2013 GB Young wants!

There is something I would like to say, but I really don’t want a backlash for saying what I’m thinking or what others might be thinking.

There is no doubt in my mind, that Melody and the entire team at Windstone put a lot of work, and hours into these guys, and they should be fairly paid for doing so.

My problem is: When the GB’s first came out they were pretty basic natural horse colors, and then the regular fantasy young came out, and of corse the price went up. ( rightfully so, given the extra work, and effort.). But for the most part those unicorn were still on the basic side compared to what we have now.

Then the safaris came out, price went up because the complexity went up, then the crazy wild candycorn/ fantasy …. Price went up…same reasons as above, And every time a new batch came out, I thought to myself ” wow, how is Melody going to top herself next” because every new batch has been better than the last, to the point that you now have EBay level pieces and eBay prices.

I thought the purpose of the GB’s was to give EVERYONE a chance to own a beautifully painted piece at a good price…..

I don’t think anyone asked for these to be so elaborate and expensive. I’m willing to bet that if a normal batch of fantasy or natural colored horse was painted at a lower price, most customers would be happy with that.

Now I understand some of the “aftermarket ” prices were, and are in the range of this current batch, but not everyone sold their $130.00 GB for $200-$300+. And not everyone can afford that. And I feel if any GB makes it into this price range, they should be offered on eBay, because the purpose of these was to allow everyone to be able to afford one, not just those with large bank accounts….. And I fully believe the vast majority of customers here were not paying the after market price, I think it was a handful of people…… Which is fine, but the majority of people on this forum have a price limit on what they can spend on an item that just sits there looking pretty. (And I mean no disrespect, because I love my WS’s, but lets face it, they are just pretty dust catchers and sometimes I have to ask myself “am I out of my mind for spending as much as I have on my collection?” The answer is NO! Because Melody’s creations and art are amazing….

I don’t want to come across as bitter, I have more then enough funds for this current batch…… I just can not bring myself to part with that much money on a GB. I would be happier with a more basic color scheme, and a lower price tag.

Not to beat a dead horse, buuuuuuut we just had a normal batch of baby unicorns and that didn’t make the price go down at all… I mean, I’m not complaining here, just wondering if anyone remembers that. There were appys, pintos, etc. Dapples were just about the only thing that was different.

I’m just saying that making “less complicated” ones doesn’t seem to be really something that’s going to have a huge effect on the selling price. It’s simply a fact of supply and demand in my opinion. *shrug* Not trying to sway anything of course, but it might not be something that is possible for Windstone at this juncture so I wouldn’t hold them to that is all I’m saying.

The aftermarket price was not the sole reason for the price increase 🙂 My understanding was that it was for a variety of reasons: horn shortage, needing to pay bills(!), time and effort that went into making the unis, and the knowledge that the unis would still sell out just as well at $360, which they did (albeit slower – 23 hours instead of a few minutes). Even with 23 hours, Susie still got a couple emails from people who missed them before they went out of stock.

Vesper was a damaged return Windstone had and sold for $700 on ebay after his horn was replaced, I think that was the one they were referring to on ebay.

I’m one of those who emailed Susie about the possibility of any extra’s becoming available. After thinking on it, I decided the risk was worth the price, since this set has so many gorgeous pieces in it. I’m not good with making spontaneous decisions regarding lots of money! So I slept on it, and the uni’s were all sold by morning, which I expected. I am happy either way it goes- if I get one I’ll be on pins and needles, hoping for a Safari and my bank account will be crying, if not, I save myself spending a bunch of money! So, win-win. 🙂 Regardless, I really hope lots of people post photos as they arrive!

I hope it doesnt’ hurt Melody’s feelings to hear all the debate on prices! If I comment on prices, its more about my own personal ability to pay, not about the worth of the piece! I’m always happy when the profit of the artwork goes to the artist themself and not the second-hand seller. As a working artist in the entertainment industry, I know how frustrating it can be to produce art and then helplessly watch as a company makes millions off of your designs when you were paid pennies. So the artist making the profit instead of others= win.

I thought the purpose of the GB’s was to give EVERYONE a chance to own a beautifully painted piece at a good price…..

I don’t think anyone asked for these to be so elaborate and expensive. I’m willing to bet that if a normal batch of fantasy or natural colored horse was painted at a lower price, most customers would be happy with that.

