How many collectors keep or sell their Hot Toys figures?

[BrooklynWolf X]

Thank you!

It wasn't easy letting go of my DX13, and my Burton Batman figures..and maybe Robocop. The other ones I truly didn't give a damn.

There was a point in which I was literally buying crap I had no attachment to (some Iron Meh even) mainly because they looked cool. Vehicles that I had no space for, characters that were amazing looking (Hellboy, Some Depp figures) but again, that I never gave a damn about. The HT bug, if you will.

Had I applied myself and stick only to things I actually cared for, maybe, the outcome would've been different, but it was way too late. I had to get rid of them all, I just had to do it. I needed to know I could and that this wasn't an addiction of some sort (It was clearly going into that direction).

When I say addiction, I'm not trying to compare it with drugs, or any of the sort. Some sort of addiction.

But once that was over, I felt in control. Will I ever buy a HT again? Why the hell not! But I'm older and wiser now, and unless all the things that I really want to do are crossed of my list, I won't. Some may say that $300 is completely justified for an action figure because of licenses, detail, etc etc etc etc. But just listen to yourself when you say that though. $300 is not, IS NOT pocket change. You can feed a family three months with that money in some parts of the world.

Now, I'm in no way trying to make anyone feel bad about their spending. You are all free to do whatever you want. That's the reasoning I choose to rationalize my personal spending ONLY.

If these things were cheaper, it would be a different story. I spend at the most, $130 on a full sized Masterpiece Transformer that comes out 3 or 4 times a year if one is lucky. Those things transform into real life vehicles (some not) and look amazing in both modes. Why don't they charge $300 for the "engineering"? Or the real life Nissan/Toyota/Lamborghini/etc license? No, they keep it affordable, something HT will not do. If you were to tell me that there is more engineering involved when making a Batman rubbery figure compared to a freaking semi truck that turns into an amazing looking Prime I would laugh.

Man, I sound like a broken record. I really like what HT does, but I guess I just can't justify it any longer. Too many factors.

My brodero (arrested development reference)!!

Now I'm feeling a bit remorseful lol. Nah I know it wasn't your intention, but what you said is pretty much what I'm secretly aware of, but won't allow myself to acknowledge. Once acknowledgement settles in, I would personally feel like a bad human being. I'm aware that it's my money and what I do with it is up to me. Buying toys doesn't make one a bad person, it's just that personally, I WOULD feel that way, because in truth, the money I've spent thus far could've gone into better and more worthwhile things. You could also make the argument that the money I'm spending on these toys are helping put food on the tables of the people in the factories that put them together. But like any corporation that uses hires these factories and the people in them...just how much of my money is going to them and how much of my money is filling up the pockets of the people that sit behind the desk?

It goes without saying, only people with disposable income, such as us, SHOULD be buying this stuff, not Joe Schmoe who relies on food stamps to feed his family. However, even with disposable income, shouldn't we be encouraged to use that money for better causes? Ugh, honestly I don't even wanna open that can. I guess deep down I am a selfish person. Granted the money I have CAN go to both better causes AND my obsession...even then, at the end of it all, is the item I'm buying really worth THAT MUCH??

I agree word for word with you about the licensing costs and what have you. Any argument made FOR it does not sit well with me to this day. I still don't buy it. Some here have blown license fees way out of proportion. No one truly knows how much they cost, but I can't imagine it being unreasonable. Ultimately, the property owners such as marvel, DC, Disney, want to sell toys. It's either toys are to promote the movies, or the movies are to promote the toys. So I find it hard to believe when someone comes out and says licensing fees are astronomical therefore the merchandise must reflect that. It's complete BS. Take for instance, HT Optimus prime and 3A's Optimus prime. 1 is 12", not as intricate and costs $350usd, the other is over 18", intricate with a bunch of moving parts and costs just a little over $400usd. This alone raised a couple of red flags for me. I don't think I need to go into detail why the huge contrast between both offerings is a mind ****, the products and their respective MSRP says it all. $400usd is nothing to scoff at, but when you compare it to an item that's less detailed and smaller and costs roughly $50 less...I think it's clear which one is the better buy. It'll be a completely different scenario if the HT prime cost $180usd (what I truly think it's worth), but this isn't the case. The only explanation I can come up with that solves the question of why HT products are so expensive is; greed. They're banking on their name and know they can get away with it.

