Just curious

[Baby Sugarberry]

For me it depends on the fix - I personally hate reglitters / repaints unless they look like factory work, which is practically impossible unless the fix was to regular paint and very minor; something like an eye scratch maybe.   Rehairs I don't mind as much if they're done to the original standards - none of this unstyled, overlong, overstuffed-to-the-point-where-you-can-see-the-plastic-around-the-tail-stretching nonsense.  Original is preferable though.  Neck seals don't bother me and I prefer them popped because keeping an eye on internal condition and ensuring there are no rust/mildew problems and getting them completely washed/dried before I put a pony in my collection trumps originality for me.   Every collector is going to be different, but the general rule of 'the more original the better' holds true.

[Brightglowpony]

These are good questions- I was wondering if there was even a "proper" way to mark an altered pony.  Like is there a certain letter or symbol the pony is marked with if it is re-haired, re-glittered, re-twinkled, etc? 

I personally feel that an alteration usually de-values a pony, but then again I would totally understand not wanting to leave a pony bald or in a sad state.  I don't generally collect restores, though I did purchase a re-glittered g1 Sparkler that I absolutely love

Any ponies I have restored or rehaired I have signed on the bottom of a hoof much like I do with my customs. I also mark what I've done to them on a hoof bottom (rehair, repaint, etc).

Elf

Cool, thanks for the info Elf!

[Sukey]

I am definitely a collector who likes to remove the heads for cleaning. I have seen too many ponies with gross, sticky insides to not clean them inside and out. I think that cleaning the inside and letting them dry out can help prevent future problems such as mold. The first thing I do when I get a new pony is decapitate it and clean it

I am not opposed to having an altered pony in my collection. I recently bought a Rockin' Beat Half Note pony who had been rehaired with green hair. I fell in love with her and like her new do more than the original.(I can't wait to see her in person!!!) For the most part I do prefer the pony to be in original condition.

[silverdawn]

With my sales, I've found that re-pinking hair increases final values significantly.  You must make sure to disclose that though!  It personally doesn't bother me because even repinked, it's not the *exact* same shade as an original.  It's pretty darn close,  but I can still spot a re-pink a mile away.  If the person did a good job, I wouldn't be opposed to buying a repinked pony, however, original pink is always preferred.  

The trouble runs into rarer ponies... one of my dutchies is faded to white, but I just cannot bring myself to repink it.  With common stuff like Posey, or Lickety Split, I wouldn't think twice, but I'm guessing it's better to leave rarer stuff as original as possible.  I have no actual selling experience to back that up as I've never done a head to head rare pony repinked vs white haired pony sale comparison lol!  It's just my personal opinion and the general vibe from the community.  I could still be wrong about the final value sales on rare repinked though.

[Whippycorn]

I take the head off if it's loose already, or if I can clearly see that the insides are really really gross. I might be too scared to do this with a mega rare pony though.

It's funny, re-pinking is the one think I'm not keen on... I think I'd rather have faded hair than hair that's not the right pink. I guess because I don't think faded hair really hurts a pony and I think I have paranoia about dye stains. But again, as long as it's marked on the pony at least the people who want unaltered ponies can be aware.

As a matter of interest, what do you guys do if you ever see a pony on say Evilbay which is being sold without disclosure of obvious alterations or repairs? Do you message the seller? Report it? I've seen cases like these a couple of times...perhaps the restorer had not marked the pony?

[Baby Sugarberry]

Mislabelled auctions are a heap 'o trouble.  Myself, I don't touch them, because it rarely turns out well.  Most sellers aren't appreciative of being told they're in the wrong, and pictures don't always tell the full story anyways.  I don't think ebay pays much attention to reports when it's something that wouldn't be an obvious problem to the average person.

[bluerose9978]

I take the head off if it's loose already, or if I can clearly see that the insides are really really gross. I might be too scared to do this with a mega rare pony though.

