Does anyone think that the value of sets where one or both figures has bad gold chrome/gold foiling on the chest will be significantly affected? The chrome being badly applied or worn is a commonly reported QC issue. Even out of the box, it is difficult to find any examples without even a slight blemish in some form, such as minor scratches or dirt/fingerprints, since this stuff seems to be hand-applied (how tolerable that is to you is obviously YMMV). And there's also cases of the chrome being nicked through inserting or removing Saber from the V-Star for the Star Saber jet mode. IMO, it seems like this stuff is more fragile that typical vac-metal applied chrome, so one can imagine it's only a matter of when, rather than if, your chrome will degrade, be worn, get nicked, etc.

Fortunately, a common fix entails using cutting out a piece of gold tape or buying Toyhax labels to paste over the figures' chests. Done well, it is nearly indistinguishable from the factory applied chrome. Though one can imagine that doing any of those fixes can still degrade the chrome through poor application of having to reapply the labels if your first attempt fails or over time you may need to replace the labels anyway.

So, would bad or worn chrome on a figure be a dealbreaker or a significant negative hit to the resale value of the set? One can imagine that in a couple of years from now, people may sell their figures for whatever reason and we could be seeing some more of this. Of course, barring any other QC issues, a number of people see it as preferable and a quicker solution to get labels and fix the issue themselves versus seeking recourse from Hasbro (which might not be an option later on in future or if you initial got the set through a third party seller). It might be a common notion later on down the line that if you buy a Victory Saber on the aftermarket, you may have to accept getting labels as well to make the figures look presentable because the chrome is a common QC problem.

 

Good point bro. Mine has a near perfect gold chrome paint apps on my SS but upon closer inspection there's a miniscule line which you really need to squint your eyes in order to see it.

Dammit

 

I mean, my Star Saber was missing a small chunk of chrome in the center on the right side and the left side got slightly nicked when I was inserting it into the V-Star the first couple of times and didn't quite yet figure out how to finagle it without nicking the chrome. My Victory Leo has faint fingerprint/dust on both sides.

Used the gold tape fix for now, but I have the Toyhax labels on order. I likely messed up the chrome on SS even more through my first few failed attempts at applying the tape right. My conclusion was basically "Screw it, even out of the box the chrome was bad enough that I needed to apply tape or a sticker regardless, so what different does it make if I mess up the chrome further? It will all be covered by a sticker in the end.". But it still gave me this food for thought on possible resale value and the likely not insignificant number of other people being in my position.

In your case, I don't think a minuscule line is too serious, but of course, YMMV. It still raises the point that due to the hand applied nature of the chrome, finding one without any sort of imperfection/blemish is incredibly hard if not nearly impossible.

 

I find it odd how some people immediately start getting concerned about resale value after buying. Like do u not want it or something? Why buy..

 

If they all scratch over time, nothing is affected anyway.  

You should see g1 folks complain about 30 year old rusty screws. 

 

Unsaleable! In other words, not even in my vocabulary.

His emotional investment in the character might not be too deep.

Guilty! But what will get your goat is that my original PMOptimus released back in 1988 made in Thailand, well the screws corroded within months from purchase back in 1988. 

Also, my MP SS is already yellowing in various parts. Too much Bromide/bromine in the mix I guess. I was wanting to do the peroxide dunk but later learned, well it either makes the plastic more brittle or it returns, the yellowing with a vengeance. 

 

To preface the question of bad chrome affecting VS's value, since a good number of people simply opted to fix the issue themselves with stickers or tape, I had the food for thought since Tyler Gressle is currently selling his one of a kind Yu-Gi-Oh! card. You can see his story in the included video below. Of course, as a condition to sell the card, it was authenticated through Beckett, who gave it a 7 grade. Putting aside questions as to if Gressle should be selling the card or not, it did invite discussion among the Yu-Gi-Oh! community as to if the card should have been authenticated through Beckett and whether the not so good grade of 7 will affect the card's value. Of course, since the card is the only one of its kind, its condition may not matter too much to its value. Obviously, there are way more VS sets than Tyler the Great Warrior cards, but I think the principle is similar. If an item is limited run, will its condition have a lesser effect on how much you can sell it for?

