Baby Yoda, Boba Fett in high demand on eBay as Star Wars collectible sales surge

Star Wars fans are known to be passionate about the franchise, whether they’re displaying memorabilia in mansions, getting a TIE Fighter model of their heart or welcoming new Canadians in full costume.

New information released by eBay Canada in honour of May the 4th, the intergalactic holiday celebrating all things Star Wars, says eager fans are causing a spike in sales and search growth as they hunt for coveted Star Wars collectibles.

From Baby Yoda (real name Grogu) to Boba Fett, the e-commerce company said the collectibles saw double-digit search growth on its site globally between 2021 and 2022.

Popular characters lead sales

eBay said Grogu — also known as Baby Yoda or The Child — is a fan-favourite character whose merchandise sales increased almost 300 per cent between 2020 and 2022 after “The Mandalorian” debuted in 2019.

The company said its most-searched for characters in 2023 are The Mandalorian, Boba Fett, Darth Vader and droid IG-11.

Rare items listed for high prices

Vintage action figures, toys and games are all for sale on the site.

But collectible cards — especially those released during the original trilogy’s theatrical run in the ‘70s and ‘80s — are listing for high prices.

Sellers set the prices themselves, so a costly item isn’t always indicative of its true worth.

However, the three most expensive items for sale right now are collectible cards selling between $6,000 and $16,000.

Record-breaking sales

Elsewhere, in-demand Star Wars items have sold for a pretty penny.

An R2-D2 droid from the original trilogy sold for almost US$2.8-million at auction in 2017.

The same auction saw Luke Skywalker’s lightsabre sell for $450,000 and Darth Vader’s helmet sell for $96,000.

A blaster gun used by Han Solo in the original trilogy broke a Guinness World Record for the most expensive prop gun sold at auction for more than US$1-million.

SHARE: