Illegally produced G.I.Joe accessories

[GI Trekker]

Just one quick comment here on the "thrill of the hunt". The thrill of the hunt gets old REALLY quick in my book. I'm still trying to find a Transformers Alternators Camshaft and haven't had any luck in that, and the real thrill will be when I FIND the blasted thing!

[Shogi]

What if all us high paying collectors found out Hasbro was now opening up an online replacement parts website. Collectors could buy HM mics, Hardtop accessories, Night Force accessories, double handled bazookas, etc, etc. These parts are now legit, made from original molds and exact colors. Yay! Now everyone can complete any and all figures from their collections for a few dollars each. Boo! Now ever stupid piece I paid a fortune for is now worthless.

So regardless of whether the repros are made my Hasbro or some other person, prices across the board sink. Again, Yay! for some, Boo! for others.

This is a problem I'm facing in what's left of my Transformers collection, Years ago I bought a Star Convoy in box for $325 Last year Takara released Star Convoy for something like $150 Even longer ago I bought a Fort Max for $600 2 months later Takare released the Car Robots version of Max for $150 In both cases I will never see my money back when/if I sell them (I've since sold the Max and another Max I got after that for considerably less) The simple fact of the matter is:

We make or break the market. If we all refused to pay high prices for after market items, they wouldn't be priced as such. If no one will pay $100 for a miniscule piece of 2 cents worth of plastic in the shape of a mic, then no one will sell them for that price. Sure there would be a few sellers trying to, but after a year or so of people constantly saying "That's too much" then they'd lower their prices.

Personally, I like repro parts for my collection, people selling repro parts as originals is bad, but the buyer must know what they are buying. It's as if someone sold a Sneak Peek figure for $30, sure it's not a repro but is it worth that much? I don't think so. Will the buyer be mad once they see that the typical price is much lower? Maybe, but that's the buyer's fault for not shopping around. If an uninformed person went to ebay looking for a Heavy Metal Mic AND they actually shopped around, they would find out about repro parts and if they really want an original then they would ask the seller. Now if said seller says it's original after being asked and it's not, then: "Bad seller, No + feedback!"

[bluebikerboy1]

Just one quick comment here on the "thrill of the hunt". The thrill of the hunt gets old REALLY quick in my book. I'm still trying to find a Transformers Alternators Camshaft and haven't had any luck in that, and the real thrill will be when I FIND the blasted thing!

i think you just made the argument for why the thrill is half the fun. imagine how happy you will be once you find that piece.
now you understand why some of us collectors dont like the whole exact replica thing.

[zombieguide]

me? ill hunt down the original fuel pump. i had to get a new plug cause the one on it was old. did i get a repo part? no. i hunted a new one still in baggie (original plug) and bought it. part of the thrill is the hunt.

go back and re-read the post....what i asked was if that fuel pump was as hard to find as a HV mic -ie it may take years IF you ever found it, and IF you did would you be willing to dish out top dollar for it?

OR would you take a repro that would get your car back on the road ASAP and make you happy now.

I would find it VERY hard to beleive that you would leave your dream car sitting in storage for years rather than use a repro part on it.

[zombieguide]

[QUOTE=Flophouse]

I can state from experience that if not for repro parts, i wouldnt be driving my 1981 delorean today.quote]


So that's why you have a Flux Capacitor avatar over on JoeCustoms.com!

All you guys with Deloreans, Austins, and Mustangs can quit your chest beating and pony up and get a REAL man's car like me......an '83 Toyota Tercel wagon. Hey, when I go out cruising, ladies take notice...... .........no wait,


Now about this whole "to repro or not to repro" thing. I paid $160 for my HM w/mic several years ago and since this repro part has hit the market I think it will become much harder to get a buyer to trust me that it's genuine should I ever sell it. Repro parts will always lower values on the hard to find pieces. Some will view this as a good thing, others a bad thing. I guess since I paid top dollar for all my rare items I would view it as a bad thing. A lot of arguements made here center around the legality of selling repro parts and less about how these repros lower the value of original parts. Well here's a thought to tickle your mind pickle. What if all us high paying collectors found out Hasbro was now opening up an online replacement parts website. Collectors could buy HM mics, Hardtop accessories, Night Force accessories, double handled bazookas, etc, etc. These parts are now legit, made from original molds and exact colors. Yay! Now everyone can complete any and all figures from their collections for a few dollars each. Boo! Now ever stupid piece I paid a fortune for is now worthless.

So regardless of whether the repros are made my Hasbro or some other person, prices across the board sink. Again, Yay! for some, Boo! for others.


Now, I will admit I buy repro decals. This is a whole other arguement I know. But for those who like the old car analogy, you have to admit that you would paint your original car with new paint. You would pick an exact original color scheme, but you would paint it to look beautiful again. The same can be said for new exact decals.

yes, my nerd-dom knows no bounds and stretches ove many genres. im actually making the ultimate custom! go over to www.myspace.com/johnarmijo and look at the pics.

[RedClaw]

ok, so if you are like me in that this particular car is the car of your dreams, let me ask:

lets say you need a fuel pump and there ARE fuel pumps out there, but so uncommon that you cant find one. it may be possible to find one, but very well may take years, but until you do, that car isn't moving.

Well, while not a fuel pump, I did wait SEVEN YEARS to find an unrusted, near mint condition master cylinder, factory body badges (I could have gotten repros for a few bucks instead of hundreds), etc. And yeah, all original.

I just believe that if it is worth owning/collecting, then it is worth doing it right and genuine the first time.

So, in regards to Joes, yeah, I know that repros exist, that they're illegal, and that I have absolutely no interest. I also know first hand that a dealer received a figure with a repro part passed off as an original and it couldn't have been distinguished until it was in-hand because no photo was good enough to show the difference.

It's wrong. It's dishonest. And I'll say it until I'm blue in the face.

[zombieguide]

well you're more man that i ever hope to be.

there is no way in H*ll that id let me car sit for seven years not running, when i can easily pick up a repro that does the exact same thing.

i could die tomorrow and never be able to enjoy my car or joe collection for that matter because of something like that.

i guess to sum up this entire thread, to each his own. there are clearly two sides to this argument, and nothing that either side can do to sway the other.

quite frankly i can care less what other collectors do. im happy with my collection and the way i do things and im sure everyone else is as well.

[Shades-Of Gray]

I think there are as many customizers out there as there true die hard collectors.

I give props to guys who spend alot and i mean alot of time tracking down the rae and hard to find stuff.People like terry,its good.

But i give props to guys who customize and realize that they can screw a part up if handled wrong ,and repos as they are being called,are in much demand.

Its really what you do with them,casted parts should never be sold as originals...never..thats just wrong.

But casted parts are indemand,they are and for people who need them,and for all others you dont have to use them,or buy them.You never know what you will get from ebay sale,you could get anything,happens all the time,is it right?NO.
I think the big picture is we as fans will never agree to how we should collect,and thats a good thing...why?

Cuz we as fans should be doing this for our own enjoyment,plain and simply.

[Whiteclaw]

*flame bait edited for content*

[GENERAL HAWK 7]

Can someone tell someone like me who is sort of new (again) to collecting Joes, exactly how to tell fakes from real? I doubt I'd know unless it was a different color.