, and would like to help in this project, I would be most obliged:

Screenshots of the eBay listing during its active time.
Screenshots of any relevant online correspondence with the seller. Don't worry-- you can redact your screen name or request that I not include it.
Links or screenshots of online discussion of the events during or near the time stuff went down.
idk, whatever you think is relevant.

If at all possible, please include a date with your evidence (gosh, that sounds serious for a funny pony story). I'm trying to put together a timeline of events. There's a single archive.org snapshot of the webpage from a European user on April 22nd (kudos to the savy user who thought to document it!), when the price was $20,000, but no description is available. But I also have screenshots and discussion from the previous day where the price is to $10,000, and a great deal of discourse has already gone down.

WHY is this important to me?

I dunno. Niche drama is fun! I found the whole situation entertaining, and I feel like if the story is shared with those who haven't heard of it or know nothing about the collecting community, it will be entertaining to them. I just love a good story, and wacky stories about treasured toys and hobbyists are a particular favorite of mine. Like, ask me about the 1999 Furby Scare sometime. It involves the Pentagon and NASA.

[KarentheUnicorn]

Oh yea...I remember a little about the Rapunzel thing. Which, I would never ask question of anyone selling a pony for whatever price they want. I think the issue was when people asked questions about the item and the description they were met with...hum...hostility or straight-up deception.

I messaged the seller to simply ask them to measure the mane length (as I wanted to be sure it was correct and wasn't cut). I honestly can't remember right now if they PM'ed me back if they did or not I'll have to go back and see if I can find it, but I do think I remember them changing the description to say something about they wouldn't measure the mane because of...meh, people trying to copy the pony or some such nonsense? Honestly, I forget the wording at this point.



I remember in the description the seller at some point had the Rapunzel listed as only 3 on earth. Which most of us long time collectors can show ours to prove there are more than 3 on earth. Then I think there was a whole thing about people making copies, and I'm like yo uh...I still have my proof of purchase from hasbro :/

I did back then made this drama representation to share with everyone If there were only 3 on earth, what happened to all the rapunzel. Hopefully the image link will work. But I was just being silly and trying to make light of the situation.

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Most long-time collectors would be happy for anyone who made $10,000 or Whatever they could make on a pony, more power to anyone. But it's more the incorrect information I think most people, including myself, have a problem with...you can't straight up say there are only 3 on earth if you don't know, and when people point that out you get hostile to potential buyers. That is a sure-fire way of making you look like a scammer instead of a legitimate seller.


Edit: Oh, I went back and looked when I made the image and No, not 3 they had it only listed as 1 on earth. "SCARCE MLP My Little Pony G1 Mail Order RAPUNZEL 1987 Only 1 on Earth for Sale"

[Heelys]

Yes, I remember that part of their description-- they seemed to mean it was the only one on the market at the time, but the wording was pretty obtuse. And yeah, it's the attitude that gets my interest more than the price-- this individual refused to be wrong, and jacked up the price when people started asking questions. I recall the seller making up figures, like saying that there were exactly 100 produced and that all unsold stock was destroyed.

I find it a little hard to believe the seller had sources for these claims, given that they listed the production year as 1987. I get that it's a common mistake to list the year on the foot, but if you're trying to be a reputable seller of something worth thousands... come on, man.

[Taffeta]

Not dissimilar to the thread discussion over the '10 rarest ponies' which claims Rapunzel is the rarest pony of all of them - which she isn't...wondering if that was influenced by this.

I don't have anything to add specifically, except that whatever you do with it, it's better to make sure that the seller, even their ID, remains anonymised.

Having seen and been on the receiving end of plenty of 'drama' over the years in and around this and other communities, I feel like adding more is mostly unnecessary, but at the very least it shouldn't be traced back to the original person. Even if they were foolish in how they behaved.

[Heelys]

Not dissimilar to the thread discussion over the '10 rarest ponies' which claims Rapunzel is the rarest pony of all of them - which she isn't...wondering if that was influenced by this.

I don't have anything to add specifically, except that whatever you do with it, it's better to make sure that the seller, even their ID, remains anonymised.

Having seen and been on the receiving end of plenty of 'drama' over the years in and around this and other communities, I feel like adding more is mostly unnecessary, but at the very least it shouldn't be traced back to the original person. Even if they were foolish in how they behaved.

That's a good point. While trying to do research earlier, I found that the eBay user doesn't exist anymore, but I'll avoid sharing other details about the seller if I find them. Scammer or not, I don't want to cause trouble for someone. I just want to tell a good story.

[Lilycove]

Wow this is my first time hearing about this story. Sounds like an absolute rollercoaster! Best of luck collecting all the information you need!