Now I understand some of the “aftermarket ” prices were, and are in the range of this current batch, but not everyone sold their $130.00 GB for $200-$300+. And not everyone can afford that. And I feel if any GB makes it into this price range, they should be offered on eBay, because the purpose of these was to allow everyone to be able to afford one, not just those with large bank accounts….. And I fully believe the vast majority of customers here were not paying the after market price, I think it was a handful of people…… Which is fine, but the majority of people on this forum have a price limit on what they can spend on an item that just sits there looking pretty. (And I mean no disrespect, because I love my WS’s, but lets face it, they are just pretty dust catchers and sometimes I have to ask myself “am I out of my mind for spending as much as I have on my collection?” The answer is NO! Because Melody’s creations and art are amazing….

I don’t want to come across as bitter, I have more then enough funds for this current batch…… I just can not bring myself to part with that much money on a GB. I would be happier with a more basic color scheme, and a lower price tag.

I would like to respond to a few points (and no, you don’t come across as bitter and you make some very reasonable agruements) First, I thought the original purpose of the Grab Bag was to let Melody paint some flawed castings and sell them at a slightly higher than stock price because Melody painted them. (Normally flawed pieces would have been recycled – this was a way for Windstone to not take the hit for the problem sculpts). I’m not sure about the evolution of the grab bags from basic colors to more elaborate colors (which I totally like) but it might have been a combination of forum members squeeking and Melody trying new things to keep from getting bored…I don’t know. What I do know is that all the grab bags sold out shortly after being posted to the store but, according to John, Windstone was still having trouble breaking even, let alone showing a profit. Also, don’t want to take a chance of getting stuck with a piece you don’t love? Don’t buy a grab bag. Wait, as many have wisely decided to do and wait to see what is available in the classifieds and on ebay. Maybe your favorite piece will be up for sale or trade and you can get it for what you think its worth. Ours is a supply and demand economy. Lastly, about the after market sales: I started following this website last December, a day after the grab bag baby candycorns posted. I read that the website has crashed repeatedly because people were rushing to get their ‘corn and, when I saw pictures of the candycorns online, I understood why. I was entranced, even obsessed. And I wanted one, just one, so I started haunting the classifieds and ebay. Until this last month, I have never seen a GBB unicorn or young poad listed for less than $200 (and this includes the older ones that sold originally for much less than $130). Most listed for $275 to $350 (some up to $500-$600!!) and the ones offered were rarely the top favorites; those were sometimes traded I gathered but I had nothing to trade. Many stayed with the people who had gambled on the grab bag and had forever homes. As I said, I was hooked in a OCD type way. I don’t blame anyone for not selling at lower prices; Melody’s pieces, we all agree, are worth it. My point is that if you want normal but beautiful colors, you go to production pieces. IMO it would be a waste of time to have Melody pump out grab bag babies in normal, stock colors (that could just as easily be done in production) just so we can have “OOAK Melody” pieces at an inexpensive price. Once you get into the safari/supernatural colors, you are talking artistic innovation and alot of time spent designing and creating each piece. The price has to go up, we’ve all agreed. So, you want less expensive? (that would fit my budget better too) Ask for more stock normal colors/patterns to be done in the store and/or have a grab bag that incorporates a small assortment of Melody’s less exotic designs painted by the production artists.

In a perfect world Melody could spend all her time creating original artwork that would sell at a price that we could all afford. Maybe when she wins the Powerball Lottery she will. This isn’t a perfect world; we all get left outside the store window sometime, staring in at the fantastically executed Melody Pena dragon or unicorn or whatever that we can’t afford. That’s life in a nutshell….

Slightly off topic – but didn’t someone create a database of the young unicorns from the last GB? I know that my wife bought one before either of us were on the forums much – and I was curious to see the range of designs from last time.

Vesper was a damaged return Windstone had and sold for $700 on ebay after his horn was replaced, I think that was the one they were referring to on ebay.

Yes, that is the one I was referring to – thanks, drag0n!

OK, I’ll take that one because I did win him, I thought you were referring to Neb. I wasn’t even thinking about Vesper, that was just like buying after market with him.

These are different, I think that until some are seen in person people are just worried and I’m just feeling bad for a lot of my friend’s who, have been collector’s far longer than me, can not afford to pay Ebay price’s for these piece’s.