|
|
|
|
Volume 1 Issue #10 
F.M. never fails to give me something NEW to talk about each
week! News that on 8/10 F.M. had all the Gallery stores PULL the
1967 Morris Mini Cooper Rallye car from the shelves was a bolt
out of the blue! Speculation as to why, is running rampant, with
someone saying he heard that the TIRES were wrong, others feel
it could be loss of sponsorship, or licensing that has made
this model disappear. Whatever it may be, this couldn't have
been one of F.M.'s best selling models, and since pulling it
with NO word why, the secondary prices SHOULD skyrocket as word
gets out to the e-Bay crowd, and D4C members take more interest
in it! This model was definitely NOT hoarded, and whatever is out
there for sale is going to be hit and miss! For those NOT
familiar with this FUN little car, try going to the D4C Review
section! Tom Pine wrote one of the most interesting REVIEWS I
have read for a model car, and the little MYSTERY that F.M. has
created will forever accompany this model! Bound to be a sure
hit with many of our collecting colleges and MIGHT even take
over the place of the 1957 WW Corvette! (Naw!)Warren Wells wrote an interesting question on the D4C board. Quoting his question "Why are Franklin Mint LE's exalted? Can someone explain why FM Limited Editions are usually gobbled up from the retailers (with a few exceptions), but other LE's from other mints hang around for a while. Is FM that much more prestigious than Danbury or Exoto or Creative Masters? A FM 1969 LE Camaro (2000 made) yields $200+ on the secondary market where a 1969 CM (3000 made) loiters for less than retail ($80). Most people will agree that the Creative masters version has better quality and detail than the FM version. Are there just more diehard FM collectors than any other mint collectors?" Quite a few reasons were given on the board, such as F.M. has 36 years of history, and product image that has developed a nice following over the years, (and YES, there are certainly MORE F.M. collectors then the other brands mentioned!), and a more popular SCALE then the awkward 1/20th scale used by Creative Masters. I believe they have something to do with it, but I feel, more importantly, is the fact that F.M. products are wholesaled to MORE retailers that are able to PRESERVE the pricing structure then C.M. has (or the others manufacturers for that matter)! Just as an aside, from one of my CORRESPONDENTS, who made the following observation which I feel is relevant here, and I quote "I don't know if you handle the Exoto line but I thought that you might be interested in this observation. There are so many Imola Ice vette's showing up on ebay that the price is really dropping. Last sale $120., one with 11 hrs to go has a bid of $112, and one with a day to go has no bidders ! So far I've seen about 8 in the last week, one of which is a dutch auction (unknown number of items)." (FYI, the first one of these offered on the D4C auction in May brought $205.00 and the Exoto LIST price is $169.95!) My answer to him was "I don't handle these, only FM/DM, and the better CM material! Seems all the other companies let their dealers just FLOOD the market with their L.E.'s making them NOT as desirable as they should be! POOR planning on the manufactures part!" Now that I read this, I'd like to amend what I wrote him! It's really NOT poor planning, as certain manufacturers couldn't care less if the retailer SOLD that product for profit or LOSS! As long as the manufacturers sells out, they are happy and have accomplished their goal! It's the RETAILERS fault for the continuous struggle to sell these out, as soon as possible! You've all seen the COMPETITION between them on e-Bay, vying to be the CHEAPEST in order to recoup their initial outlay! BAD business practice! Not only do you CHEAPEN a great model but you leave a sour taste in the customers mouth that bought one at the original retail list price! Rarely do you see any F.M. INDEPENDENT dealer putting out DISCOUNTED models on e-Bay anymore (although there is a certain PERSON doing it, and apparently F.M. hasn't figured it out yet who, or where he gets his BRAND NEW models from, along with knives, dolls, and MOOD DRAGONS!), as they have sent around letters to most dealers stating if the retailer does it, he will loose his rights to be a dealer with F.M.! I feel F.M. should be congratulated for this stand! I know, the buyer will have to pay more for his model now, then he could have before, BUT, your models are worth MORE because of this! REMEMBER, F.M. is also a RETAILER where most other manufacturers are WHOLESALERS! I had stated in a previous column that I felt this was a form of PRICE FIXING and should be illegal! After sitting back and looking at the situation more closely, I can understand and APPRECIATE why F.M. does it! So should you! ( No, F.M. didn't FINALLY get to me to write something nice about them! They DID promise to make that VooDoo doll of me though! Lewis, I prefer the WHITE pins!!!! The BLACK ones HURT TOO MUCH!!!) 
