New Trilogo.info article | Current prices, rarity & AFA

[Joe]

Hey all,

I've just finished a bit of a lengthy article and I'd really appreciate it if you guys could check it out and let me know your thoughts (either here or on the forum thread linked at the bottom of the page).

http://trilogo.info/features/current-prices-rarity-afa/

Hate mail is fine too but hopefully people understand the aim with this!

Thanks all!

Joe

 

[poncho]

good article joe some decent points
i love trilogo cards they are the best cardback. i have noticed trilogo prices have increased alot recently even your bog standard cards

 

[Michael Sith]

Great read Joe

Great points:

Patience with collecting...absolutely agree.

AFA...grading inflating prices by creating a market within a market, but great point where the AFA references to numbers of figures only relates to figures they have graded, not whats actually out there.

Love a Tri Logo s

Great work thanks for sharing and putting the time and effort in for the community

 

[Richard_H]

Great article Joe.

What'd be interesting to find out would be rough estimations of amounts of each carded figure given that the sum = 100. That'd be far more useful than a value report IMO.
Some of this leads nicely into one of my stories for the podcast this month.

 

[theforceuk]

Nice article and some good point's. Dealers are the one's to blame in my opinion. I brought an AT-ST driver 77 back for £130 this year AFA 80. I could have brought the same figure for about £50 ungraded would have cost me £30-£40 to get it graded. The dealers are then slapping another £50 on top it's greedy. I'm partly to blame as well I spose for paying it.

Anyway this is just something that has been getting to me for a while, needed to get it of my chest. Thanks for a great read.

 

[mr_palitoy]

The thing is, market value is what it will sell at currently, whether you like it or not. Same could be said about other lines of star wars collectibles like props, or non related luxury goods or even houses as far as price increases go.

Jason

 

[jedisearcher]

Great article Joe. Thinking about it, it probably applies to all Star Wars collecting at the moment. I'm not sure a price guide would be massively useful because things change so quick, although your point is that prices shouldn't. Would a rarity scale be more use? Then at least people won't waste money on very common stuff that they assume is rare.

 

[spoons]

Interesting article Joe, but like Mr P I don't think you will be able to convince people to pay less than the market prices even if they are currently overpriced.

As long as people are paying three times the perceived value then that dictates current value

The housing market is a very good analogy - how can a one bed flat in Chelsea be worth £1 mill plus? The only reason is because that is what people are prepared to pay

 

[Jez]

Great article Joe.
Your standing as the Trilogo Grandmaster is truly well founded.
Thank you for your time and knowledge.

 

[ODB]

A good article, sadly though it will fall on deaf ears as collectors and dealers continue to rush in. Its also a rather damning in illustrating the selfish direction that a junk of this hobby is taking with everyone in for themselves, whether it be for maximising profit, bragging rights or collect at all cost mentality.

 

[palitoyjunky]

Yeh the guy isn't far wrong.

Big premiums r slapped on perfect condition Tris because it is/was generally thought the average condition Tri is sub par compared to its domestic counterpart. As we know many virtually perfect Tris have turned up for sale! It didn't take me too long to put together a near perfect set of the last 17 MOC but it was a fair few years ago.
I suppose what is uncommon these days is finding near perfect tris and indeed all vintage SW toys ungraded :!: which is testament that dealers r indeed using AFA/UKG to create their healthy profit margin. Tbf the days of dealers picking up cream SW toys for peanuts r long gone, they do have to folk out but they can still make huge profits thanks to Grading companies.

The most I ever paid for a Tri was back in the late 90s when I paid £400 odd for a Fett(Tri colour/unpainted comb)and that was by no means perfect as it had moderate bubble crushing and a crease on the card. However that is a genuine toughie and I did sell it a few years later for £1000 in this country but it ended up on 'Brians Toys' inventory graded AFA 60 and on paper sold for $2600 :shock: The Irony is I originally bought it from Brian's Toys

I have always liked the Tri because of its picture and colour variations compared to its domestic counterpart 8)

 

[Robstyley]

Really interesting article Joe, educational for me, revealing a lot of stuff I didn't know about Trilogos. I like your points about patience in collecting. I was a little gung-ho in the beginning, paying too much for things and not even knowing really exactly what I wanted to collect. I soon started to become more savvy and choosy about what to buy, now I watch lots and buy little, it's a good way to learn. I've been collecting for 7 years and my loose collection is nowhere near finished, I'm fussy about condition and I enjoy finding the figures I want over time. I see people who have "put together" a complete loose run in a year or six months and I think, how the hell? Also get what you're saying about graded MOC's, too pricey for me. I see figures I want but I'm not going to pay £180 for it cos it's graded when a loose one in same condition is £100. Doesn't make sense. Anyway, great article :wink:
Andy

 

[Stormtrooper37]

Good and interesting piece Joe. An like that article does make you think about the whole concept of not just Trilogo collecting, but collecting as general.

Yak Face is actually quite a common Trilogo, it's just because it's Yak Face it commands a stupidly high price.

That AFA 85 TFP (what a joke) :roll:

 

[Joe]

Appreciate the comments guys, overall it's gone down ok but I can already tell it's ruffled a few feathers (which I expected).

Jason/Spoons - The article may not make a scrap of difference but I felt I had to try. Even if it makes just a few people think twice then it was worth the effort IMO.

Sadly, week in, week out there are throwaway comments being made on all the forums about how silly prices are right now but nobody has actually done anything to address the issue (and I think secretly some that moan are rubbing their hands together). I was in a pretty decent position to do just that (at least for Trilogos) because I no longer own any so I had no investment to "protect" and I care a lot about the future of the hobby and I don't like what I am seeing.

I've spoken to a lot of collectors both old and new who all say the same thing "I'd never pay these insane prices" - so who the hell is? I can only conclude it's a mixture of "disney investors" and newcomers who simply don't know any better.

Like I said, if it makes even a couple of people rethink things and slow down, spend less and realise that production items are usually not as rare as sellers make out then perhaps it will make a difference.

 

[tiefighterboy]

I agree with everything and this also applies to all vintage items as of late. People have gone off the deep end with prices. If it was all about money....**** we would all sell right now. So we know it is the investors or new kids with more money than sense jumping on. Maybe the bottom will fall out and I hope it does.

On a side note...I disagree with the Playpack thing. Those things are hard to find.

 

[Grant_C]

$2325 for that TIE Pilot is embarrassing.

Guess that means Nikto is $800

 

[palitoyjunky]

Yeh that was shocking

 

[Rebel_Runner]

Nice Artical Joe,

Thanks for taking the time to write it.

It's the first time i've ventured onto your site and I must say it is very informative, keep up the good work.

 

[ODB]

On a side note...I disagree with the Playpack thing. Those things are hard to find.

A seller round my way recently found a load of these both sealed and unsealed and has been releasing them slowly. I have seen of the playpacks than ISP-6 for example, so Joe's comment is pretty accurate.

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

Great article Joe, your trilogo site is a fantastic resource and i really appreciate the effort you've put into it.

I agree a price guide could be a waste of time (especially with the current climate) as it will be superseded as soon as its finished.

A rarety chart would be a good idea and might go someway to helping newcomers spot unscrupulous sellers.