If I had to name my top 5 vintage Halloween market segments, Rosen “Pops” boxes and their related output would make the cut. If you look on pages 116-118 you’ll see examples of these mechanical and non-mechanical gems. I bought three from a 1997 Dunbar Gallery auction: Spook Pops, Owl Pops and Pumpkin Pops. Since then, I’ve never seen complete examples of the first two and only two other complete examples of the third - and that would include this listing. (The last one, offered in October 2015, had noticeable damage. The clueless seller offered it then for a BIN of $79.99.) This listing has a lot going for it: the condition seems to be nearly as good as the one I purchased in 1997; the seller is tops and the opening price of $9.99 invites bidding. (In fact, within hours of debut the bidding was $350.) Given that an envelope for a Flaming Fortune game brought nearly $2,000 recently, this should command a significant premium to that result. If this market segment appeals to you, get a HELOC and bid! :)
08/07 Update: The result surely didn’t meet the seller’s expectations but should be cause for relief if not delirium to the prevailing bidder, having sold for $1511.99. This underperformed the what-it-should-have-been case. I wonder if there are simply too many high-end items being offered in too short of a time frame and in too steady of a cadence.
