Has the pandemic changed your attitude to your collecting?

[jayums]

I could be one of the idiots that has started collecting during lockdown. However the price of the originals figures is far too much and I have bought the Modern Retro Collection instead because they look very similar to the figures I had as a child. I think there is a review somewhere comparing them. I have branched out to the POTF 12" it again these aren't true retro but some come with a hefty price tag!!

Wave 2 of the retro collection in particular are really good figures. If you just want the vintage feels without breaking the bank I would recommend them. The packaging is dire, but loose they are great.

 

[Diamond76]

I could be one of the idiots that has started collecting during lockdown. However the price of the originals figures is far too much and I have bought the Modern Retro Collection instead because they look very similar to the figures I had as a child. I think there is a review somewhere comparing them. I have branched out to the POTF 12" it again these aren't true retro but some come with a hefty price tag!!

Wave 2 of the retro collection in particular are really good figures. If you just want the vintage feels without breaking the bank I would recommend them. The packaging is dire, but loose they are great.

Yes I even like the packaging so its a no brainer.
I have got involved in the 12 inch figures bought myself an OB1 for £15 + P&P. Seems to be a fair price.

 

[Mini99]

It certainly has as far as prices are concerned, I just had my eye on a minty Biker Scout on fleabay
Ended up selling for £63!...£63!...For a Biker Scout. I mean, they are a great figure, and I really want to add a minty one to my collection, but not at £63! and it was not even a Ledy or short mouth or anything like that.

I am prepared to stump up reasonable cash for good figures, but that is taking the piss! I understand how Jayums feels, I don't have tons of money lying around to be able to compete, I just want to complete a mint loose run because I love the figures. I don't see them as an "investment", just a part of my childhood that I would like to re-capture.

Things have gone insane, and if it stays this way, or gets worse, I will probably never finish the run that I started four years ago.

However, on the flip side, the 43 figures that I have collected so far are rocketing in value. Not that they will ever be sold though.

There will always be the exception to the tule, but nice biker scouts are still selling for far less than that on eBay and FB.
A few have sold this week for less than £20 and were in very nice condition.
The old rule stands "if it's too much walk away another will always pop up again".
Don't loose heart.

 

[jayums]

Absolutely agree - 3 of them (no weapons) popped up on eBay yesterday, all under 15 quid , less the pistol. They all looked in vgc. I wouldn't be paying more than 22 quid complete even for minty as another one will come along soon enough.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

I've realised I need to downsize

I really should display stuff what's the point in collecting if I cant show it.

I decided to downsize recently as I was going to convert a spare bedroom in to a display area but I decided to convert it into a playroom for the kids instead. I had all my 41, 45A and 45B's boxed up which was giving me no pleasure so decided to put them up for sale.

I love my Palitoy Logo'd debut set which I have on display in a hallway in wall vaults which I feel is an excellent use of space as walls are usually dead space. I am enjoying exploring ways of expanding my existing display area to accommodate more 30 Backs as this will be my only collecting focus moving forward.

I genuinely feel relieved to be downsizing and not to be collecting 41,45A and 45B anymore, it feels like a weight off my shoulders as these items can be very expensive and when you don't really want them and don't display them you end up feeling guilty when you buy them.

 

[coomber75]

ive pondered about selling up, but im fortunate enough to have completed my loose run, and majority of my moc, although i still think stragely mocs are staying at better prices than loose, im guessing down to space needed to display, so have focuseed more on mocs, with occasional loose upgrades... but as all said its a patience game, have missed out on 5 baradas but have my limit and dont go beyond.. i just need that one auction to fallright, in fairness ive not exactly rushed, i think im 7 yrs in now :lol: :lol:

 

[Darth Bobby]

Personally the pandemic has made me take stock and I'm now thinking maybe I was spending too much on vintage. I probably wont buy much else as I completed the loose run and have a few moc's and thats enough for me to have on display. The prices are a real downer and although there are a couple of items I'd really like I couldn't justify spending the money. I had to go into Boots the chemist yesterday and they had a massive display of sun tan lotion. The weather was cold and grey and I thought "I'd love to go somewhere sunny for a fortnight", I think once the restrictions are lifted and people can get out and about a few people will be selling up and booking nice holidays. Maybe old plastic toys will lose their appeal once the pubs reopen. Strangely I've gotten a lot more into modern, the Rogue One line and some Vintage collection really appeal to me. I bought a modern Helix anniversary kit and it gave me the same feeling I had as a kid. Plus I can open it!

 

[revilluk]

As many have said, I had way too many figures. The first lockdown was an opportunity to have a good sort and sell on the excess; the prices are so high it just makes sense now.

I have a full collection displayed; a bunch of variations and one focus. I still enjoy looking what is on the market and will buy the odd figure but not like in the past where I bought to excess. It was more affordable so buying for every variant and COO was easier and more fun.

I thought 5k for a full mint collection was a good guide. Now if you hit it right it would be so much more. Not loose change to a lot of people.

I just wonder if future generations will take up the vintage collecting hobby or if it is that 'our' generation are at an age where we are able to pay for nostalgia. I suspect the latter!

Hopefully our impressive displays will encourage our grandchildren to keep them rather than burying them with us

 

[Mini99]

I just wonder if future generations will take up the vintage collecting hobby or if it is that 'our' generation are at an age where we are able to pay for nostalgia. I suspect the latter!

