How rare is Mimic really?

[Leave a Whisper]

...not wanted enough that'd chalk up a kidney for her. LOL. (Now, Punzie on the other hand...)

She's fetching quite the price as of late and I'm holding my ground and hoping she'll go down soon.

Wh-who's kidneys have you been selling for rare ponies?



Maybe there is some  truth to her being, not rare but definitely not common. I mean she doesn't pop up half as often as say, Whizzer or Party Time.

[slyons]

But anyway..
Makes me fear for the future..
Like is every G1 ever made going to keep climbing the latter
Untill no one can afford to collect anymore.
Applejack $100 wave runner $60
Bowtie $80 gusty $100 ?
Nooooo!!!

Peachy... $30!!! 

That made me laugh 

[achab1984]

I did not even know about her till I joined this site and found ebay. I think she sure if a different colored pony and wonder why there are not a whole lot of them? Someday I hope to have one in my collection!

[daffodil101]

As of late
I have been seeing Munchy on a huge high demand, as well as night glider.
It's a shame that these prices are just out of controle compaired to how they use to be. I mean mimic is more popular but munchy is so sough after
That her price went from a normal $30 plus to a jump of $80 to $130
For munchy.
Mimmic use to be in the $70 to $150 now she is $200 plus.
I personally under stand wanting to get the most from your own personal collection..how ever I just cringe at the price jumps and know I just can't
Justifie spending $130 and $200 ect for one my little pony..when I have other things in life I have to take care of.
Its frustrating as a collector and it makes me feel like I'll never
Build my chiledhood dream.

But anyway..
Makes me fear for the future..
Like is every G1 ever made going to keep climbing the latter
Untill no one can afford to collect anymore.
Applejack $100 wave runner $60
Bowtie $80 gusty $100 ?
Nooooo!!!

i guess with the popularity of G4, the cartoon, the Brony phenomenon and everything, there are a lot more collectors than there were five or 6 years ago...

Does anyone think the prices will eventually start to come back down to what they used to be?

[Taffeta]

i guess with the popularity of G4, the cartoon, the Brony phenomenon and everything, there are a lot more collectors than there were five or 6 years ago...

Does anyone think the prices will eventually start to come back down to what they used to be?

I expect G4 prices to take a slump when the phenomenon ends and the fad people evacuate for something new. It may build up again in the long run, though, as real collectors and fans stick with it and try to get the ponies that were poorly distributed during their availability.

G1 have been a defunct toy for more than 20 years now, so the price rising is pretty normal. It may be that people will pull away from the collectable as prices rise and I think that the bottom will fall out of some prices. The Easter Ladybird pony I used to see sell for $1500, now people have been listing her on ebay for about $500 without managing to sell her. THat's an individual pony case, though...whether it will work for the overall I don't know.

As I said before, putting prices in print was a very bad idea from that point of view. Those books are not just around in the community here (and I honestly see far too often the sentence, "she is worth (x price)" which I never used to see years back.) The books are available to anyone who wants them, and that means dealers as well. People who make a living from buying up collections, splitting and selling them now have a proper reason to do so with My Litttle Pony, and they know more now what they are selling. It's not a case of identifying the items but having a fixed price in mind because a book says so, irrespective of whether it represents the current popularity or otherwise of particular ponies.

The influx of new collectors has also seen some mad prices. It's as though people think that's the only Munchy/Mimic/Night GLider/enter pony name here that they will ever see, and so have to bid through the roof to get it rather than wait for the next one. It's harder to find them second hand and that's partly because of the dealers that never used to see a value in them now realising they're sought after.

Some of these things are the natural damages of time since the G1s were out on shelves. I still think a lot of the blame falls with having printed price lists, though. Before that, pony prices were adjusted and fluctuated much more based on demand. While that does still happen somewhat in the community, the "she is worth (x$)" comments and conversations are still a lot more common now than they used to be. Add to that the fact that any dealer interested in making money now knows that Mimic is sought after, and you can guarantee those dealers are going to be looking for those ponies and then fleecing up the prices accordingly.

Then, you have the people who have deboxed rare MOC items, thus making the MOC ones more expensive. Since a number of chronic decarders have sold up their collections recently, I think it can no longer be said that taking a pony off card doesn't matter since it's never going to be sold. In some cases that may still be true, but in all others, when you know that you're dealing with maybe 300 or more MIP ponies from just one collector who have been systematically removed from the market by someone who now doesn't want to collect any more, I think you have to wonder at the impact that has had on pricing. And, because the MIP prices go up, people who might have originally bought MIP are now shifting to buying loose mint or loose complete, thus sending THOSE prices higher...and so it continues.