Still current in everyone's mind is the 1957 WW Corvette!
I'll talk price when we get down to this weeks auction action,
but I have included a few pictures here of a SWITCH between a
1956 and 1957 Corvette! Looks pretty good to me! But there is a
small hitch! The '56 tire is slightly wider than the '57 and
rubs on the '57's brake drum air intake. A sure way to spot the
fake!!! At least on this one! Now to try some other tires to see
what happens! I must say, I'm quite surprised to NOT see some
BLACKWALL error early Corvettes out on e-Bay yet (I haven't
searched any of the other auction sites though)!
I believe that
with a few of the people I've dealt with on e-Bay, this switch
would have been a natural! Perhaps warnings here and on the D4C
site have paid off! This is still a very much in demand model.
It's now taken hold with many NON D4C members, as I've had
numerous calls this week concerning it! MANY Corvette collectors
just WANT it! You can explain the stories to them and they just
ask, HOW MUCH! Hey, F.M., why not just bring it back as an
UN-NUMBERED L.E. and charge $250.00 for it! What a marketing
coup, (not to mention the PROFIT involved)! Make the BW '57 with
the reworked seats the REAL error model! As "Hunter" would say,
"Works for me!"WHAT'S HOT!----RUMORS, Rumors, rumors! Seems that someone let the cat out of the bag on the fact that the F.M. 1957 BLACK Chevy convertible will be discontinued soon, or so says a CORRESPONDENT who happens to get this from an un-named MAIL ORDER REP! We checked this out and were advised that it was NOT AVAILABLE but MIGHT be back in stock NEXT MONTH! I've noticed that this model is FAIRLY scarce on the secondary market so here's the GAMBLERS CHOICE for this week! YOU decide what F.M. will do! If it's gone, it will be a GREAT car on the secondary market! Have you noticed that the pretty F.M. 1957 KIT CAR is nowhere to be found? Check the price that one sold for to a KNOWLEDGEABLE collector on D4C on 8/10! Word with another mail order rep. brought the retort that it MAY be back in December or January (along with the Swallows to Capistrano?). When was the last time you saw a RED 1961 Jag hardtop? (When did you care?). Seems this is also among the missing! (FYI, Sunday night one sells on e-Bay for, NOW GET A GRIP FOLKS......$338.33!!!!!) Talking to someone who knows, I've found out that this model doesn't have a re-issue date!!! Wouldn't that model just make the nicest companion piece for last years HARROD'S car! How about a nice SILVER repaint of this! An L.E. of 500 and HARROD'S would have a BIG HIT on their hands! Also heard from 2 other CORRESPONDENTS that the FIREBIRD that has been on the D4C PENDING list for so long will be released soon! No word on year or color, but sure to be a big hit (Just has to be a late 60's early 70's piece! How about the BANDIT'S car? Put BURT and SALLY in there, an L.E. of 5000 at $195.00! OK, let's make it $245.00 to KEEP F.M. happy!! Move over SPEED RACER!!! (Oh Roy, you dreamer!). 
VARIETIES, Varieties, varieties! Here's a small group of
FORGOTTEN (if your not an old timer, you might not even know
about these) error models that you don't see mentioned very
often OR not at all! At one time the 1955 Pontiac Starchief was
issued with THIN whitewall tires! A small run of these were done
as CUSTOMERS complained that the tires weren't correct and all
subsequent issues were with the correct WIDE whitewalls tires!
About 3 years ago was the last time I had one of these and it
sold for $300 then! In my opinion, about as rare as the
"SMOKEYS" Hudson or maybe more so, as NO ONE collected varieties
then!
The DISCONTINUED red/white 1957 Ford Sunliner has 2 VERY
distinct rear end treatments! The first with the all white rear
is an ERROR and produced for sometime, until, I believe Raffi
re-did it, and it was re-issued with the proper paint treatment
as is the current black/white 1957 Ford!
For such an EYEBALL
variety, no one has taken notice! Think that will change! I have
no data on how many of each were released so it will be up to
the collector market to make a price on these! Since it is gone,
I sure would like some input from readers of this Newsletter, as
to which or both of these models they have!
