my...

god...

I can see how they'd be in mint condition....him being a 26 year old MAN when he got started on this addiction. But hey, a million bucks is a million bucks. I bet his wife is eating those words he must have heard over and over again..."They're just TOYS!"

wow thats some story. i wish i could have baught that collection. i guess my complete beast wars collection will have to do lol.

Wow... speechless. I have no comments on the beauty of this collection.

That is WAY too much money for those little robots in a box...

Wow, guy may not have lived long, but boy did he live. I have no transformers and my life feels empty and pointless.

This item has ended with Buy it Now.

man I had so many of these things... you don't really remember until you see them again.

That guy has transformers I didn't even know there were toys of! Some of those are ridiculously rare. Although with a lot of reissues coming out now, I suspect some aren't as rare as they were. There's a Jetfire reissue that I really want, he was pretty damn rare back in the day...

And to think, I broke all mine out of the boxes right before I read this.

So the guy made a million dollars on an investment of less than $10,000 which started in the mid 80's? Sounds ridiculous? Interestingly enough, he could have made even more if he had put the same money into Mircosoft stock. I must say, that is one bad ass collection. Amazing that they look so good over 20+ years.

Cool collection... but it seems like I've spent that much on transformers for my son already. Has to be at least 20 versions of Optimus Prime.

@pj737: Oh, is that all? Just some MS stock? If only he had been able to tell the future, and invest a huge amount of money in a new stock no one had ever heard of! What an idiot!

The guy who bought it has 6 feedback, some dvds, tanning lotion and a NES. I can't see him packing a million bucks for some transformers.

Where are the Dinobots?

I'm with PJK, is this a legit sale or just somebody goofing?

Robots baking pies.

I was looking at my previous comment... I don't have any doubt the seller is legit. I'm just wondering if the buyer is for real.

I too question the buyer's legitimacy. "Uh..so how do you wanna do this? Can I write you a check?" And how the hell do you ship 275 boxes of transformers ENSURING that they don't get borked in transit?

I have a feeling these would have sold for slightly more a couple of days prior to the film's opening - when Tranformers hype was at a max.

Did Optimus Prime buy this? You know, that half-wit who changed his name to be like a toy robot.

@mopar_man:
Have you seen that guy? There's no way he's a millionaire.

That's one awesome collection...

Just one little tiny problem: The most expensive thing the high bidder has bought before was an NES system for $119.

While I hate to spoil anyone's party, I have something less than undiluted confidence that this transaction will be consummated.

George Bush is a millionaire. Just saying.

Wait, should we be rounding up the original Megatron toys, as they can't be sold (even between ebay buyers?!?) anymore? What a sad state of affairs we live in...

You know, someday I'll read -all- the comments before posting so I don't repeat other people's posts. Today, seemingly, is not that day.

*sniff*

@jennyfur: If we sold the house, hawked the wife's wedding ring and liquidated the kid's college funds, we'd probably be millionaires... or at least close ;)

I loved the story. What is she going to do with the money anyone know? I really wish my mom didn't throw out my toys when i moved out. /KickingSelf

[www.asktheadmin.com]

@EDMICMAN

um, yes, you can sell the G1 megatron. just check ebay.

the ebay warning that the seller found is in regards to the MP-05 Megatron, a.k.a. Masterpiece Megatron, a newly issued toy from Japan.

from the megatron wiki [en.wikipedia.org] :

Masterpiece Megatron (2007)
Released in late March 2007, this toy is, like the 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime figure, a new figure based on Megatron's original animation model, and returns him to his original Walther P38 form, although considerably larger. The scope, which becomes the arm cannon, holds a red LED light that forms a spotlight shape. Special accessories packaged with the toy include Megatron's energy mace from More Than Meets the Eye, Part 2, the laser sword and pistol used in his climactic battle with Optimus Prime in The Transformers: The Movie, and a figurine of the energy imp, Kremzeek, from the cartoon episode of the same name.
After much debate over whether or not the figure would be able to pass through US customs due to its appearance as a realistic firearm, online retailers opted to insert an orange or yellow plug onto the barrel of the gun in order to comply with the current standards. So far, images of the plug from two online retailers have surfaced online. However, depending on the retailer, not all the plugs installed will be permanently attached to the barrel with an adhesive.

Good piece of information, TR. Thanks.

Wow, what a cool collection. Sad story though. What, no, I'm not crying. I've just got something in my eye. *sniffle*

101 Autobots vs 81 Decepticons...whoever bought these better buy some more Decepticons, otherwise playing war will be plain slaughter.

Not trying to take away from the great story, but did anyone else notice the Target price tag on Ramsack? Guess it doesn't matter too much but just an observation.

looks like a KB Toys outlet store

Anthony didn't die in 1988 as per the Gizmodo article, he died in 1998, which is only marginally less tragic I know but at least he got another decade. The way your story goes is way more depressing.

Ha, I have the blanket they list there.
[www.devilspotion.com]
What an amazing collection......

Just give me a capri-sun, a fruit roll up, and a handi-snack with any of those Transformers and that will fill my day with joy.

This reminds me of the plot of "The 40 year old virgin"...

great story, but i'm going to have to agree with PJK and Monoplex, this sale is not going to go through.

This happens all the time on eBay...someone hacks into another users account and buys with the "Buy it Now" option. It's happened to me so many times now that I no longer create "Buy it Now" listings. The truth is, eBay uses scared tactics to tharwt such fraud, but in reality no real punishment ever comes. I feel for this lady, she will have to re-list and pay all over again.

Too bad $1,000,000 wouldn't even buy a trailer home.

That's alotta hooch!

From $10k to $1mill from '85 to '07 is around 23% per year. MSs return is 29% per year, so the same $10k investment, buying around 91,000 shares of MS stock at $0.11 each, would be worth $3.6mm today.

Apple is 18%, up to $450k.
Wal-Mart is 16.5%, up to $335.
Exxon is 13.5%, up to $184k
AT&T has returned 10%, up to $90k

All of these would have been an exceptional investment in 1985.

Perhaps the guy that won the BO Luke General Lee auction will swing by to pick these up. Oh wait...

I bet it was someone working for Linderman that bought it for his collection.

@drewheyman:

Yeah but none of them would make it to Gizmodo...cant put a price on that!

Proof that there really is a heaven.

@tr: Depending on the scope of the phrase "enter commerce", it might very well be illegal to sell the G1 Megatron according to US Code 15 Chapter 76. If "enter commerce" means the initial date of sale, then vintage Megatron is in the clear. If "enter commerce" means any date of sale of a replica firearm, then G1 Megatron sales clearly fall under that restriction.

Even if I had 1 million to toss at this, I'd still end up opening them all and playing with them.

I know basically nothing about Transformers, but I do know thats one kick ass collection worth a Mill +. Hope she dont get stuck with a deadbeat, can you imagine the listing fee for this auction dammmn.

What a roller coaster of emotion.

Only for $1,000,000?
Considering how many Transformers fans there are out there (myself included)that's actually pretty cheap.