[Eskara1862]

Oh, THESE Shenanigans! I was laughing for days over it! There's even a Facebook group about and making fun of all the nonsense. You can find a Archive.org snapshot of the original listing here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210419192831/https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCARCE-MLP-My-Little-Pony-G1-Mail-Order-RAPUNZEL-1987/274764813359

These images are all from the Facebook groups Vintage My Little Pony *G1* and Big Pun MLP Fan Club.


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I'm pretty sure there's more info in other MLP Facebook groups. I left several of them last year because they wouldn't let me link to my website to sell ponies and I figured I'd just simplify my life by leaving the groups entirely. I have too many items to manage selling on ten different pages without being able to say "If it's on the website, it's available. If it's sold there, it's not." But, that's an entirely different kind of drama and not related to this topic

I may have screenshots on my old phone too. I'll have to find what box I threw it in and get it charged to check.

PLEASE be sure to share the link to your video when you get it done! This whole thing was an absolute delight when it happened and I'd love to see your perspective on it.

[Heelys]

Oh, THESE Shenanigans! I was laughing for days over it! There's even a Facebook group about and making fun of all the nonsense. You can find a Archive.org snapshot of the original listing here: https://web.archive.org/web/20210419192831/https://www.ebay.com/itm/SCARCE-MLP-My-Little-Pony-G1-Mail-Order-RAPUNZEL-1987/274764813359

These images are all from the Facebook groups Vintage My Little Pony *G1* and Big Pun MLP Fan Club.


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I'm pretty sure there's more info in other MLP Facebook groups. I left several of them last year because they wouldn't let me link to my website to sell ponies and I figured I'd just simplify my life by leaving the groups entirely. I have too many items to manage selling on ten different pages without being able to say "If it's on the website, it's available. If it's sold there, it's not." But, that's an entirely different kind of drama and not related to this topic

I may have screenshots on my old phone too. I'll have to find what box I threw it in and get it charged to check.

PLEASE be sure to share the link to your video when you get it done! This whole thing was an absolute delight when it happened and I'd love to see your perspective on it.

omg, thank you SO much this is so much help. I will be sure to link the final product!! and I love the memes

[Eskara1862]

You can see how many times the listing was edited here: https://www.ebay.com/rvh/274764813359

[Beth3346]

yeah that story sounds a little shady to me. those claims about Rapunzel being rarer than she is make me think that they were trying to sell the item to someone as an investment. and that bothers me. but maybe they just needed money and were a little too aggressive about it. idk.

i don't really care what people decide to price items they sell either. its the false claims that both me. ponies aren't a necessity like food or shelter so whatever. but it seems like that seller is forgetting that there are 2 sides to a market. they can price Rapunzel crazy high and the market can choose not to pay. in theory that seller should keep dropping the price until it sells or do an auction.

i've been thinking a lot about pony prices and collecting with all of the NFTs are the new beanie babies hoopla. it irritates me when people treat collectibles like pure money making opportunities. i know the beanie babies were a whole thing. i was a kid and i just thought they were cute so i do still have some. a lot of people collect because they just like ponies and being able to sell and at least get what you paid back is a side effect. this story is reminding me of that time my old landlord saw my pony collection and asked me if that was my retirement plan. i think he was mostly joking but i was a little annoyed. most of my ponies are worth $20 or so. sure i'll retire on that.

[Eskara1862]

i don't really care what people decide to price items they sell either. its the false claims that both me. ponies aren't a necessity like food or shelter so whatever. but it seems like that seller is forgetting that there are 2 sides to a market. they can price Rapunzel crazy high and the market can choose not to pay. in theory that seller should keep dropping the price until it sells or do an auction.

Trust me, that was pointed out. I'm sure the following memes can give you an idea of what the seller's response was

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PS- I'm not providing reference for who made which meme because I only have their real names from Facebook and not their Arena ID's. I don't want to be passing out that info without permission.

[Beth3346]

oh yeah. i think even a free market true believer would have something to say about that. the market chose not to participate.

also Marie Antoinette wasn't a super greedy royal. she was completely unprepared to make any real decisions about governing. she was as much a victim of a corrupt system as anyone. this is a hill i will die on. i don't like that meme at all.

[Heelys]

Eh, the intended effect of the meme is to invoke the extravagance and lavish lifestyle of regency France instead of just being about the queen. But this isn't a discussion of 18th century European politics. Just one royal in particular-- one made of plastic at the beginning of the 1990s.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

oh  I thought this was Baby Shenanigans drama again >.<  thankfully no

[Beth3346]

Eh, the intended effect of the meme is to invoke the extravagance and lavish lifestyle of regency France instead of just being about the queen. But this isn't a discussion of 18th century European politics. Just one royal in particular-- one made of plastic at the beginning of the 1990s.

lol it's just personal pet peeve of mine. that's all. i really don't like someone trolling the mlp community