Perhaps the most
interesting of these forgotten varieties is the F.M. 1970 L.E.
Mach I with both 14 inch and 15 inch tire varieties! Take a look
at the pictures for comparison! When these first came out, I
remember that after a few months F.M. QUIETLY recalled whatever
14" tires cars they could, as the correct tire was a 15" one! I
don't have any mintage figures on these, BUT I would surmise
that of a 10,000 issue perhaps 1500-2500 were the 14" tire
variety! Since the Mach I's price has SHOT UP so drastically
over the last few months, and NO ONE ever mentions tire size, it
will be interesting to see if seller will mention it now, and IF
there will be a substantial price difference!
"What's Franklin Minting" is the TITLE of a news article in
the Sept, 2000 issue of CAR CRAFT magazine, page 26! The writer
(who is not nearly amusing as I am!) does a tongue in cheek
announcement about the upcoming 14th Annual Franklin Mint
Automobile Festival.
Although a lightweight on humor, it does
get the message across to their readers that F.M. DOES have a
FREE show and perhaps with that nice picture it will draw some
NON D4C members to the annual meeting! Can't hurt! In the same
magazine on page 20, Car Craft has an excellent picture of
Motor Cities SWC's Gasser and a DECENT write-up!
Guess Alan must
have PLIED them with a free model to get that nice an ad spread!
Good for you Alan! Perhaps, if F.M. ADVERTISED in that issue, a
better article would have been written!Enough of the world according to Roy, let's check out this weeks auction scene! Seems the D4C auction took a FORCED SABBATICAL Sunday, and Monday with server glitches so e-Bay will have to take up the slack! Sunday 8/6--- LOTS of action here today starting with a Datsun 240Z selling at $100.55! Retail is $95.00, and to the best of my knowledge this is STILL available! For some unknown reason, this model almost always draws more then issue! Just think what will happen when its retired! A F.M. '57 Eldorado with HORRIBLE paint goes for $177.50. Have recently seen some VERY NICE repaints of this model! A 1955 L.E. Pontiac with a broken off aerial (still with model) was STOLEN for $256.56! I tried LOW BALLING this one and got caught SHORT! Just too many SMART guys out there bidding! A Silver '54 Mercedes Benz draws a $142.50 winning bid and probably a record price for that discontinued model! The long N/A 1955 Rolls Royce with styrofoam box only went for $397.56 with strong interest. There were 3 1957 WW Corvettes on sale this night going respectively for $330, $355, and $400! MIGHTY strong prices, but a car that is much in demand (I sold 5 this week alone!) Another 1957 Eldorado with light paint crazing, papers, but no box, brought $285.00 (depending on your definition of LIGHT is, this might have been a good deal!) A 1940 Duesenberg, in MINT condition but no box, papers OR TOP sold to an anxious D4C club member for a CHEAP $232.06, wipe the smile off your face Dan! Last but not least tonight a 1992 WHITE Rolls Royce PERFECT with everything sells for $400.05! Probably a good deal as they are almost never offered with both boxes and papers! Monday 8/7--- e-Bay again VERY active with 2 D4C Corvettes being offered, one a NO SALE at $521.00 bid and the other selling at $550.00! When's the last time you saw one of these sell for LESS then $500? SOME INVESTMENT! A 1914 Rolls Royce brings $163.50 on a $175.00 RETAIL! STRONG price here! A GOLD Tucker in a sealed box sells at $119.27. For a 15000 mintage piece, this COULD be a real sleeper as NO ONE bought a bunch and I KNOW F.M. is down to it's last shipment! A very good seller OUT of country! A 1948 Roadmaster brings $138.00, no box or papers! This was 2 people NEW to e-Bay getting in a hissy-fit! Best deal of the day was a 1910 N/A Cadillac with box stolen for $134.39! I can't get them all! A '55 L.E. Pontiac is hammered down for $355.00 a decent price for summer. Another '57 WW Corvettes slides for $380.00, and I must give this one the title of "BEST NO SALE OF THE WEEK" a 1997 black Corvette bid to $693.00 and KEPT by the owner! They should have checked MY prices! Tuesday 8/8--- e-Bay was a little light today but some items of interest