Are your Weta pieces still precious to you?

[Beren]

Point Taken! But GWS, morgul lord, sauron, eowyn, battle troll, shelob and many other are...and they are all selling at well below their original issue prices. Not that many of these aren't really good pieces, both artistically and emotionally, they have simply failed to hold their value financially.

But that's because the edition sizes were totally overblown. 8500 Gandalf on Shadowfaxes... if there had been 2000 pieces? And that goes for each of the statues you list above. The numbers produced are just far greater than the number of people who are interested enough in this material to buy them... When SSW items first came out, they had an edition of 750-1000. Then it went to 2000, then 3000 (I think RWoS was an exception, they knew that everyone would love that one and they set it at 5000). 4000 Haradhrims was just way too much, they go for $60 on eBay, half of retail.

I can't really complain though, because the majority of SSW items I bought, I paid below retail and benefitted from the overinflation of the edition sizes. :chew

Beren

 

[woodsy]

But that's because the edition sizes were totally overblown. 8500 Gandalf on Shadowfaxes... if there had been 2000 pieces? And that goes for each of the statues you list above. The numbers produced are just far greater than the number of people who are interested enough in this material to buy them... When SSW items first came out, they had an edition of 750-1000. Then it went to 2000, then 3000 (I think RWoS was an exception, they knew that everyone would love that one and they set it at 5000). 4000 Haradhrims was just way too much, they go for $60 on eBay, half of retail.

I can't really complain though, because the majority of SSW items I bought, I paid below retail and benefitted from the overinflation of the edition sizes. :chew

Beren

Which is exactly what I said in an earlier posting. Once SS scrapped the 2000-3000 edition and started those TBD editions they created an artifical market that wasn't based so much on demand, but rather on speculation.
I too can't complain about the over-saturation of the market, as it has saved me a boatload of money over the past several years!

 

[gabberjawa]

Darn right they are

 

[Asura]

The Weta pieces are more popular than the SS pieces, and they even have way lower ES. But then again, the prices are much higher with SS LOTR pieces.

What is priceless, though, is this line's direct connection to the moviemaking process, and the unparalleled artistry of the pieces. They're just more than collectibles made by a collectible company for the collectors' market. Many of them display characters, creatures and environments in the way their designers themselves envisioned them, and the love and creativity just shines through.

Thats what made Weta and the LOTR line so special.

 

[choopie]

The WETA pieces are what got me out of plastic toys and into higher end pieces, like statues. I certainly have less now than I did two years ago...at one point I had over 100 pieces, but now I only have the complete medallions and 12 statues. But what I have, to me, best represents my favorite characters from all three movies.

The more new LOTR items get released, the more I enjoy my WETA collection. I don't care whether or not they rise or fall in monetary value. What matters to me is that they have sentimental value. They are a reminder of a literary work I'm passionate about and of a phenomenal series of movies. Times change, and you move on to other things. But it's nice to know that I continue to hold on to something that started this collecting madness.

 

[Beren]

Which is exactly what I said in an earlier posting. Once SS scrapped the 2000-3000 edition and started those TBD editions they created an artifical market that wasn't based so much on demand, but rather on speculation.
I too can't complain about the over-saturation of the market, as it has saved me a boatload of money over the past several years!

Saving by spending, eh?

Now I usually wait for an edition size to be determined and then judge whether to get on a wait list (quickly). By now it seems, anything over 1000 pieces and I can get it on eBay for cheaper. Morgul Lord bust has edition size of 600 though (is it 800 now, or what?), retail $260, I got it for $160!

Beren

 

[Fubeca]

O yeah! Precious, Precious, Precious!!!

 

[Bannister]

O yeah! Precious, Precious, Precious!!!

 

[FlyAndFight]

I actually collect quite a diverse number of lines but there's only one SS/Weta "Lord of the Rings" line. I think that with the exception of the Bowen line, there has yet to be a comparable collectible line as diverse and as original.

I will go out on a limb and say that a number of LOTR collectors that have moved on have been searching for the same "thrill" or "excitement" that the SS/Weta line brought over those years and they may have yet to achieve it.

