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UK Mini or Quad poster. Don't pay more than $5 or $6, very easy to get and looks great framed. The Bigger full sized versions are worth spending about $15 on.
The sound track can be quite easy to get ahold of. You shouldn't buy one unless it is in a new condition as there is no point in buying someone's used, scratched cd when there are plenty of new ones for the same price. You can tell as they are usually advertised as "mint" and "still sealed". Only buy it if it has the original sticker on the front with "featuring Reach For the Light". Expect to pay up to (but no more than) $10. I just bought one for $4.60 so don't waste your money. If you are outbid, then let the poor sap waste his/her money. There will be another one exactly the same on soon! See Merchandise section for a more detailed image.
A slightly rarer item than the above but there are still the odd few popping up. Again try to get a brand new one with the original wrapping on and expect to pay about $10 for it. Dont pay anymore than that as these aren't that great, as you MUST have a laserdisk player (not a DVD player as the cd is about the size of an LP!) to actually play it and there is nothing that interesting on the cd itself. However it is the only wide screen version of Balto.
There are 3 different books in existance, but please people, dont buy them if they are more than $10!! I would say $5 maximum. They can be hard to get ahold of but do come up every so often. If you are prepared to pay quite a bit more than what I paid, try the book section of amazon.com.
Ok this one takes the biscuit. $200 IS WAY OVER THE TOP!!! My plush you can see in the merchandise section was bought by my brother for about $30 which I consider to be too much still. He is in pretty good condition and my brother still got him cheaper than all the others at the time. And if my brother can do it, who is not experienced in this field with no idea on prices, then people really shouldn't be spending over $100. If people are willing to spend that kind of money, then the price of these plushies will continue to rise. Balto wasn't a big movie.. a lot of people have never heard of it, so these prices are not acceptable. E.g. There was a Jenna up for auction recently, starting price at $1 but a Buy it Now for $75!!! That is crazy that someone assumes that a Jenna plush would go for that! I remember when you could get a plush for about $12! HOWEVER if a plush is in shop/mint condition with the original tags, expect to pay ALOT! But without..don't take a second morgage for it.
KFC Toys! Four of these were made, Balto, Steele, Boris and Polar Bears. Now these are highly popular items and can be quite rare. However it is silly to pay a lot for these. I got my Balto, in his original sealed bag complete with warning paper in, for about $13 and that was including postage!! The last one I saw went for about $60! Notice a slight difference there? My Steele cost me about $20 but doesnt have the bag like my Balto does. Now it is easy to get excited about these as they are pretty cool looking, but DON'T let yourself spend a lot on them. I once saw a full set (without the bags) up for over £100 as a first bid!! Don't let people assume they can exploit these items like that. Thankfully no one bidded on them. That was outragously over priced. These really aren't worth more than $25 at the most sperately and that is with the original bag. Without, don't pay more than $10.
Hardees toys. These aren't as popular as the KFC ones as they basically don't look as nice. The KFC ones are much closer to the movie. I don't own any of these toys as they don't really appeal to me and that opinion is quite common among fans. A full set can go for about $20 but thats pushing it. They are usually quite common and easy to get ahold of. Thanks to Silver_Huskey for the picture!
Press Kits are great items to own. They aren't as common anymore so expect to pay about $30 for a decent one. Remember though, press kits are used by magazines, newspapers etc to rate a movie, so they are used and many show signs of wear and tear. They should contain 5 black and white photo stills, 2 production booklets and the folder of course. I own one that also has COLOUR SLIDES which is extremely rare. Expect to pay a fortune for it if you can find one. The other press kit available is the British one, which contains about 4 Photos and 2 booklets. It isnt in a folder, but it does however come with a really nice A4 card of the Balto poster with loads of information on the back. I picked it up for $30 but haven't seen one since. Expect to pay a lot more *if* you see one.
Signed photos are very rare. I have NEVER seen a duplicate of the one I have but there are a lot of copies of one particular signed photo. You may have seen it on Ebay, the frame where Balto grins after bumping into Jenna for the first time. Look closely at the signiture, compare it to mine if you like. If the signiture is very quick and unclear don't buy it unless it is very cheap. The particular company that sells these ones must have put a huge pile infront of Kevin Bacon to sign, as the first few have a really nice signiture on, but the later ones have a very loose messy one. He obviously got bored and maybe a little annoyed that so many were wanted. Also if they show you proof of Kevin signing these pictures, the chances are it is not your actualy photo as you can only see one in the image. I got my really ncie quality one for about $20. Don't be fooled.
Update on signed photos. This is exactly what I am talking about!
Look at the signiture, its simply awful, and what's worse is that someone is actually bidding on it! If it is you and you are reading this, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???
Story boards are the only piece of original Balto art that you can buy apart from production drawings, but don't let people take advantage because of it. The most I ever spent on a story board was $50 but I have seen them available to buy for $15! For that price the quality isn't that great but it does mean you can own a nice piece of Balto production art. Don't buy any from "Vegalleries" (often on Ebay) as they have very low quality storyboards at a silly price. They started at $75 each but have since dropped to $35 in a "Sale". That in my opinion is still too expensive as there are people out there selling better quality storyboards for less money. Also don't let people try to sell u 2 story boards for well over $100 secondhand just because they are framed. In my opinion, it's not worth it. Also make sure that you get a certificate of authenticity.
While on the subject of Balto art, you can get original drawings from MGM for (I believe about) $200 - $400. These are nice additions to any collection but are hard to get ahold of.
Now with Balto 1/1 "cels" they used to go for about $1400 each from a gallery and are handpainted by animation artists. Sounds good? Well yes they are very nice and I own two myself, but remember these are NOT original production works of art. See my cells page for more detail on it, but these are created AFTER the movie when you order them. If you see anyone selling them don't buy them if they don't have the matching drawing with them and make sure that they have the MGM stamp on both the cell and the drawing. The point of having the drawing with it, is that no one can recreate your cell, hense the 1/1 cell part. They are meant to be the only version in existance, and if you see a cell being sold with out the matching drawing, my opinion would be that person is trying to make some extra money selling it sperate. I paid as little as $175 for one of mine (which includes the matching background) so don't spend too much especially £1400!
If anyone wants further advice, just drop me an email with "Advice" in the subject line. I am always happy to offer advice to try and stop people exploiting Balto.