A Note For Collectors

by Crazy Ivan

There are varying degrees of "rare", as the Sackthology proves decisively.  Some Myachis are rare because they're really, really old.  Some are rare because we only made a small number of them.  Some are rare because you had to be at a particular event to get them.  Some are rare because they were mismade in some subtle way.  Still others are rare because they were mispackaged.

It is that final category that I want to bring your attention to today.

As you all know, the most recent series was a co-release of two series, the 5.1 and 5.1x.  The 5.1x series is packaged in doubles; there are two Myachis (and a bonus DVD!) in every package.  The sacks that are available in the 5.1x are unique and can't be purchased in single packages.

There are 6 different two packs with a total of 12 different Myachis.  We tried to pair them up so that every series had one really cool looking sack and one really good jammer.  The Fishbones and Boneyards are awesome to look at, but if you're just learning the game you're better off jamming with the Missile Commands or Shadow Boxes or whatever that came with it.

There are 2 of the 6 packages that break that rule.  The Lumber Jack Red and Lumber Jack Black (Gray) are both spectacular jammers and really cool looking.  The Wonderland and Cupcake are both great corduroy jammers and have a really sweet look (if you're in to the whole pink polka dots and flowers thing).

Strangely enough, those two packs have something else in common.  It's a distinct packaging anomaly that you don't see in any of the other four two packs.

In the Wonderland/Cupcake Combo, the Wonderland is generally on top and the Cupcake is on the bottom.  That is the case in about 80%-85% of the packs.  But there are these little oddball ones here and there where the order is reversed and the Cupcake is on top of the Wonderland.

The same is true of the LumberJacks, though the percentages might be even lower on those.  In the Vast majority of packs, the Lumber Jack Red is above the Lumber Jack Black, but in a small number (perhaps as low as 5%), that order is inverted.

Up until now, we haven't seen a similar mismake on any of the other 4 two packs in series 5.1x.  The Boneyards are always where they should be, as are the Fishbones.

So what does that mean to a collector?  Not much, to be honest.  In some far flung year in the future, an unopened inverted 5.1x pack might be something of value and it might not be.  Very few collectors are going to the trouble at this point of keeping a sack from each series in the blister, so there won't be a sudden surge in people clamoring to get these mismakes.

But it is a new mistake.  We'll be doing a lot more of these two packs in the future and it's possible (even likely) that we'll get a handle on that issue and there will be fewer and fewer similar errors goings forward.  The 1.0 series actually had quite a few upside down blisters compared to all the future series.  The 5.0 (the newest series from our new manufacturer) had a similarly high error rate compared to the 5.1.

I'm not sure what advice I would give to a collector on this one, but I should confess that I'll be picking up one of each of these inversions to go in my "mismake" collection.  I can't speculate on the value they'll have to anyone else in the future, but it's pretty safe to speculate on the value they'll have to me.