Does re-hairing affect a pony's value?

[thecakeissisley]

I have been wondering for a while now. So let's say you have a G1 pony with terrible hair who isn't dirt-cheap and would cost a nice amount of money in a good condition. If you rehair the pony with brand new doll hair, does the value rise or drop? Because I've heard of collectors who would rather have a pony with bad (but original) hair or rubbed symbols than a restored pony. What do you think? (The same question applies to repainting rubbed symbols, or re-flocking and restoring in general)

[Nilenna]

I think I would prefer a rehaired one, if it was done so it looked like the original hair. But I also would know about it before buying it.

[Baby Sugarberry]

For non-nirvanas, an original-accurate rehair (same color, length, style and thickness) will generally raise value over the same pony with a buzzcut.  The final value is still going to be below what the same pony would fetch in original condition. 

Repaints / reglitters / reflocks are far more likely to be rejected completely by collectors because it's near-impossible to get exact factory matches.  These types of fixes almost always are readily spottable as non-original and thus severely impact a pony's value.

[moonflower]

It would put me off buying tbh, but a rehair is preferable to a buzzcut.

[DemureGirl]

Been wondering this too. I have a nurse Sweetheart with the worst haircut I've seen on a pony (part buzz, parts longer. It's all over the place with no equal cuts)
I'd like to rehair her (or have her rehaired by someone since I suck at it) but I don't want to devalue her =/

[Leave a Whisper]

I'd pay for a rehair rather then a pony with a major haircut. I mean I'd be paying for someone to rehair them anyways so why not get one that's already done? Look some people will pay for a custom pony and that's altering what's already there but a rehair to breath life into a ratty tatty, pony to make it look like it came from the store takes time and skill too. That's just my opinion.

[Skeen]

While I appreciate that rehairing makes a pony look better, I won't buy them and they don't have a place in my collection. 

[FullMoonFever]

To me if they have gnarly, nasty and or manky hair, they need fixing.  I've rehaired a couple of my ponies, like an Italian Tickle, and some wingers and I gave Fireball a new forelock.  The purple doesn't exactly match the rest, but it doesn't matter to me since I won't be reselling these guys.

Some ponies I wouldn't rehair like the super rare ones like the piggy ponies. 

[hathorcat]

While I appreciate that rehairing makes a pony look better, I won't buy them and they don't have a place in my collection. 

This is pretty much where I stand on it as well.

It has to be a pretty bad condition original hair cut for rehairing to actually increase value in any way (which usually means its only worth it for your own collection when you factor in the money spent on the new hair). It is certainly subjective but you will find most people prefer a pony in original condition than restored with a full new mane/tail (the odd plug added however - especially if done with original hair - tends to be more of a help than a hindrance).

[Marlin]

While I appreciate that rehairing makes a pony look better, I won't buy them and they don't have a place in my collection. 

Hate to say it but I'm on this side of the fence, too. Original for me or naught, nowadays. Though I confess I have about two or three ponies who got freshened up with just a new forelock where a buzz cut had been prior.

This will sound really unhelpful(!) but I think it depends on the buyer. Some people aren't bothered by re-hairs/customs, others are troubled by the loss of the pony's original integrity.

[Shy Violet]

I think it really depends on the buyer. For my own collection I like to rehair my own ponies if they needed a major rehair. I'm not sure how I feel about buying one that someone else did though. It would depend on the pony and I wouldn't pay as much for a rehair as the same pony with perfect original hair. Repainting is a no no for me. 

[LadyMoondancer]

I don't think I'd buy a rehair.  Their hair never sits quite right, IMO.

But I do think a rehair raises the value of a pony over a buzzcut.

[Whippycorn]

Personally, I would prefer to buy such a pony with poor hair and rehair it myself with donor hair. But that's only because I'm picky about rehairing methods. 

Say with Mimic, my order of preference/value would be:

Good original hair > Rehaired with needle and thread method > Buzzcut > Rehaired with tool + glue


As for repainting, I don't think it would increase value. If it's my own pony maybe I'd fix a major eye rub, but wouldn't touch symbols. Re-pinking is not for me, it never looks quite right. 

[Aednatia]

I'm not really a G1 collector. I just want a couple of ponies from my past and I would like them to be original as possible. I gave up on trying to collect them for now because when I asked if they were re-haired or if their head could be easily popped off for pictures inside (I got lied to or mislead). I will be looking to complete my G1s when I have enough for MOCs only. My best Parasol has 3 plugs replaced, this doesn't bother me, it was the person that stamped the feet with a million H's all around all 4 feet that upsets me. All though I know they meant well and didn't want to mislead people, it would have been way better to just be told plugs were replace. I would have still bought her. I also asked for pictures of the feet after.

I have seen some very pretty re-hairs I have wanted. But it would most likely be G3 or G4, don't think I would go for any G1 re-hairs.

[daffodil101]

I've seen obviously re=pinked and re-haired ponies on ebay and I have to admit, it does put me off.  In most cases anyway.  However I feel differently about donor hair-- if it's genuine Hasbro, and a precise match, then it doesn't bother me that it came from another pony.  I have a few rare ponies in my collection who I plan to rehair from donor tails.

On re-pinking I don't mind a very, very faint re-pink, if the colour is just right, but I really dislike those strong rose pinks that are clearly fake.

I guess ultimately it's a personal choice.  An ethical seller will always let the buyer know what work has been done.