What's up with Zoot's price lately?

[karamazov80]

I've recently started trying to accumulate Muppet figures after missing them when they were first released, and my first point of order was to get the Palisades Electric Mayhem a little over a month ago. Well, I quickly got all but Zoot, of course. At that time, when I started looking on eBay, early Julyish, a Zoot costed around 100 bucks (for either variant, really), either loose or in the package. That was pricey for me, as I hadn't been paid yet, so I kept waiting (based on my wacky fellowship, I haven't been paid a full month's salary since the beginning of July, and I STILL have to wait another week).

Now, a few days ago, a variant red Zoot in a less than mint package went for nearly 360 dollars. I am not kidding, the proof is here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-RARE-RED-S...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

A couple of weeks ago I saw the same toy go for around 50. Now there is one listed, with 5 days left, and the bidding is at 230 bucks already!

It goes without saying that I am in despair. I fear now that I will never get this fella, because that. . .is Samuel Beckett level absurd, and I can't spend that kind of money.

The purpose for this thread is this: Can anyone explain to me this sharp shift in the popularity of this toy over the last couple of days? Is there any hope that it might go down, or do you guys think that this is a permanent trend? Ultimately, what is going on? Why would the gods curse me so? I'm looking for advice so that I can either know if I should move on and forget about Zoot, or still hope to get him one shining day

 

[TheJimHensonHour]

it's really out of hand I'm starting to believe at this point I will never get a zoot, lips, jim henson, or super grover figure some one always comes in at the last minute and out bits me.
And I hate paying such crazy prices because i open my figures!

 

[karamazov80]

Same here. I get outbid during the last 5 seconds about 75 percent of the time. . .and I just don't have enough money to say, "well, I'll bid 100 dollars over the highest amount at 10 seconds so that I can win!" Also, I open my Muppets up as well, but unlike other action figures, loose Muppets figures aren't much cheaper than packaged ones from what I've seen.

--edit--
Also, I forgot to mention, I'm sorry to tell you that a Henson figure went for over 200 dollars a couple of days ago as well. It is lunacy.

 

[JJandJanice]

Well you see that's just what happens in action figure collecting. The case of Zoot is that Series 3 was a very low production in the Muppet toy line, making all the series 3 figures among some of the hardest figures to fine in the line. So even from the start Zoot's value started going up with the red shirt variant being worth even more than the yellow, but either or will cost you some money. It's way more likely that the price will go up too because many Muppet collectors or just collectors of action figures are really after him. But I have to say I've never seen Zoot go for $200, although it doesn't surpise me. Other Muppet figures you're going to have to pay a nice price for because it's hard to find due to lower numbers include

Jim Henson
Lips (Esp white shirt)
Super Grover
Kermit and Piggy wedding set
Muppet show backstage with Rowlf

I personally had to pay a cool $80 for my Zoot (yellow) a few years ago with my grad money in 2004. Plus I'm a collector and right now my collection has all these figures (minus the backstage set).

I wish you luck with Zoot however, but if you're trying to find him cheap, I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[rexcrk]

Holy mother of oh my gosh holy crap!

That's the seller that I got MY Zoot from! And it was the signature yellow shirt version and I got for $99.45 or something like that. Wow I guess I should consider myself lucky!

 

[karamazov80]

I wish you luck with Zoot however, but if you're trying to find him cheap, I wouldn't bet on it.

Its funny. I had just resolved myself to paying 100 dollars for him when the price started going up, which is why it is so strange. Its really as if everyone else decided they really wanted him at the same time that I did. But for that much money, forget about it.

I wonder if part of it is a supply issue. At some points, there may be 3-4 Zoots on eBay at a given time, and at others, there will be only 1 or none. Could it be that this was just a period when there weren't many available, so bidders started panicking, thinking that the supply had finally dried up? Could it also be a coincidence that this happened right after the release of Muppets Season 2? Hard to say.

 

[antonydavanzo]

Jeez.I didnt know they were selling for as much as that! I have 2 Zoots and now I may consider selling him.....well not just yet as Im sure the value will go up again over the years. I am so glad i got every figure when they were at the RRP...in fact I did get Zoot no 2 at $5 from Ebay in the early days.

 

[JJandJanice]

I wonder if part of it is a supply issue. At some points, there may be 3-4 Zoots on eBay at a given time, and at others, there will be only 1 or none. Could it be that this was just a period when there weren't many available, so bidders started panicking, thinking that the supply had finally dried up? Could it also be a coincidence that this happened right after the release of Muppets Season 2? Hard to say.

Yeah I explain that in my last post. Series 3 of the Muppet line was one of the lowest production series of the line (series 9 was also very limited) making these figures some of the hardest to find in the line, Zoot more so than the rest. Since Zoot was the variant character, which makes both Zoots different figures (red and Yellow) although it's the same character. So really each case would have I believe 2 Rowlfs, 2 Scooters, 2 Lews and one Yellow Zoot and one red Zoot, so really it was like there are two Zoot character, however in the world of action figure collecting it's really like there was only one of each Zoot figure making them harder to find. Add to the fact that series 3 had a very small shelf life, just makes the figure the more harder to find and the more money it will cost you to get him.

My advice to you is, if you're not really into action figure collecting and just want a Zoot to, pretty play with, than maybe you can get, what we who collect action figures call loose, for somewhere around $50. If that still seems to high for you, than you should probably forgot about Zoot all together, sorry to say, .

 

[karamazov80]

Yeah I explain that in my last post. Series 3 of the Muppet line was one of the lowest production series of the line (series 9 was also very limited) making these figures some of the hardest to find in the line, Zoot more so than the rest. Since Zoot was the variant character, which makes both Zoots different figures (red and Yellow) although it's the same character. So really each case would have I believe 2 Rowlfs, 2 Scooters, 2 Lews and one Yellow Zoot and one red Zoot, so really it was like there are two Zoot character, however in the world of action figure collecting it's really like there was only one of each Zoot figure making them harder to find. Add to the fact that series 3 had a very small shelf life, just makes the figure the more harder to find and the more money it will cost you to get him.

My advice to you is, if you're not really into action figure collecting and just want a Zoot to, pretty play with, than maybe you can get, what we who collect action figures call loose, for somewhere around $50. If that still seems to high for you, than you should probably forgot about Zoot all together, sorry to say, .

Thanks for the advice. I actually am a pretty avid toy collector, particularly of Joes and Transformers, but I always display them loose, so what you suggest would be fine, as I would pay 50-75 dollars in a heartbeat for a loose Zoot. . .BUT, with the Muppets, from my observations over the last month or so anyway, a loose toy often goes for about the same price as an unopened one (a loose yellow shirt went for 102 dollars a couple of weeks ago, and one unopened on the card a few days earlier went for 115). It defies typical collector logic in that sense (you can get a loose, complete 1984 GI Joe Storm Shadow figure for maybe 35 dollars. One still in the package can get up to 4 grand or so if AFA graded highly enough). So, that underlies my confusion with these figures as well; I am assuming that the loose Zoots will go up significantly as well if the carded figure is doing likewise. These Muppets are different beasts, I tell you.

--edit--

Also, I did read your earlier post (sorry if it seemed like I didn't). I was referring to seller supply on eBay, not the general supply in existence. In the former sense, you would be more likely to witness only short-term trends; in the latter, you would see more long-term trends, so knowing which was affecting prices would give the buyer additional information as to what is going on, and whether to wait around or not.

 

[unclematt]

I have both Zoots but I opened them . I also have a Jim Henson unopened