Vintage investment collectors...30 years from now?

[lee gray]

I too buy for my own enjoyment, as for investment with the amount of money I have wasted selling things cheaper than buying them for as for some reason when I want something everyone does and its expensive then when its time to sell no one wants it lol, i would have been better off buying nothing

some of the stuff will never go down in value but when ppl say to me what do you do with the toys play with them ? so i say no I just like to look at them and they look at me weird but I say to them its no different than someone buying a painting to look at

 

[Josh]

Not as weird a look Lee I bet when it comes to borrowing one of your books LOL!

 

[Lafos]

Bump after nearly 15 years. Where are we …?!

 

[kabuchi7]

In debt

 

[lejackal]

Bump after nearly 15 years. Where are we …?!

The names from this thread have mostly moved on - could sum that up with a Kenobi quote I guess

As new blood to the hobby (relatively speaking) I'd agree broadly with the earlier comments about true rarities, foreign (non Kenner), loose figures and top condition items - however, even solid investment collectibles, such as CGC comics, have not escaped the current downtown.

@ScruffyLookingNH would be able to go into more detail, but even stuff like the first appearance of Wolverine has dropped in recent months.
Fair enough that's not a RFF scale investment but it is a mid to high level POTF or Trilogo graded equivalent

if I'd have bought in 2009 I'd still be doing great. If i had bought in 2013-19 I'd still be very okay. If I bought during Covid times I'd be worried.

 

[lejackal]

Oh, and I wouldn't be buying now to expect a return any time in the next 2-3, maybe a smidge longer.

 

[edd_jedi]

It's interesting to look back for sure because a lot of the investwats didn't show up until much later, 2016ish. So you could say this post from Joe was aheads of its time

Definitely some widsom in the comments, although looking at my own collection I'm surprised by some bits that have both rocketed and stangated price wise. I think the honest answer, as with any investment, is that it's all guesswork and if you could predict the future, we'd all be rich!

 

[lejackal]

It's interesting to look back for sure because a lot of the investwats didn't show up until much later, 2016ish. So you could say this post from Joe was aheads of its time

Definitely some widsom in the comments, although looking at my own collection I'm surprised by some bits that have both rocketed and stangated price wise. I think the honest answer, as with any investment, is that it's all guesswork and if you could predict the future, we'd all be rich!

Do you still think (or have you ever thought) that the Facebook collector of the moment is a factor?

 

[edd_jedi]

Yes I think Facebook bought a whole new level of instant gratification and boasting for some people, yes it was present in some form on forums before of course, but on a much smaller and slower scale. You can get 100 likes on a FB post in a couple of hours, it would take weeks to get 15 replies on a forum post. I think a lot of those people got bored eventually

 

[ScruffyLookingNH]

The names from this thread have mostly moved on - could sum that up with a Kenobi quote I guess

As new blood to the hobby (relatively speaking) I'd agree broadly with the earlier comments about true rarities, foreign (non Kenner), loose figures and top condition items - however, even solid investment collectibles, such as CGC comics, have not escaped the current downtown.

@ScruffyLookingNH would be able to go into more detail, but even stuff like the first appearance of Wolverine has dropped in recent months.
Fair enough that's not a RFF scale investment but it is a mid to high level POTF or Trilogo graded equivalent

if I'd have bought in 2009 I'd still be doing great. If i had bought in 2013-19 I'd still be very okay. If I bought during Covid times I'd be worried.

All true, mate. I'm not collecting VSW at the moment and haven't done since about 2020 when I sold up due to crazy price increases and need for cash for a move. I've got numerous other hobbies that keep me busy including comics, classic cars, and comic artwork. I still follow the British miltary medal market. Without exception, each has experienced a "correction" as the auction houses like to call it.

I think you've got to remove any price rises experienced in 2020/2021 from the equation. Covid was a crazy, once-in-a-generation (hopefully) thing. No one foresaw the effect it was to have on the hobby markets . It was a blip and was always likley to be. Once that's removed if you compare 2019 prices to now, I don't think they're miles out. There are outliers as there always will be in any market, but the commodity items are probably about the same, if not a touch higher. I'll admit, I've done FA research on that (Vectis prices would have been my go-to as a straw poll, but you can't since they upgraded the site) but that's my feeling on it.

As for the future? I still see VSW as a single-generation collectible certainly in terms of value. Sure, SW will always be around, but VSW only means what it means to us. Whilst the VSW toy line is guaranteed a place in history, our kids will mostly see them as things their dad's collected, much like some of us see model railways, Dinky, stamps, etc. I think anyone collecting now with a view their kids can cash in when the shuffle off is mistaken.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

The names from this thread have mostly moved on - could sum that up with a Kenobi quote I guess

As new blood to the hobby (relatively speaking) I'd agree broadly with the earlier comments about true rarities, foreign (non Kenner), loose figures and top condition items - however, even solid investment collectibles, such as CGC comics, have not escaped the current downtown.

@ScruffyLookingNH would be able to go into more detail, but even stuff like the first appearance of Wolverine has dropped in recent months.
Fair enough that's not a RFF scale investment but it is a mid to high level POTF or Trilogo graded equivalent

if I'd have bought in 2009 I'd still be doing great. If i had bought in 2013-19 I'd still be very okay. If I bought during Covid times I'd be worried.

