Palitoy Jawa MOC

[Palifan]

I dont really understand the Jawa's rise in rarity. Years ago it was positively common, while Chewie, Luke etc were all similarly rare. I know Vectis have sold 4 or 5 Luke and Chewies and a couple of others have surfaced outside Vectis, but they've also sold a couple of Jawas.

Supply has certainly changed, but not to the degree people think, IMO.

I dont understand it either, when I collected the first time Jawa was a normal figure but now it is considered rare. If you ignore the 6K sale both Chewie and Luke command more money than Jawa's and yet I found both of those figures relatively easy to locate and buy in 85 grade where as Ben I found quite difficult to find. I am not sure whether rarity is dictating the price on some of the 12 backs as in my opinion a high grade Ben is the most difficult to find but the Chewie is more talked about and presumed to be rarer. I think the value of the Jawa may have been increased because of the sale of the Palitoy VCJ at Vectis and the high price tag it achieved whether this will be a temporary or permanent increase remains to be seen.

I think the reason the Jawa is now commanding such a price is the fact that there were hardly any for auction at Vectis over the last couple of years (maybe only one?). As all the other figures were available on Palitoy 12 backs in great condition, it probably means there are a lot more collectors out there trying to finish their 12 back runs and all needing the Jawa. The Palitoy VCJ will hardly ever come up again (if at all), so most collectors probably won't give too much thought about having this one in their collection but the normal Jawa is possible if you can find one.

For a good conditioned Palitoy 12 back Jawa moc I can see quite a few people going for it and the price could be driven up high. Maybe a stash of them will be found one day and drop the price but for now I can't see this one going for the same rate as the other cheaper end 12 backs. Just my thoughts on all of this and you never know when a seller will put up something at a good BIN price, if there are none sold to see what the going price is, it may just be priced the same as the more common 12 backs.

Ian