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Originally Posted by gerryfortin
You are invited to take a look at the lastest addition to the Estes kit database. As I study the early K kits, it become obvious that numerous facecard and hangtag changes were made through mid 70s. The current database is inadequate to properly track the numerous kit variations without a visual guide. So I decided to use the same Liberty Seated Dime analysis approach and to build a separate reference page for each kit variation. The first Estes design to be analyzed is the K-2 Mark since I had images from recent eBay sales and a kit that is currently listed.
When building the individual kit pages, I am borrowing images from eBay sellers until I return home from this China expat assignment and can shoot my own kits. When I do not own a kit, then there is no choice but to borrow an eBay image. My goal is educational in nature and hope that eBay sellers will not mind. In addtion, I though it might be fun to add the Estes catalog artwork for the kits. To accomplish, I'm capturing the .jpg files from Ninfinger catalogs and cropping/editing as necessary.
Here is the link that will get you to the early Estes kit database. Then scroll down to the K-2 kits and click on each link to view the individual kit pages. Again, this effort is designed to be educational and I would invite feedback and help to populate pages as they are created.
http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/BAR/data1.htm |
Dear Gerry,
I second Joe's comments regarding the addition of the variations that are so important to the value of a collectible kit. The variations (and there can be a dozen or more for a single kit) can mean the difference in hundreds of dollars regarding value in some cases. Also, I would encourage you to go far beyond the past year's prices realized on eBay in determining a high, low and median range of prices. (Joe, by the way, has the most comprehensive realized price list, in an Excel document, that I've ever seen, going back five or more years. Joe, hope you don't mind me mentioning that! But of course it's proprietary to Joe because he's done a great deal of work on this. His list literally has hundreds of entries, regarding Estes, Centuri (and other) kits, with variations noted.)
Of course, the current year is always important (especially in this economy) in knowing what a kit might bring now as opposed to five years ago. But it's still good to track these things over a much longer period of time than a single year in determining their value. In fact, it's even more important because it gives you an idea of what the kits brought in an "up" economy versus what they're bringing in a "down" economy.
When I was editor of Art & Antiques magazine, for instance, I covered sales of art and furniture often at Sotheby's and Christie's. I once saw a Goddard-Townsend 18th Century kneehole desk go from $30,000 to $3.5 million in less than a minute. (Two bidders wanted it and neither wanted to give it up.) Would that same desk go for that amount today. Maybe, maybe not, but in determining its value, I would always take that sale into account. I only wish I owned that desk, no matter the price!
As for images, some of us can probably help you in that regard. Sorry for such a long post regarding this. As Joe said, you are to be commended for doing this. It's great to have your experience from the world of numismatics brought to model rocketry.
All best,
Mark