Black Materia on Ebay?

1WingedRonin · 07-03-2008, 09:56 AM

I was looking through Ebay, and I saw this.

Final Fantasy VII 7 Sephiroth / Black Materia Set - eBay (item 110266182531 end time Jul-05-08 19:31:08 PDT)

Has anyone ever bought one of these? What all can you tell me about it?

It looks pretty neat but is it worth the price tag?

Anomaly · 07-03-2008, 11:02 AM

There was a larger set not that long ago that included the Black AND White materia, as well as several 'master' materia's of various colors that was going for $100 or more. The set didn't included much else than a wooden display case for what essentially amounted to over glorified marbles. This is not to say that the orbs war small, merely that, at the end of the day, how is anyone but you or a fellow gamer going to know what those colorful balls are actually supposed to be?

This set in question however seems to come with a more ornate display stand, a slightly larger 'black materia', and a promotional Sephiroth artwork card. I'd say if you're into expensive paper-weights and Sephiroth there are better purchases that you can make for $50, but those would probably end up more expensive if you had your heart set on buying off e-bay. It's not a bad purchase for the money, it's just not something I'd put my money to. (This coming from the self confessed Sephiroth fan-boy)

1WingedRonin · 07-03-2008, 11:05 AM

Thanks for the Advice Anomaly!! I think you are right, there are better things to find, just amazing the things that come out of the woodwork for FF on ebay..

winterborn86 · 07-03-2008, 12:25 PM

Ive never seen anything like that on the uk ebay before, i think it looks great i wouldnt mind the white one that anomaly mentions.

KeyranSolo · 07-03-2008, 01:55 PM

Looks like a nice collectible, next to the White Materia, this would be awesome.

Silver · 07-03-2008, 11:20 PM

It's fake. It's alright if you don't care that it's not SE licensed, but it has to be fake. It says it's

Quote:

"LionheartsRealm"

which sounds more Final Fantasy VII. And the art card also appears inferior. Personally I'd go to a new age shop, buy an oversized black orb for a few bucks, make a fancy display and then make a card with paint.net and print it out on glossy printer paper. It's a steep price for a non-authentic item...

EDIT: I need to correct myself, LionheartsRealm was the seller. But either way it's not a real product...

winterborn86 · 07-03-2008, 11:40 PM

How can you tell real from fake with these then? cos i really want one lol

Silver · 07-03-2008, 11:46 PM

Well I didn't get an email from Square Enix and as I joined the Jap, NA and Europe lists, and as they ALWAYS announce stuff like this I know there isn't one. That and the card looks really poor quality and the logo on the base of the shown materia doesn't look quite right...

SE products are always of a high quality.

Anomaly · 07-05-2008, 10:19 PM

These are products that were released some time ago, before people outside of the Japanese audience we're even allowed to receive notices of such merchandise. Remember, even now their are items that can be bought from the Japanese square site that don't even show up on the American version of the site. Though it is always a good idea to keep a look out for second hand replica's as they do exist, don't discount every piece just because it isn't a new release.

Silver · 07-05-2008, 10:26 PM

Ahhh. I wasn't. I did a little digging and this product didn't turn up anywhere as an offical item. If you look at the card, it appears to be of a lower standard than that which SE churns out. I have much less resources than they do I imagine, and I could probably make a better one within an hour or two. I also look at that label on the base of the bit holding the black materia. It's not as sharp as what I'm used to seeing on genuine SE goods I have purchased, and as a collector the product doesn't sit right with me.

But seriously, I'm always getting emails from them about even the smallest things. Like replacement keyblade props of KH action figures...
The big things always have notifications.

Anomaly · 07-05-2008, 10:49 PM

*shrug* whatever you want to believe. I know that there was an official set of materia released by Square (not Square-Enix) back in the day and this looks like one from that set thats just been given a base. The character art card may indeed be fake and the stand may be contrived, but I wouldn't discount it completely out of hand, as again, I simply think this is an old piece thats being resold after its original purchase. It is E-bay after all, the worlds largest garage sale.

It doesn't really matter if its authentic or not anyways. All that matter is if you want it and if the price is right.

Silver · 07-05-2008, 11:06 PM

Aye, it's true. I have a summons materia floating around somewhere I think...

And you're right. But I worry about the spending of that kind of money on a possibly fake item when you can make one yourself cheaper. I think the bid at this point in time is $51 US dollars. I could probably make something similar for $10-$20 Aussie Dollars depending on if I can locate some marble from somewhere or not.

Most fake items hold a much cheaper price. Like a cheap knockoff of the Griever ring and Sleeping Lionheart pendant I got for a couple dollars for wearing rather than displaying...