$ Price Check $ Brazil Wind Whistler

[ZoriWuff]

Hoping for some help! I came across a g1 Brazil wind whistler at a model store in my local area. They’re asking 100usd for her, but it seems incredibly steep for her condition? Her mane and tail is completely brittle, faded to white, as well as some rust like staining at the base of her tail. The body is faded, the eyes are faded and smudged. Her cutie mark is smudged and worn away around the edges and is practically unrecognizable. She also has a yellow looking almost glue like substance in all her crevasses around the wings and around the legs. She’s so rough, you could tell me she’s a fake and I’d believe you. Because of that, seeing photos of the hoof bottoms would genuinely be helpful to make sure she isn’t fake! I’ve only been able to find prices online for good condition ponies. Being a Brazil pony, I’m wondering if my searches have lacked information due to me being an American user. Maybe the information I’m looking for is hidden behind a language barrier? Any pointers or opinions would be super appreciated. I’d love help in deciding if she’s worth the haggling and elbow grease, or if she might simply be a lost cause. Thanks in advance! (I’ll try to get photos if the store will let me)

 

[Gingerbread]

Ehhh, I don't know much about Brazilian ponies, I only have 1 I think and she's in good condition and was less that 100.00. I personally think that is a steep price since the issues you describe are not easy fixes. She sounds like a pretty baity pony and while it could be a fun challenge if you're into that sorta thing I would probably be shooting for a lower price. I know some of the popular Brazilian ponies can fetch pretty high, like the TAF ones can go for a few-several hundred depending on how the fickle market is going but then you have some more "common" ones that go for less than 100.00. Looking at recent ebay listings you can get some original 6 or North Star for under 100. I don't know about Wind Whistler in particular but for me I'd say that's probably a "meh" price.

 

[minticat]

Gingerbread's advice on pricing sounds reasonable, but from a restorer's point of view i wouldn't attempt it unless you already have a good amount of experience restoring already. she sounds like she's in really rough condition and you have to be extra careful with nirvana ponies because of material differences and just rarity factor. even with my experience restoring, for $100 i wouldn't do it.

 

[ZoriWuff]

Thanks for the feedback. Thinking about it more, she seems like she might’ve been misidentified as a Brazil pony. My intuition is telling me she’s not Brazil and deflocked as well. I think that would explain the glue like stuff. I almost want to go back and haggle just to be their rude awakening, but I don’t need to exercise pettiness over a single pony. I just hope someone doesn’t fall for the price. I’ll come back to this thread if anything happens with her!

 

[minticat]

Brazilian wind whistler is in the surprise pose, so if that pony at the shop is the standard whizzer pose, they're 100% misinformed and it sounds like a botched deflock. if you aren't careful with the chemicals used to deflock, they can easily smudge and ruin symbols, and it can be quite the process to dig out all the glue from between the wings.

i wouldn't try to haggle her down, but i would kindly mention she's mis-ID'd if they do have her marked as Brazilian.

 

[ZoriWuff]

The shop is run by a bunch of action figure dudes. I understand if it’s just not their forte. I super appreciate the heads up on the deflocking though, it sounds like that’s exactly what happened.

 

[ZoriWuff]

Hi guys! I wanted to come back and update this thread with some positivity. I went back to go purchase the Princess Taffeta and Princess Sunbeam ponies they had for sale after doing some research to make sure I was getting a fair market price. To my surprise, while Sunbeam was marginally more than I would have liked, I was actually getting a good deal on Taffeta. I'll be posting another thread soon to discuss their "restoration"/clean up, as well as my efforts into collecting the whole set.
The mis-ID'd Wind Whistler was still there for $100. I went ahead and had a proper educated haggle with the person in the store and let them know of the misinformation and proper value range of the pony. I even went into detail about what actual Brazil ponies' hooves are embossed with, and pointed out the deflock flaws, even to go as far as to point out the residual glue over the cutie mark as a direct result of whoever avoiding using acetone over painted markings. I told them I could comfortably offer $15-25 USD for her in her current condition, and that's even being a bit generous.
Due to the drastic price difference, the employee let me know he's required to discuss this with whichever employee initially bought the pony and for how much. He's very thankful for my knowledge in valuing these ponies and feels I may be a better candidate for overseeing the buying and selling of this particular product line We've exchanged contact information, and hopes in the future we can work out some deals on ponies in the future. Such as first pick and discounts on purchasing in trade for value checks and general TLC to get them shelf ready. I should expect a response about my offer on Wind Whistler in a few days, and I hope to take her home for a full restoration!