The Energon Pub

I've been having a clean out and some of the old toys I used to play with in the late 80's are on the list to clear, the most impressive of which is these 3 sets. What I want to know is how much should I sell them for?

I'm not a collector, we just don't have the space. I was actually saving them for when I have kids of my own, but we've officially run out of room! Most of the parts are there of all of them, and they're all mostly in good condition. A few noticeable flaws:

Bruticus-
- 1 foot missing
- Head missing
Defensor-
- minor damage to Hot-Spots ladder and one of the paddles to pull his hands out snapped off
- one of blades cannons missing
Menasor-
-Missing one foot
-Missing Chest and Belt pieces
-Drag Strip missing one back wheel

I've had a good look on the net and it seems they just don't exist as a (nearly)complete set for resale. Best I could see was $800US on Amazon for what appears to be an as new set, but I'm not sure if it is the original or reissue. Anyway, I thought this is the place to come to ask those in the know!

I'm not much of a G1 enthusiast but I know that anything that isn't near mint or complete is going to severely damper your money returned. Especially with it being G1, one would rather be able to purchase everything at once rather than spend the time to find the parts they're missing.

Amazon is a not the best indication of pricing. Use eBay, or TFsource.

Stickers are also a big indication of how much money you are going to get in on the return. The more wear the less money you'd expect. For the near complete sets that you have, each of them could get away with selling for ~$100-150.

Sometimes, the vendors in Europe are much easier to deal with than those stateside at ebay. For my Menasor and Defensor, it took me almost 25 years to complete the set. Motormaster especially was hard to get. Cost me almost $80.00. Defensor's Groove and Blades at a pristine condition is also a headache.All four of his limbs almost $90.00

All I need now are Computron and Abominus.

Here's a tip: Bruticus was reissued (a lot) and neither Menasor or Defensor ever where by Hasbro or Takara. So anyone claiming to sell a brand new set of Protectobots or Stunticons is selling you a fake.

Also- Get your G1 bots complete. As the others above me mentioned: It can be an eternity and a costly hell to complete them. Thinking that you'll eventually find that gun for Groove is a serious mistake.

So if I manage to get the sets complete, and in decent condition, what do you think the sets will be worth? Bearing in mind that they have some damage that's not easily repaired, or not repairable by me at least, just wondering if it'll be worth it.

As for stickers, they are really average to good. The likes of the heat changing Autobot/ Decepticon stickers are mint, but some of the others like the standard autobot decals are somewhat 'well used'.

I did check out ebay but couldn't see any G1 sets besides the reissues, hence why I asked here. There are a couple of random parts suppliers though so that may come in handy if it is worth while fixing them up.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

So if I manage to get the sets complete, and in decent condition, what do you think the sets will be worth? Bearing in mind that they have some damage that's not easily repaired, or not repairable by me at least, just wondering if it'll be worth it.

As for stickers, they are really average to good. The likes of the heat changing Autobot/ Decepticon stickers are mint, but some of the others like the standard autobot decals are somewhat 'well used'.

I did check out ebay but couldn't see any G1 sets besides the reissues, hence why I asked here. There are a couple of random parts suppliers though so that may come in handy if it is worth while fixing them up.

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I read your post wrong. I thought you where buying and not selling.

What you're selling are loose, incomplete combiners?

If you are selling, be HONEST on the condition, as detailed description as possible. Price? depends on what the buyer wants. Just be fair. If you want set a minimum in auction at ebay but iirc they get 20% of the proceeds. If you keeping (in my case, will never sell 'em unless a worst case scenario) keep them then.

If you have extra cash and willing to go the distance, buy the KO boxes or simply get the MISB which goes $ 500 + up

Heads up on the combiner KOs

The rivets on the wheels are a dead give away. The corrosion is uneven in the Stunticon's hubcaps. The chrome on Motormaster's faux wheels aren't bonded properly giving 'em the appearance of being ripped/torn. The decals are cr@p!

KO Dev's hip armor is missing a clamp that makes it attach proper to Long haul's attack mode and the weapons are not complete (Hook's gun is a double of another 'con)

The KO Hotspot uses the metal "chest".

