Model: Matchbox MB8 Ford Mustang
Release: 1970 basic range
eBay link: Matchbox MB8 Mustang
Why is it in the collection: The mad rush to try and get it.
I still remember the last minute panic in trying to obtain this model. The year was, well, I’m not quite sure. Somewhere between late 2001 and early 2003. Most likely 2002. In those days internet access was not as easy to come by as it is now. Smartphones weren’t invented yet, and I did not own a laptop. The only way I was accessing the internet was through a wired connection through a desktop computer. At the time I used to spend my spare time at home trawling eBay on the home computer, but I worked a lot of hours in my job, but I didn’t have access to a computer in my position. I had found this rare transitional Ford Mustang on eBay from a seller who I knew and would trust would be a legitimate seller. The only thing was though, the auction was finishing in the middle of the night, and I was on the night shift at work. But we used to have a couple of people who would work late and did have access to a computer. So I had a chat with the one who would be there that night. She agreed to let me pop on her computer, log in, and bid.
The only thing was, she got busy doing things and I was busy doing my job too. Next thing we knew the auction was finishing in a matter of minutes. She came rushing through, grabbed me, and we rushed to her desk, where I logged in and found the auction with way less than a minute to go. By the time I had gone through and submitted my bid there were 8 seconds left. I was the highest bidder, and I won.
I admit I had not won a lot of items on eBay at that time and things were still relatively new to me. My first win was when I registered in August 2001 and this wasn’t that far behind.
Of course when I received it, the first thing I did was double check the base to be sure. Superfast Mustangs would normally be orangey-red, occasionally red itself (depending on shade) and the white was the earlier regular wheel issue. The rare transitional Superfast white always commands a high price when it comes up for sale or auction. Much higher than what I paid for mine.
I spoke with a few collector friends about the auction shortly after. A few had seen the auction and one did bid. He was okay with being outbid by me, because he was a sniper. It was then I discovered what a sniper was. Somebody who bids at the last second. I told him that I wasn’t intending to snipe. It was just the way it turned out. As I said, I was still pretty new to the eBay game at that point so was still learning the terminology. But this was, to me, my first snipe. As far as I am concerned anyway.
Very nice car. The regular wheel version is one of my favorite Lesley MB cars of all time. As far as bidding snipers are concerned, there’s an old saying that can somewhat apply: be careful for what you wish for because you just might get it. I would insert the word “bid” in place of “wish”.
Several years ago I was bidding on a Politoys Penny 1/66 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta. I was the only bidder up until the last second when I was outbid by a sniper. I had bid a crazy amount of money knowing the chances were virtually nil that I would have to pay it, even though it’s a very rare car. Let’s just say the winner paid an astronomical amount for a toy car and probably had a pit in his stomach when he received his winning notice.