Toss the Price Guides – Quaker Standees Prices Realized

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It’s been a week since I showed off the updated Quaker Standees gallery and checklist page. The auctions have ended and I even wound up with a little more than I expected out of them. Thank you if you were among the bidders!

This is a rare one for me but I actually had a 100% sell through rate (STR) on the Standees–29 out of 29 sold.

Which made me think a Prices Realized page was in order. Now there’s a specific reason I’m posting this as its own page rather than tagging it onto the already existing Quaker Standees page. That would be the difference between Prices Realized and a Price Guide.

I’ve more or less spent the past 12 years or so, ever since I’ve been selling online, railing against Price Guides. This is the polar opposite of how I was back in the late 80’s/early 90’s when you could find me in person set up a show. I’d either have a guide in my hands or have already computed marked prices based on a percentage of guide.

Not so much follies of youth (though I was a bit rigid!) as much as changing times.

First off, you’re not going to find the mid-1930’s Quaker Oats Standees in any official Price Guide that I’m aware of. Heck, I haven’t even hung a certain date of issue on them or confirmed that the 32 different listed on the gallery page make up a complete set. Somebody’s going to price them?

If you wrote to me because you had a batch of the Standees and were wondering what they were worth I couldn’t tell you–but I sure could make you an offer on them!

My offer would be based upon what I think I could get for them. But as far as what you could get for them, I couldn’t quote you a number any higher than my offer. I’m not trying to be a wise guy when I tell you this. I’m telling you the item is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay and I’m willing to pay you the number I quote you.

So I set these prices here, separate, away from the more official gallery and checklist page to avoid confusion. After all, if you’ve read this far then you’ll know that the prices that follow below are not what these are worth. Just what someone paid.

More exact what someone was willing to pay on February 9, 2012. They will pay more or less on February 10.

Comments to follow, here are the prices realized:

$66.00 – Jean Harlow
$45.05 – William Powell
$37.00 – Bette Davis
$35.00 – Carole Lombard
$26.00 – Jeanette MacDonald
$21.59 – Nelson Eddy
$21.50 – Errol Flynn
$19.49 – Dick Powell
$18.50 – Mae West
$18.08 – Clark Gable
$18.06 – Bing Crosby
$17.50 – Joan Crawford
$15.50 – Gary Cooper
$14.99 – James Cagney
$14.99 – Marlene Dietrich
$13.50 – Norma Shearer
$13.17 – Buck Jones
$12.49 – Claudette Colbert
$11.68 – Ruby Keeler
$11.49 – Fred MacMurray
$11.49 – Randolph Scott
$11.38 – Warren William
$11.06 – Joan Blondell
$11.00 – Robert Montgomery
$10.49 – George Brent
$9.99 – Pat O’Brien
$9.99 – Margaret Sullavan
$9.99 – George Raft
$9.99 – Binnie Barnes

Average grade of these was VG or 4/10 to VG-EX or 4.5/10, with a few a notch or two lower. Interesting to note that the Harlow piece was in the worst condition of the bunch, actually missing a tab. Yes, I advertised it as such and drew attention to the flaw, but then again, it is Jean Harlow. And these were Quaker Standees. What about condition? Condition is very important but one thing the online market bears out over and over is that rarity trumps condition. And so I expected Harlow to top this list.

I started the bidding on about two-thirds of these at $9.99 with the other 11 or 12 beginning at $14.99 (including Harlow). I’m not going to post what I started each one at but it’s pretty safe to assume that any which sold for under $14.99 began at $9.99 and that Dietrich and Cagney were among those I began at $14.99.

Based upon expectations I got out of them a little more than I expected, though not a tremendous amount more. Actually I expected to get about 10% less but I’d also expected about 8-10 of them to pass (not receive a bid). I was pleasantly surprised that they all sold. A few buyers bought multiple pieces and I have a feeling those cagey few realized that they’d better bid on them all because there’s no telling when you’ll see them again.

Singles pop up time to time, but this was the biggest selection of mixed singles I’ve seen offered at once and I’m proud to have offered them.

I was surprised Cagney and Dietrich only received an opening bid each. In fact I had expected Dietrich to be among the top three in price when all was said and done. I also expected Errol Flynn, Mae West, and Joan Blondell to be bid higher, though there were some pleasant surprises for me among other pieces.

All in all a successful night. I hope it doesn’t take as long for me to lay hands on a large grouping of these in the future. They’re a favorite and I’ll be buying when I can.