Tuesday, April 29, 2008

TrekSpace - The Star Trek Social Network hits 1,000 members!

Well, if you haven't been on TrekSpace, the Social Network for Star Trek fans, you should be! This past month, TrekSpace passed 1,000 members and hasn't stopped growing. Think MySpace for Star Trek fans. It's a blast and you should come by and make friends, talk Star Trek, and just plain have fun!

Alec

Star Trek Crew Member selling on eBay

Tom Talley, who you can read about on Memory Alpha, has decided to auction a bunch of items he collected while working as a construction and location foreman on Star Trek. You can see Tom's auctions here. Tom is a really nice guy and his stuff has pretty solid provenance. In addition Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum member Chrissy is designing a nice COA for all these items.

I recommend you check out Tom's auctions and bookmark his list as he has more stuff to come!

Alec

Monday, April 28, 2008

Richard Coyle ST III Communicator on eBay


There is one of Richard Coyle's replica Star Trek III Communicators on eBay now. The auction was brought to my attention and a quick email to Richard by Don from the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum confirmed this. Richard had an original to cast off of, but made certain changes to make it easier to reproduce.

Still a nice piece and probably worth $ 150 or so. Richard Coyle and Ed Miarecki props from the 80's are still in demand by replica collectors.

Alec

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Phaser Update - Resolution all around!

Well, the good news is that Scott, the second buyer of the fake Phaser 1 got his money back from John, the seller, when John was presented with the evidence of the Phaser being a fake. John then went back to the seller who sold it to him, Massimo from Italy, about a refund. Massimo, a member of the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum, to his credit, gave John back his money.

I first spoke several times with Scott, who contacted me after reading my blog and pulling down the Phaser from eBay. I then offered my help to John, the seller, since I knew Massimo,who he bought it from and emailed Massimo to get John his money back. After a couple of emails, Massimo and John worked things out.

I think this goes to show that if people work together, deal with things in a mature manner (something that often doesn't happen on the Internet), and pick up the phone, you can resolve these issues. It also shows the value of public, open blogs like this, and the need for transparency in the hobby. Jason DeBord and I are always available by phone or email to consul prop buyers and sellers and help them out.

Alec

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Phaser Update

I had a good call with Scott, the seller of the fake Phaser. He canceled the auction after reading my blog and wrote me an email. We talked on the phone and it appears he was taken in by the previous buyer. Scott is an experienced seller of memorabilia, but just not experienced with Star Trek props. He was even surprised when I told him how rare TOS props really were. He joked about how every auction always seemed to have a TOS Phaser or communicator in it!

Scott is going to try and get his money back from the guy he bought it off of. This is the problem with fakes, people try and pass them off on someone else, rather than either trying to get their money back, or accepting that you got taken. At least Scott is honorable and trying to do the right thing.

Alec

Fake Phaser on eBay...More Movies Galore fraud

Well, the fake Phaser 1 on eBay has resurfaced. This appears to be the same one sold recently and comes with the COA from "Movies Galore", a suspect memorabilia seller. This isn't even a good fake, and is gray, while the screen used ones were black.

The COA here is worthless. The company is out of business, and the authenticator isn't anyone who anyone in the prop hobby seems to know. While most of you would never buy this Phaser, I need to warn you again, that a COA is WORTHLESS from almost every source. In fact, right now the ONLY COA you should value, is one from IAW. Christie's didn't give them out, and
Profiles in History generally doesn't, and even if they did, I would find it worthless.


I am ALWAYS suspect of props and you need to approach any prop with the attitude that the seller needs to prove that a prop is real. A COA is never proof. Provenance is key, and carefully researched evidence is needed in the absence of provenance.

Alec

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Profiles in History Auction Results

The new Profiles in History auction ended with mixed results. Some items went very high, many did not sell. Here is a rundown:

894: Scotty's Tunic was an unused Class C and sold for a reasonable $ 1,200.

895: The Star Trek III Phaser went for a staggering $ 14,000. However, it was NOT the one Profiles claimed They claim it was used by Kirk in the final scenes on the Genesis Planet, but the one Kirk is holding has flashing lights and this one does not. None the less, this was a huge price for this piece. This is one of the good things about profiles. They can get big prices for things.

897: The Star Trek III Communicator's, history is in question, even according to Profiles. PiH claims it comes from an associate of Jein's (unnamed) and that it was made at the same time as the others for Star Trek III, but wasn't made for the production. Sounds like some prop guy made an extra one for himself. At $ 1,000 a good deal though.

898: The Klingon Costume actually sold for an astounding $ 10,000! IAW was selling these in the $ 2,500 range. So a pretty big surprise here.

