Bait... or?????

[angela22]

So, someone please explain it to me, because I really am wondering if I missed something.

Exactly WHAT is considered BAIT? Because I was always under the impression that Bait should conjure some mental image of a pony whose plastic is half melted, gooey, covered in a mixture of black pen and pink highlighter, hair burst into flames.... you get the idea.

But, being someone who usually gets ponies who are in at least decent shape, I haven't seen a whole lot of "BAIT" ponies for awhile. Well, I just went on Ebay and looked specifically for G1 BAIT ponies (thinking I could maybe save a few) - and....

  (in that order)

What the...??? These G1's are nowhere NEAR BAIT!!!!!! I didn't see ONE SINGLE pony on the results page that deserved to be called Bait. Is it just me, or are they now wrecking any pony who is less than MINT?????

Fill me in girls.

[Taxel]

I've seen people asking for/selling 100% mint G1s to customize. It disgusts me. I don't care if the pony is common, if it is mint, do not bait it! Ever!!!! (Speaking about G1s and G2s)

Heck I'd put most actually baity G1s right into my collection! Cancer, regrind, hair cuts, missing tails, rust stains, pindot. . .I accept them all. I even seek out ponies with hair cuts and/or missing tails because I prefer them that way. So it angers me even more. And this is coming from someone who absolutely loves customs and even wants some G1 and G2 customs.

In my opinion, to bait a G1 it must be totally unrestorable. I think G1s need at least most, if not all, of these flaws to be baited: missing all/almost all hair (i.e. plugs cut down to the head), major body marks/discoloration, lots of chew marks, missing limbs/ears, holes, insane pindot/cancer/regrind, MAJOR symbol/eye rub or missing symbols/eyes, and that's all I can think of. But you get the picture.

[Jadis4742]

It's a personal thing. I bought a "bait" Sweet Tooth that whose only flaw was one tiny brown dot, but I had to buy three Dancing Butterflies before I found one whose symbols were scuffed up enough to justify removing.

[cloud_weaver]

I think sadly it's the trend of customizing.  Please don't get me wrong - I *adore* customs and there are most definitely a few customizers that have a soft spot in my heart...but sellers on ebay are seeing a way to make a quick buck by cranking out customs that have a sticker price of $15-$20, whereas the previously untouched original pony would barely fetch $5. 

That's my thought anyway.  I'm not criticizing our customizers by any means - just observing trends on ebay on a few different sellers (who are not members of this community as far as I know) that constantly have 20+ customs up.


*Edit to add*
That's why I think you're seeing lots of 'bait' lots - to appeal to the customizers who are ready to crank out artwork for a profit.

[TickledPink]

I think sadly it's the trend of customizing.  Please don't get me wrong - I *adore* customs and there are most definitely a few customizers that have a soft spot in my heart...but sellers on ebay are seeing a way to make a quick buck by cranking out customs that have a sticker price of $15-$20, whereas the previously untouched original pony would barely fetch $5. 

That's my thought anyway.  I'm not criticizing our customizers by any means - just observing trends on ebay on a few different sellers (who are not members of this community as far as I know) that constantly have 20+ customs up.


*Edit to add*
That's why I think you're seeing lots of 'bait' lots - to appeal to the customizers who are ready to crank out artwork for a profit.

Oh don't worry, there are tons of customizers that feel the same way you do!

[Colorscapesart]

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A lot of G1 customs are actually made from bait ponies.  Baity G1s DO exist   I think it's a personal choice in each case.  These gals have split body parts are faded, bald and filthy.  Time to give them a new life. 

[PinkRosedust]

I'm with you on that. I have a lot of "baity" ponies in my collection that I love to bits. I've bought many bait ponies that cleaned up just fine. Customizing seems to be SO popular now that I worry about newbies finding nice G1s and baiting them because they don't care. 

I just like to imagine that any time a customizer buys a G1 as bait but gets it and finds that it's not, they clean it up instead and love it or sell it to someone who will. Which I'm sure does happen a lot but probably not as much as I personally would like.

