The weird G2 phenomenon

Desert_Rose

Desert_Rose

Sparkle Pony
Joined
Jun 22, 2005
Messages
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From what have understood through the several pony forums that exists the G2's aren't exactly super popular. There are collectors of them obviously (myself included), but not even close to how many that collect G1's, G4's and to an extent the G3's.

So, considering how unpopular they are in general - how come their prices are always through the roof?

I'm well aware of how the world works with supply and demand. Which is why this seems odd to me.
Granted the last years of G2's were only available in Europe - making the supply of them rather low. But the demand isn't exactly that high, so what justifys those prices I've seen on them? Even the early ones I see at like £20-£40.

Is it just me that think this is odd or is there a logical explination for this, because so far I can't really see one :S
 
I always felt G2 got the short end of the stick as a franchise of sorts. I mean, even G3.5 got a few animated specials. What did G2 get? A few comics and a PC game. Bleh.

Anyway, on topic.
Well, I think I have a few theories/explanations for G2's popularity of sorts, because it is slowly getting a lot more popular.
One is basically that the 90s are going into nostalgia territory, with all that that entails (20 year cycle and all).
Another is just a simple matter of people finally finding out about G2 after a long time of ignoring it, and finding most ponies... Exotic, for the lack of a better word.
Think about it: from what I can gather, Euro G1s have always been popular since people found out about them. They were different, striking, and hard to come by - a perfect recipe for popularity. However, not everyone has Euro G1 at the top of their want lists, since they're, well, rare, and thus pricy, and there is so much else to choose from before getting to those. Now, 75% of G2 are European exclusives...
See what I mean? It's like the the Euro G1 phenomenon, only applied to almost a whole generation instead of just a subset of it.

At least that's what I think. Hope that made sense. :tongue:
 
PrincessLio said:
I always felt G2 got the short end of the stick as a franchise of sorts. I mean, even G3.5 got a few animated specials. What did G2 get? A few comics and a PC game. Bleh.
Click to expand...

That game. IDK why, but I find myself playing Friendship gardens sometimes.
It's so terrible! XD
 
I think it has to do with them being unpopular with kids, but more worthwhile/popular with collectors. ;)

A critic could say the g2's were just "odd" to what a standard Hasbro pony looks like, and personally I thought they resembled dinosaurs more closely than a pony... XD

You could think of it as how unpopular the generation 3.5's are because they're so "steering away from the standard norm of what a person thinks when they think 'Hasbro mlp'".

It could be the same thing where some collectors aren't quick to accept the g4's because they stray away from the standard Hasbro norm, and resemble anime more however, their popularity is booming higher than just about any other generation, fad-wise.

So there can be extremes to either side of any generation, of what's deemed "popular", "unpopular", but popularity ultimately doesn't always relate with collectibility.

Anyways, that's my view on it. :winkpony:
 
I posit, in addition to the thoughts posted by others, that people, particularly in North America, weren't familiar with the Euro only releases, some of which are very lovely indeed; with the release of Summer's G2 guidebook a coupleyears ago, more people have seen what's out there and have changed their minds. Also, I suspect sometimes people stumble on a nice G2 in a pony lot or at a flea market, and become enamored despite themselves. I had my first couple of G2s kind of by accident, just plain old common first year ones (CleverClover and a couple others). Across theroom at night, their jewel eyes would twinkle in the light fromthe desklamp...Now I have over 50 G2s and even somehow justifed a way to get the large castle and wedding carriage sets.

So anyway, more exposure = more love/converts (lol) = higher demand. And of course those elusive Euro-only gals can get expensive. I do see a lot of (to me) overpriced common G2s, though, loose or MIB. I'm guessing those are the same ebay sellers who see anything MLP with dollar signs in their eyes.
 
I too am a fan of the classic MLP look, but then, I am a horse lover and a fan of the horse look period. The G2's totally reminded me of dinosaurs too! lol! I thought I was the only one. I do like some of them though.

