That's a lot.

 How do you put a price on something you might only come across once in a Blue Moon or, as is more likely at my age, once in a lifetime?

There was some discussion on a Facebook page for Corgi collectors recently which caught my attention but the outrage expressed by some individuals was what has made me write today. There was an original leaflet which would have been issued with the Corgi Toys Gift Set 15 with a price of £750

The tube of glue would set you back just under £600.

This is the Silverstone Gift Set which had a number of buildings to construct, several packs of figures, a layout mat and several models and which would make a fabulous display. This and a similar Garage Gift Set 25 are probably the most sought after items in the whole range and only very rarely do they appear for sale and even then it is likely to be a complete set in a box which has been preserved like that since day one.

Any collector trying to recreate the set with individual components will be setting out on a quest that may take years as these items, the mats and one or two others from the Garage gift set just never seem to appear. I think I have seen some glue before but never an instruction leaflet and that will be in about 10 years of looking.

So just how do you value something like this? It has to be simply what someone will pay you for it. I suppose we could put a top value on an item as a bit less than the price of a complete boxed set. They go for around £7500 when they do appear, possibly more as they're almost always at auctions where I forget that buyers will have to fork out up to another 30% or so. That could take a set to almost £10000.

So that's one way to get one of these items and then sell the rest of the set. If you think that someone will buy your set for £9250 then the leaflet's cost you £750 but if you think it may only now sell for £7500 then it's cost you nearly £2500.

There are many collectors now who really don't worry about money terribly much. They are at an age where they don't need to work and may have a good pension or two and comparatively small outlay having paid off mortgages long ago. They may have inherited a house or two from parents, uncles or aunts for good measure. Or they may just be rich from successful business, careers or fortunate investment. For these people, whether they pay £250 or £2500 may well have very little difference in the impact on their finances. Yes, they can make life a bit difficult for those of us who have a modest income and plenty of commitments still, and we might manage £250 if we save for a month or two but couldn't envisage spending £750, never mind £2500 - but that is life and I do not begrudge anyone their wealth nor do I feel any need to complain about the prices some people demand for genuine Corgi material.

I may chuckle at some, smile at others or even briefly be shocked at the many brazen attempts to extract a ridiculous sum for a Corgi Toy, but I mostly just take the view that it makes my prices look quite reasonable in comparison! (Although I admit that I do have several items which I simply don't really want to part with and so they may carry rather heavy price tags too!)

These folk who are getting hot under the collar and risking bursting blood vessels over the Gift Set 15 item prices would be far better advised to direct their wrath and abuse towards the annoying people who deliberately try to deceive and cheat by creating special issues which never actually existed or repairing damaged items and claiming they're original. In the former category I put things like red spot Whizzwheels on models which never had them fitted, the 'Jensen's' minis and leaflets or special boxes for 'special issue models' which are pure invention. 

One target could be a chap who lived, maybe still lives, in Cottingham in the north of England who has made vast sums flogging stuff he has created and now uses a small auction house in South Yorkshire. For a while many apparently unique or very scarce items would appear regularly but only in this small area and all the big auction houses like Vectis and QDT fell for his products. They found their way into many prestigious collections where, of course, new owners would feel convinced they were genuine and many were thus innocently sold on to others and still appear now from time to time when we sadly have to advise sellers to knock a few zeroes off their prices.

Talking of zeroes, this is, at the time of writing, the most expensive Corgi item on Ebay UK:

Now, anyone want a Lotus Esprit #269 in a red box for a mere £16000? It looks like the same dealer as has the Gift set instruction leaflet and glue (not the chap from Cottingham) has acquired the rights to sell a big collection as they have virtually taken over the top fifty listings for the most expensive Corgis on Ebay. Hmmm. . . I think I'll let that one go.