Grail Acquisition and Drastic Measures

[nollilols]

I'm genuinely unsure how common my girl is.  I saw her recently priced at about $50-$70 on here for someone,  so I won't go above $70, specially considering she's not in perfect condition. 

I quite enjoy the thrill of the bidding but it's so horrible when you think you've won and you lose out at the last second.  I'm kind of expecting that to happen with this one.

Good luck Roseprincess, can't wait to find out if you get her!

[reanna-mator]

I don't let myself buy really expensive ponies very often. Mimic is the most I've paid for a pony, around $80. I just don't have much of value that I'm also willing to part with. It would really be a matter of selling a lot of things in order to get enough money for a big pony purchase.

I've thought about paring down my collection of Pokemon dolls but I don't have any single ones that are worth that much, I don't think. I've got some video games I don't play that I could sell, but none that are worth more than $20-30 at most. I'm certainly not selling my copy of Super Mario RPG, Lunar for Sega CD or Playstation or Bust a Groove 2, the games I have that are worth the most.

That's why I'd thought of doing art commissions for pony money, but so far I haven't gotten any bites. But it's been a while since I've actively advertized my services.

[nollilols]

I've played with the idea of doing art commissions for cash but the reality is while I can draw (I drew my sig and avatar) I'm not good enough to warrent enough money to make the time and effort worthwhile. Which is a shame,  because the conversion of time and effort into money is one of the best ways of making profits. And profit means ponies!

[TinyShinyUnique]

nollilols, how about offering more simple artwork like sketches of ponies? One - practice makes perfect and two - you could always draw for ponies or for bigger sums, because I wouldn't be able to even draw an eye, not to mention a pony and I know there are other people like me

[nollilols]

Hm,  you may actually have hit on something there! I could draw for common ponies, I only have a small collection and still need all the basics like Firefly, Starshine, Posey etc. And i need several Gustys! People may well have spares they would trade for drawings! I just might set up a thread for that! Thanks for the idea!

[Roseprincess1]

I got her....  I got my hollywood!!  and she didn't cost me an arm and a leg!  A rainbow flash and a hollywood.. for UNDER 20.00 each.. S'cuse me i need to

[Tiffymh1fan]

Congrates

[ThriftyPony]

I am usually pretty broke these days and and end up spending a lot of my $ on shoes or clothing "grails." (I am into fashion, but my wallet is not... sigh.) So I usually end up thinking of what pony or other object I can sell if that must have pony does come up.

Everytime a real Takara comes around I start prioritizing what what and "who" I can sell to get it, but I always spend too much time hesitating and plotting and someone beats me to it. Years back someone was selling one for $600 and I was panicked trying to convince myself it was worth it and how I would get the $ together. By the time I convinced myself, someone had already made arrangements for a payment plan with the seller. I was kicking of myself because I hadn't even thought of that as a viable option or something a seller would even agree to. Some day... some day! I have even thought of trying to hire someone living in Japan to find me one but haven't had the opportunity or cash all at once in awhile.

[nollilols]

yikes, that's a lot of money though to be fair! luckily my grails tend not to be quite so expensive!

Also, I won my grail,  who I can now reveal is Scandinavian Gusty!

[hathorcat]

Awesome pony nollilols! I love her! Congrats

[nollilols]

Hee hee thanks Hathorcat! Your PCs and general knowledge about her on another thread or two on the forum came in very handy when I was looking for her and deciding how much to spend when I found her! I got her for $35 in the end, which is halfway between what yourself and another Arena member paid, and she looks to be in great condition, apart from a bit of dirt. I ordered some Magic Erasers just for her so she's gonna get a real spa treatment when she arrives! So excited!!

I'm so glad I didn't have to go to any drastic measures for this particular pony - because knowing me and my love of Gustys I probably would have haha! ....Buying Magic Erasers for her isn't drastic is it?!  Now I just need to get the Euro Gusty and the US Regular Gusty (trust me to get Scandinavian and Italian before UK and US!) and I'll have a really nice little set.

 

[hathorcat]

$35! Very nice price She is so often over looked that sometimes you luck on to a good price but then at other times because so many people are on the look out she can rocket in price. Cant wait to see her all cleaned up

Magic erasers are always helpful to have around! I am in love with the new ones which appeared on shelves just in the last week - the Flash ones...they are fantastic!

[nollilols]

Thanks! And yep, I almost missed her myself - I was actually looking at a Bon Bon by the same seller whose description noted that she was selling her friend's collection and as her friend is from Northern Europe, there might be exclusives. So, I immediately dashed for her other items and there was Gusty, listed as regular ole G1 Gusty. I nearly fell over, I've nearly gone cross-eyed lately from squinting at Gusty-eyes all over Ebay for green ones that weren't on a Euro girl 

As for magic erasers, I've never actually tried them before - I was looking up cleaning methods on here and found a restorations thread where the OP swore by them for the whiteness of her restorations, so I decided to give them a go. I got relatively cheap, but apparently comparable to Mr. Clean, ones on Ebay after reading reviews on Amazon for a few different brands. I don't have any major work to do on Gusty so I don't think I need super powered ones or anything. 

[brighteyes]

Yay!  Congrats to nollilols and roseprincess1 for getting their grails.  I love happy endings!

[Tiffymh1fan]

Im so happy for you!! You did great! And the magic erasers are worth it, but be carful around symbols and eyes I cant wait to see pictures!