I have to admit, as a long time lover of MLP from my childhood, I was really upset about the G4's. I hated how flat the animation was and how the ponies look more like deer or goats than horses/ponies. I mean, I guess they're still ungulates, but I was totally turned off.

Despite this however, I started to watch the show. I find the characters are relate-able and the stories are geared towards tweens and teens (and apparently 29 year olds :tongue:) making them open to a larger audience.

There are pluses and minuses everywhere, but I positively love the G1s and G3s. To me they look more like ponies.

I will say however that the G2s and G4s make more room for customs. I am doing a G4 Bambi and so far it looks great. I plan on doing a Last Unicorn as well and think a G4 will be better for the look I am going for.
 
I think because the release of G4 those collectors are discovering the older gens and collecting them as fans too :)

I have to agree they got the short end of the stick :(
 
Well I know there are collectors of them, but I've also always noticed how they are rather unpopular in general.

That is why the high prices on the doesn't make sense to me. Because, as I said the demand (even if it's there) isn't extremely high :S

Oh well. If people can charge $20 for Peachy I suppose they can charge £25 for a G2 Sundance.
 
The prices were high on MIB G2's there for a while, now you still see people listing them for those high prices but no one is buying!
I agree with DialgaBritesMom, I even read...Not sure if it was on here, that if you were a collector of G2's that you best stock up cause prices were going to skyrocket because of this certain guidebook!!! And thats what happened!
I think another thing is, sometimes a person only collects 1 thing, say G1's, then maybe they start collecting G3's, then G4's....really trying hard not to buy any G2's! I know with me, I was not fond of them at first....but they are MLP, and I am a complete collector, so I started collecting them. Then I got to clean them, and the sparkle in their eyes, and they have such wonderful colors!!! It was like the G2 drug, and I was hooked!!!

But love G2's now and am trying my dangdest to complete my sets!!!
 
The prices I see on the US release G2s are way too high. I think this perhaps is due to sellers that might not know a handful of G2s were available in the States and therefore, aren't worth much.

Now, some of the Euro G2s, I've only seen pop up for sale a handful of times over the years. People in the UK tell me they have a hard time finding these things second hand let alone MIP, so I feel SOME of those high prices are justified despite the fact the popularity base isn't nearly as large as for G1s.

Nan, you have the castle!??! OMG, I'm so jealous!
 
Aadra310 said:
The prices I see on the US release G2s are way too high. I think this perhaps is due to sellers that might not know a handful of G2s were available in the States and therefore, aren't worth much.

Now, some of the Euro G2s, I've only seen pop up for sale a handful of times over the years. People in the UK tell me they have a hard time finding these things second hand let alone MIP, so I feel SOME of those high prices are justified despite the fact the popularity base isn't nearly as large as for G1s.

Nan, you have the castle!??! OMG, I'm so jealous!
Click to expand...

it's probably my favorite MLP item of all (and most extravagent...:surprisepony: ).
 
I have no idea about those prices. But I just bought what came out here in Canada not nearly as much as the US or Europe.
BonBon said:
That game. IDK why, but I find myself playing Friendship gardens sometimes.
It's so terrible! XD
Click to expand...
OH GOD that game LOL When I started collecting again I boughtthat game and played it all the time. My pony NEVER sent me back any mail! I was SO mad! Stupid butterfly! Goodbye...Goodbye... >.<
 
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I think there has been a sudden surge in the popularity of G2's among collectors. People are finally starting to see the beauty in them. I know because I am one of the people new to G2's. Well, new as in the last year or two. I have a wishlist of G2's that has been slowing growing. I was floored when I saw the prices of some of these girls. There used to be a time when you could get a MOC G2 for like $10-15. I wish I had jumped on the G2 wagon then. lol. The fact that all the really cool ones were only made in Europe makes them "rarer". I still hope to get more of the US released ones on the cheaper side, but as time goes on, and they become more "vintage", I think their price is only going to go up.

