Awesome & Expensive Junk on eBay.
I’ve been keeping an eye on a few eBay auctions despite having no plans to actually bid, out of sheer amazement that people have such rare stuff to sell. Like, how the hell do you end up with 59 Fireball Island board games?
Most of these treasures will ultimately make quiet exits, remembered only be the few who were lucky enough to stumble upon their auction listings. So you can consider this post my way of making sure that certain items of the “holy shit” variety have a forever home on the internet.
Store Display of Masters of the Universe Slime!
Asking Price: $1249.00
Photo by great-items | Auction Link
The auction listing is presently inactive, but I’ve been tracking it for months, and I’m sure the seller will give it another go sooner or later. What a find! A complete store display of Masters of the Universe Slime!
Next to Modulok, those cans of Slime were probably my favorite items from the vintage MOTU line. Most of us associate them with the legendary Slime Pit playset, but Mattel was just as interested in selling them separately. (I have such fond memories of this exact display being right beside the register in our mall’s long gone Kay Bee.)
The cans were also used a promotional device, given away free to anyone who bought two He-Man figures over a certain time period. Of the 28 cans in this display, 9 of them have stickers for that very promotion.
According to the seller, less than a third of the cans have dried out. At around 45 bucks a can, this actually isn’t too bad of a deal! (While sealed Slime cans have been sold for cheaper, it’s pretty tough to find them with still-gooey contents.)
Extreme Ghostbusters Kiddie Ride!
Asking Price: $3500.00
Photo by toddgreens | Auction Link
Coin-operated kiddie rides are all over eBay, and the thing with those is that nobody ever just throws them away. Hell, in the past month alone, I’ve seen plenty of similar rides that are even older than this one, still in front of stores and ready for quarters. Of course, none were as cool as this!
I don’t know anyone who could afford to drop 3500 dollars on an Extreme Ghostbusters kiddie ride, but it doesn’t sound like too bad a price for such an incredibly rare trophy piece. Maybe we could all pool our money, and take year-long turns of ownership?
The lights, sounds and movements are still in working order, but the best thing about this modified Ecto-1 is that you get to sit next to a ghost. A ghost who apparently cannot deal with the way you drive.
Collection of *59* Fireball Island Games!
Asking Price: $25000.00
Photo by pimencori | Auction Link
Man, one of the best board games ever, and one of the hardest to acquire in complete shape. Here’s your chance to get almost five dozen of them.
I learned about this one-of-a-kind auction from Distorted View, and yeah… WOW. I mean, it’s not something I’d bid on even if I could afford it, but it’s hard not to be impressed with someone who’s managed to collect 59 complete Fireball Island games. FIFTY. NINE.
Most of them are in English, but there are several foreign versions, too. Enough to where I’m pretty confident that you’d be getting every variation of Fireball Island ever made. With this lot, you’d finally learn how to say “beware the accursed fireball-spitting idol” in German.
As impressive as the collection is, you’d be paying roughly $425 per game, which definitely isn’t a steal when you’re buying in bulk. (Complete games can sell for that much, but it’s hardly a given.) It’s worth noting that you could also give the seller your “best offer,” so who knows if he’s really expecting that much?
Congo Pinball Machine!
Asking Price: $3995.00
Photo by pinballzarcade | Auction Link
I could’ve done a whole post on the various arcade games available on eBay. Rest assured, if you’ve played it, it’s there. Everything from the Ms. Pac-Man cocktail table to the four-player TMNT game.
To represent all of them, I went with this. Yes, Congo had a pinball game! From what I can tell, it was pretty phenomenal, hitting every bullet that made Congo one of my favorite movies… right down to Tim Curry and the grey gorillas.
Pinball designers have a knack for making the most of their source material. Seriously, check out the art on this thing. I love Congo, but I readily admit that it’s a silly movie. You’d never guess that by looking at this pinball machine. In fact, showing people this game is probably the best way to get them to see the film!
It’s well beyond my reach at 4000 dollars, but now I’m determined to find an arcade or bar within driving distance that still has this plugged into a wall. I won’t rest until I shoot silver orbs over a field of angry apes and jungle greens.
Star Wars Yak Face on POTF Card!
Asking Price: $14999.00
Photo by thevillage2012 | Auction Link
From Kenner’s vintage Star Wars collection, Yak Face is one of the absolute rarest figures, fetching hundreds of dollars even loose and in used condition. Still-packaged Yak Faces can cost thousands, but this one — in absurdly rare “Power of the Force” packaging — demands prices comparable to new cars.
Even if the $15000 asking price is a tad overblown, there’s no denying that a Yak Face in this packaging is worth a fortune. “Power of the Force” figures were the last ones released, with even the most common figures fetching big bucks. Since Yak Face was nearly mythical in his rarity (some say he was never available in the States), even the plastic coin he came with sells for hundreds of dollars.
And who was Yak Face, you ask? Just another of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em aliens from Jabba’s court, visible on the sail barge, but mostly known from Return of the Jedi’s associated promo photos. Imagine him as the lovechild of a man and a camel.
Were someone to buy everything featured in this article, it’d cost them close to 50000 dollars… before shipping. Think I’ll stick with admiring from afar, but I still tip my hat to these five sellers. I can’t afford any of their junk, but I sure appreciate the opportunity to look at it.
