Friday, January 22, 2021

The VIP

Well hey, this showed up in my mail box:

Which is a very nice and welcome cap to an emotionally draining week! 

In addition to the Uffington and the Best of BreyerFest Stablemates Set, I think I’ll be going with Ansel and Queen of Hearts/Josie. 

I decided on Ansel because I love Blue Roan pintos in general, and the “concept” behind it: honoring Ansel Adams, a photographer whose mastery of his medium was so complete that it takes you a moment to realize what you are looking at is only Black and White. 

Josie I waffled on for a bit; while I love her chocolately bay color, I was a bit concerned about how her unique markings will render in production. Ultimately, I decided that the Bristol mold is popular enough that should I not find her to my liking, she wouldn’t be hard to rehome later.

I want to sleep on my selections one more day before I pay for them, though, because I was operating under the (usually correct) assumption that I wouldn’t have to worry about this decision until much later. 

I know it sounds like a rather depressing assumption, but as someone who is not naturally gifted with luck like some people are, I prefer to think of it as both pragmatic and absolutely necessary for my mental health.

I was also not surprised, at all, that people are trying to sell their tickets – at a nice markup, of course. Since you had to buy the entire package – two Special Runs, two Limited Editions, et al – I can understand selling off an item or two that you might not have wanted in the first place. 

But the whole package? Tacky and gross. I’m glad that Reeves put out a statement on the BreyerFest Blog to address this issue:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breyerfest-blog/a-note-to-breyerfest-newcomers

The kicker is that Reeves is doing everything it can to make sure that everyone can get everything that they want – at least in terms of the Limited Editions – and effectively rendering much of the “pickup” industry moot. Why pay double for a Josie or Apollo, when you could just buy the All-Access pass and get the Celebration Horse and online access included for the same price?

I know some hobbyists are not happy about this development, also arguing that allowing backorders renders their “Limited Editions” worthless, or at least worth less. 

As someone who buys primarily for herself, this is a moot point for me; there’s a whole other discussion about rarity and value I’d rather not wrap my head around today.

And to be honest, if it helps tamp down some of the less honest among us who use the inexperience and desperation of the less informed among us to profit, so be it. 

3 comments:

Qatgirl said...

Congratulations! I got that email too, and I have to admit I screamed a tiny bit. !!!!

Personally, I love the fact that LEs can be back-ordered this year. I don't mind that, in collectibility terms, they will be worth less. I have never been comfortable with the exclusivity that Breyer seems to propagate. I mean, I get it. You want the models to be exclusive enough so that people want them. But that means there are so many who can't get them. (I was completely shocked and amazed when I got the Sláinte Surprise last year. I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep it, sell it, or see if my 16yo niece is interested.)

I was lucky last year to find an eBay seller who sold me Ballynoe Castle for $25 +shipping, so I could get one for the Niece and keep one. Doesn't sound like I'll be able to do that again this year.

As far as choices, I'm getting my Uffington and the bull! For LE, definitely Josie and... whatever the Niece wants?

Boulder Sheep said...

I am so in agreement with your post. While collecting does mean acquiring what one likes and refining one's collection by moving on those that don't quite fit in (buying and selling, I mean, buying and selling), it's incredibly off-putting how much gaming of the system seems to exist, which deprives those who love the models themselves.

I was so excited to get a VIP email invitation. I chose Uffington and the Surprise, although I like Pollock (gorgeously done, even though I'm not a big fan of decorators) and Tassili (a small Marwari conga started) and Seurat (I have a thing for blonds). And the bull: I have an original Spanish Fighting Bull from 1970 or whenever it came out, which I got for Christmas as a child. It was a Big Deal, and Knossos is just lovely.

I am less enamored of the LEs, although I picked Josie because I've wanted a Bristol, and Apollo. I haven't yet sold any that come into my house. But hmm, I would consider a trade.

Anonymous said...

I think another factor of the LE upset is unrelated to resale...like it or not, Breyer does factor exclusivity into their pricing, and to still charge a 'premium' for models that may now have piececounts 5-6,000 higher than originally indicated has a bit of bite.

I also got a VIP, and I buy for my own collections, so resale doesn't inform my decisions on what models to buy...but it does sting a bit to pay $75 for a Trad that would only cost $45-60 in a regular run