Six Trade Me auctions have shocked and surprised one New Zealand family after forgotten-about Star Wars figurines sold for over $50,000.
After Melonie Mercier's mother died, it was her job to sort through some of the items in her home. She found six Star Wars figurines, which she thought were destined for the rubbish.
"What would have happened was mum bought them for my brother in the 70s, put them away, and she probably forgot about them," Mercier tells The Project.
"The auction house decided they didn't want to sell them, and a beautiful friend said, 'I can sell on your behalf'. And then she rang me up last night and said, 'Melonie, I listed these figurines', and I went, 'Oh, the ones we were going to throw out'.
"[My friend said] 'I put them up for $25 and they've just gone through the roof'... I'm still pinching myself."
Up for sale were C 3PO, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia.
When all six auctions were simultaneously coming to an end on Saturday night, Mercier was surprised at how much the prices were skyrocketing throughout the evening.
"It's just gone over $4000 for Han Solo - my hero. Darth Vader - $4910. I know he was a baddy, but he did have a good heart at the end. Sorry if I've ruined the story for anyone," Mercier says.
It didn't take long for prices to go even higher.
"Han Solo's increased - $7810. I'm just blown away."
What looked like trash suddenly became a life-changing treasure. The big sale of the night was Han Solo, which sold for $10,000. Obi-Wan Kenobi went for $9600, Darth Vader for $9550, C 3PO for $9000, Luke Skywalker for $8150, and Princess Leia for $6050 - a grand total of $52,350.
"Thank you to whoever's bought them, thank you so much," Mercier says.
For collectors like Steve - who didn't nab any of the figurines on Saturday - auctions like these are a real find.
"I collect a lot of toys and always keep an eye on auctions on Trade Me and happened by chance to come across it. I was looking for the word 'Toltoys' and got pretty excited when they came up, it's quite a rarity," he tells The Project.
Toltoys manufactured and distributed a wide range of licensed and original toys, games, and models over a number of decades.
"What's interesting about these Toltoys items is the toy plastic actually has moulding saying it was made in Australia, or the American releases were obviously made in Taiwan or Hong Kong," Steve says.
"So it's really quite unique to have a toy where the plastic was moulded and made in Australia and the box was printed in Auckland by Toltoys."
Unfortunately, the eye-watering prices were too much for Steve.
"It's mental. No one in New Zealand can believe what's going on. It's pretty cool," he says.
