Last One Standing?

Micromachines Update

These two beauties will soon be appearing again in My Collection Diary, but for now they are the focus of my speculation. Several of my sub-collections have holes in them where the pieces that are virtually impossible to find should go... Like the two pieces pictured above.
During an interview I was asked what my strategy was to obtain such rare pieces, and I declared that I would simply outlive the collectors who had them, and when I was one of the "last collector's standing" I would simply choose the pieces I wanted when the time and price was right.

Now, a short 4 years later, I have found two of the rare pieces in one week, and at bargain basement prices... as far as collecting value goes.

The 1995 2nd series of Micromachine heads in the C-3PO package was thought by many to be a salesman sample for an unproduced set. In the USA, all the heads in the set ended up as Pizza Hut exclusive premiums for their kids' meals. When I listed it in my first book, I received letters shaming me for picturing "custom" items. Well, it's real. And it's usually quite expensive if you can find one that somebody is willing to let go of. So how is it, I wonder, that at the end of a 7 day auction put up by a seller with a feedback rating of +2327 that I was the sole bidder for $49.99? It wasn't even mis-classified.

The 1997 Micromachine Ewoks did turn out to be a legend. Never produced in the USA, this UK/Italy distributed set has always fetched top dollar so that collectors could show the entire line side-by-side. I stopped looking for it around 2001 as it had only shown up on eBay twice that I had found, and I wasn't about to pay over one hunderd dollars for the set. It looks like I saved quite a bit. I just won this one for 10.50 GBP, or about $18 US from a seller with 100% positive feedback.

These were a few lucky breaks for me in the Micromachine line, which has only a few very die-hard collectors still hanging on. Still, I'm finding other examples almost daily, documenting the current climate that either sellers have no idea of what they've got, or perhaps of the dedicated collectors wandering off into other interests leaving the treasures unclaimed.

Either way, I'm starting to wonder if I may truely be one of the last Star Wars Super Collectors still standing.

Update: I just picked up a Burger King rooftop inflatible Darth Vader for $71. Maybe it's finally time to finish off my vintage carded figure collection?