I don't think the prices overall will go down on ponies like Mimic, who have had that aura for a long time. If anything, I suspect the pricing will become worse. Pony collectors have become inextricably obsessed with the monetary value of their ponies, as opposed to the genuine joy of collecting them. I don't think it's a problem to pay $500 for Mimic if she's something that has a special meaning for you as a collector...just as I think it's fine if someone won't pay more than $30 for her because she's an "ugly green". It bothers me a bit that there's a lot of emphasis on "did I get a good deal? Is she worth the amount I paid" rather than, "look at this awesome pony, I love her!". People should pay the prices they think are right, that's all. If people get goaded into paying more than something is worth TO THEM then they're just adding to the problem. MLP ought to be a toy collected because of interest and love, not because it's nice to show off something expensive and rare. Sometimes I think that line has been blurred.

My most expensive loose pony is Brazilian Paradise. I don't actually care what her "value" is. She was worth the money I paid for her because she filled a want of mine going back to my childhood. I'd like to think there isn't a single pony in my collection who is there for her monetary value, and I know I'd love my ponies as much if they were worth nothing tomorrow, because when I began collecting them they were worth nothing to anyone, just carboot sale junk that people were getting rid of. I think somewhere along the way some of that has been lost and probably, now, it's been lost for good.

[slyons]

I don't think the prices overall will go down on ponies like Mimic, who have had that aura for a long time. If anything, I suspect the pricing will become worse. Pony collectors have become inextricably obsessed with the monetary value of their ponies, as opposed to the genuine joy of collecting them. I don't think it's a problem to pay $500 for Mimic if she's something that has a special meaning for you as a collector...just as I think it's fine if someone won't pay more than $30 for her because she's an "ugly green". It bothers me a bit that there's a lot of emphasis on "did I get a good deal? Is she worth the amount I paid" rather than, "look at this awesome pony, I love her!". People should pay the prices they think are right, that's all. If people get goaded into paying more than something is worth TO THEM then they're just adding to the problem. MLP ought to be a toy collected because of interest and love, not because it's nice to show off something expensive and rare. Sometimes I think that line has been blurred.

Where's the 'like' button?  Feel like this was very well said.

[Ponyland]

I don't think the prices overall will go down on ponies like Mimic, who have had that aura for a long time. If anything, I suspect the pricing will become worse. Pony collectors have become inextricably obsessed with the monetary value of their ponies, as opposed to the genuine joy of collecting them. I don't think it's a problem to pay $500 for Mimic if she's something that has a special meaning for you as a collector...just as I think it's fine if someone won't pay more than $30 for her because she's an "ugly green". It bothers me a bit that there's a lot of emphasis on "did I get a good deal? Is she worth the amount I paid" rather than, "look at this awesome pony, I love her!". People should pay the prices they think are right, that's all. If people get goaded into paying more than something is worth TO THEM then they're just adding to the problem. MLP ought to be a toy collected because of interest and love, not because it's nice to show off something expensive and rare. Sometimes I think that line has been blurred.

Where's the 'like' button?  Feel like this was very well said.

That is happening in a lot of other toy lines from the 70/80's as well. Prices go up because you want something to show off as a collector, and to belong in the group of cool people who own things that others admirer. (Like an expensive brand purse)
And I think that prices for MLP will only get higher. Not for the bait ones, but for the ones in good condition. And prices for MOC's will be skyrocketing in the future as they just gets rarer, and fewer unfortunately. 

[hathorcat]

As others have mentioned sought after and rare are very weird things If you do an ended auction search on other ponies in her set which only got their North American and Aussie/NZ releases then you will find an equalish amount of them for sale. Bright Eyes and Quackers pop up for sale as often as Mimic herself does. However there prices never get to her heights because although people want them they just dont want them as much or, more specifically, are just not willing to pay the same kind of price.

At the end of the day, we as collectors do set the prices of ponies. If we were all unwilling to spend $100 on Mimic because we all thought she was more a $30 pony, then she probably would not sell for as much. But as much as there is no RRP for G1 ponies there is perceived values/pricing within the community.

[Taffeta]

At the end of the day, we as collectors do set the prices of ponies. If we were all unwilling to spend $100 on Mimic because we all thought she was more a $30 pony, then she probably would not sell for as much. But as much as there is no RRP for G1 ponies there is perceived values/pricing within the community

There are, though I feel there is a problem whereby a handful of individuals dictate what someone ought or ought not pay for a item, or sell their item for. If someone wants $200 for Bright Eyes then only someone willing to pay that will pay it, but it doesnt mean it is the wrong price, not if both people are happy. Equally, if someone chose to sell Bright Eyes for $10, that should be their choice and not dictated by outside. Too many people ask for reassurance on their buys, but, if you wanted it and can afford it without going into financial hardship, nobody else's judgement matters in the slightest.

Printing price guides in books only cements what people feel they should pay, and newer collectors get sucked into the madness because they come to believe that is how my little pony operates. I saw similar in the Jem community, and what happened there was an increase in members stabbing each other in the back to get a deal. Private offers on ebay are already on the increase as people desperately try to get items before they spin into madness.

Prices became out of control when the power of deciding a pony's value was taken from the individual collector to decide. The community is responsible for that fact, nobody else. We all deal in pony value to some degree, but ultimately, pricing isn't even taking into consideration different countries or exchange rates. $100US is less in our money here in the UK and more to someone in, I think, Australia. Mimic wasn't sold here but she was sold there. Someone in the UK might pay more for a Mimic than soneone in the US -but then the bidder in the US might be richer, or might be trying to replace a precious childhood pony. Each pony sells for the price it does based on the individual judgement of the bidder, something a price guide cannot legislate for.