899: The Klingon Bird of Prey Wing Section didn't sell, but basically because it was over priced. It was a great prop, but the market is way less now. Did Not Sell

900: The Geordi LaForge uniform sold for an astounding.$ 13,000. An identical costume with a comm badge and boots sold for $ 3,000 at Christies. A Generations LaForge just sold for $ 4,055 WITH a VISOR on IAW. Again, Profiles has a group of bidders who have more money than sense sometimes, but maybe that is a good thing for those of us who want to sell!

901: The Distressed LaForge Tunic was a bad deal at a $ 3,000 starting bid and didn't sell. That is a $ 1,500 item MAX.
Did Not Sell

902: The Geordi holo-Suit Apllicator was a tiny 1 1/2" long prop and the opening bid was $ 1,000. Way overpriced and not a meaningful prop. It was also TINY! Did Not Sell

903: The Model Miniature Casket/Probe sold for $ 2,200 at Christie's and sold here for a very strong $ 6,000. I am amazed this sold at this price. Models that were much more impressive have sold at half this price (Like the awesome TNG Enterprise D Shuttlebay).

904: TNG Medical Scanner
Did Not Sell

905: The Marina Sirtis Starfleet Uniform went for $ 13,000. Another big surprise which was WAY overpriced compared to current market sales.

907: The Data Head Appliance sold for its opening bid of $ 4,000. Pretty rich, and I am not sure I want Data's scalp!

908: Lore's SFX Thumb started at $ 4,000 and didn't sell. Pretty over-priced.
Did Not Sell

910: The Worf Tunic, was distressed. Starting bid was $ 4,000, but this is a $ 2,000 MAX, even with the comm badge.
Did Not Sell

911: The Burned Starfleet Uniform failed to sell with an opening bid of $ 1,000. MAYBE this is a $ 500 item, since you can get a perfect one for under that on eBay from IAW.
Did Not Sell

912: The TNG Cobrahead Phaser went for a reasonable $ 1,300.

914: The Picard De-Assimilation Neural Link was a joke at $ 1,500 and a crappy prop. It didn't sell. Did Not Sell

920: The Trill Computer from DS9 failed to get off it's outrageous starting bid of $ 6,000.
Did Not Sell

924: The Doctor Chaotica costume failed to sell with a starting bid of $ 4,500. It sold last year for $ 2,700 at Screen Used Props. The buyer needs a reality check. Did Not Sell

927: The Static Starfleet PADD was claimed to be from First Contact, but it is clearly NOT. In fact Trek expert Jorg can't find this PADD ever being used. It is in fact a Cardassian PADD repainted, and the photo Profiles uses isn't even of this PADD! None the less, it sold for $ 1,500. It was pretty cool and unique.

So, overall, some crazy prices on some uniforms, and a lot of unsold props which were either undistinguished or just plain overpriced. I think some sellers need to understand that the high starting bids won't get their items sold. But still, a good selection and some good buys.

Alec

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cool Item of the Week - Week 68


Each week, the members of the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum nominate and vote on what is the coolest item of that week. The winner gets the world famous "Cool Item of the Week" award!

This week:

57 forum members voted and TOS Tellarite costume edged out the Admiral Paris costume for Cool Item of the Week!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

It's a Wrap eBay auctions - Week 68 Results

64th week of IAW auctions (auctions ending April 4th)

While this is the 64th week of auctions, It is titled Week 68 to be consistent with the Star Trek Auctions Archive.

Note that I will not generally be covering Buy It Now items, as they are mostly background costumes, or boots or uniform parts. None of which is either interesting or important to write about!

The T'Pol Season Three Costume went for $ 3,888 and was about right at that price. I like that it had a holster and boots and this was a good looking costume. T'Pol costumes have gone ridiculously high in the past, but have settled into the $ 3,500 range, which is still just below Captain's costumes in price. Pretty much no other Star Trek non-captain costumes have been going as high as T'Pol, so there is still a strong market for them. I think we would see the same for any 7of9 costume. Yeah, sexy females with no emotions sell well!

The TOS Tellarite Costume was pretty cool and went for $ 2,650. It is a shame that it has deteriorated so. And I am not sure how this could be restored, but I hope the new owner gives it a shot, as this is an important piece of Star Trek History!. A shame Paul Allen didn't buy it to put with his Sarek and Amanda costumes that are at the Sci Fi Museum in Seattle! Now if we could find that Andorian!

The Voyager Admiral Paris Costume was a beauty and went for $ 2,325 to my buddy Jim Williams. We haven't seen many of this style, and I know a lot of people are waiting for Admiral Ross's costume to come up! This one didn't have rank pins, but still appeared to be in great shape. A beauty and a good deal, even at the price.

At $ 2,276 the Garak Civilian Costume was a good buy.We have seen this blue one many times, including in my favorite DS9 episode "In the Pale Moonlight". I really think Garak costumes will rise in popularity as he is such a wonderful character and has a loyal fan base. These costumes are made of the most amazing materials and will hold up well too I believe.

