Me and Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime Would you pay $4,995 for Optimus Prime?

That’s how much he’s going for on ebay. This makes me happy because I own this action figure already. Sure, he isn’t in the box and he has swapped a little paint with the Deceptagons. But still, it’s about time the world realized the value of Transformers.

Even if my Optimus Prime were in mint condition and worth $5K, I would not sell him.

Transformers only aired for two years in the early 80’s. Their resurgence in popularity reflects my generations newfound buying power. 10 years ago OP probably went for a few hundred on ebay, but now you could go to the car dealer and buy a real car for what he costs.

What torks me off is that some dork actually bought some of the original Transformer toys and didn’t play with them:

“Wanna come to my house? I got Optimus Prime for my birthday.” And once at the house, “No…No, don’t touch him. He’ll be worth a lot of money in 25 years.”

That’s the kind of kid that needs the crap kicked out of him.

I bought OP with my own money.  At the time I was earning $2 per week allowance.  My main duty was dusting, an activity that was less about polishing wood surfaces and more about turning jewelry boxes into spaceships and measuring the growth of my fingers by sticking a few of them in Dad’s cavernous wedding band.  I also mowed a lot.  We basically had a grass farm that took a solid two hours to finish.  I didn’t weigh much so when I hit a bump the automatic kill feature would shutoff the engine only to fire it back up when my butt landed.

I worked hard for OP and there are few toys or possessions of which I’ve been prouder to call my own. I played with him all of the time.  Together we ransacked the Deceptagons couch fortress and regularly foiled Galvetron’s plans to take over Earth.  How much is my Optimus Prime worth?

Way more than $5k.

Wired magazine has a pretty neat write-up on the cartoon and the toys. Apparently, the toys came first and the cartoon was a marketing idea. I don’t care. I still love OP and his loyal band of Autobots. Originally, they were made in Japan, but now, of course, like shoes, they are made in China.

 
28 comments
Irene Fridsma says:

I love what you wrote about the value of Optimus Prime.I think yours is the most value because you worked for it and you have all the great memories of actually playing with it.The difference between getting involved or watching from the sidelines. Love the blog and comments.

Jenn says:

I think we all have a toy we saved up for when we were kids…mine was a Cabbage Patch Kid. I still remember coloring in the chart my mom made to show how much money I had earned for the doll.

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Jacob Ethans says:

Great post man , and yeah transformers are just awesome , i just bought the Action figure toys of Bumblebee and looks so real and amazing. I’m loving it.

Let your voice be heard!

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