And this bit is up your alley Fran...TT are kind of guilty of doing something similar. Not to the extremes of HT, but nonetheless they are. In terms of build quality, transformation and overall, I find myself comparing MP to the binaltechs of yesteryear. Again, what a glorious time to be a collector lol. Binaltechs were bigger, based on real cars, had diecast (I'll come back to this later on), complex (at times unnecessarily so) transformations, had far more detail and cost $50-$60 USD. Compared to the MP line, they're smaller, not as complex, and while still detailed...just not AS detailed as binaltechs...they cost $60-$180, depending on the character. I know those came out 10 years ago and we gotta factor inflation, rising costs, weakening of the dollar and oil yadda yadda...

But oil is cheap. NOW. It's the cheapest it's ever been in 10 years. The following questions aren't directed at you btw, just in case you take my frustration the wrong way haha.

So where the hell are these insane mark ups coming from? Plastic? Paint work? License fees? It's gotta be that. For the licensed cars such as sideswipe, smokescreen etc...it took over 10 years for what I consider a reasonable mark up. However, I can't say the same for MP09, MP10 (which funny enough, the re-release was significantly cheaper than its first release...most likely due to KOs eating up TT market). A big MP release I think fairly fits it's MSRP is ultra Magnus. You'd think he'd cost $250...but nope. A reasonable $170-180. THATS how one should do it.

Which brings me to my final point. Diecast. The binaltechs had crap tons of diecast and cost $50-$60...whereas IM MKwutever features LESS or about the same amount of diecast has an MSRP north of $350...

3 years ago, from $220 to $350....W.T.F.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

Totally agree with everything you say here and yes its an addiction in the end of the day. Anything that makes you spend money unnecessarily on items that lets be honest you don't need is definitely an addiction. I know around 2008 to 2013 i was suffering from it. I can't believe i used to spend the money i was spending on what are essentially plastic toys. I knew i was in over my head when i was spending thousands each month on statues and figures but i just continued to spend just because i liked the look of them. Then one day i was just looking at my figures(and credit card statement) and it hit me like a rock, why was i doing this? I realized then something had to give.

The prices now are ridiculous and that has hampered my need to collect anymore but also i agree with you theres a palpable sense of relief once you get rid of the collecting addiction. Its almost like the more you collect the less happy you are and the more pressure you feel to continue buying to get that 'high' you get from opening and displaying a brand spanking new figure. Time has luckily taught me otherwise and now like yourself i'm a lot smarter in how much and what i'm prepared to spend my money on. I'm like a recovering alcohol addict i'm in a much better place now lol. The voice in my head is no longer telling me to buy impulsively its telling me to exercise extreme caution.

Another person far stronger than I. Kudos man.

 

[chipgau]

I don't buy multiple versions of the same characters like some collectors do so I don't feel like I buy the same upgrade versions every year. I haven't sold a single figure that I bought so far, and I have 30+ Hot Toys figures plus 80+ from other companies. I like all of the figures I bought and no need to get rid any of them.

 

[spindrift]

My brodero (arrested development reference)!!

Now I'm feeling a bit remorseful lol. Nah I know it wasn't your intention, but what you said is pretty much what I'm secretly aware of, but won't allow myself to acknowledge. Once acknowledgement settles in, I would personally feel like a bad human being. I'm aware that it's my money and what I do with it is up to me. Buying toys doesn't make one a bad person, it's just that personally, I WOULD feel that way, because in truth, the money I've spent thus far could've gone into better and more worthwhile things. You could also make the argument that the money I'm spending on these toys are helping put food on the tables of the people in the factories that put them together. But like any corporation that uses hires these factories and the people in them...just how much of my money is going to them and how much of my money is filling up the pockets of the people that sit behind the desk?

It goes without saying, only people with disposable income, such as us, SHOULD be buying this stuff, not Joe Schmoe who relies on food stamps to feed his family. However, even with disposable income, shouldn't we be encouraged to use that money for better causes? Ugh, honestly I don't even wanna open that can. I guess deep down I am a selfish person. Granted the money I have CAN go to both better causes AND my obsession...even then, at the end of it all, is the item I'm buying really worth THAT MUCH??

