Friday, December 21, 2012

Smash and Grab

So, did we all enjoy our online NPOD last night?

For those few of you who didn’t know, Reeves had a "Vault Sale" at 8 p.m. on Thursday night; the notices for the sale went out around 1 p.m. that day, via e-mail, to all current Collector Club members.

From the description of the sale, it sounded like an online version of the fabled Ninja Pit of Death: "A collection of rare finds, limited editions and more await you behind this door."

I was half expecting some Passage to the Pacific leftovers (Like Thunders, and the Hear Me Roars) and Weather Girl redemption models (she’s been "retired to the vault", you know) and perhaps a surprise glossy or Silver Filigree. None of that showed up, but the following models did:
  • Rubicon $150
  • Silverado $150
  • Moon Warrior $150
  • Auld Lang Syne $175
  • Giselle $250
  • Pamplemousse $70
  • Melange $70
  • Valiant $150
  • Gus $145
  • Chestnut Esprit $300
  • Silver Charm Newsworthy $75
  • Logan - Gloss Red Walking Hereford Bull (40 pieces) $150
  • Angel - Seal Point Tabby Kitten (50 pieces) $150
Not a bad selection! (Well, for most folks. Some people are never happy.)

The last two were Vault exclusives - Logan was a Gloss Red Walking Horned Hereford Bull, and Angel was a Seal Point Tabby Traditional Kitten (aka "The Creepy Meow"). It appears Angel is still available - because hobbyists don’t appreciate the sublime qualities of the Traditional Kitten mold, apparently - but the Bull sold out very, very quickly.

(BTW, am I the only one that thought "Where’s Xavier, Cyclops and Phoenix?")

The Silverado sold out very quickly, too - a little too quickly, I think. Looking at the poll numbers on Blab for the number of people claiming that they got either the Bull or the Silverado - 26 Silverados, and 30+ of the 40 Logans accounted for? - well, color me skeptical that all of those orders will actually go through.

Remember what happened with other white-hot super-limited online specials like Silver Snow? Cancelled orders, and not just a couple of them either. That’s what happens when you have several dozen people pushing the order button at the same time. 

(Wasn’t Silverado deemed to be some sort of horrific failure of execution on Reeves’ part when he was released? Why is he suddenly the "it" model, now? Silly collectors.)

I got a shipment notification on my order today - yes, I caved - but I’m not going to count the Logan and the Angel as "mine" until I actually open the box. (According to the notice, this should happen December 27th.) Except for a small handful of overly eager beavers on MH$P, most people seem to be following that same line of thought.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Those few" of us? Maybe you mean the few folks commenting here that aren't members -- as it has to be way more than a small percentage of adults in the hobby (if not a majority) that can't afford Club membership or to get a $150 model more than once in a long while. :-)

Common Sense said...

Compared to some of the prices of models that people buy, $20 for one year of Collector Club membership isn't expensive at all. Maybe if you put $20 aside to join instead of buying $150 models, you'd be able to afford it.

Anonymous said...

A membership in the Collectors Club is a waste of money. You can buy a good selection of those same models on MHSP -- many are less than the original price.

ANDREA said...

Oh, for heaven's sake...

What I was referring to was the fact that information in the model horse community tends to travel fast, whether you're a member of a certain community or club - or not. (Except Yahoo groups - that epistemic closure thing? Exhibit A.)

And also, if you're buying Breyers for investment purposes, you really, really need to get a better financial advisor.

Anonymous said...

Totally need a :yeahthat icon here.

$20/year... that's under $2/month. That's less than half the price of a Venti cup of whatever you drink at Starbucks.

If you are buying Breyers/Stones/etc for the sole purpose of flipping for a quick buck, you are going to be disappointed. Instead of wasting money in hopes you hit the next hot thing, you save your pennies for something you actually like? Meanwhile, someone who actually likes the model you're buying to flip can actually get one at cost instead of going through opportunistic greedhounds for it.

I loved the Vault idea, I didn't end up buying anything (too slow for Valiant, Giselle is one I want to get but the funds weren't really there for me and I already had the two JAH SRs... everything else wasn't anything I really needed to have). Would love for Breyer to do it again!

Carrie said...

(BTW, am I the only one that thought "Where’s Xavier, Cyclops and Phoenix?")

^
I have now spent far too much thought over what mold Breyer would use for Xavier! That made my afternoon. Thank you again, AMG!

Anonymous said...

Man, that sale was so chaotic! But it was soooo much fun. I was going crazy screaming when the pages would not load and I could tell my partner was a little terrified. When I saw Silverado and Rubicon, I think I stopped breathing. Unfortunately when the pages finally worked for me, everything was gone and I settled for a Melange (which is completely fine, I REALLY wanted her anyway) I definately hope to see something like this again.

draelynkhar said...

I am one of the people who bought a silverado way Back when I was in grade school. I saw a metallic silver horse and begged for it Christmas. At the time he was $50 new and most breyers I was getting at farm & home were $10 to $20. When he came he was this weird slate grey Color and it was soo hard to hide my disappointment and not let my parents send him back. Does any one know what the story was there? I kept that castalog with thesilver metallic looking horse for years but have never heard justification of the huge differance between what I ordered and what we got...

draelynkhar said...

Doh! Ignore me the horse in my mind was called silver. Not silveraxo. Mine is the QH gelding not the wintersong.

Anonymous said...

Glad you posted the prices! I was wondering about that. I could not have afforded any of them anyway, so I guess it's good I never joined the Collector's Club -- which I also can't afford...

bubbasmom said...

Oh, I wanted one of those bulls SO badly! Unfortunately, I didn't check my email until late, so missed out. I'm still looking for one of the Bowlands, too. But the fun is in the hunt:^)

I did score a Giselle a few years ago when Breyer did those grab-bag boxes. I got a lot of Christmas presents that year for my nieces and nephews in that box:^)