So keep dumping them and I'll keep picking them up at bargain prices...

 

[Amanaman]

ALL collectibles will inevitably tank in value, once there aren't any people left to keep the bubble alive. If they're precious to you, this shouldn't bother you.

 

[spaceman]

Hi, Spaceman!

I keep track of my SS/W collection via ToyTracker, more out of curiosity than anything, and no, I haven't noticed any significant decreases in value. Sure, some items peaked a while ago, but it's not like any one of them is worthless.

Hey Seretur

Good comments in the rest of your post. I agree with almost all posted above by others (RoboDad, etc.) as well.

We have seen a decline from the absolute peak highs on some of the marquis pieces (25%-45% or so), but by no means has the bottom fallen out. The posts in this thread alone are some minor evidence of how many are in this product line for the long haul. That's good for value, and collectibility. I have no intention of selling my collection, but I do enjoy knowing that others also appreciate and enjoy the same things I do, as expressed by the price they would be willing to pay. That's the same reason the chat boards are popular I think - we get to spend a little time with fellow appreciators of the hobby. It's also good to feel like you "got a good deal", back when you got in on the ground floor, and that if you *had* to sell, you could liquidate some cash efficiently. Even beneath the level of the "big three", there are some real artistic treasures, and rareties that will never be reproduced exactly, and will surely maintain a premium. Sam and Bill, the Moria Archer and RWOS come to mind.

Of course, the later high edition products are less "valuable", but they are among the most ambitious and beautiful of the entire line as well. And they are all ending up in some collector's hands finally, at a good bargain. If a larger number of people can now afford the brilliant Sauron or Gandalf on Shadowfax, or Morgul Lord, then that's nothing but good as well. Good for the hobby overall, and good for them. My Dad's film room collection consists of the just the latter set of three hero/rider statues. It was affordable, and is simply beautiful.

 

[Bannister]

One statue that I will always love is my Ringwraith on Steed. That statue is just perfect.

 

[woodsy]

The Weta pieces are more popular than the SS pieces, and they even have way lower ES. But then again, the prices are much higher with SS LOTR pieces.

Yes, the Weta pieces are much more popular, but is it a fair comparison?

Those of us who have been collecting since the beginning know there was a time when the Weta statues were not that popular. Many of my initial purchases weren't made until a year or so after the statues were released. I got my Frodo and Merry for $60 apiece, Aragorn and Moria Orc swordsman for $80 apiece and Bill and Sam for $90. and so on...
Then the market began to explode, obviously as a result of the success of the movies. People started going crazy over anything LOTR related. Weta's success came mainly when LOTR was the "flavor of the month". As we all know, this is no longer the case...most people [with the exception of the diehards] have moved on to other things. This is neither good nor bad, it's just human nature.
SS is also hindered by the fact the market became completely over-saturated during the last two years of the SS/Weta partnership,and nothing kills a market faster than over-saturation.
Let's not forget SS has barely begun producing LOTR products on their own. With only two PF and legendary busts, and one diorama available, is it really fair to compare the two companies at this time?

 

[RoboDad]

With only two PF and legendary busts, and one diorama available, is it really fair to compare the two companies at this time?

This is a very important point. Sideshow has produced a total of six pieces so far, and only three more have been announced.

I suspect that many of the Sideshow collectors (rather than LOTR collectors) are being more tentative with these new lines, in part because they have been so sparsely announced, but also because of the bad taste that the end of the SSW partnership left in their collective mouths. Time will tell whether this changes, or whether Sideshow ends up abandoning the LOTR collectible market altogether (which would be sadly ironic, since the SSW partnership is really what put them "on the map").

 

[gtb]

Me too - my sentiments exactly. Haven't sold a single piece that was purchased with intention to keep, and I don't plan to. I'd still love to pick up a Witchking in trueform someday. Also, maybe a Bilbo and Frodo.

Its quite affordable now (relative to 2 years ago... that is)

 

[Seretur]

I totally need to get a few more... and thankfully, those are getting more affordable. Still 2-3 times over the SRP, but bearable, yes!

