For Doc Thomas, it’s all about winning. Not winning in the traditional sense, like coming first in a race or plowing through the Tour De France in a monster truck, but winning in the sense that you’re doing what you love, and freakin’ loving doing it. Toy collectors know that when you’re finally buying that most beloved, most waited for, most coveted toy, you are winning. When you’re opening that action figure up and changing accessories, posing it, switching interchangable parts, you’re absolutely winning. And when you’re putting your toys on display, or preposing them in battle, you just can’t stop winning.
Of course, there are even more good times to be had when it comes to bargains, and on the odd occasion a store, sometimes online and sometimes brick and mortar, will have a toy that you really want marked down to a bargain price, forcing you to purchase it immediately. Bigger stores like department stores will often need to clear items quickly and put them at absurd prices, not realizing the value of sometimes very expensive toys; at other times local comic book stores will rope customers back in with sales, clearing items en masse for just pennies. When it comes to winning, sometimes bargains can be the absolute most win one can handle.
But what about me, Doc Thomas – what are some of the best bargains you’ve ever had? Well, I’m glad you asked! Three major ones come to mind:
1. Variant Rare Glow-in-the-Dark Monev the Gale – for pennies!!
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I found this gem cut down to nearly US$10 on clearance at EB Games, of all places. In the early 2000’s EB Games had taken to stocking action figures at completely ridiculous prices (Spawn figures for $40, anyone?) with a special emphasis on marking up the shortpack to a ludicrous cost. When this went belly-up, nearly all of their toys were reduced for quick sale, and that was when I found this bad boy, a gorgeous amalgamation of sculpt, articulation, detail, paint and glow-in-the-dark goodness for the price of a large pizza. Bon appetit!
2. Complete Lego Basketball set – 90% off!!
Not quite an action figure as such, but who doesn’t love Lego? Especially their ingenius sports sets, in which you can play sports with the little Lego dudes!! Perfect for myself rockin’ out in college, I found this marked down to a fiver at a Kmart, on clearance for 90% off. Ridiculous and awesome, I had no choice but to nab it!! Many good times were had with this in my little student housing flat. The only drawback? Now I’m straining to get the soccer set as well!
3. Rare Buffy Boxed Sets – for tuppence!!
The rare and nifty DST Buffy boxed sets that collected sets of three figures by theme, many whom had never been made before, were a great buy for Buffy fans, but expensive. Then comes the local comic book store’s clearance sale, first-in-first-served – all three for a tenner! Score!! This was the only way to get Joyce Summers, as well as the immortal and loveable D’Hoffryn!!
Webmaster Poe has his own fantastic bargain story that I did not exaggerate in the slightest – read on!
“I was being pursued by agents of the international oil cartel, escaping a deal that went bad, when we ditched the getaway car and made fast break for Newbury Comics. As we entered the comic store my right hand man Big Derek detonated the car and we hid behind several strippers. That’s when I saw it – glorious Microman Ninja for only $6!! It didn’t matter that the rummy oilers were closing in on us – I had to have it. I carried it proudly through the store and raised my Glock to the entrance as those fools charged in, ready to take a beating from me, Big Derek and Original G – that day I was the king.”
What about you, humble readers? What’s your best ever bargain story?