turned up. A group of F.M. brochures was on auction with some interesting results. A regular Shelby's brochure NOT the SIGNED one!), along with a 1910 Rolls Royce fetched $10.50 each. A 1911 Mercedes Benz brochure got $13.00 and a 1970 Mach I's brought $15.50! How many of us have TOSSED these into the garbage over the years! I think I'll become a PAPER collector! An F.M. 1953 Caddy with box and papers but a paint chip sold for $190.00. The N/A 1941 maroon Lincoln, box and papers brought a $193.06 price. the 1959 Blue Caddy convertible with papers only sold for $205.00 and a 1949 P.B. Ford was bid to only $305.00 with a NO SALE! The D4C auction was FINALLY back and running and had 3 days worth of cars to sell this night. A D.M. 1946 Chevy Suburban get a strong $109.87 bid. Another D.M. model, a 1969 Charger sells ABOVE RETAIL at $125.52, a 1911 Woodbody Mercedes Benz brings a more then respectable $161.00. The 1955 Red/White Chevy Hardtop (remember these WERE $1000 cars 2 years ago) gets $160.00! Another 1910 N/A Caddy with no hang tag or outer box draws $175.00 as a winning bid. A getting scarcer 1933 Pierce Arrow sells for $255.00, while a 1959 L.E. Caddy brings a right in line $275.00. The B&C bullet hole car settles back into the $350.00 sale price and a McEdsel is out again but didn't bring it's reserve at $350.00! A missed opportunity for someone! Wednesday 8/9--- What now appears to have been a very good deal was a F.M. 1957 black Chevy convertible with box and papers getting a $102.00 price. A 1970 Mach I, SLIPPED by me and sold for a much too cheap $255.00. Hey a Wells Fargo stage coach brings $190.50 against a $195.00 retail price, or is it now $245.00? Ever week the prices change! There were 2 BIG NO SALES tonight, a D4C Corvette at $521.00 again and a "SMOKEYS" at $1200.00 just TESTING that rarefied air over $1000.00! D4C had more going on tonight then e-Bay had! A D.M. Commanche Bass boat sells for $122.01 ($120.00 from THE SOURCE!) A nice deal is the 1998 Christmas truck given away at $130.00. The C.M. Ferrari 250 GTO is a real good buy from a German member for only $250.00 should be worth double! a F.M. '69 L.E. Camaro fails to bring the $240.00 reserve price. A 1970 Mach I L.E. gets a better $350.00 price, and a '57 WW Corvette sells for a strong $375.00! The SIGNED F.M. Shelby sells for a cheap $410.00, a good deal for the buyer, and a 1941 Blue Lincoln (formerly out on e-Bay at $800) did a NO SALE at $743.00! Thursday 8/10--- Many better models out on e-Bay with a 1929 Bugatti Esders (I almost NEVER see this model offered on the secondary market! Wonder why?) sells for $117.72 with no box or papers. How about a D.M. 1952 Four car carrier selling at $217.50! Order yours today from D.M. at $195.00! Another Signed Shelby sells for a very reasonable $415.00. A pair of F.M. 1957 Corvettes one WW the other a NEW BW car was a NO SALE at $500.00 asked! Finally a 1973 M-B 450 SL L.E. with NO NUMBER was a NO SALE at $749.99! An unusual model, to say the least! The D4C action was sparse with a 1957 KIT CAR going for $171.90 on what appears to be a higher bid waiting in the wings! Nice buy Julian on a soon to be better model! A MINT 1941 Lincoln box and papers sells for $175.10, another good buy, and a TRAX Falcon GT in blue sells for a decent $250.00. The 1940 Duesenberg was out tonight and was a NO SALE at $395.00 had the papers but the all important box was missing! Final sale of note was another D4C Corvette for $531.00. Friday 8/11--- Start of the weekend and the auctions pace picks up! A '55 Rolls Royce offered at $150.00 but no box, papers, hood ornament, or aerial, a NO SALE! A Red Flag Limo goes for 150.00. People are learning that they are available for $155.00 from the D4C club! The F.M. 1997 Christmas truck fetches $203.49 only slight weakness here. There are 4 separate '57 WW Corvettes out tonight! One with no box, papers or hangtag sells for $357.00 thanks to some publicity on the D4C site! Others bring $350.00, $405.00 and $405.00 respectively! They sure are STRONG in that $350-$400 range, and make note that one is still on e-Bay for a Monday sale at $510.00, so far!! (item #400944888)!The '56 