I think it's difficult to compare VSW to other collectibles as it's easy to find out what a Hulk 181 (2nd Appearance of Wolverine) is worth you just have to subscribe to GPA or Go Collect, you can even find out how many exist in different grades. If I wanted to know how many 300 SL Gullwings or 275 GTB's were produced or what the last one sold for that's easy. If I wanted to find out how many 41 back Greedo's exist how would I do that? If I wanted to know what the rarest 45C's were I could ask Edd but would he tell me, probably not! Rare Palitoy's are not documented which will probably reduce the value in the future and their collectability, but Palitoy collecting is all about secrecy which makes it different to most other collecting hobbies!

 

[edd_jedi]

I don't think secrecy is the right word, but it's certainly got a lot to do with who you know. And I assure you I'm not part of the Palitoy inner circle, I get no first dibs on anything

Regarding sharing research, I've shared plenty of stuff publicly over the years, but I've also kept interests to myself before because inevitetably when you showcase an unusual and obscure run you've been working on for ages, somebody copies you and then ends up getting those final pieces you needed. I made a ranty post on that very subject a few years ago and got ridiculed on a podcast for it, so I just accept that's part of collecting now, yesterday's copycat is today's expert.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

I don't think secrecy is the right word, but it's certainly got a lot to do with who you know. And I assure you I'm not part of the Palitoy inner circle, I get no first dibs on anything

Regarding sharing research, I've shared plenty of stuff publicly over the years, but I've also kept interests to myself before because inevitetably when you showcase an unusual and obscure run you've been working on for ages, somebody copies you and then ends up getting those final pieces you needed. I made a ranty post on that very subject a few years ago and got ridiculed on a podcast for it, so I just accept that's part of collecting now, yesterday's copycat is today's expert.

When I first joined the forum - before all the irritating adds - I put up a post asking about 41 back rarity, I got lots of responses to the post but none that answered the question as Secrecy is at the heart of Palitoy collecting. I understand why as if you highlight something is extremely rare more people may be inclined to bid on it if it comes up for sale publicly. If Edd or Gary was to publish a list of all their 45C's then anything that is missing is likely to be very rare and for some people more desirable making the completion of the set more challenging. I think Palitoy VSW will ultimately drop in price because of the lack of transparency in sales of rare items and knowledge share. I might be completely wrong, it will be interesting to see what the Palitoy VCJ sells for on the 27th.

 

[lejackal]

. I made a ranty post on that very subject a few years ago and got ridiculed on a podcast for it, so I just accept that's part of collecting now, yesterday's copycat is today's expert.

This isn't great to read - especially when you have given so much over the years.

100% agree on the copycat/expert bit though - I know who I would ask about a number of SW niches, and it almost certainly isn't the people I see tagged on Facebook when questions arise about those niche items - the tags tens to be for the persons chucking stacks of money at things, not necessarily the people that have the actual knowledge.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

This isn't great to read - especially when you have given so much over the years.

100% agree on the copycat/expert bit though - I know who I would ask about a number of SW niches, and it almost certainly isn't the people I see tagged on Facebook when questions arise about those niche items - the tags tens to be for the persons chucking stacks of money at things, not necessarily the people that have the actual knowledge.

We all have different experiences in this hobby, I have met some great, very knowledgable people and some difficult ones, the most knowledgable ones all came from this forum which I believe Edd started so hats off to him! But it's important to remember we all have our own collecting aspirations and when knowledge sharing gets in the way of that we fall silent!

 

[edd_jedi]

If Edd or Gary was to publish a list of all their 45C's then anything that is missing is likely to be very rare and for some people more desirable making the completion of the set more challenging.

My list is public right here

WTB: Palitoy Jedi MOCs with Trilogo Bubbles

As I'm now making good progress on this run, it's time for some help. For the last couple of years I've been working on a run of Palitoy ROTJ cards (45 or 65 backs) with large trilogo style bubbles (or in the case of some large/small figures eg Gamorrean Guard or R5-D4, the square based bubbles...

www.starwarsforum.co.uk

 

[edd_jedi]

This isn't great to read - especially when you have given so much over the years.

To be fair they had a point, doing the leg work doesn't give you a right to the items when they come up, but it is still annoying when it happens

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

Palitoy VCJ sold for 15K today at Excalibur which is low as all previous ones have sold for over 20 I believe. This is an iconic piece which 15 years ago was thought not to exist, now they predict there to be between 10-15 so not that rare in Palitoy terms but still very desirable. If Grail items like this are on the way down then I guess VSW in general is not looking good and prices will probably drop.

 

[Mini99]

Palitoy VCJ sold for 15K today at Excalibur which is low as all previous ones have sold for over 20 I believe. This is an iconic piece which 15 years ago was thought not to exist, now they predict there to be between 10-15 so not that rare in Palitoy terms but still very desirable. If Grail items like this are on the way down then I guess VSW in general is not looking good and prices will probably drop.

They already are.

 

[welshwookie]

Palitoy VCJ sold for 15K today at Excalibur which is low as all previous ones have sold for over 20 I believe. This is an iconic piece which 15 years ago was thought not to exist, now they predict there to be between 10-15 so not that rare in Palitoy terms but still very desirable. If Grail items like this are on the way down then I guess VSW in general is not looking good and prices will probably drop.

Wasn't the condition on this one not near as good as the 1st one the rep found, in the attic ? Also I would say most things have dropped in value at the moment, due to the economic climate. Loans are not as cheap or a remortgage, and if you have the cash, perhaps you are feeling cautious about spending some of it, plus if you could be taxed if you move it on.