UPDATE: This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing. It has since been relisted. UPDATE 2: This item is no longer available.
Enough talk about these silly Mexican bootleg ALIEN toys. It’s time to get serious again! What can be more serious than illegally manufactured product from another country making it’s way into your hands? How about an average quality four decades old Kenner ALIEN toy featuring multiple missing parts being sold on eBay for US$300. “What? An incomplete forty year old toy for sale for that MUCH..? Are you serious?!” you may well ask. Yup. I’m serious. The link is live. Go check it out. Buy it if you want it. 
This particular sample is missing at least four parts. The dome on the head, both parts of the tongue and the crest on his back. These features are frequently absent from these old toys and indeed they’re all missing from this sample. He’s a little dusty and a good clean wouldn’t hurt, either. Nonetheless its arms, legs, head and tail are all present and attached making this condition very common. For me this combination of commonly missing and present parts in this arrangement defines what constitutes an “average condition” Kenner ALIEN figure. There are many, many of them out in the world sharing this similar state but is he worth US$300, though?
Old ALIEN figures in this state are common and will usually sell for around US$80 to US$150. They can easily sell outside of this range, too. As a general idea of what this item is worth, that’s a good ballpark value to work with. Of course, any rational person would tell you even US$80 is far too much to pay for an incomplete, dusty forty year ugly ass old toy that no one wanted in 1979 – but that assessment fails to take into account the highly collectable nature of these vintage action figures and none of it has anything to do with common sense or rationality.
Significantly, this is a toy of considerable notoriety and it carries an unprecedented reputation to match. Demand for them has continued unabated and won’t diminish any time soon. If anything, demand has been growing so any price badged onto one of these things can no longer be considered unreasonable. This, all despite the fact these things were discounted to less than US$5 in 1980, soon after their release due to a complete failure in expectations at retail. It’s now all part of the Kenner ALIEN toy legacy and lore.
And it’s all true.
Even so, this sample is substantially priced well above his condition. It’s a good thing the vendor is taking the Best Offer on this find. A good strategy, actually as it will sell. Probably for around US$180 to US$250 – and still well above what would be considered acceptable for one in this condition; but it’s hard to say. Certainly, at it’s listed price of US$300, a buyer should expect to have all body parts and features present and functional; which of course this item fails to provide.
As I have been wont to say about the 1979 Kenner ALIEN, “There is nothing normal about this toy.” and this sample is average quality sample is fine proof thereof.
-Windebieste.