It's funny, re-pinking is the one think I'm not keen on... I think I'd rather have faded hair than hair that's not the right pink. I guess because I don't think faded hair really hurts a pony and I think I have paranoia about dye stains. But again, as long as it's marked on the pony at least the people who want unaltered ponies can be aware.

As a matter of interest, what do you guys do if you ever see a pony on say Evilbay which is being sold without disclosure of obvious alterations or repairs? Do you message the seller? Report it? I've seen cases like these a couple of times...perhaps the restorer had not marked the pony?

I think in the case of eBay you would want to contact the seller first because they may not know it's been altered. Not everyone is a die-hard collector and some are new to ponies or a little oblivious to things like this. However, if the seller is known to hide things like poniesandpetals then I'd report it.

[silverdawn]

Just wanted to give Jo-anne a quick recap on closing value fees.  It's just one pony, but it might be of interest

Spoiler

Repink of mine that sold for $48.00
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Second repink I did that sold for $18.25 (I listed it too close to my other one I think)
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Original Pink with a BIN that sold for $34.00
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Faded Pink for $19.00 BIN
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Sold in a lot with the 3 other of her set for $36.00, almost completely white hair
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[Whippycorn]

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I must say I thinks this shade actually suits her better! But I think I'd almost consider it more like an alt rehair!   The price comp goes to show that people feel very differently about these sorts of things.

[Sweet_Stuff]

Just wanted to give Jo-anne a quick recap on closing value fees.  It's just one pony, but it might be of interest

Spoiler

Repink of mine that sold for $48.00
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Second repink I did that sold for $18.25 (I listed it too close to my other one I think)
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Original Pink with a BIN that sold for $34.00
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Faded Pink for $19.00 BIN
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Sold in a lot with the 3 other of her set for $36.00, almost completely white hair
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Lovely! After seeing these pics, I have to appreciate mine more... She has never been touched and I had no clue she could go for that much..

[FarDreamer]

This isn't exactly what the question was, but I prefer to buy beat up ponies for cheap and then fix them up.  For example, I got my Sweet Sundrop for less than $5 just because she had faded hair and now I think she looks great.

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I like to go a little nuts with the hair styles and accessories so it's a little hard to see her hair in the photo.

Personally, I collect for me and I do what I enjoy with my ponies.  If it hurts their re-sale value, that's not why I'm collecting them.  Besides that, I figure if they're bad enough I'm buying them in bait lots then it can't be decreasing their value THAT much, lol.

[Sweet_Stuff]

This isn't exactly what the question was, but I prefer to buy beat up ponies for cheap and then fix them up.  For example, I got my Sweet Sundrop for less than $5 just because she had faded hair and now I think she looks great.

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I like to go a little nuts with the hair styles and accessories so it's a little hard to see her hair in the photo.

Personally, I collect for me and I do what I enjoy with my ponies.  If it hurts their re-sale value, that's not why I'm collecting them.  Besides that, I figure if they're bad enough I'm buying them in bait lots then it can't be decreasing their value THAT much, lol.

Good point! ..Never thought of it that way... Hmm. Would you be interested in helping me with a possible restoration project?! I'll PM you with details..

[Salli]

This is a great thread!

I wouldn't touch anything that was nirvana if I planned on selling it, as far as trying to repair. A haircut Rapunzel with original hair will probably be worth more than that same Rapunzel rehaired to even look like the original. Antiques are weird that way, you'd think things that look nicer sell higher, but no! Every watch Antiques Roadshow and seen an appraiser tell someone that their valuable antique whatever would have been worth more if they hadn't cleaned it?

I collect TLC ponies (no nirvanas or HTF here) and restore their hair if it's needed. I usually prefer to buy de-haired or ruined-hair ponies with okay bodies. I think I only have a few ponies that a picky/minty collector would even consider. My goal is to keep trashed ponies from ever finding their way to the trash by an unsuspecting person.