I have been feeling pretty crappy lately, and even written about it in three of my blogs. Before I can write anything depressing in this blog, eBay saved the day, or blog, rather.

I put up one of my rarer dolls up for auction on e-Bay: the PK001 Yoshiko Repaint. For some reason, this Series 1 repaint became one of the most sought after set among the regular Pinky St releases. I was lucky enough to find this doll over at Yahoo!Japan auctions. However, with most of the rare dolls, I put off opening them.

 
I’ve said over and over that I consider Pinkies as an investment. They provide me an outlet for retail therapy, while ensuring that I am buying something that I can resell for a good price later on. I buy when I have the money, and sell when I run out.

I never really expected Yoshiko would get such a high price. The most I expected from her was US$25. But $55? Oh my!

 
To the guy who tried to buy Yoshiko for Php 500 (US$ 12): Please do not insult my intelligence. You had the gall to tell me stop my auction, to meet up with you, to call you and to sell you my doll for Php 500. I know how much Pinky Street dolls are worth. They’re not just worth Php 500. Even the regular releases now are being sold for Php 550, and you’re expecting me to just hand over the Yoshiko Repaint for that price? And isn’t that kind of transaction going against e-Bay’s terms and conditions? Please. Venture out of eBay.ph and see how eBay really works.

Annoying buyers aside, I’m really happy about the outcome of this e-Bay auction. Now I have enough money to buy a new domain and a box of Moo cards!

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The Pinky St version of the AirGear manga and anime character Ringo was and still is, one of the most sought after Pinky Street dolls by collectors.

Air Gear x Pinky Street Perfect Gear Box

 
Released in December 2005, Ringo is a special limited release, sold with the AirGear volume 12 manga. When Ringo was first released, she was priced at 1,905 Yen (approximately US$17) at HLJ.com. These days, however, a brand new Ringo at $40 is already considered very cheap.

Ringo 01

Ringo Noyamano’s Wikipedia entry reads:

Ringo Noyamano (野山野 林檎 Noyamano Ringo) looks like your everyday junior high school girl. However, she is actually the successor of the legendary Storm Riders team, Sleeping Forest . She is also the current Thorn King (Queen) of the eight ‘Kings’ in the AT world. Ringo is in love with Ikki but does not dare to tell him. She helps Kogarasumaru in times of trouble under the guise of Croissant Mask (Croissant Kamen). Ringo is a King Class AT user, wielding the techniques of Sonia Road; meaning she has superhuman agility at the price of suffering every blow she deals to her opponent.

As someone who hasn’t read the manga or watched the anime, that made absolutely no sense to me. I really should start reading more into the manga and anime tie-ups of my Pinkies lol

Ringo Noyamano Pinky

Ringo comes with her trademark glasses, with an extra pair of neon sunglasses. She also comes with an alternate top, a red sweatshirt with an apple emblem (ringo is the Japanese word for apple). Of course, Ringo wouldn’t be complete without her orange skates with two sets of tires.

Welcome home, Ringo

 
I found Ringo on eBay, being sold by a fellow Pinky-street.com forum member. She was already opened, but in excellent condition. For an already opened rare Pinky, she was pretty pricey, specially with the additional cost of shipping. But for Ringo (and her gorgeous hair, it was worth it). Besides, if I bought an unopened Ringo, I just know I won’t open her. I bought her in November 2007, and it took her almost four months to get here. She was worth the wait. Welcome home, Ringo!

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