PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: Macruran on February 08, 2015, 06:22:19
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So I saw a lot of Romans on ebay. It was four horses and riders, and a chariot and charioteer. I contacted the seller and said, I'll take the cavalry but I'm not interested in the chariot. The seller was kind enough to relist the cavalry separately, and I won that auction.
Here's the listing of the lot I won: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Playmobil-4-soldiers-4-horse-ROMAN-CAVALRY-/321646856171
If you are from the future and that link is dead, here is the photo from that listing: http://i.imgur.com/8js4hVf.jpg
Pretty cool right? A rapid expansion of my ala of legionary horsemen (though cavalry would be carrying spears not pila, right?). And...the group is obviously custom. I mean obviously, right? Without even looking at that seller's other listings, which feature some very accomplished themed custom work, we can tell that this is a grouping assembled out of other Roman sets. Put together for an ebay sale.
Well imagine my shock and surprise when I opened up the German box to find...a sealed DS bag containing the four horses and riders. See:
(http://i.imgur.com/Mm5JypD.jpg) (http://imgur.com/Mm5JypD)
SEALED. Wtf? I know my Roman sets cold, and there was NO Roman cavalry set with four horses and riders. Didn't happen.
So I turn the package over...
(http://i.imgur.com/kmZjSPO.jpg) (http://imgur.com/kmZjSPO)
WHAT??? Set 7968??? No way. There was never any such Roman set. And googling "playmobil 7968" gets...a chimneysweep: https://www.google.com/search?num=20&es_sm=93&q=playmobil+7968
But the bag is sealed! Virgin plastic! Does Seller X come from an alternate reality in which the Roman theme was twice as large and continues to this day? (And how do I get to that reality??) Or does Seller X possess a DS bag machine and label printer?
Any other ideas?
I have reached out to the seller asking for more information. No reply as of yet. And yes I left positive feedback. Always.
What is going on here?
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Forged.
You can seal any bag with a household sealer.
Cheers,
GDP
PS: You really paid $49???
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8} Strange things happening...
The plastic bag is re-sealed easily enough, but what about the label? Did the seller fake it, or is it just an old bag for the chimney sweep? The last option is rather unlikely, since it's dated 29.10.2014.
But why would anyone forge a label with a non-existent Playmobil reference number? :eh?:
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Looks like a home job to me. Aren't klickies made in malta, klickies and horses don't come assembled with helmets and rideing gear on either.
Why people ask? Just for this reason alone....to watch the speculation wheels spin. In the past there have been so many fake sets created just to drive the collectors mad, it works. To prove the point go get a photoshopped picture of the Mississippi steam boat, place a modern looking box with new set number and watch the reaction feast. Some members have lots of computer experience and free time
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I agree with the others. The seller may have just used that bag to protect the parts. I'm not sure about the label though.
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The last option is rather unlikely, since it's dated 29.10.2014
That's the "best before" date ... ;D
So, sorry to say, Marcuran, but you bought an expired bag of Playmobil. :lol:
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Sorry, the bag is from the Set chimney sweep 7968
http://www.playmobil.de/Schornsteinfeger-mit-Gluecksschweinchen/7968.html (http://www.playmobil.de/Schornsteinfeger-mit-Gluecksschweinchen/7968.html)
The Romans were expensive
gassy
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Sorry, the bag is from the Set chimney sweep 7968
http://www.playmobil.de/Schornsteinfeger-mit-Gluecksschweinchen/7968.html (http://www.playmobil.de/Schornsteinfeger-mit-Gluecksschweinchen/7968.html)
The Romans were expensive
gassy
Do you really think it was repackaged using the small specials bag that 7968 came in?
I thought the plastic bag inside a special was tiny. This one looks a lot larger. Also why would a special have a DS label? Also a set discontinued a while ago with a 2014 date?
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Do you really think it was repackaged using the small specials bag that 7968 came in?