The TNG Commander Riker Costume was interesting, and at $ 2,203 a good deal. It had pipss and was made for a scene where Riker's shirt was open. Riker is a popular character and so his costume are bound to do well. With most character Starfleet uniforms going in the $ 1,500-1,800 range, you should expect to pay more for a Riker/Worf/Data costume.

The Romulan Senator Robes finally have come back down to a reasonable level. This set went for $ 874 and came with a wig, though no Romulan Emblem for the neckline.

Chris from the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum won the Romulan Senator Cretak costume, which was worn by genre fav Adrienne Barbeau in another great Section 31 DS9 episode "
Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges". At $ 810 a great deal on a beautiful costume with multiple Romulan symbol appliques. This one will look stunning on display, and the popularity of its wearer makes it all the more valuable.

As far as props go:

IAW has been mixing strong costume/weak prop weeks with the reverse. This week we had very few props.

The Borg Alcove Mannequin went for a strong $ 1,875. The problem with these is that they are made of foam and latex and deteriorate pretty easily.

The House of Duras Knife at $ 908 was about right. A nice piece, I have gotten an appreciation for small items that are easy to display!

Degra's Xindi Transport Control Station
was a really nice, simple console that went for a very reasonable $ 510.

The Borg Arm Prop at $ 360 was a pretty good deal. While not incredibly cool, it is recognizable and worth the money!

Finally, the John Eaves Suliban Ship Concept Art was a real gem and went for an entirely reasonable $ 335. My best deal of the week for sure. I love Eaves work, and I hope we see a lot more of it.



THIS WEEK'S AWARDS:

Best Costume of the Week: The TOS Tellarite Costume at $ 2,650 was a piece of history!

Best Prop of the Week: The Borg Alcove Mannequin at $ 1,875 was the best of a weak selection this week.

Best Buy of the week:
The John Eaves Suliban Ship Concept Art was a steal at $ 335.

Worst Buy of the week: None! Good job everyone!

Sleeper of the Week: Luther Sloan Costume at $ 307 was a great deal!!!


HIGHEST PRICED ITEM THAT SOLD

Star Trek: Enterprise T'Pol Season Three Costume at $ 3,888

Star Trek: TOS Tellarite Costume at $ 2,650.

Star Trek: Voyager Admiral Paris Costume at $ 2,325.

Star Trek: DS9 Garak Civilian Costume at $ 2,276

Star Trek: TNG Commander Riker Costume at $ 2,203


Alec

My LA Trip - Fry's Electronics

Well, besides the Grand Slam Star Trek Convention (OK, they call it the Sci Fi Summit....ugh), there was the IAW sale and a trip the the greatest Fry's Electronics store in the universe. Now, you may ask "How great can a freaking store be?". Well, this Fry's is a whole 1950's Science Fiction! Look at the entrance..... Yeah, that is a giant flying saucer crashing into the building! Inside are homages to Godzilla, Mars Attacks!, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Them! and more.

I wish I had taken more photos, but if you ever go to LA, you must go check out this store. Many of the displays are overly dusty or suffering from disrepair, but this is such a cool store, you need to check it out!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Richard Herd and the Admiral Paris costume

Well, I was at the Creation Grand Slam Convention this past weekend, and Richard Herd (Admiral Paris in Voyager) was there signing autographs. I told him how my buddy Jim Williams (Thot Pran on the Star Trek Prop Forum) won his costume on eBay and he was surprised at how much it went for! So I had Richard sign a photo for Jim. Being a great guy, he joked around with me and then signed it demanding his clothes back!

If you ever see Richard at a convention, get his autograph, he is a true gentleman and will chat with you at length.

Alec

Saturday, April 12, 2008

IAW Store Sale - Pcitures Added


Many of you already know about IAWs sale at its West Side LA location. Tiara Nappi called and told me that they added more props and costumes. Also, just mention the blog and they will give you 20% off. That means you can get some good deals.

Colin told us what would be in the sale and he, of course, knew what he was talking about since he was putting everything together for the sale. Lots of background costumes, background Starfleet Universes from all the different series, some small props and a bunch of set pieces. They added a nice Borg mannequin from First Contact, though I think they are asking way too much at $ 4,000. It is latex and foam, and so you know how I feel about these. They also had a batch of background and civilian boots and some more costumes.

I went by this AM and bought a few costumes (With the discount I couldn't afford not to and bought two Starfleet Uniforms and a Vulcan) and a fire extinguisher prop from Enterprise with some cool graphics.

If you are in L.A., it is worth going by and seeing what they have, but don't expect to find any hidden gems. Just the basics, but worth it for a Star Trek fan.

Alec

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Cool Item of the Week - Week 67

We have instituted a new award each week, the "Cool Item of the Week". Each week, the members of the Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Forum nominate and vote on what is the coolest item of that week.

