CMFs and rarity

JRL

Hi everyone, could anyone point me to a list of the most desirable minifigures from the CMF line? I know Mr Gold will be top but I’m wondering about the others. I’ve seen the list of 100 rarest minifigures online but I’m really just interested in the mass produced ones. Thanks!

Pebbles

Not sure if there's a list but the series one figures are pretty expensive, especially the nurse / zombie if they have the original accessories. Other than that I think it's the UK exclusive Olympic figures but not 100% sure. :) I'm sure someone else will be along to help.

SumoLego

Generally speaking:

1. Zombie S1
2. Nurse S1
3. Female Characters - pre-S11
4. Team GB
5. Costumed Characters - pre-S14

JRL

Thanks guys, appreciate it. The second hand values seem a bit random sometimes. Also, I’m just interested to see if I have anything ‘rare’. And I do have the nurse! Cheers. 

SumoLego

The earlier series have more 'rare' figures due to volume production.  For example, the female figures in Series 10 were less common, thus more sought after.

More recently, the assortments per case seem to be balanced - thus less price spike.

Bricklink is always a pretty good gauge for relative values when you cross-reference with the case assortments for each series.  Lots of people sell the Hot Dog Guy at a higher price - even though there are more of him per case.

Fizyx

While we're talking about CMFs and rarity, I'm wondering if there's a good place to go for older CMF lines in entire sets (say Series 10 and earlier), including 1 instruction page with each CMF.  It seems like you either get the instructions, or the entire series, but not both... and even finding one of those two things is not easy.  Personally, I like getting the entire series at once so I don't have to stress about the whole buying process, but I just got into them in the last couple months, and the older the series, unsurprisingly, the hard time I am finding it complete.  I feel like I may be missing some valuable sites/resources though, since I don't really have anywhere I know to look for minifigs other than Minifigures Plus, Minifigure Madness, eBay, and Bricklink...

KingAlanI

With the modern series either each figure has the same frequency per case or the costumes/suits are more common, which controls price since those seem more popular. I can imagine the popular figs from old series being really pricey due to a lack of that and lower production generally. I'm reminded of Magic the Gathering - older sets were produced appropriately for the demand at the time (for the most part) but old cards are pricey since the game grew in popularity.

Ma1234

I think it’s less about rare and more about what’s more desirable. Zombies, warriors and animal costumes seem to be super desirable, for example, but weren’t necessarily rarer (although yeah some where definitely fewer per box than others). 

Althoufh Series 1 and Series 2 were particularly difficult to find in stores. I remember searching all over for them, but eventually found them all. 

Glad I started collecting them from day one. 

CCC

Indeed, there is a big difference between rarity and value. There are relatively common figures that go for large sums if there is high demand. For example, series 6 Roman soldiers were not particularly rare (I had over 100 at one point) but new ones can set you back about £15 / $20 these days.

The simplest thing if you want to know demand / value is to look on bricklink at sold values and volumes.