I thought the plastic bag inside a special was tiny. This one looks a lot larger. Also why would a special have a DS label? Also a set discontinued a while ago with a 2014 date?
I can`t find my bag quickly, the bags vary in the size.
or the level was exchanged, the romans from ebay was used
gassy
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That's the "best before" date ... ;D
So, sorry to say, Marcuran, but you bought an expired bag of Playmobil. :lol:
Hahaha! I'll let you know if they turn green...or into lower quality plastic! :D
Arguing against an attempt to stoke speculation is the fact that the pieces were advertised UNbagged. There was no photo of any bag on the original listing.
The seller has replied that they have more, but unbagged. I've asked a further question about the origin of the bag and number and will report here.
re: paying too much: Yes I am not a canny trader, I have made many stupid ebay purchases! I probably should have done a DS order through GrahamB but when I saw that set I saw a rapid way to expand my Roman cavalry - those red saddles don't show up very often. Now I have them, I think I might crack open one of my mint 7880's to increase ridership. Might get some brown bridles though, red looks too rich.
I dunno. I'm certainly not in this for the money! :D
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Quoth the seller: "i don't know the set with number 7968 ? i took a bag and sealed the article."
Just an arbitrary choice it seems.
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Mystery solved? Weird though that that set of the chimney sweep was in such a large bag, from 2014 no less.
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Weird though that that set of the chimney sweep was in such a large bag, from 2014 no less.
Sorry, but really, not weird at all... same set comes in different sized bags. And we KNOW they just loooooooooooove big packaging..
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Pleased that you've got the mystery sorted.
It reminded me of an unsolved mystery of my own from 2012
http://www.playmofriends.com/forum/index.php?topic=11100.msg206784#msg206784
when I bought a sea life set which came not only in sealed bags but in a sealed box. It was obviously made up of ds pieces but no one seemed to know anything about the set.
I went on to buy another two of the sets, all exactly the same.
Wonder if anyone can throw any light on this one now that a few years have passed?
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No idea if that was what happened here, but I do know that on playmobil.be for instance, there are package deals to be found, sometimes including several animals from DS together, at a cheaper price (because they will be discontinued).
Example:
http://www.playmobil.be/on/demandware.store/Sites-BE-Site/nl_BE/Product-Show?pid=BE1407D&showSpareParts=false&cgid=DISCONTINUED#cgid=DISCONTINUED&start=19 (http://www.playmobil.be/on/demandware.store/Sites-BE-Site/nl_BE/Product-Show?pid=BE1407D&showSpareParts=false&cgid=DISCONTINUED#cgid=DISCONTINUED&start=19)
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I think Birdie's suggestion probably applies to your purchase, Skypurr. I am sure Geobra do sell off "ad hoc" lots when they have surplus items. The 5-digit number 10458 on the box might be an ad hoc set number of some sort. Some of the key chains shown in Collector have 5- digit numbers (others have 4-digit numbers or 8-digit numbers beginning 30).
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In the Dutch DS we have those package deals too, its how I got some Lion guards + a Lion captain. Which werent listed in the medieval category. Much of other stuff there too not listed elsewhere.
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I presumed it was some sort of ds lot, perhaps in another country, but at the time nobody seemed to know about them.
I was really pleased though as I got some great bargains, especially as we were making a safari park and an underwater diorama at Kirkbean Exhibition that summer.
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Not only are there "DS bundle" lots there are also company to company bundles. I have bought a few "store display" boxed sets. The ones I got were larger sets but consisted of many sets packaged together sealed from the factory. The sets were even mostly built already in the sealed box. They had longer set numbers. There must be a list from geobra when a store wants to order these. Digging the boxes we have out of the barn is out of the question but I will ask our local distributor for his list or info.
You sure did get a bargain.
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Last year , I ordered some parts from DS , with it, I got a nice thank you card and a bag with 3 Knights , just like that sealed bag and weird ref. ;D so they might be special gifts from DS