This is a tough item to find in collectible condition. The seller is correct - this is a large, impressive item. The asking price is too high. SGV is $175. He has placed a "Make Offer" option to the listing, so he knows the asking price is aggressive. If you want this great item, I feel the outer edge of the pricing atmosphere is $225.
09/06 Update: Someone with a deep pocket actually paid $345 for this, surely a new record.
I'm surprised by this result. This heavily embossed German diecut is fairly common, having been made throughout the 1920s. SGV is $85 with an RSIN of 4, yet this brought $228.76. The significant surface cracking makes the ending price just that much more inexplicable.
The Germans issued three sizes of this deeply embossed articulated skeleton design during the 1920s. The size you will see most commonly is 27" high. This intermediate size is rarely seen, while the largest, at ~50" high, is exceedingly rare. Prices for the German diecut skeletons have been strong for some time. The seller has not provided enough photos, with none showing the reverse, so that will almost certainly impact the final price. Given that the most common size brings ~$150, this should bring somewhat less than double.
The Germans produced three sizes of articulated skeleton diecuts. The most common is the smallest one, which measures 27" high. The middle size measures 37" high and would have an RSIN of 2. The largest size, measuring a whopping 50" high would have an RSIN of 1. I've seen it change hands for well north of $500.
It is great to see some nice items being offered this season. This large envelope containing "The Perfect Hallowe'en Decoration" was produced by Beistle during the early 1930s. The value for this set lies almost entirely with the envelope. It is one that rarely surfaces in this shape. Sustainable guide value is $175.
10/16 Update: It may be that time of the year when most collectors have spent their vintage Halloween budget , as this fine enveloped item brought only $132.50.
I don't understand a lot of the auction results I'm seeing. This noisemaker, a very cool 1960s design by US Metal Toy, is not particularly rare, as it surfaces with regularity. It typically changes hands for $225. As is so often the case here, there were only two determined bidders driving up the price to this wholly unsustainable level. Unless the prevailing bidder offers it to the underbidder, I am certain this price will never again be obtained for this item. Collectors: have patience unless money is no concern.
This great set was produced by Beistle during the early 1930s. The gem of the lot is the packaging, because as with so much packaging, it was typically tossed out right away. For one to survive in the condition this new seller is offering is unusual and should be snapped right up. The package measures ~22" high by ~12" wide. Guide value for the set is $175. Skeleton diecuts have been on a roll lately, so it'll be instructive to see where this ends.
This attractive skeleton diecut with its unusual orange background was manufactured by Beistle during the early 1930s. It has an RSIN of 2, which surely accounts for why this item, suffering from some serious head damage, still brought $35.77. I tend to think the guide value of $75 for a near-mint example is a tad low given the recent strength of the skeleton diecut sub-genre.
I'd love to know the story here. When this lot ended at $636.99, I didn't believe it. I called a close friend and fellow collector to get her reaction. She said maybe it is time to sell our collections if people are willing to pay such a high price for items with such obvious condition issues. Not only are both items missing their placards, but the amount of wear, plus the presence of tape remnants, is a turn-off. However, the seller relisted the pair less than a mere two hours later. So, did the prevailing bidder get cold feet? These really shouldn't go for more than $200-$250 total.
09/22 Update: I received an email from the prevailing bidder today explaining that she had inadvertently placed a mistaken bid amount by inserting a third digit in her haste to bid. The seller graciously accepted this explanation and didn't bind the bidder to the placed bid. Doesn't this truly indicate that the seller is fair-minded?
Given how hot German diecut skeletons have been lately, I feel this is worthy of being scooped up immediately. The photos show a skeleton in better condition than stated by the seller. For $150 and free shipping, if you don't already own this smallest of the three manufactured sizes, buy it now.
08/24 Within minutes of this post, a faithful reader scooped up this great item at a reasonable price - reasonable given how hot this sub-genre has been of late.
I am glad that the seller, goofus999, long on my list of those with whom I like doing business, received such a sky-high price for this diecut. As in nearly all such instances, the wholly unsustainable ending price was a result of two bidders only. Look at the bidding history. Without the intervention of a bidder who seems to bid high prices across a wide spectrum of goods, this diecut would have ended near the sustainable guide price of $150. Bidders, do your homework. Know the "Relative Scarcity Index number" or RSIN of the items you are interested in obtaining. The RSIN for this, the most common of the three German articulated skeleton diecuts, is 3. This means you will likely see examples for sale several times or more in a season. If you want to bid high, do so on those items with an RSIN of 1 or maybe 2.
One hot sub-genre seems to be German skeleton diecuts. I've noticed a rapid increase in what these jointed items bring over the last year. This is the second largest version, measuring 36" high. The largest, profoundly impactful, measures ~50" high. I've only seen the largest version a handful of times.
I've noticed that prices for skeleton diecuts, especially German ones, have firmed over the last year. This example is arguably the most common version and size, yet even with the condition issues nicely described by the seller, it brought the sustainable guide value.
I wonder why sellers who are only vaguely familiar with an item use the BIN method rather than the auction method? This coveted skeleton noisemaker, made by U.S. Metal Toy during the early 1960s, typically fetches no less than $225. Even though the seller may have purchased it for a dollar, why wouldn't they do some research before picking a figure out of the air and letting it go for half of what they would have surely gotten if they had simply auctioned it?
So many of these have surfaced over the past year that I am VERY suspicious about many of them being truly vintage items. If you are inclined to buy such an item, ask a lot of questions and ask the seller to provide documentation as to age and the precise Odd Fellows Hall the item was reclaimed from.
