Bosko mug hijinks

This may appear to be a topic for marketplace but it’s not my auction and my question is about another aspect of this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120536872814&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

What is going on here? Almost 80 dollars for a mug we still sell for 10 bucks, obviously something odd is going on? Or is this just a case of someone not bothering to click their mouse and check for info, but who other than a collector would pay that kind of money for a Tiki mug? Anyone please fill me in, if I have posted this in the wrong area, sorry.

Thanks

Bosko

I too am amazed at the prices people will pay for mugs that are readily available. Usually, when you look at the bidding history, there are two ebay newbies bidding against each other. But in this case, the high bidder has an over 500 feedback rating. So this bidder is either new to tiki mug collecting and doesn't know their way around, or they're just plumb crazy!

Maybe they are starstruck groupies excited about a mug that appears in the background of a Target tv commercial, which I coincidentally just posted here today.

Or maybe not.

-Randy

This really isn't uncommon for eBay. All too often I see readily available vintage and contemporary mugs sell for extraordinary prices simply because a couple of buyers who did not do their homework get caught up in a bidding war.

Until today I haven't seen this scenario unfold with any Bosko pieces. With small editions and relatively infrequent appearances on eBay, Bosko's work tends to fetch a high price to begin with. When Bosko mugs do appear they seem to come in spurts, usually some collector thinning the heard. Regarding the current auction, my guess is the bidders are new to collecting, aware of Bosko and these recently closed auctions but, not having bothered to search out Bosko's website, are unaware of the value and availability of this piece and are bidding accordingly.

On 2010-03-02 17:46, LOL Tiki wrote:
Regarding the current auction, my guess is the bidders are new to collecting, aware of Bosko and these recently closed auctions but, not having bothered to search out Bosko's website, are unaware of the value and availability of this piece and are bidding accordingly.

I'm afraid I might fall into that group. I'm so focused on finding vintage mugs in the wild that I had no idea Bosko was still selling mugs. Luckily for me I don't buy mugs on eBay anymore and I don't have that kind of money to spend.

In this same train of thought, however, I'm seeing ridiculously high prices at local antique auctions these days. Do these people know something I don't?

It's because you ARE a sexy tikistar mofugga! hahaha, aside from that, I think it is either being artificially inflated by shill bidding, or there are some serious rich dumbasses out there who remind me of "Veruca Salt" from Willy Wonka.....

:down: :down: I want one, NOOOOOOW!!!!!!!! :down: :down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRTkCHE1sS4

maybe its time to up the ante on your web prices :wink:

On 2010-03-02 19:12, SilverLine wrote:

In this same train of thought, however, I'm seeing ridiculously high prices at local antique auctions these days. Do these people know something I don't?
I think it's exuberant greed mixed with ignorance.

Witness the $30 asking price (each) for a couple of Leilanis at an antique mall in New Orleans last month.

"Those old tiki mugs are really hot right now!"
(They're all the same, you know? :wink: )

And they were selling several types.
The ones from the now defunct Bali Ha'i and the Hu Ke Lau there had about the same asking prices as the Leilanis and ordinary peanuts - and all too high.

It kills me when I see mugs with a high price tag in some WAY out of the way place. I am the only person who will ever step foot into their store and want that item, and I'd only be willing to pay $4 max for ($2 for a Leilani). So it will sit on their shelves forever.

Guess they need one of Bosko's shill bidders :wink:
(j/k)

This happened recently with a Don The Beachcomber Barrel Mug.
I'm talkin one of the new ones that you can buy at Don's WITH the drink for $25 any day of the week...

It went for over $200.

Then again....not everyone can walk into Don's, and they don't sell them on the site yet, but still...

Anyway, I have that mug in green and love it.

The auction closed at $126 today. Ouch!

on the same topic of e-bay hijinks... saw this one today

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miehana-Tiki-Mug-Tiki-Farm-Retired-Sold-Out-RARE_W0QQitemZ150420467184QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2305c22df0

what the hell are they thinking......

buy it now of $250.00???????

On 2010-03-06 19:11, ka'lenatiki wrote:
on the same topic of e-bay hijinks... saw this one today

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miehana-Tiki-Mug-Tiki-Farm-Retired-Sold-Out-RARE_W0QQitemZ150420467184QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2305c22df0

what the hell are they thinking......

buy it now of $250.00???????

The price for a Miehana mug on eBay has increased significantly since going out of production; the last four or five that I've seen have sold north of $100, but not that far north. If the seller had started with an opening bid of 99 cents he'd be well on his way to selling the mug, and much closer to his $99 opener than he is now.

Equally insane, there's another seller listing Stockton Islander Hula Girl and Coconut mugs with BIN prices of $299 and $99 respectively. But, you do get free shipping.

As it happens, the buyer of the Kumu mug that Bosko originally posted did a lot of buying that day. He also picked up a Miehana for $125.50, a Bosko Twisted Moai for $127.50, an open edition Bali Hai Goof for $41.00 and numerous other vintage and contemporary mugs. And he lost a lot of auctions as well. The guy was on a buying spree. Looks like an overly enthusiastic new collector (or maybe someone shopping for props?)

Send him my way!
I've got some VERY RARE Leilanis I'd let him have for only $49.99 a piece :wink:

Might as well - he's at it again! Got himself into another bidding war. I should post up some of my extras.

Wow that person is unstoppable, but now it opens up even more doors, like how could someone be so hot for Tiki ceramics but not know about Tiki Central or Ooga Mooga or seemingly anything? What was the thing that set them off (so intensely) after Tiki in the first place? Was it some dramatic Manchurian Candidate type scenario which the Target ad triggered? Or is the reality uglier than we can imagine, a BYOB party a cheap Tiki fashioned into a beer bong, months later in the isle of a big lots it hits them, Tiki = COOL
It may be a generational thing where I can’t fathom this kind of apparently deliberate pursuit of something one seems to know nothing about and yet is willing to pay real money for.

I’ve been Thrifting all of my adult life and there has always been a generous element of, (and especially in antique places) this IS worth something thus I better price it at its weight in gold just to be safe syndrome. What has changed with thrifts (and yard sales) is; when people start quoting what its worth on Ebay, or go to the trouble of a print out next to the high end item and the Ebay auction never sold, smooth. A recent local (?) phenomena we have are a lot of small weird run for profit shops, that have some implied connection to a charity, that look like they are selling the half the remnants of a dirty storage unit, very depressing.

But thanks to all you guys for some informative info, when I first posted this I figured what could anyone say about this ridiculousness? But then it turned into something strangely thought provoking and entertaining, what will they bid on next????

Thanks

Bosko

On 2010-03-07 12:14, LOL Tiki wrote:
Might as well - he's at it again! Got himself into another bidding war. I should post up some of my extras.

It looks like the lucky seller is Mymotiki of our very own Tiki Central.

Maybe not so much hijinks, but really odd...
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-SKULL-Halloween-Hawaiian-Tiki-Mug-Coctail-Bowl_W0QQitemZ180476305362QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a0539dfd2#ht_907wt_754
I thought fogcutters came in a fogcutter mug...

As it was happening, I was watching that Bosko auction that began this thread and was scratching my head, sure that I was missing something... It sure as heck looked like the same one readily available on the Bosko site...and in multiple colors!! I've seen similar things happening to readily available Tiki Farm items. The other Ebay puzzlers to me are the people that will bid up an item higher than the original Buy it Now on the same item...