I'm glad to see more talk about this subject lately. I hope we're not offending anyone. But in a pony collecting community it seems to me like this is important discussion! At the very least, maybe newer people will see it and it will inspire them to be careful about the ponies they bait, and to always ask if they're not totally sure of what they're about to do!

[TickledPink]

I personally dont' customize g1's with the exception of boys and the occasional baby, and they are always in really bad shape when I use them. I'm talking chewed up faces and feet, cancer that is really horrible...the works. I don't ever bait a g1 that can be easily restored.

Now g3's..those are fair game. But I do know the difference between the rare/htf g3's and wouldn't ever dream of touching them. Any time i have any doubts, I do my research before i touch a pony.

I'm a collector before I'm a customiser. There are quite a few customizers (not jsut on this board) that aren't collectors that think that any pony is fair game..or the rare few who really don't seem to care either way and do whatever they want.  It's heartbreaking, but all you can do is educate, and if they choose to ignore that education, well they can just prepare themselves for the angry opinions of collectors! *shrug*

[angela22]

I'm with you guys! I guess I must really be a purist, because I too see these vintage toys as something to be preserved. Maybe not in a museum somewhere, but definitely preserved, and us Pony Collectors are their "curators", so to speak. The task of preserving them is up to us. Maybe not now, but there will definitely come a day when even the most "common" pony will not exist to be seen, or be very, very rare to see anywhere at any time. Why make that day come sooner by taking the 30+ year old ponies we DO have still, and entirely erasing them for posterity? These are just my thoughts and ramblings inside my head. I mean, no one would DREAM of taking a 50 year old baseball card and thinking it looked better if the player had a mustache. And no one would ever DREAM of finding an old broken piece of pottery from Ancient Egypt and deciding it would be cute if they glued it back together and painted some flowers on it.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have two treasured customs myself in my collection. So when you HAVE to do it, you HAVE to do it. And the results are amazing. BUT, from what I can tell, people are fiddling with vintage items, soon to be antique - that should be preserved and restored.

Hair missing, what about an original color rehair? Marks on their body, what about sunfading or cleaning tricks? Faded, smudged, missing symbols or eyes - what about carefully repainting? Chew marks, missing body parts - what about apoxy?

Just my thoughts. And I am really speaking about G1s. I hardly care what is done to a G3 (which are what my customs were made from), because they are not 30+ years old. You know?

Let me know what you guys think. I think this is a great thread for us "curators" of the early MLP line to discuss and think about.

Sorry for going on about it lol 

[ButtercreamDream]

What is "bait" has changed a lot over the years, when it comes to g1s (and even g2s and g3s).  In the late 90s, I saw bait lots galore, and they were just less than perfect ponies (some just needing to be cleaned).  I stopped actively collecting for a while, and when I came back, it had changed a lot.  G1s are so much harder to find now, and I think we're getting better at restoring them, so only the worst of the worst condition ponies are getting customised.  I've been going through my own bait box, and wondering who I could save, after some of the tutorials here.  It's possible that whoever is listing those ponies is oldschool like me, and going by what we used to define as bait.

Think about G3s.  Right now, it's ok to customise played with ponies (and I still have at least 5 MIB Sweetiebelles  that I bought for customs when they were in stores, sitting in my bait collection), but in another 10-15 years, that might be making people cry too, as they become harder to find.

[TickledPink]

What is "bait" has changed a lot over the years, when it comes to g1s (and even g2s and g3s).  In the late 90s, I saw bait lots galore, and they were just less than perfect ponies (some just needing to be cleaned).  I stopped actively collecting for a while, and when I came back, it had changed a lot.  G1s are so much harder to find now, and I think we're getting better at restoring them, so only the worst of the worst condition ponies are getting customised.  I've been going through my own bait box, and wondering who I could save, after some of the tutorials here.  It's possible that whoever is listing those ponies is oldschool like me, and going by what we used to define as bait.