L.E. Pontiac is gone at $360.00, a SIGNED SHELBY gets a slightly better $440.00 bid, and the McEdsel started at $9.95 finishes the night with a STRONG $395.06! Guess I'm not the only one who likes these FRIVILOUS models! The D4C has some interesting models going up today, with a D.M. 007 car getting $118.00! Remember when these were N/A from Danbury and were bringing $250-$350.00 per model at auction? A D.M. blue 1953 Buick brings a VERY STRONG $141.00 (apparently none of the bidders reads my website where they are $125.00!!! Just can't understand why someone would do that???!!!) A D.M. 1969 BLUE Camaro sells CHEAP for $134.00, and a '56 L.E. Chevy keeps backing down in price to a $140.50! A very pretty car, I suppose that because HOARDS of these models are continuously on auction, it has driven the price into the dirt! That was just about issue price almost 3 years ago! The C.M.C. black M-B 500K brings a respectable $338.33 and a D.M. 1956 BLACK original issue 1956 Ford F-100 draws the required $350.00 to be sold! I see occasionally the re-issues on e-Bay bringing these kind of prices! BUYER BEWARE! Good deal of the night is the F.M. '55 L.E. Ford COMPLETE selling to a sweetheart of a guy (ME!) for $435.00 (Geez, this is about as hard a model to find as any out there! Where did those other 4999 models disappear to???). Closing the D4C session was a 1982 L.E. Corvette with a beat up box, and no papers selling for $605.00, and if you can save $200.00 because of it, seems to be a fantastic deal! Saturday 8/12--- E-Bay was a little light on really interesting models but did have a '55 Rolls Royce, apparently a duplicate or the same model as the $150 NO SALE from last nights e-Bay auction, still not sell at a lesser $140.00! The F.M. '69 L.E. Camaro is testing the down side of its current trend with this one selling for $219.50! Anyone have an extra $20,000.00 to buy up 100 of these at that LOW price is going to make some big profits in a year or so! A F.M. 1956 Aqua T-Bird got 41 bids from 10 different bidders to sell at $250.50! That's DEFINITELY sending a message about the desirability of this model! The B&C bullet hole car drops again with a winning bid of just $305.00! The Black 1997 Corvette was a GOOD DEAL at the $490.00 it brought! (Bet the guy from Monday that REFUSED $693.00 for his, had an instant change of heart!) Rounding out today's auction, was a F.M. dealer display case (This from a disgruntled F.M. IRP dealer?) was a NO SALE at $599.95! I was interested in acquiring another one of these (Yes, I do have ONE in the store!) but the seller had checked out shipping and packing for a 1500 mile ride and would have cost over $1200.00 just to get here! Sorry, money MUCH better spent then that! The final auction on the D4c site for this issue contained a D.M. 1961 INDY T-Bird selling at $100.00 (This is kind of like the McEdsel, either you like it a lot or just hate it!). A C.M. Shelby GT-350 sells for a VERY CHEAP $112.00 MIB unopened! A NEW F.M. 2000 Christmas truck gets a few dollars off retail at $125.00, and a 1997 version draw a $205.00 winning bid! Last auction for this week is a 1973 Mercedes Benz L.E., a D4c fund raiser, ( Am I allowed to do that for my CATS???) bring a now, not too shabby, $630.00! I had fun this week relating some old, and some new tales to you! Seems there is always something we can talk about here! As usual, please send ideas, questions, comments and the like to me! I do hope everyone gets a little something out of this, either a laugh, some good information, or just plain interest! As Arnold said, "I'll be back"! Regards, Roy Return To www.franklindanbury.com The "WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT!" Archive |
roy@franklindanbury.com |
|
Copyright© 1998-2000 Irene M. Rauch All Rights Reserved. Franklin Mint ®, Danbury Mint ® and Creative Masters ® are trademarks of the Franklin Mint ®, Danbury Mint ® and Creative Masters ® respectively. We are NOT associated in any manner, nor do we have any connections or license with the Franklin Mint ® Danbury Mint ®, Creative Masters ® or any other company listed within this website. An
Copyright © 1997- 2000 Strum Business Solutions |