Remember that this is our "nostalgia" not theirs...they will have their own.
Just take a look how collectable POTF2 and Freeze Frame cards have become over the last couple of years...

 

[jayums]

I just wonder if future generations will take up the vintage collecting hobby or if it is that 'our' generation are at an age where we are able to pay for nostalgia. I suspect the latter!

Remember that this is our "nostalgia" not theirs...they will have their own.
Just take a look how collectable POTF2 and Freeze Frame cards have become over the last couple of years...

I totally agree . I see kids into things like Pokemon cards etc when nostalgia kicks in for them , it will be for whatever they are into . And it sure as heck won't be vintage Star Wars figures.

Of course that mint graded 12 back moc will always highly prized - its pop culture history - but I think you'd have to be deluded to think your run of the mill figures will be worth more (relatively speaking) in a decade or two than they are at the moment. It's a bubble cause by demographics.

Pay what it's worth to you. Enjoy it (display it if possible). The true value is the pleasure it gives you now from owning it. If it happens to be 'worth' more in the future then that's a bonus, but I wouldn't rely on that as a reason to pay over the odds now .

I just ask myself - in the next ten years if you knew this stuff would be worth half what you paid for it, would you sell it ? The answer for me is no.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

Pay what it's worth to you. Enjoy it (display it if possible). The true value is the pleasure it gives you now from owning it. If it happens to be 'worth' more in the future then that's a bonus

That's good advice and pretty much sums up how I look at collecting.

I am not convinced that Vintage Star Wars collecting will wither and die with collectors like us as this has not happened with Comics with Superhero's like Superman dating back to 1938 and Batman 1939 still going strong and comics from that era in high demand even though the children that originally read them probably don't collect them. Baseball, Basketball and American Football trading cards are in high demand, how many of those collectors remember Mikey Mantle or Honus Wagner very few I expect so it can't be nostalgia alone that is motivating collectors to collect things, maybe Vintage Star Wars will remain highly collectible after we have gone.

The rapid rise in prices as a result of the Pandemic is still a mystery to me.

 

[Diamond76]

I am expecting a lot of figures to be on the market post pandemic and hopefully prices will drop a little before plateauing out.

 

[poncho]

I am expecting a lot of figures to be on the market post pandemic and hopefully prices will drop a little before plateauing out.

Plateauing - what a lovely word

 

[peekaygee73]

I am not convinced that Vintage Star Wars collecting will wither and die with collectors like us as this has not happened with Comics with Superhero's like Superman dating back to 1938 and Batman 1939 still going strong and comics from that era in high demand even though the children that originally read them probably don't collect them. Baseball, Basketball and American Football trading cards are in high demand, how many of those collectors remember Mikey Mantle or Honus Wagner very few I expect so it can't be nostalgia alone that is motivating collectors to collect things, maybe Vintage Star Wars will remain highly collectible after we have gone.

Thing is, the comics are the original media for those characters - that's the original/definitive way of getting your fix of Batman/Superman etc... and the comic lines continue to this day, meaning someone collecting the comic now will buy the old issues to complete the set.

With Star Wars the action figure/lego releases are still around but don't have a direct tie-in to the original vintage toy line, other than being the same characters/films. It's the films themselves which are the definitive media. I don't doubt there'll be some of today's children who'll collect vintage in the future, but it'll be fewer collectors than there are today which will inevitably have an impact on value.

The rapid rise in prices as a result of the Pandemic is still a mystery to me.

It's a mixture of things. People with extra money to spend because they're not spending what they usually do (not travelling to work, eating out, drinking, shopping, etc...); people who are furloughed/bored/stressed/depressed and need an escape from their lives; people who have come to vintage recently and are prepared to pay OTT prices without doing research. I also suspect the lack of opportunities for person-to-person contact means that not as much stuff as usual is coming to the market for the first time; people selling at car boot sales, etc...

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

This sums it up for me. I've had a desire to go back to happier times this last year as we all have. So I Have bought some of the old things that remind me of that. Star Wars was such a huge part of my childhood that yes I suppose it's been like a bit of a regress. I've found it satisfying and enjoyable.

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

I had an interesting conversation with a neighbour at the weekend, he restores classic cars and noted the prices have shot up over the pandemic.
My wife is interested in vintage designer handbags (yes, it's a thing!) and she said the prices have also gone up so we're not alone in lamenting the state of our hobby.

 

[revilluk]

I had an interesting conversation with a neighbour at the weekend, he restores classic cars and noted the prices have shot up over the pandemic.
My wife is interested in vintage designer handbags (yes, it's a thing!) and she said the prices have also gone up so we're not alone in lamenting the state of our hobby.

Interesting to hear we are not alone!

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

I had an interesting conversation with a neighbour at the weekend, he restores classic cars and noted the prices have shot up over the pandemic.
My wife is interested in vintage designer handbags (yes, it's a thing!) and she said the prices have also gone up so we're not alone in lamenting the state of our hobby.

It seems like people are focusing their money on what makes them happy Bigger House, Classic Car, Action Figure, Comic which makes sense given the depressing reality of all the restrictions, I added a new figure to my display and it gave me a real boost!

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Picked up a lumat, but it came with a warok quiver.

Does anyone have a lumat quiver they want to swap for a warok one??

Thanks

 

[DarthHamblin]

I'm just finishing my loose figure run, only 3 to get now leia hoth, b wing pilot and the elusive r2d2 pop up, and then I will display them in a cabinet above my bed. Saying that I quite like ledy variants