Silverbolt is missing the "shield"/ launch platform

How do I know this? I have a friend who owns an online shop that sell such. Btw, he mentions it as a China KO.

If you are planning on selling them and they have a "been" played condition, don't expect too high a premium. As I mentioned on the Defensor limbs, all 4 cost me around $90.00 tops. Paid $40.00 for a MISB Euro Blades and $ 15.00 each for the rest of the limbs (loose, not applied stickers complete + excellent to near mint condition).

Motormaster cost me loose $75.00 but excellent and complete (at auction 2-3 years ago All from European ebay vendors.

You can get the idea from these prices.

IMO sell them as a lot, that will get rid of otherwise unpopular TF's.

And, as you may have already expected, you'll not be getting 800$.

Fenrir you had me worried! My HotSpot does have a metal chest which got me thinking it was a KO, but knowing the age, I was struggling with that. Turns out they were originally made with a metal chest and the "later runs" (KO's?) came out as plastic (Check this - http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hot_Spot_(G1) )Is there somewhere that has pictures of the different versions so I can identify it? The reissue seems to have the more red chest piece whilst my one has a slightly different chest piece (slightly more orange, with black plastic clip). The quality of the screws (flush) and rub sticker still being mint seem to indicate it should be original as well as info from the other identifiers I've read. The others are definitely original from their checks. But he's not the same as the one they have on the wiki... he's a weird one. All those I've checked from Menasor And Bruticus are def original.

RhA, thanks... seems to be the same track I'm on. TBH I see they are highly collectable and worth money (not to mention rare as hens teeth) but also are taking a lot of time to research! I know I'd be happy with $150 each set, and any more is a bonus. From what you guys have said that may be a good start, and dropping the price if they don't sell.

Similar to Bruticus/Combaticons team, the 1st release of Hotspot/Defensor had metal chest plates. Mine was the plastic release 29 years ago lol! My Euro Blades has plastic chest while the rest had metal ones) So the plastic chest are legit. Now you have to worry about those with the metal chest because that's what the KOs are sporting now.(Btw, that entry in wiki is mine)

The paint apps should show some aging and is a bit thick.The KOs are of a bit dark red .

well lets see, i just completed Menasor today, so lets break it down

an almost complete Motormaster cost me $36 and the missing chest piece was an additional $13.50. Dragstrip and Wildrider came together for $25.25 but only Dragstrip had his accessories, Breakdown with no accessories or decals was $11 and Deadend with the car gun and no decals was $14.

so yea an almost complete Menasor for just under $100 shipped, and from what I've seen, incomplete can mean taking up to $10 off per missing part or more

I'm going to assume that everything you have is genuine, and that the sticker condition is at least decent. Here's what you can expect if those things hold true:

Orsome wrote:Bruticus-
- 1 foot missing
- Head missing

If all the small guns are there and these are the only missing pieces, maybe worth about $90-$100 depending on the sticker condition.

Orsome wrote:Defensor-
- minor damage to Hot-Spots ladder and one of the paddles to pull his hands out snapped off
- one of blades cannons missing

Defensor isn't the most valuable, even complete. There's just a ton of them out there. With that kind of damage, you'll be lucky to get $80 for that set. I'd sell the completed limbs separately for $20-$30 each, and see what you can get for the incomplete/damaged parts.

Orsome wrote:Menasor-
-Missing one foot
-Missing Chest and Belt pieces
-Drag Strip missing one back wheel

$75 on a good day with that damage to Drag Strip and the missing pieces - realistically around $65-$70. Complete, nice Menasors only go for about $120-$140. Again, best bet may be to sell the complete, non damaged individual limbs that you can and just get anything at all for the rest.

It continues to amaze me what the price differences are between the US and Europe. A complete combiner is about 50€ over here. Maybe we're just cheapskates.

RhA wrote:It continues to amaze me what the price differences are between the US and Europe. A complete combiner is about 50€ over here. Maybe we're just cheapskates.

Combiners, along with a bunch of G1, have gone up over the past few years here. Five years ago, you could get just about any of them complete and in great shape for $70-$100 depending on the team. Now, not so much without a bit of luck or an ebay auction that doesn't go nuts.