This week:

55 forum members voted and The Viceroy Costume was a huge favorite, getting about half the votes.





Wednesday, April 2, 2008

It's a Wrap eBay auctions - Week 67 Results

63rd week of IAW auctions (auctions ending March 28th)

While this is the 63rd week of auctions, It is titled Week 67 to be consistent with the Star Trek Auctions Archive.

Note that I will not generally be covering Buy It Now items, as they are mostly background costumes, or boots or uniform parts. None of which is either interesting or important to write about!

This was a big week for costumes,the exact opposite of last week! Some very good costumes and very few spectacular props.

The Admiral Kirk Civilian Costume went for $ 5,301 and was pretty fairly priced I think. It had neither the jacket or belt buckle that the two that sold at Christie's for $ 10,000 had, and it had some moth damage. But still a fair deal for an important costume.

The Nemesis Reman Viceroy Costume certainly upstaged the Kirk costume as Costume of the Week. At $ 3,828, it was rich for a stunt costume, but that is because the Reman Warrior costumes generally
go for $ 2,000 (and rightly so as they are stunning!). So this went for $ 1,800 more than that which certainly is justified by cooler, knee-high boots, a cape and a knife and scabbard! I wish we would see more spectacular costumes like this. But i know IAW is holding many of the best costumes till the end.

The Star Trek V Spock Commando costume was a bit high at $ 3,050 I felt as the undershirt wasn't Spock's, and there were no rank or even boots. There have been a bunch of these, so I don't think they are too special, but none the less it is a Spock and so very cool for the new owner.

The Counsellor Deanna Troi costume went for $ 2,650 and I think that was a good deal for a beautiful costume that even came with rank pips. A Nemesis style of Troi's went for $ 2,651 in week 23 and her non-uniform costumes have been going around $ 3,000.

The Vice Admiral Patterson Costume from Voyager's episode "Relativity" went for $ 1,294. I think this is a lot less interesting than the TNG style with the deep V in the front, but it is an Admiral none the less. Priced about right here.

While I don't mention the Buy It Now's as they are mostly common and uninspiring items, I will mention the Nurse Ogawa Maternity Uniform. Forum superstar and graphics specialist Chrissy from Australia, won this for $ 1,200, which was a good deal as this is pretty unique.

Finally, I won the Kor, the Dahar Master costume lot for $ 677 and was pretty fired up about it. I had John Colicos at the last show he ever did back in 1999. It was a Battlestar Galactica reunion and John was everyone's favorite guest. He was such a gentleman and sadly died shortly thereafter. I have a photo of him as Kor that he personalized to me and I look forward to displaying it with this costume.

As far as props go:

The Xindi Repitliian Rifle went for $ 1,592 and it was a light-up version, which we haven't seen before. Forum member Jay got it after he had agreed to sell me his non-functioning one a few weeks earlier, so I guess he is trading up! These are truly spectacular props and I am happy to be getting one. The paint job on these rifles is not short of amazing.



The Enterprise Romulan Console was a good deal at $ 1,225 and went to my buddy Anthony. I would have gone for it, and I really love these, but I simply don't have enough space to display it! So I am glad it got a good home.

I won the Vulcan Lirpa from the Enterprise episode "Kir'Shara" for $ 1,075 and am pretty happy about that. This is one of those semi-iconic props that everyone knows and has seen. It was of course made famous in the TOS episode "Amok Time" where Spock and Kirk kicked the crap out of each other with them! This of course is the updated version from "Enterprise" and well worth the price.

Forum members Donna and Chris won the Romulan Senator Stools for $ 1,044. There seems to be an unending sup[ply of these, and I hope so as I really want a pair for my new home theater (so don't ever get to my place late or you wind up watching Star Trek on these!).





THIS WEEK'S AWARDS:

Best Costume of the Week: The Nemesis Reman Viceroy Costume at $ 3,828 was a beauty and definitely the best costume this week!

Best Prop of the Week: The Xindi Repitliian Rifle at $ 1,592 is a stunner that you need to see in person to appreciate.

Best Buy of the week:
The Starfleet Uniform Jumpsuit Command Gold at $ 565 and the Starfleet Uniform Jumpsuit Sciences at $ 544 were both STEALS!

Worst Buy of the week: None. Stay smart everyone!

Sleeper of the Week: Lt. Reed's Universal Translator from "Demons" was cool and well priced!


HIGHEST PRICED ITEM THAT SOLD

Star Trek: IV Admiral Kirk Civilian Costume at $ 5,301

Star Trek: Nemesis Reman Viceroy Costume at $ 3,828

Star Trek:
V Spock Commando costume at $ 3,050

Star Trek: TNG Counsellor Deanna Troi costume at $ 2,650

Star Trek: Enterprise Xindi Repitliian Rifle at$ 1,592


Alec

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