Well after just over a year of collecting I'm going call this the real thing....a real John "Surfin’ Safari" Lassetire handed out by JL himself!
I'll detail the checking I did and while there is always room for doubt i'm satisfied with what I believe it is
Some background....To date, I have been extremely lucky to have collected a couple of these from a really great collector and friend and so when I saw this one I wondered if it was an extra one from the factory run or whether it truly was one given to the actual crew by JL himself.
It was just by chance that I happened to spot it on eBay and probably very lucky that I happened to be in a timezone where most other regions / collectors were fast asleep. The listing was quite short in its description but said it was rare and genuine and I also noticed another potential buyer had put in several offers and had been rejected..that's when I had to do a bit of soul searching.
I quickly sent a message off to the seller and thought it best to ask outright if it was one personally handed out by JL or perhaps a really good backdoor (it was shipping from the US so not a guarantee but a good sign to start with). I also asked if it was real and what proof of ownership he might have to validate it being authentic.
Back came the reply indicating it was "personally handed out to each of us that worked on the show. This is as real as you're going to get, very rare". Even better, he said "I will include my business card once I ship out the package".
Unfortunately though, he was not comfortable to share his name or the role he performed in the crew....I did respect his position on that line of questioning.
By this stage a couple of hours had passed (it was now past midnight for me and day starting for the seller) and I needed just a little more comfort before I hit the BIN. I started by googling his seller ID and this came back with a few hits and while not directly showing his name it did show links to others at Pixar and company events etc. on places like FaceBook.
Next I followed a few more leads and discovered his name and straight away checked the Cars 2 credits - Bingo! (He was also in credits of other pixar films earlier and more recent than Cars 2).
I should also mention that this seller over the past few years has sold quite a bit of movie stuff on eBay - not just Disney / Pixar stuff but I did find a listing for a Motorama McQueen...this was the clincher for me
So after I did the BIN I arranged the shipping with the seller and did ask if he knew how many were handed out. He was not sure but seemed to think it was not many. I also received the PayPal receipt and it double confirmed his name and email address..more comfort for my purchase impulse
All in all, the seller was very professional and expedited the shipping for me. I tracked the package over the weekend as it made its way to me and for the past 3 days watched nervously as it stalled in customs - I was nervous as I feared that some curious customs agent wanted to see what a "Toy Car" actually looked like and decided to tear open the ornate cardboard box.
So finally, this afternoon I received the customs notice advising I needed to pay the GST (always happens with USPS shipments) and promptly collected the item....to my relief, all was packed well and importantly unopened.
Even better, the seller had delivered on his promise and provided his business card.
I Couldn't have asked for a better transaction and so I while I rarely have much to post about I thought i'd contribute my good fortune with the below picture (edited to protect the privacy of the seller).
If you have read thru to here then apologies for the long narration but perhaps it may prove useful if another JL truck surfaces purporting to be authentic!
Apologies if the picture does not work well!
jltruck.jpg
I'll detail the checking I did and while there is always room for doubt i'm satisfied with what I believe it is
Some background....To date, I have been extremely lucky to have collected a couple of these from a really great collector and friend and so when I saw this one I wondered if it was an extra one from the factory run or whether it truly was one given to the actual crew by JL himself.
It was just by chance that I happened to spot it on eBay and probably very lucky that I happened to be in a timezone where most other regions / collectors were fast asleep. The listing was quite short in its description but said it was rare and genuine and I also noticed another potential buyer had put in several offers and had been rejected..that's when I had to do a bit of soul searching.
I quickly sent a message off to the seller and thought it best to ask outright if it was one personally handed out by JL or perhaps a really good backdoor (it was shipping from the US so not a guarantee but a good sign to start with). I also asked if it was real and what proof of ownership he might have to validate it being authentic.
Back came the reply indicating it was "personally handed out to each of us that worked on the show. This is as real as you're going to get, very rare". Even better, he said "I will include my business card once I ship out the package".
Unfortunately though, he was not comfortable to share his name or the role he performed in the crew....I did respect his position on that line of questioning.
By this stage a couple of hours had passed (it was now past midnight for me and day starting for the seller) and I needed just a little more comfort before I hit the BIN. I started by googling his seller ID and this came back with a few hits and while not directly showing his name it did show links to others at Pixar and company events etc. on places like FaceBook.
Next I followed a few more leads and discovered his name and straight away checked the Cars 2 credits - Bingo! (He was also in credits of other pixar films earlier and more recent than Cars 2).
I should also mention that this seller over the past few years has sold quite a bit of movie stuff on eBay - not just Disney / Pixar stuff but I did find a listing for a Motorama McQueen...this was the clincher for me
So after I did the BIN I arranged the shipping with the seller and did ask if he knew how many were handed out. He was not sure but seemed to think it was not many. I also received the PayPal receipt and it double confirmed his name and email address..more comfort for my purchase impulse
All in all, the seller was very professional and expedited the shipping for me. I tracked the package over the weekend as it made its way to me and for the past 3 days watched nervously as it stalled in customs - I was nervous as I feared that some curious customs agent wanted to see what a "Toy Car" actually looked like and decided to tear open the ornate cardboard box.
So finally, this afternoon I received the customs notice advising I needed to pay the GST (always happens with USPS shipments) and promptly collected the item....to my relief, all was packed well and importantly unopened.
Even better, the seller had delivered on his promise and provided his business card.
I Couldn't have asked for a better transaction and so I while I rarely have much to post about I thought i'd contribute my good fortune with the below picture (edited to protect the privacy of the seller).
If you have read thru to here then apologies for the long narration but perhaps it may prove useful if another JL truck surfaces purporting to be authentic!
Apologies if the picture does not work well!
jltruck.jpg
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