I have a Star Trek toaster that doesn't seem to exist... does anyone else know about it?

January 10, 2009 4:01 AM

I have a rare promotional Star Trek Enterprise toaster that doesn't seem to exist... does anyone else know about it?

A few years ago my boyfriend was given, among other things, a promotional Star Trek Enterprise toaster while at a very small press event with Brent Spiner (aka Data).

This particular toaster burns the "Enterprise"-era starfleet insignia into the bread while it toasts it.

On the front of the toaster is a stuck-on Enterprise logo, underneath which it reads "TM & 2005 Par. Pic. Not for sale. For promotional use only."

I have searched on Google for "star trek" toaster and nothing of any use is coming back. I keep getting results for the Darth Vader Star Wars toaster which does a similar thing with an image of Darth Vader's mask.

So... I have two questions.
1) Has anyone ever seen one of these and why does it seem to not exist on the internet?
2) If I put it on eBay, given the obvious rarity and passion of some of the Trekkies out there, what price should I realistically list it at?

posted by angryjellybean to grab bag (7 answers total)

Was it perhaps something like these toasters which let you put your own logo on your toast?
posted by amtho at 4:33 AM on January 10, 2009

Not sure if you found these:

Old ebay auction mentioned (not much use): http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/pdf/Archive/De/de.rec.sf.startrek.enterprise/2005-09/msg00010.pdf

Another mention of where people might have gotten one: *Actually, you have time, and supplies are good. But all entries must be sent in by Thursday, August 18, 2005. As an added bonus, one lucky pollster will win a Star Trek limited edition toaster (it toasts your bread and emblazons it with a Federation logo!), and they have several spaceship models to give away, too!" (link):

Also here and here.

We are talking about UK source, Jul/Aug/Sep 2005.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 6:02 AM on January 10, 2009

Is this (number 7) the toaster?

I found multiple references to only one ebay auction, which was in 2005, maybe someone else knows how to look up old auctions to see what it went for.

this guy has one too. I have no idea why there aren't pages dedicated to this toaster, it sounds very cool!
posted by effigy at 6:12 AM on January 10, 2009

Does it work well? Years ago, before we were married, my wife had the Hello Kitty toaster that was supposed to burn the expected image into toast, and it didn't even a little bit.
posted by paisley henosis at 7:18 AM on January 10, 2009

I don't mean to dash your hopes or anything, and I am not a Trek expert or fan at all, but I don't think it's worth all that much.

Here's what your toaster has going against it:

1. It's an Enterprise toaster, so it's not even one of the more beloved versions of Trek. Enterprise was cancelled due to low ratings, which is a first for the Star Trek franchise since the original series.

2. If you look at eBay's closed auctions for Star Trek merchandise, you'll see that (and I'm just eyeballing here) about a third to half of them end without a starting bid.

3. Star Trek is pretty much a dying franchise. Its fans are aging and there really aren't younger ones coming in to take their place. I'm not sure the new movie will change that. The fans that do exist already have tons of Trek stuff; the items that sell are typically the newer ones that just came out, or they are costume and prop related.

General notes about collectibles such as this:

1. I'm an action figure and comic book guy, and over my too many years of collecting, I've noticed a trend in new collectibles where there is a lot of interest for an item initially upon its release, and that interest may be maintained for a brief period, but then it drops off as newer items are released. There is such a flood of new collectible product these days that the stuff that's a few years old rarely garners much interest. It's a lot like fashion.

2. Rarity does not guarantee value because there also has to be demand for an item for it to have value, and if the item is so obscure that people don't know about it, there won't be any demand.

If I had to put a value on your toaster, I'd guess maybe $25-50ish, and that may be a little high. If you are really lucky, two people that really want it might get into a bidding war and drive it to a crazy price, but I wouldn't count on it for a piece like this.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:03 AM on January 10, 2009

>I don't mean to dash your hopes or anything, and I am not a Trek expert or fan at all, but I don't think it's worth all that much.

Oh, I don't know. Trekkies shell out a LOT of money for crap like that (me included). I'm sure you could get at least $50 if not more.
posted by All.star at 1:21 PM on January 10, 2009

The other thing to keep in mind: New Star Trek movie is coming soon. I'd find the release date, and wait until the hype for it is at it's maximum before trying to sell it.
posted by griffey at 6:18 PM on January 10, 2009