There is a point to price checking and rough guidelines that the community as a whole generally accept (eg Barnacle is rarer than Peachy so costs more). The harsh truth is, though, that ponies are a toy, not a stable investment product. If nobody buys your item then you can always change your price later, but it is asking for trouble when things like payment plans appear for ponies.

Maybe I have just been doing this too long, but I really miss the days when it was all about trading, rather than cold hard cash, and when people made their own judgements. Pony for pony has always seemed the most logical currency conversion to me.

It would almost be nice to go back to the days when the only ponies creating real price controversy over value were Mimic and Rapunzel

[hathorcat]

For me no one sets the price other than the buyer and seller. It is a trade in many ways. Sure people can ask for opinions, can check websites or books to find out what a histortical or current average for a sale is. But at the end of the day the decision is made by the individual - factoring in whether they are spending more than they would ever make back if selling on, how much they want the pony, whether the pony is worth the price due to issues or whatever other considerations are important to them, etc, etc.

Yes I agree ponies are not a worthwhile investment - very few collectibles/hobbies are as they are dependant on the fickleness of a varied community. But when people are spending so much money on them they do have to factor in "value" od some kind along the way.

There is no such thing as paying too much if you are willing to spend it - if you consider the pony that "value" then thats what it is to you. As mentioned there is no set price. But in any hobby where money or like goods exchange, then there are general community agreement on what something is typically "worth". There has to be or no one would be able to sell anything.

[Taffeta]

there are general community agreement on what something is typically "worth". There has to be or no one would be able to sell anything.

I have no issue with general community agreement about value and worth. I have issue with printed guidebooks which put in stone value and worth and cannot possibly update to represent changes or fluctuations. Over the years MLP has been a legendarily flighty item in terms of value, as I know you know very well. The moment it got into print that x pony was worth x amount, then the whole world outside of the community was dictating prices based on those prints. I've seen it on ebay, time and time again, with BIN prices "Based on the prices in x book".

I know full well that none of the books would have been published without a price guide, because it's the kind of thing publishers obsess about. It doesn't mean, however, that doing so was ever going to be a good thing.

I also do think that some of the "accepted" prices that are banded about are insane. It doesn't affect me because it relates to ponies I don't chase, and as you say, people are free to spend the prices they like on anything - but I think it's wrong to ever "value" a pony to someone in the thousands of $. That's a very personal decision and if you're payment planning, probably you can't afford that outlay. At the very least, the only ponies who should even be considered in that range are true one of a kind ponies - ponies like Ponyland's first shot Bluebelle and Ember's Sunsparkler - and many of those actually sell for less. I don't know who decided that ponies that were made in a batch for a national market and sold in probably quite large numbers originally should ever be considered more valuable or costly than ponies for which only one exist.

If someone bids it up that much on an auction or ebay, that's one thing. But to tell someone they need to shell out four figures for a plastic horse because someone decided that was what that pony was worth is just plain mad to me. And, when you see offers in the thousands being rejected as "not enough" for a pony that is not OOAK, you know that, somewhere, everything has started to go a little bit out of control.

[bluerose9978]

If you go through the completed listings on eBay, Mimic is still going for right around $100 in good condition if you are just counting auction listings. The BINs are of course going for more because the sellers set the prices. But the ridiculous-priced ones are not selling. So there is hope for people still searching for Mimic. I was watching one recently with a few problems and almost bid. Wished I had because I would have probably won her. She went for less than $90.

[daffodil101]

It can be tough to know sometimes, whether to 'buy up now', as in try to complete my collection before the prices get any worse.  To me I've spent a huge amount of money on ponies, but the ponies are worth so much more to me than money.  I wish I'd bought more three years ago or so, when the value of our dollar was on par with the US dollar.  I bought an MIB UK Good Weather for about $40 in 2012.  Now 3 years later I'm really noticing the difference, our dollar being worth 60-70 US cents, in addition to the rising number of collectors. 

In the past I would hold off buying a rare pony to wait for a lower price.  That's harder to do these days, Taffeta I think that's a great point about the books and price guides being so available.  (Though when I read through the book I have, the prices are usually at least double now online what they are in the book.) 

I guess at the end of the day, the best thing is just being able to enjoy your collection and all the love you've put into it.  Especially those of us who were lucky enough to grow up with them will always have those childhood memories.

Though one thing I would say, for perspective... I know we sometimes get downhearted about the prices, but remember back in the 80s/90s, when they were being sold, ponies were fairly expensive at the time, when you consider inflation, and the fact that goods in general were a lot more expensive compared to today since there's so much more cheap manufacturing.  When I was a kid people didn't have as much stuff as we do now because stuff cost a lot more.  So take heart   Paying $20 in 2015 might not be that different to paying $4.99 in 1990.