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This $158K Star Wars Rarity Just Became a Huge Disappointment Thanks to Netflix
When it comes to vintage toy auctions, the Star Wars franchise still offers some of the most expensive examples out there. This month, one of the ultimate grails of Star Wars toy collectors went under the hammer at Goldin Auctions with a final sale price of $130,000, or $158,600 when adding in buyer’s premium. That item was the 1979 Kenner rocket-firing Bob Fett prototype featuring the fabled J-slot mechanism, but the six-figure price tag it commanded is a massive disappointment considering a similar Boba Fett figure sold for over $1.3 million less than two years ago. And it is all down to Netflix.
The Kenner Boba Fett figure was planned as a mailer promotion, giving fans the chance to get their hands on the iconic bounty hunter with limited screen time and his spring-loaded missile that launched from his backpack. However, after making just around 100 prototypes, 30 of which had a J-shaped slot in the back rather than an L-shaped one, the toy was deemed unsafe for children and the plan to release it was scrapped. Instead, subsequent Boba Fett figures came with fixed missiles that were destined never to launch.
How Netflix Turned Boba Fett into the Most Expensive Star Wars Toy Ever
The latest rare example of this figure to come to auction appeared to be a big deal, with the listing page noting that it is graded NM+ 85+ by AFA, the highest-graded version to have ever been recorded by the AFA. The previous sale in August 2024 was graded AFA 85+ and came complete with the original “mailer” box that the item would have been sent in if it had made it that far. Even without the box, the June 3 auction was one that should have seen this Boba Fett figure pulling in a substantial interest. Yet, it sold for around an eighth of the price of the 2024 auction, and one of the biggest factors comes down to the figure prominently featured in a Netflix series – just two months before that original auction.
While the provenance and completeness of the figure was already going to make the 2024 sale a potential record-breaker, its appearance in Netflix’s The King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch as the “holy grail of all holy grails” for Star Wars fans put its upcoming auction in front of millions on a global stage. Even the fabled “first shot” Darth Vader couldn’t compete.
The June auction did not have the same worldwide push behind it, and collectors only found out about it from the auction site, Goldin’s Instagram page, and word of mouth on Reddit. Without the power of Netflix behind it, the auction only received four bids and ended with a relatively disappointing final price — one of the few instances that $130,000 can be called disappointing.
The Boba Fett figure still retains its reputation as the ultimate Star Wars toy grail and that has not been diminished by the recent auction. What it has proven, though, is that it did not become the most expensive Star Wars figure in 2024 for being the rarest toy in the room. Without the Netflix cameras, even the holiest of grails is worth a lot less than it seemed.
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