Are prices getting out of control?

[FLOSI]

9.99 ounces of gold, maybe.

I don't have an issue with the prices really. Some figures are a little inflated, like Ironman figures, but anything in the 135-150 range isn't all that bad.

people would still complain.....................

morning flosi..............

Morning Barry.

 

[teemu]

Mattel is planning on spiking the prices of all their products across the board by 9%. They cite packaging costs and the cost of Chinese labor as the main reasons

Get ready! our toilet paper currency just keeps taking a _____
wait till hyperinflation

here is link-https://www.startribune.com/business/115090994.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4OW3ckUi D3aPc:_Yyc:aUvckD8EQDUI

 

[thenammagazine]

 

[erin1789]

A lot of people probably don't buy as much as it might sometimes seem. To me, often it feels like people are buying two a month or something and then you see their collection or hear from them and they really only own just 30 - 40 HT figures after collecting for years.

Others, who buy a lot, sometimes live with their parents, so they don't have rent and such concerns, and also go into debt... I can think of a couple of examples on here who have posted about that being the case with them. Buying/owning a lot of figures then doesn't necessarily mean the person is on Easy Street, living well...

This, upon everyone else's response to my comment is interesting.

I definitely pick and choose, and to be honest as of late I am only buying collectibles that I know I will want to keep for a long period of time, if not forever. And 30-40 HT is a lot imo, but I'm also 20 so age could be a factor as well, how long you've been collecting, etc. I just don't see any need for certain figures. People have a lot, and I really question whether or not they actually care or they're just doing it to show off.

Personally the only stuff I collect anymore are from my absolute favorite movies and tv shows and my absolute favorite characters. You can have character a, who I'm in love with, but also characters b-f, who I don't really care about and refuse to purchase. Some people complete the set, but that's never my concern.

I've become kind of frugal collecting wise, and I assume it will help me ease into the real world a little bit faster since I plan on moving out this year. I already pay rent, bills, food, gas, etc so I'm not that leniant on my parents for support, and I know I _____ed about paying for all that stuff before but it's really been helping me figure stuff out. Not sure why I went off on this tangent.

The Fair Weather Freaks have a tendency to lease their figures. That is, they buy them and display them for a couple of months and then re-sell them on the board or ebay to get cash for the next "new" thing. For them it's a neverending revolving door of buying and selling their collectibles just to keep up with the new stuff. A true fan would never sell a collectible they really value.

This. Again, I'm not into the new hot thing. I'm into the old thing I will love forever and never want to give up.

 

[devilof76]

Mattel is planning on spiking the prices of all their products across the board by 9%. They cite packaging costs and the cost of Chinese labor as the main reasons

Didn't Hasbro do that already, and then cut their prices back down because figures weren't selling?

 

[FLOSI]

Didn't Hasbro do that already, and then cut their prices back down because figures weren't selling?

I remember a couple of years back a Star Wars 3 3/4" line hit that had some cantina aliens, the new Luke and Han in Stormtrooper outfits, Old Ben, etc. I was at a local Target and I grabbed every single one. After I checked out I remember thinking that the purchase seemed a little expensive. I checked my receipt and it turned out that they were 8.99 ea. I've bought a figure here and there since then, and prices have indeed dropped back down, but the sticker shock I experienced that day was enough to really curtail my Hasbro SW collecting.

 

[KBA]

Personally the only stuff I collect anymore are from my absolute favorite movies and tv shows and my absolute favorite characters. You can have character a, who I'm in love with, but also characters b-f, who I don't really care about and refuse to purchase. Some people complete the set, but that's never my concern.

I'm the exact same way. It's interesting to think about the others. Were they originally this way but caught a completist bug somewhere along the line? Do they admire the quality of the physical figure, and therefore don't need emotional investment in the character? Is it a sense of maintaining virtual community on the boards and because of that, spending more? Or are we, the ones who put down money only on things we absolutely love to have something reflect our specific tastes, the fish out of water in the collecting scene. This is a collector's hobby, and I'm sure many of the people who buy buy buy have absolute favorites among other figures they might own but see as 'take-it-or-leave-it'.

I don't think I could afford to be any other kind of collector, and maybe because of that impossibility some kind of ignorance deep down triggers me to write other collecting habits off as irrational

If I had a a few million dollars, would I be buying everything up? That's an interesting question.

 

[erin1789]

I'm the exact same way. It's interesting to think about the others. Were they originally this way but caught a completist bug somewhere along the line? Do they admire the quality of the physical figure, and therefore don't need emotional investment in the character? Is it a sense of maintaining virtual community on the boards and because of that, spending more? Or are we, the ones who put down money only on things we absolutely love to have something reflect our specific tastes, the fish out of water in the collecting scene. This is a collector's hobby, and I'm sure many of the people who buy buy buy have absolute favorites among other figures they might own but see as 'take-it-or-leave-it'.

I don't think I could afford to be any other kind of collector, and maybe because of that impossibility some kind of ignorance deep down triggers me to write other collecting habits off as irrational

If I had a a few million dollars, would I be buying everything up? That's an interesting question.

See, everyone's different. I don't think it's ignorance. To be honest, unless certain people are making a business off their collection and doing well, we're the ones better off, in my opinion. Although if someone genuinly loves the build of each figure and collects solely on looks, good for them. But I think it's a waste. Again, this is how I personally feel.

