World of Nintendo figures can be a pain to find and whenever it is hard to find something, that means the price can go up.  There are a few figures in particular that are really hard to find and have become valuable.  One of the goals of this site has been to bring new people into the hobby and to empower those who already collect.  With that in mind, I thought I would write a short guide on which figures are rare and expensive in World of Nintendo currently.  The figures are in no particular order since all of these are rare to varying degrees.  You might notice that almost all of the expensive figures are exclusive to one retailer or another as well.  That seems to be a good indicator of rarity with World of Nintendo.  I hope you find this guide interesting and helpful.

8-Bit Modern Mario 2.5″ – One sign of a figure being rare is when it says Limited Edition on the packaging and is a trend you’ll see throughout this guide.  The Modern Mario is a Wal-Mart exclusive and is limited, though it is not clear how limited.  Ebay has a pretty large supply of them and they go anywhere from $15-30.  When you consider this figure originally sold for $5-$6, that is quite a price hike.

Gold Bullet Bill 2.5″ Figure – This is a prototypical example of what is often called a “variant figure.”  This is when a toy company takes an existing figure and adds new paint or maybe a couple of new accessories (both of which are cheap and easy for them to do) and makes it rare and the demand and value goes up.  Unlike 8-Bit Modern Mario, this figure has a print run on the packaging and only 3,000 have been made.  Gold Bullet Bill has been out for quite some time and is now very hard to find.  He goes for around $30-50.

Star Power Mario 2.5″ Figure – The oldest Walmart Exclusive is also the most expensive.  While it has a pretty simple color scheme and design, the star power-up is iconic now in Mario and that surely is one reason why this figure is sought after.  Star Power Mario goes for $50-70.

Metroid 6″ Figure – This is probably the least rare and expensive figure on the list if you compare it to its regular retail price (around $15), but the Metroid figure has always been one of the most sought after in World of Nintendo and over time, I expect the value of this figure to go up because there is no product like it out there and I think there probably never will be one like it.  This is the rarest of the 6″ inch figures and while it has been restocked a number of times (even close to the time of writing) it still goes for around $30 on Ebay.

Europe Exclusive 2.5″ Figure 5-Packs – While these may be cheaper and readily available in Europe, they are pricey here in the US and appeal to the hardcore collector and completionist.  The packaging and display is nice, but all of the figures in both packs have been released on their on in the United States.  That doesn’t make this any less sought after however.  The Figure 5-Packs goes for $50-$60 online on Ebay.

Those are all of the rare and expensive figures as of right now.  There are a number of figures that may eventually be added to this guide, but for now, these are the main ones to keep an eye out for.  I hope this helps you when hunting for World of Nintendo figures.  If there are any figures that you think should be added, please let me know in the comments below.  Also, let us know which of these figures you have!  Did you get them in-store or end up buying them online?