I'd wager this is exactly what happened. People get very snipe happy. Last week, one of the black Cobra Troopers sold for almost $60. Meanwhile, the same figure sat unsold for a $20 BIN from the same seller.

In cases like this, I've found that many collectors have gotten to the point where they're willing to pay outrageous sums of money for simple items just to get something completed. How else do you explain a mint Breaker selling for over $100 earlier this year?!? The Joe market is odder than I've ever seen and I think it's going to get more bizarre as collectors find their niches and determine what is important to them.

(But, the last time something like this happened, it was with Heavy Metal's mic and that still hasn't come down. Be interesting to see the fate of TF Blizzard pricing in coming months....)

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Wow...you think that is bad....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270444082359&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1706wt_1167

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The sad side to that story - is that John didn't know those parts were in that bin, and I spent the whole drive home in the back of the camper sorting out the valuable figure accs like that.

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Nah it wasn't John. I'd have let him know if I found that on his table. And being the swell guy that he is he'd probably have still let me have it for 50 cents like the Bronze Bomber I found in his $2 bin this year.

It was some douchebag who was trying to convince me that a mint complete Barbecue was worth $60. Instead I bought a Headhunter Stormtrooper from his $2 bin and that helmet and a Payload mic from his filthy, unsorted accessory bin for 50 cents each.

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Isn't that just a bootleg figure?

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Yes, it's a bootleg. This particular type of bootleg was being sold at the Canadian Joe Convention.

Like you two need me to agree with you for anyone to take you more seriously, but I absolutely think this is the case. I know of a lot of collectors who have finished their US collections to what ever level they are happy with and have moved on to the International figures. Of all the UK Tiger Force figures Blizzard is one of the hardest to complete, especially in good condition. His figure with some accessories easily goes for over a $100.

So here are two or more collectors who are trying to fill out their International figures. They see the Blizzard's helmet on ther,e which hardly ever pops up on its own. They have disposable income and see something they really want. Boom! $127 helmet.

I agree with Mike T that the TF Blizzard will see higher prices because more and more people will start wanting those International exclusives as they progress through their collections. I hope his helmet doesn't reach Heavy Metal's mic status but it wouldn't surprise me either.

Mike T brings up a great point about the fickleness of the Joe market right now. Classic army builders are way down from just a couple of years ago. But rarer figures like Starduster are way up. I think people are really starting to round out their collections and fill in holes and upgrading older figures. Plus the movie probably got at least a few people more interested in GI Joe again and nostalgia kicks in.

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I remember a TF Blizzard helmet by itself selling for just $20.50. That was a few years ago

With respect to international or foreign Joes, it was worth my time to seek out a complete figure instead of a incomplete one. Otherwise, you get these auctions like TF Blizzard's helmet. It's not worth the money or waste energy to hunt down an accessory such as this. Get it complete and over with.

If only it were that easy. Sometimes you get a deal you can't pass up. So you end up with an incomplete item because you'd feel stupid for passing up the figure by itself for so cheap. It isn't until you realize how time consuming it is to complete the figure that you start questioning whether it is worth it.

To be honest, the vehicles and figures that took me years to find all the parts to are the ones I appreciate more. There is something about them being pieced together through trades, parts bins, and the occasional ebay lots that makes the effort just as important as the score. Not so much the thrill of the hunt, but the thrill of the bargain hunt.

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Or the Dutch.....

Wow, never saw that dark skinned trooper bootleg. Good custom idea, black uniformed troopers like some Night Force-like group or as Headhunter troopers, hired from Cobra.

Tim 121RVC