Are you suggesting that everyone who currently owns a VS will keep it for the rest of their lives and never sell it? People have sold their collections of parts thereof for various reasons in the past. Maybe they hit bad financial times and need the money. Maybe a new figure of the character comes out and they don't feel the need to keep an older iteration any longer. Maybe they don't feel a strong attachment to various items in the collection as they did in the past. And there's the really obvious one, people who backed or otherwise acquired multiple copies of VS to sell the extras later to recoup money they spent on the copy they ultimately plan to keep. I do not find it inconceivable that any current owners of VS now will sell the set later on.

I already emphasized that my own VS had spotty chrome out of the box and that it wasn't much of a concern to me if the chrome deteriorates further, because in the end, I have to use tape or a sticker over it. Any other option at trying to fix the issue would be much more time, energy, and likely money intensive. As mentioned in the write-up prefacing this post, the question is simply food for thought over how much condition affects the value of an item if said item is a limited run thing.

I imagine that screws can be replaced without too much fuss. The gold chrome on VS on the other hand, is trickier to "fix" outside of the course of least resistance being just to apply a sticker. Though if nothing is affected, I wonder if dishonest sellers with bad chrome could simply paste a sticker over it and not disclose the condition of the actual chrome underneath, since well, "nothing is affected".

I simply had food for thought on the issue because a probably not insignificant number of people have bad chrome, enough for there to be a demand for Toyhax to provide stickers for it, or the gold tape fix to be shared. Barring your VS having more serious QC issues that affects the actual functionality of the set, the general consensus (at least on this site) seems to be to simply get tape or stickers and fix it yourself. Because by going through Hasbro, you could be playing the QC lottery again and waiting a long while for a recourse. And that option may not be available for some who got their VS through third party sellers or if in future, Hasbro discontinues support for VS, because too much time has passed or they no longer have replacement parts to provide.

If you don't intend to sell the item, that's great. I'm sure plenty of people like myself, have the same sentiment. But you never know what will happen in the future. I don't think Tyler Gressle intended to sell his card when he got it, but now he's doing it and gave some reasons as to why. As mentioned, I do enjoy my VS, but I simply got food for thought on value and the question on how much condition affects limited run items. Namely, if the scarcity of the item is enough to override detriments that bad condition can have.

 

Hi, to avoid the breakage on the back clips of Star Saber, I was asked to remove the grey piece on the center of wing part of Victory Leo and use the existing tabs VL has to tab onto the Star Saber backpack. However, without that grey piece of VL, how do we attach the big gun onto VL Lion mode at the back of it?

Thanks.

 

Do you have photos?

 

What you do with your disposable income is your business of course. Not begrudging you on that. If you had plans as an investment collectible, might as well left it MISB. Like Schrödinger's cat, it's condition in sealed state is 50/50 and up to the potential buyer to accept. Now loose and been displayed, expect the value to be lower than an MISB item. At least that's how I understand the name of the 2ndary market game.

Also, these "limited run" CF items, I have already consigned myself to have accepted blemishes/imperfections as part of the package of being a collector. heck, I have 2 G1 JP figures (Lambor and Meister) that have paint blemishes. That was way back 1985 folks. Also listened to a recent YT video discussing how items like VS is no better than a regular run item. Same with MP (only that has a higher price point). It won't be handled like a porcelain vase by the assembly workers that for sure.

And VS is going to degrade/yellow/discolor eventually. 

 

Yea people take it too seriously. It's still a toy at the end of the day.

 

Your comments will break many hearts of serious collectors who never open their toys and keep in MISB!

FYI, I am not one of them.

 

Nice to see D-Zef represented

 

What in tarnation

 

Anyone receives their replacement part?

 

Pretty sure those come later?

 

I'm on fmla for the next month or so... I was hoping to move my Victory Saber into someone else's hands. Is $300 shipped an outrageous price?

 

Has it been opened?

 

It was. Stickers not applied though