'Professionally' Recarded Vintage Figures - Your Opinion?

Hey chaps and chappesses

Reasonably new to the vintage figure collecting game.
Some of the old classics can fetch ridiculous asking prices. What are your thoughts on the recarded figures (apparantly you can't tell the difference). They can be bought for approx 10% of the price.

Do you think they should be classed fakes, a waste of money etc etc.... OR are bargains and well worth the money for the average collector who just wants to display them and enjoy them etc etc....?

Do you demand the peace of mind and satisfaction of knowing that your pieces are bona fide origninals, or are you prepared to forgoe this in pursuit of financial common sense?

Just curious as to what views my fellow collector's out there had on this.

Cheers, Rudyard.

 

The only custom carded figure I own is the Ree Yees, simply because I couldn't find a real one carded, and they are very expensive. The figure itself is real, it is just the card that is fake. Actually, the quality of my card isn't that good and it is easy to tell it is a fake as it looks somewhat pixelated on the back upon close inspection. I've tried to sell this figure on ebay (where I bought it 5 years ago) yet ebay won't let me sell it on there as they say these types of figures aren't allowed to be sold on ebay. I stated in my auction that the figure itself was real, yet the card was not, yet they pulled my auction. Their policy must have changed since I bought the figure on there.

My friend has what appears to be a real 12-Back Han Solo but it is a fake. You really can not tell the card is a fake, it is that good. The only reason you might think it was a fake is that the card is perfect, it is flat, no yelling, looks like it just came off the shelf - it looks TOO good to be 27 years old in other words. I think that these types of cards and figures are fine as long as everyone involved knows that they are fake, in fact, I'd like a sticker or some indication on the card itself that it is a fake. The danger comes when someone takes one of these cards and trys to pass it off as the real thing, thus defrauding someone out of hundreds of dollars.

 

MJF, if you look, you can find lots of "recarded" figures on eBay, not sure why they pulled your auction.

As for my opinion on the matter, I have not fully decided whether this is of the devil or what. They look really good, but I think that there is too much chance of folks making these and defrauding people without some kind of way to know.

 

I see re-carded figures on ebay all the time. I
also see many "customs" (See: a guy trying to make
money with his printer and some glue).

This is a tough question. I love the look of the
vintage cards, and for that alone the idea of a
re-card is appealing. Let's face it, the vintage
figures carded are expensive and tough to come by
in great shape. In the end though it's like this
for me. I would love to have a Corvette, but I don't
want a Corvette look-a-like with a pinto engine.

 

Interesting replys. I think Ive made up my mind. Having started a vintage 'carded' collection quite a few years back I took a break and locked them away. With my interest once again rejuvenated I'm back on the hunt in the corridors of ebay.

Look what's changed while I've been away. Re-cardeds galore. At first I was pretty unimpressed, but then I thought, well if the figures are in tip top condition and the cards are originals, with just a new bubble and seal, then what the hell - seems like everything is vintage - just re-assembled with care. So I happily snapped up a couple of figures, thrilled with the advances in collecting technology. However, upon seeing these crop up all over the place, priced at next to nothing and upon closer investigation etc etc I realise the cards aren't original. Rather, just cutsom made, newly printed forgeries. To be honest I'm pretty sickened. Thankfully I only spent a small amount and I won't be buying anymore. I'm horrified that they look so close to the real thing - I'm thinking about only buying AFA guaranteed originals.

Ok so I might have been able to complete my 12 back set in a matter of weeks for less than $200, but in addition to the fact that I'm in it for enjoyment, not an investment perspective deep down I would know and just feel like a fraud (even if family and friends wouldn't be able to tell the difference).

From now on I'm sticking to my honest-to-goodness 12 back Jawa, IG-88 and Bossk. I'm prepared to build my carded collection over the years as and when I can afford the real deals.

Cheers for the replys.