Transformers Collection Fetches $1 Million July 19, 2007

OK, I admit this page of mint, in-the-box, never-played-with Transformers makes me look like a female version of the 40-year-old Virgin... on steroids. But just so you know that's not actually the case, here's how the ultimate Transformer collection came to be.

Back in 1984, my husband, Anthony, was recovering from a serious motorcycle accident, which mostly meant spending his days in front of the television. Being like most 26-year-old men I know, cartoons were among his favorite form of television entertainment, so when Transformers was introduced that year it instantly became his favorite show.

It just so happened we were walking around the La Mesa, California Toys r Us one fine day that year, shopping for a gift, when, lo and behold, we ended up in the action figure aisle, right smack in front of the Transformers section (which didn't take up an entire aisle back in the day.)

"I promise, I just want one," Anthony pleaded, as he slipped Starscream into the shopping cart. (He knew I felt sympathy for Starscream because Megatron was always picking on him.)

Of course, one Transformer turned into five, then ten, then almost too many to keep track of as each shiny new box revealed a growing checklist that hounded us to 'COLLECT THEM ALL.'

And collect them all, we did! This collection includes every single Transformer produced in 1984, 1985, 1986, and all but a handful of pieces from 1987 (according to Hasbro's web site, we missed a set of five Targetmaster Autobots and three Decepticons.) There are even a few pieces from 1988 and 1989 for good measure.

So what happened in 1987 that thwarted our efforts to 'collect them all?' Well it turns out that Anthony never would totally recover from that motorcycle accident. He suffered from the genetic bleeding disorder hemophilia and a test done in August of 1987 showed that he had been infected with HIV by the anti-hemophilia treatment he was given while hospitalized for the accident in 1983.

HIV not only brought our Transformer collecting to an end, it also ended our dream of a family: the kids we thought would play with these toys one day; the toddler I thought would wear the t-shirt that is part of this collection. Anthony and I would not even get to grow old together; he died of AIDS in 1998 at the age of forty.
OK, But Is It Worth $1 Million?

That depends on whom you ask. Anthony and I put most of this collection together over a four year time span. There was no Internet to order the latest toy from; we had to drive to the store (oftentimes many stores) and search the shelves and spindles for the red Bumblebee or odd the Triple Changer that would complete a series. If you wanted to put together a collection like this today, you'd spend years on ebay searching for the best example of the Autobot or Decepticon you wanted, and hope to submit the winning bid, which for some of these individual toys is approaching the $4,000 mark, and you still probably wouldn't be able to amass the collection I'm offering.

The reason I'm offering the collection for sale now is that, in spite of losing my husband almost nine years ago, I managed to graduate from college this May (with a BS in biology AND a BA in literature, cum laude, thank you very much!), and I'm hoping to pay off my massive debts and finance my way through veterinary school starting fall 2008 (a lifelong dream) with the proceeds of this sale. And to top it all off... I'm in love with a wonderful 26-year-old named Russell (who would rather I kept the toys so he could play with them! Sorry baby.) Russell and I hope to be married before we head off to grad school (Russell will be seeking a PhD in physics), and I really need to spend the rest of this year finishing the memoir I've been working on, tentatively titled Devil's Potion. (If you would like to receive notification when the book is published please visit devilspotion.com.)

Perhaps someone involved with the totally and completely amazing new Transformers movie (Steven Spielberg, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, LadiesMan217, anybody?) would like to own a little bit of Transformers history for display in their production offices... or buy the collection and donate it to the Smithsonian?
The Collection

This collection consists of all mint-never-removed-from-box (listed as MNRFB below) and mint-in-box (listed as MIB below) Transformer robots and Transformer licensed products. The toys have never been played with by children (sad, I know), and weapons are still sealed inside the boxes. There are approximately 275 items total: 101 Autobots, 81 Decepticons, and 92 Transformers Licensed Products. This page features thumbnails (so hopefully it doesn't take three hours to load) but each is linked to the full-size picture so you can check out the details.

Between 1984 and 1987, the boxes were displayed in our guest room, affectionately known as Cybertron, but a move into a condo in '87 moved the majority of the collection into hermetically sealed cardboard cartons and storage at an off-site storage facility. The packages do not suffer from shelf wear at all--all pieces are in excellent condition (though I got tired of typing it in every remark.) I did not open any boxes while photographing these items (except for mail order pieces) in order to minimize wear and tear on the packages. If a licensed item requires a battery I have not checked to see if it works, but other than the age of the items, there's no reason to believe it won't. It should also be noted that the items that suffered the most from "storage warp" are the carded "blister pack" toys; I don't know how one can keep these toys boxed for years without them suffering some warping of the cardboard, but none of the warp is substantial.

The reason some of the toys are MIB (rather than MNRFB) is that Anthony wanted to be certain that the toys he bought weren't defective, which means some of the boxes have been opened, the toy transformed to a robot and back again, and returned to its box. We also didn't start out with the intention of buying and maintaining a pristine, untouched collection of Transformers, so you'll notice as you peruse the collection that most of the boxes still have the original price stickers on them (this was WAY before bar code scanning meant stores didn't have to tag the merchandise), there are a handful of toys that are missing their inner blister pack, a couple of toys have stickers applied, etc. I have also had the extraordinary enjoyment of having seven of the larger multiple-robot pieces on display in my living room for the past 23 years, though they don't appear to have suffered at all in the process (no fading, etc.) You'll see these items photographed below, still assembled, as I didn't put them together originally and I'm rather afraid at this point of trying to take them apart and possibly damaging them in the process. They will ship in bubble wrap.

I have been monitoring Transformers on ebay for years and I have never seen a collection this nice offered. It is my pleasure to offer it to you.
The Details

According to information on the ebay site, it is actually illegal for me to sell either of the two Megatrons posted on this page. The warning states, "Due to the United States laws surrounding replica/imitation firearms, it is illegal for any business or individual to import or sell the MP-05 Megatron as it does not display a blaze orange safety tip on the end of the barrel. Sellers may only list this toy if it has been modified to include clear markings permanently affixed to them (commonly blaze orange markings on the barrel or a blaze orange plug inserted into the barrel.)" I am going to leave them in the listing, but the Megatrons are NOT FOR SALE. However they will be gifted to the winning bidder. (Hopefully that satisfies this ridiculous law.)

Please feel free to contact me with any question you have about buying the collection that isn't answered here, unless you're going to ask me to break up the collection... I won't. As far as delivery charges, I would like to personally deliver the collection to the high bidder, but it will depend on when and where--let's call the delivery fee negotiable for now and work it out later (ebay is making me list a price, so shipping is listed below for $1,000); packing cartons of toys for transport to a storage space or to be hand delivered is WAY different than having to pack for shipping (with all the bubble wrap, peanuts, and whatnot.)

I will accept payment via PayPal (ebay requires it), but my preference would be to use ebay's escrow service www.escrow.com. Check the ebay parts of the page for any additional fine print.