In all truth, I could afford completing collections if I wanted, given the amount of time I work a week and the paycheck I get every Thursday. But I know that's not important because I have bills to pay. I set aside a certain amount of money for collectibles [ask Fal5e, he's been kind enough to hold things for a couple weeks for me, so I'm glad we found each other on a buyer/seller basis] and save for things I truly want. I just want the stuff that makes me happy, and I get no joy in completing a collection where there is only one character I admire, when I could've spent that excess money on other collectibles that mean something.

If we are the fish out of water, let's embrace it. I never want to be "that person" who collects for an ego. I'm proud of my collection, but it's such a personal reflection of myself [friends say "you would have that, because you love Chucky"] that it's past me trying to impress others. I love collecting, but it doesn't run my life...because there are more important things.

 

[Marcus Wright]

I want HT to start selling their figures for 9.99. That would be cool.

I would buy 10 copies of each one, and then give it to all my relatives/friends as gifts.

 

[Marcus Wright]

The Fair Weather Freaks have a tendency to lease their figures. That is, they buy them and display them for a couple of months and then re-sell them on the board or ebay to get cash for the next "new" thing. For them it's a neverending revolving door of buying and selling their collectibles just to keep up with the new stuff. A true fan would never sell a collectible they really value.

Best post I have ever seen.
The reselling of collectibles defeats the whole point of collecting.

It like selling your child to get anothe rone. Lol.

 

[karamazov80]

I don't have any place for emotional attachment to toys and other material ____ in this life. It comes, it goes. Buy it, enjoy it, give it away, sell it, who cares?

If folks want to be buried with their collectibles or sleep with them at night or whatever, that's their business. But I don't reckon anyone has the right to tell someone else what constitutes being a "true" collector or fan of something.

 

[Marcus Wright]

I don't have any place for emotional attachment to toys and other material ____ in this life. It comes, it goes. Buy it, enjoy it, give it away, sell it, who cares?

If folks want to be buried with their collectibles or sleep with them at night or whatever, that's their business. But I don't reckon anyone has the right to tell someone else what constitutes being a "true" collector or fan of something.

Best post ever, again.

I guess there are 2 true type of collectors. Just differrent approcahes.

I beleive selling collectibles is wrong.

 

[KBA]

I don't have any place for emotional attachment to toys and other material ____ in this life. It comes, it goes. Buy it, enjoy it, give it away, sell it, who cares?

If folks want to be buried with their collectibles or sleep with them at night or whatever, that's their business. But I don't reckon anyone has the right to tell someone else what constitutes being a "true" collector or fan of something.

I don't have any emotional attachment to materials either; I have emotional investment in the comic book characters which I read, and the movies I enjoy. You need to be invested in order to enjoy the stories. Doesn't translate into any sort of materialistic ideals, for me at least.

 

[thenammagazine]

Best post I have ever seen.
The reselling of collectibles defeats the whole point of collecting.

It like selling your child to get anothe rone. Lol.

Drama queen?

 

[Marcus Wright]

Drama queen?

"Hulk is the strongest there is".
"Hulk smash Marcus Wright".

 

[thenammagazine]

"Hulk is the strongest there is".
"Hulk smash Marcus Wright".

I just think comparing collectibles to kids doesn't make sense and is a little melodramatic. I understand having an emotional attachment to figures, but not on the level one would have with their own children.

And Rulk uses complete sentences and proper English.

 

[ProgMatinee]

I don't know when the last time, if ever, I sold a toy. I buy it because I like it. Sometimes it falls out of favor, but I figure if I liked it at one point I'll like it again at another, so it just goes in the closet for a while then comes back out in a year or 2.

I've seen some claim that they've bought, sold, bought, sold, bought the same item to the point where all the shipping costs in and out with UPS is more than it would have cost to buy the item twice over.

I really hate shipping costs.

 

[karamazov80]

Sometimes it falls out of favor, but I figure if I liked it at one point I'll like it again at another, so it just goes in the closet for a while then comes back out in a year or 2.

If I did that, my closet would have to be the size of a very large garage.

 

[Marcus Wright]

I just think comparing collectibles to kids doesn't make sense and is a little melodramatic. I understand having an emotional attachment to figures, but not on the level one would have with their own children.

And Rulk uses complete sentences and proper English.

I dont have kids, so I guess that explains everything.
especially that I am not even a collector. I just have 1 toy.
That said, I was just joking about the kids, I think its pretty clear.

I don't know when the last time, if ever, I sold a toy. I buy it because I like it. Sometimes it falls out of favor, but I figure if I liked it at one point I'll like it again at another, so it just goes in the closet for a while then comes back out in a year or 2.

Really strong argument.
I think it holds true for me too.

 

[FLOSI]

I don't know when the last time, if ever, I sold a toy. I buy it because I like it. Sometimes it falls out of favor, but I figure if I liked it at one point I'll like it again at another, so it just goes in the closet for a while then comes back out in a year or 2.

I've seen some claim that they've bought, sold, bought, sold, bought the same item to the point where all the shipping costs in and out with UPS is more than it would have cost to buy the item twice over.

I really hate shipping costs.

Sometimes crap needs to go.... I'm not going to keep 5 carded copies of each POTF figure that came out in the 90's simply because I was silly enough to buy them way back when. I loved them then but there will never be a point in the near future where I find myself wishing for tons of boxes worth of lame looking SW figures... And don't get me started on the 12 boxes of comics I have from the early 90's.... Worthless.