First G.I. Joe Sells For $200,000
 

Wow, the collectibles market is kicking butt.

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G.I. Joe Prototype Figure Sells for $200,000

BALTIMORE - His face may be battle-weary, but the 1963 G.I. Joe prototype is no longer an auction-block refugee, an auction house said Thursday.

The handmade 11 1/2-inch figure ended up capturing $200,000 in a private sale to comic book distributor Stephen Geppi, despite Joe's failure to bring a minimum $250,000 bid at auction last month.

"When this thing didn't sell at auction, I got another bite at the apple, and I thought: 'My God. I can't believe this. This is like a precious item,'" Geppi said in a Thursday interview.

Joe failed to sell even after the minimum bid was cut from $600,000 to $250,000 at the auction in San Diego.

But at $200,000, the comic book tycoon said he was thrilled to acquire the one-of-a-kind item.

"I remember playing with G.I. Joe when I was a kid, and who'd have thought some 40 years later I'd would be buying the actual prototype for this action figure," he said. "It's just a great coup for me."

John Petty, of Dallas-based Heritage Comics Auctions, which handled the sale, said the prototype was "the most valuable action figure ever sold."

A 1904 Steiff Teddy Girl bear was purchased for $158,000 in a 1994 auction, according to Heritage. An original late 1940s Howdy Doody marionette (the stringless model known as "Photo Doody") also sold that year for $113,431.

The auction house said a 1916 French doll by Albert Marque once went for $215,000.

Geppi, 53, bought the G.I. Joe figure from Don Levine, a Korean War veteran and former Hasbro executive who set out 40 years ago to develop a toy that would do for boys what rival Mattel's Barbie had done for girls five years earlier.

The result was a huge success. Hasbro sold an estimated 375 million G.I Joe action figures.

The figure wears a hand-stitched sergeant's uniform and has a hand-painted, battle-weary expression. Its name was inspired by the 1945 movie "Story of G.I. Joe," starring Robert Mitchum.

For decades, the prototype spent its days in a cardboard box at its creator's Rhode Island home.

Geppi, who owns Diamond Comic Distributors, of Timonium, Md., and is a part owner of the Baltimore Orioles, said he plans to make the figure very visible to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.

"This is a piece of Americana that belongs in a museum," he said.

Damn some people have too much money:helpme :glugglug

I was reading about his comic book business just now. The guy has over 90,000 customers he sells comics to.

$200,000 is pocket change when you're at that level.

i cant wait until all those ninja turtles that i have(some new some in mint condition) sale for more than what my parents paid for them

His customers are comic book STORES. In fact, every comic book store in the country gets their comics from his company, as he has a monopoly on distribution. My company cuts him a check for $20,000 a week.

is there some sort of comic book 'blue book' website to get a basic idea of value?

you run a comic book store?

crazy

Are comic books less profitable these days?
I saw a special on the history channel saying a popular comic used to sell around 500k issues, now theyre around 1-200k

Yeah I was reading an article about comix the other day and it said that a lot of the market had been lost to video games... a lot like role playing games.

If you are looking into buying/selling comic books you should take a trip to San Diego for the Comic Con. They have tons of info for all that shit including selling of collectible toys and other things. Crazy what people buy and sell.

$20 instead of $10

I do a great krang impression...

Shredder, the turtles are HEEEEEEEEEre

Well, you gotta hear it.

Quiet, there used to be subscription catalogs and manuals on comic books, so there is no doubt an online site now. The hubby collected them up until he traded them off in his 20's. Now if I could get him to part with the Playboys and Penthouses. lol