Think about G3s.  Right now, it's ok to customise played with ponies (and I still have at least 5 MIB Sweetiebelles  that I bought for customs when they were in stores, sitting in my bait collection), but in another 10-15 years, that might be making people cry too, as they become harder to find.

You said that better than I could. I really need to get to bed over here. LOL!!!

[Pythia]

I used to be of the opinion that common G1s were ok to customise...but now I actually feel that they should be customised if the work needed to restore them was such that it would effectively be a customisation anyway.

They're a non-renewable resource. There's a limitied supply, and if people keep customising everything that isn't mint, soon there won't be many left at all...

[PandoraFox]

Now, don't get me wrong. I have two treasured customs myself in my collection. So when you HAVE to do it, you HAVE to do it. And the results are amazing. BUT, from what I can tell, people are fiddling with vintage items, soon to be antique - that should be preserved and restored.

Hair missing, what about an original color rehair? Marks on their body, what about sunfading or cleaning tricks? Faded, smudged, missing symbols or eyes - what about carefully repainting? Chew marks, missing body parts - what about apoxy?

Just my thoughts. And I am really speaking about G1s. I hardly care what is done to a G3 (which are what my customs were made from), because they are not 30+ years old. You know?

Let me know what you guys think. I think this is a great thread for us "curators" of the early MLP line to discuss and think about.

Sorry for going on about it lol   

Actually sometimes I do wonder about how people see restored ponies.
I'm enjoying restoring the ponies from my childhood collection, and may continue to pick up new ponies to restore once I'm done with these.
I don't have to many tricks in my arsenal yet, but I'm hoping to learn much more. However I've been noticing a, well, odd trend.

On the one hand, while looking around in he community, I see a lot of these topics. Every pony can be saved, every pony is worth being saved, even the common ones. On the other hand, I constantly see people claim re-haired ponies for instance aren't worth much, or that breaking the neck seal obviously lowers the value, despite the fact that doing so carefully and taking care of rusted washer prevents much bigger damage down the line.
People seem to insist ponies should be restored, but when it comes to buying and selling I'm just not getting the feel that anyone would want a restored pony. Everyone seems to want either a mint condition one or a messy looking one with no work done.

Please note, I'm not trying to attack anyone, nor point out anyone in particular. These are examples of an overall feel I've been getting on the subject is all. Needless to say I've been left a tad confused, and I'd love to understand more about how people value restored ponies, and I'm certain I've overlooked things and would like to know about them.

Basically my confusion stems fro the fact that I see people advocate restoring nearly all ponies, and then see people go, "Ugh, I bought a re-hair by mistake, what a let down." so to say. How do people value the worth of a restored pony? Would you like to own one, if it was done nicely, and the pony truly looked like new? If it's a common pony, would you still feel a restored one holds value?

[Taxel]

I have never ever understood the "rehairing a pony makes it worth less!" argument, especially since most collectors seem to be after ponies that are at least nice, if not mint. The "removing the head makes it worth less" argument at least makes a *little* sense to me. . .but honestly I remove all heads to check for mold, rust, dead bugs, and other nasty things. Plus who knows if a child (or anyone else, for that matter) removed it in the past.

If the pony lost her original hair, giving her pretty new locks makes her worth more (to me). Good rehairs look better than bald ponies, even if I prefer tailless ponies with hair cuts I can see that. While I enjoy my 100% Hasbro ponies, I'm no "original only" elitist, and I've never understood that mentality. After all, we're collecting vintage toys. Many will have some kind of damage from play and just being very old. Restores and custom Hasbro ponies (reposes, for example) are more than welcome in my herd. I'd much rather see a G1/G2 restored or lightly customized (de-BBEs and turning jewel eyes into normal ones, for example) than baited.

[Princess-Sparkles]

I bought a lot of 15 for $30 including postage these were apparently bait but most of them only had hair cuts and symbol/rubs. I love them alot. I personally love ponies that need TLC I could never bait a G1.