Looking for Star Players on eBay - What is a fair price?

Olaf the Stout · Post by **Olaf the Stout** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 3:28 am

Ok before I begin, I know that eBay prices can vary significantly. I can deal with that. Please also don't tell me that a fair price is what I'm willing to pay for it. That really doesn't help me much. I'm trying to avoid overpaying for a mini more than anything else.

I'm looking for Blood Bowl Star Player minis. There isn't any in particular that I'm after, although I am definitely more interested in the OOP ones than the ones I can order directly from GW myself. What I want to know is what is a fair price for some of these minis. I don't have a lot of eBay experiece and I know how easy it can be to get wrapped up in a bidding war. I want to try and avoid that.

So for example, what should I expect to pay for a Zara the Slayer model?

What about Count Luthor Von Drakenborg?

I am interested in others but those 2 minis are ones I have seen so far.

Thanks in advance,

Olaf the Stout

landrover · Post by **landrover** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:06 am

Having been using eBay a bit myself recently, I can offer the following advice:

For the more recent star players, there always seems to be a ready supply of minis on eBay.

PRICES VARY IMMENSELY.

I capitalised that purely for emphasis. I've seen a Max Spleenripper (original chaos chainsaw) go for GBP8, and another identical one go for GBP37. Both auctions were within a fortnight or so of each other.

My advice is to trawl through eBay every day for a week (or even two if you can afford the time or wait that long!) before committing yourself to bidding. This way you will get a feel for the price range for a particular mini. Once you have a handle on the price range, you can marry that up with your budget when you go shopping.

Zara can go for up to around GBP12, Count Luthor up to around GBP10. Zara seems to be ever so slightly rarer and just that bit more expensive than Luthor for some reason.

When you search, go to 'Other options' and search worldwide, not just locally (UK, US or wherever). Always remember to sort them by 'Most Recently Listed' to see the ones listed in the last day or two. Keep checking back EVERY DAY to see what comes up.

Sometimes you get a bargain because the minis have been mis-described, so broaden any of your searches by using Blood Bowl, Bloodbowl, or if you're a glutton for punishment, Warhammer (you'll finish up with several thousand hits, it's phenomenal).

I can't give a list of all Star Player prices, because I can't remember most of them. Surf the net every day for a week and you'll get a feel for the prices for what you're looking for.

Happy bidding!

Olaf the Stout · Post by **Olaf the Stout** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:25 am

Thanks Landrover for the advice, it is appreciated. I just discovered the search worldwide bit. Seems I had missed quite a few minis from my search without that.

What star players did you see come up when you were looking. I've seen the Count listed multiple times, but Zara was only listed once. There were quite a few old Ogres, Trolls and Morg's listed as well as a couple of Goblins and a couple of Hakflem Skuttlespike (two-headed Skaven). Other than that I couldn't see much else. I guess it is just a matter of wading through it over time.

Olaf the Stout

frogbear · Post by **frogbear** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:37 am

I generally accept that a star player will cost $25 which will include postage

For anything harder to get $35

For the rare stuff (1st ed ogre, hack etc), you should expect a bid to hit $50 and not be too surprised.

If these are too much, then frankly, you either wait it out till everyone has got one and is no longer bidding, or you are just kidding yourself.

Trading is the way to go IMO as you get what you want for what you do not really need.

Problem with ebay is that the seller needs to re-cuperate any expenses on top of the true value of the mini.

Hope this helps.

Cheers..

Olaf the Stout · Post by **Olaf the Stout** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:29 am

Thanks Frogbear. Judging from what I have seen around the place you should know Blood Bowl eBay prices as good as anyone!

Olaf the Stout

howlinggriffon · Post by **howlinggriffon** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:25 am

A lot of the star players on Ebay are recasts - Zara and Ramtut especially. Watch out for sellers who hide their feedback - and check their history, if you can, to see if they've sold lots of the same models before.

thechosengobbo · Post by **thechosengobbo** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:09 am

And don't bid on the current Zara on there you mentioned, I'm winning right now for just under £12

Generally, I'm willing to pay up to £15 for most star players. Though some (the gobbo ones and hakflem shuttlespike) shouldn't really go for more than £5.

howlinggriffon · Post by **howlinggriffon** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:11 am

I'm really pleased I bought enough Zara's for all my teams - I got them when they were still £5 in the GW online store (and they were overpriced then!)

PubBowler · Post by **PubBowler** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:30 am

Zara will be pricey but I'd be surprised if you couldn't pick up Luthor for under £5 if you're willing to keep looking for a while.

He was a very common model and there do seem to be a lot that come through eBay.

fen · Post by **fen** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:34 am

Eh, I've got a couple of Luthors spare I'd let go for a £5 each. They need stripping but that's all that's wrong with them.

howlinggriffon · Post by **howlinggriffon** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:39 am

thechosengobbo wrote:And don't bid on the current Zara on there you mentioned, I'm winning right now for just under £12

Sorry to say it but that seller does sell a hell of a lot of Zara and Ramtut models. I know there's not much choice when GW don't sell them - but you should be aware that there's a very strong chance you're not getting an original. I'd be pissed at paying £12 for a recast

mattwhile · Post by **mattwhile** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:28 am

I bought a chainsaw dwarf from this seller and it was a definate re-cast. Just so that you're aware.

thechosengobbo · Post by **thechosengobbo** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 11:47 am

At the moment, all I care about is being able to put a Zara on the table, if it's a re-cast, so be it but my Amazons need one.

Though I'm tempted to point him out to GW or ebay though, just because I paid that much for a re-cast. Means someone else might not have the same problem...

Thanks for warning me guys

PubBowler · Post by **PubBowler** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:00 pm

Not wishing to divert the post but do you think we should start a list of ebay recasters here on TBB.

Some people care, others don't but I think everyone would like to know.

howlinggriffon · Post by **howlinggriffon** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:09 pm

I spent a couple of years reporting recasters to GW (when I was a GW forum moderator) and, to date, bugger all action has been taken against them as they're still selling on eBay now. I even offered to buy examples and provide them to GW legal as evidence - but no-one got in touch with me about it so it was an entire waste of time. That seller was one of them although he has changed his eBay name several times since then.

Recasters annoy me on a personal level but they're becoming a necessary evil - it's not like you can buy the models from GW anymore so it's their own fault.