Bemon-style maybe?
Bemon has been auctioning his own stuff for years now.
In an odd way, it maybe better than lottery or private list or club or ...

IMO he's not even close or at the same level as Bemon or HxS so i don't really see the reason why he's even trying to hype the toy, honestly i think it's kinda lame.

You can say that, but the way people are treating his toy in the same manner.
It may not be at that level but it does seem that it will get there.

I do agree. I think his painting skill is amazing.
Happy with the way he distribute his toys, lottery and auction.
Always fun to see the artist getting what they deserve for via auction.
Although sometime it's frustrating to watch the auction goes beyond my budget.
But in the end, I'm glad that how the price end and knowing the artists get what they deserve.

Speaking of ...

I don't see anything wrong with an occasional auction for one offs or rare blanks. It's hard to make decent money making toys. If an auction helps an artist make a living I don't see the harm. I know it can be frustrating not getting a toy, but it makes Izumonsters life and toy making a little better and easier, just remember that.

Honestly I'd like to see more artist do this. I don't understand where the negitivity came from and how it became bad form ?

It's artist direct.
It's not flipping, because it's not secondary.
The market determines true value.
The artist cuts out all middlemen and can actually make a living if said art is worth it.


I know that some people who can't afford it won't be able to buy, which is a bummer, but there is always the regular release.

I just think we all need to reevaluate it. There are more positives to this than negitives. This is only if the artist themself is doing it.

I wasn't sure of the reason he was doing it, at first I thought it was about hyping the toy. But the toy is pretty
awesome so it doesn't need it.

If it's all for him, then that is a great idea. Flippers making all the money is bullshit.
Artists making the money should be the way to go. It also seems that it could possibly
deter flippers since if they want to buy one of his one-off's, they are going to have to pay
a real price. For one of them to win and then try to make profit off it will be even more
difficult since they would have to price it according to how their flipper mind works.
In the end it will cost too much to flip.

Would you still feel that way if the auctions were ending at less then the price of his normal releases?

I can't see the downside here at all. Tons of artists sell their own stuff on ebay or any other auction site. From paintings to sketches or even sculpts or just custom toys. Maybe if it was the only way to get his stuff then I would understand the problem but from what I've seen that is not the case at all. I get that with this hobby auctions automatically send up red flags with collectors but if you really think about it what's wrong with what he's doing?

He does regular lotto releases. He has other people do small runs. He allows blanks to get into other painters/collectors hands. Why be against some one-off auctions? Perfect for people who miss lottos or shows or just don't want to bother with the effort required to obtain a piece in a more standard fashion. It also could very easily push flippers away because most flippers won't want to pay for the auction amount for a toy that would resell for that same amount anyway. He makes more money for is work and doesn't even have to pay a gallery 50% to do it. I don't see how anyone loses in this situation.

Isn't the stuff he's putting on Yahoo JP one-offs? I don't have a problem with that, it's usually high-rollers that go after that kind of stuff anyway. Nothing wrong with a bit of a scrappy money fight for a one-of-a-kind toy. Waterbear definitely has a point too, it ensures that these pieces will be going into the hands of a collector, not a flipper who is trying to make a quick buck.

Now if he was doing full production runs for auction... That would be super lame.

It's true it's just one-offs put up for auction. His self-painted production run pieces are super affordable.. when you start collaborating with other artists then of course the prices are a little bit higher like with the recent MVH release which was still a great price for the piece.

Are you all high? This is one supremely bad toy. Have fun blowing your cash.

since when is ok to post about live auctions?

Never OK.

I heard it's punishable by death

Just for the record I never posted a link, just a picture of the new paint app! Case closed I'm innocent badteeth rulz ok

Talking about auctions is just as bad. Pretty easy to find after that...
Just sayin!!

Lesson learned sorry everybody!

Some of us are quite content to just look.

Haha, point taken!

Hmm... I'm usually not that blunt in my opinions when I post here. When I wrote that post, I was actually running a pretty high fever haha! Colds eh.

(But I still do hate this toy, and the high price is a big part of that. Sorry dudes.)

His releases have cost around $150 for an 11 inch toy, is that considered high?

A couple friends have grabbed painted versions for the normal price of 160 shipped with tax included. The toy is close to a foot tall. While I don't think that's cheap for any toy it certainly isn't high priced for this hobby at all. He could double that price and still sell these things.

Yes, the normal version price is around $130. I'm delighted with the quality of izumo toys. The paint application is amazing.

Well, if you guys are happy with it as collectors then yeah it's not my place to say what's fair and what isn't.

The only toys that are really worth upwards of $150 in my opinion are from makers like, say, Gargamel. This particular toy really just doesn't appeal to me, so thinking about dropping that much cash on one just boggles my mind.

Of course, this toy is nowhere near the assholery of something like NagNagNag. That shit is truly ridiculous.

But eyyyyy... Different strokes and all. I'm not really looking to kill anyone's buzz.

which hobby are you referring to?

if you are talking about collecting japanese toys,
it has nothing to do with buying the latest hyped up
derivative crap of the month that you can flip for double price!