 

[gtb]

First of all, I must that every word of yours speak so much of how I felt about my collection. For me, I am so impressed with Weta work on LOTR that I have actually spend (quite) a fortune to complete their one and only other collaboration with SS - The Muppets! [P.S. https://www.torcs.sg/forums/index.php?topic=694.msg11479#msg11479]

I believe many of us have felt that they are cartoons, but they are really good and I paid tribute to all those favourite sculptors of mine who had so painstakingly bring about the busts in movie collectibles. These are especially true of the FOTR pieces.. Dwarven Lord bust, Gandalf the Grey bust. Collectors who have these pieces in white boxes, check the paint job again.. its really unbelievable!

I'm wondering, with the hype of the movies far behind us, how do you feel about your Weta statues now? Do they still have the same value for you, emotionally and financially? Do you still marvel at them, from time to time?

Of course!!

Are you still waiting on a opportunity to buy that one Weta piece you could never lay your hands on?

There is this one piece which is far above my budget... somehow I felt that it is a like a life quest..

Nearly all of my Weta pieces are still in their boxes, since I still haven't thought of a descent way to display them. That makes that I didn't see many of those pieces in person in a long time, even though they are stored away in my apartment. I'm still longing for the day to put them all on display, along with all the other collectibles I have. Which reminds me, I need a bigger house if I want to display all of that...

This is also my exact sentiments and situations, though recently I have some of them displayed already. I just wonder if my children will ever appreciate them as well as I do. Should it need to be preserved, it will take at least 3 generations..

I mean, if someone in the Tolkien's family has not been interested in what he wrote, do you think the first manuscript of his FOTR will still be retained? At that time, it is just a piece of scrap paper. Now, it is history. Not that it has any real value, like gold or diamond.. but it is history

Should my descendents no wish to keep them, I will make a will to prevent them from being sold away. It will best be to be donated to a museum who wants to keep them. But with so many collectors around the world, I just wonder how "valuable" my entire collection might mean to anybody.

Its "true" value will always just remind in my heart - as well as my wife.

I believe (correct me if I am not wrong), there are but a few completists out there like myself - Alice? Frodo Eyes?

Perhaps we can share about how we want to display them one day... My idea is to dedicate an entire house to house them...and make a backdrop ... just a themed part (miniature version)...

 

[LOTRFan]

Since adolescence I had never really "collected" anything, until SSW and I crossed paths. My first Lord of the Rings purchase however wasn't polystone but from United Cutlery. After procuring my Limited Edition (well at the time it was) Anduril I wanted to find something to compliment the display; I just so happened upon an eBay listing for the King Elessar statue. From that moment on, I sloughed off the stigma of being a figurine collector (as if ) and jumped head first into the SSW line. Now some three plus years later, I have almost the entire line of statues, and truthfully those that I was serious about; and my Weta pieces are still very significant to me. I will be the first to admit, that the newer items in some cases look MUCH better; case in point, the LS Cave Troll bust - what a marvel! But no matter what I do, or what passing whim is moving at the moment, I can't help but keep a tight grip on my Weta collection. Even with my wife, who isn't always exuberant with my newest additions, greatly protests my numerous mullings of which Weta pieces I could live without. In fact, she might just leave me dare I ever part with Sam and Bill.


I do wish however, that Sideshow wouldn't continue to cover marked ground. For my part, the lukewarm reception that many of these latest offerings have received is due to the redundancy of character choice. This may in part be a licensor decision, I can accept that. I just know that there is a good amount of collectors waiting to get our favorites heros and villains in new formats; and Gollum, Frodo, Sauron etc, seem overdone.

 

[The Josh]

Good Stuff Matt! I agree these took me from collecting one way to another. However, I don't want SS in their PF and 1:6 line to wait or not do Frodo, Aragorn, etc. just because they've been done before.

 

[LOTRFan]

Good Stuff Matt! I agree these took me from collecting one way to another. However, I don't want SS in their PF and 1:6 line to wait or not do Frodo, Aragorn, etc. just because they've been done before.

Well I didn't say anything about or