There a few auctions on ebay with a $60 bin. That's crazy for a cassetteformer. Is there something I am missing?
I get the impression that Ratbat was one of the less common cassettes (either not available in as great of numbers or perhaps for not as long a period of time as most others). But I assume the main factor is that his claws and PARTICULARLY his ears are easily broken. So an intact toy is rarer and therefore more sought after and valuable. If you've noticed, out of the Constructicons, Hook sells for more because his legs are prone to breaking. Probably also because the little metal hook in his crane tends to break or get lost.
I think there are three main reasons Ratbat would go for a lot. Two are mentioned here. The fragility of the ears means that it'll be that much harder to find a completely intact version. Ratbat wasn't always available - originally Frenzy and Laserbeak were packaged as a two-pack, later Ratbat replaced Laserbeak. So while Frenzy spent plenty of time on the shelves, both Ratbat and Laserbeak got their runs cut kinda short. Third is the character himself. While he may not have had much airtime in the cartoons, the Marvel comics portrayed him as a ruthless and savvy Decepticon, who even led the Decepticons for a time! This gives him the same kind of 'cult' appeal (if that's the right term) as the likes of Bludgeon and Nightbeat. Of course IDW's also taken this onboard and showed him in the distant past as a high-ranking politician.
Actually Ratbat was my favorite cassette, if only for how goofy it was, and also, the comic version was a badass. Trying to quantify why things go for what they do on ebay though'll just make you want to shoot yourself. I saw someone pay 40 bucks plus shipping for a movie voyager the other day, which HTS seems to be pretty much in full stock of. Go figure.
I'm just at a loss why no one has tried to cash in by kitbashing Carwashes of Doom and selling them on ebay. Throw in a small figure of 'Buster running from a giant robot bat' and it's golden.
Ratbat is my favorite cassette based on his comic portrayal. I think he led the Marvel Decepticons longer than Megatron, Thunderwing or Bludgeon!