But.....I think it's nice to see that they are finally getting their due. :)
 
WaterRaven said:
I have to admit, as a long time lover of MLP from my childhood, I was really upset about the G4's. I hated how flat the animation was and how the ponies look more like deer or goats than horses/ponies. I mean, I guess they're still ungulates, but I was totally turned off.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this! I never (and still don't) liked the look of both the G2 and G4. The saving grace for the G4 are the stories. I never got into the cartoon, but did end up watching the first season. The stories are very positive which is so refreshing in this day-and-age. Too bad animation (not just for MLP) has gone rather flat and super stylized. Goodness, with computer animation where it's at, I'd expect something with more depth, detail and even some realism. (I'll get off my soap box now)

As for getting back on topic, G2 is my least favorite, so I don't know much about them or their cost. It does seem a bit high, but that would depend on whether or not anyone is buying them at that price. As my dad says, "an item is only as valuable as the price someone will buy it at." So if people buy G2 at the high price, then yes, they are that valuable. If no one is buying them for the high prices, then there's the answer. That's my take on things.

Star Warrior
 
I can agree. I have always secretly kinda liked G2. The G2 babies are really cute. When the G2s were in stores, I bought everything for the first two years. Although, I wasn't sure what to make of them but I wanted them because they were MLP.

Anyone, G2s have the coolest playset. A freaking boat that really sails. Super cool, and cute!

General Information
 
Desert_Rose said:
So, considering how unpopular they are in general - how come their prices are always through the roof?

I'm well aware of how the world works with supply and demand. Which is why this seems odd to me.
Granted the last years of G2's were only available in Europe - making the supply of them rather low. But the demand isn't exactly that high, so what justifys those prices I've seen on them? Even the early ones I see at like £20-£40.
Click to expand...

Yikes! That's a lot higher than I was buying them for. Maybe it's the economy since most of Europe isn't doing so hot so people either want higher prices or those that are buying can pay higher prices? I think more people might like them now too vs. before but, other than some they're not so HTF than other ponies. I mean there are international G3s that are way worse. Even Summer's book was nice but also had omissions or errors so... I was still thinking G2 hasn't gotten its time in the sun yet.
At least that was the case. I still have a few G2s I want. They're probably at the top of my list after I get one G1 baby to finish a set. Now I'm almost afraid to go pony looking.
 
Well I wouldn't argue the extremely high prices I've seen on them if I knew they were very much in demand like G1 Mimic, Munchy, Diamond Dreams etc.
I know they are getting alot more love which is great - all generations need love in my opinion ;) But they are not getting by far as much love as say G1's are getting, yet their prices are still as high as the popular G1's :S

Ok, so it's not all bad. I've seen auctions on Ebay with realistic prices considering how common those certin ponies are. But I've also seen quite an amount of both auctions and listings on other sites where the prices are extremely high (and they have been up for sale for at least 4-ish months now which is my second reason for arguing the prices I've seen - they just don't sell for those amounts)
Which is why I find it both weird and frustrating that so many of them are so highly priced. There's a whole bunch of them I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy if they had a more realistic price in comparison to how common they are/how low the demand are compared to other ponies.

But then again, prices on all generations has been all over the place lately from what I've seen so I guess the G2 are just following that trend even if they are one of the most unpopular generations :/
 
Maybe its just a seller or sellers who do not have realistic sale prices?
 
I have a large number of G2s, some MIB because in 1997 when I got married the UK poundstretcher shops got loads of them and my new husband bought me loads. I didnt really like them (except the Unicorns, Silver Swirl, Golden Glow etc) but I thought it was sweet that he bought them for me. Then I tried to have a clear out about 10 years ago, and I literally couldnt GIVE them away!

Now I see those same ponies selling for ££ on ebay.... but we have children who are pony mad now so it seems mean to sell the G2s! I am going to clear out my doubles though.

I wonder if new G4 fans also like G2s because they (I think) have a very similar look?? And whether thats what is driving up the prices?

x
 
I like G2 toys, and its a shame they didn't get any animation (though some seem convinced My Little Pony Tales is G2)
they are an interesting bunch and I shant refuse them in my collection
 
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