I agree word for word with you about the licensing costs and what have you. Any argument made FOR it does not sit well with me to this day. I still don't buy it. Some here have blown license fees way out of proportion. No one truly knows how much they cost, but I can't imagine it being unreasonable. Ultimately, the property owners such as marvel, DC, Disney, want to sell toys. It's either toys are to promote the movies, or the movies are to promote the toys. So I find it hard to believe when someone comes out and says licensing fees are astronomical therefore the merchandise must reflect that. It's complete BS. Take for instance, HT Optimus prime and 3A's Optimus prime. 1 is 12", not as intricate and costs $350usd, the other is over 18", intricate with a bunch of moving parts and costs just a little over $400usd. This alone raised a couple of red flags for me. I don't think I need to go into detail why the huge contrast between both offerings is a mind ****, the products and their respective MSRP says it all. $400usd is nothing to scoff at, but when you compare it to an item that's less detailed and smaller and costs roughly $50 less...I think it's clear which one is the better buy. It'll be a completely different scenario if the HT prime cost $180usd (what I truly think it's worth), but this isn't the case. The only explanation I can come up with that solves the question of why HT products are so expensive is; greed. They're banking on their name and know they can get away with it.

And this bit is up your alley Fran...TT are kind of guilty of doing something similar. Not to the extremes of HT, but nonetheless they are. In terms of build quality, transformation and overall, I find myself comparing MP to the binaltechs of yesteryear. Again, what a glorious time to be a collector lol. Binaltechs were bigger, based on real cars, had diecast (I'll come back to this later on), complex (at times unnecessarily so) transformations, had far more detail and cost $50-$60 USD. Compared to the MP line, they're smaller, not as complex, and while still detailed...just not AS detailed as binaltechs...they cost $60-$180, depending on the character. I know those came out 10 years ago and we gotta factor inflation, rising costs, weakening of the dollar and oil yadda yadda...

But oil is cheap. NOW. It's the cheapest it's ever been in 10 years. The following questions aren't directed at you btw, just in case you take my frustration the wrong way haha.

So where the hell are these insane mark ups coming from? Plastic? Paint work? License fees? It's gotta be that. For the licensed cars such as sideswipe, smokescreen etc...it took over 10 years for what I consider a reasonable mark up. However, I can't say the same for MP09, MP10 (which funny enough, the re-release was significantly cheaper than its first release...most likely due to KOs eating up TT market). A big MP release I think fairly fits it's MSRP is ultra Magnus. You'd think he'd cost $250...but nope. A reasonable $170-180. THATS how one should do it.

Which brings me to my final point. Diecast. The binaltechs had crap tons of diecast and cost $50-$60...whereas IM MKwutever features LESS or about the same amount of diecast has an MSRP north of $350...

3 years ago, from $220 to $350....W.T.F.

Look at it this way- I don't golf and spend tons of money on green fees and memberships and I don't collect sports memorabilia like signed balls and Jerseys and cost big $$$ ..we each have a hobby or collecting interest so I don't feel guilty spending lots of $$$ on figures BUT I do draw the line on $340 IM and will not pay that much- I often get them here on the forums "used" for $100 or more less- I spend my money wisely.
That being said at times I do feel I overspend and to that degree I will sell a couple to make myself feel better

 

[Mike86]

I've yet to sell off any of mine. There are only a couple that I'd maybe consider getting rid of but for the most part I enjoy what I have. I don't impulse buy figures and generally only buy characters I really like.

 

[Sidewinder]

The Star Wars release schedule was a bit ridiculous, I spent way too much money back in December/January/February so now I've cut back to only buying one figure a month. March was Leia and April was Boba Fett.

I like collecting, but there's definitely more to life than just accumulating material things.
I have found the best thing one can do in life is travel (besides having a family). I lived overseas for over 2 years, travelled to different cities and met many people from all over the world. Best time of my life.

 

[subzro]

I have thought about selling everything on occasion (usually in the morning for some weird reason) but i never have. I have sold a couple things that did not fit with what i have but still have 98% of what i have bought. I am in a good place with my collection now, I have most everything i want and it is displayed nicely. Crazy prices ($270 for snowspeeder luke!!?) and the fact HT is making the same figures over and over and over has slowed my collecting to a crawl.

 

[SAB]

I agree word for word with you about the licensing costs and what have you. Any argument made FOR it does not sit well with me to this day. I still don't buy it. Some here have blown license fees way out of proportion. No one truly knows how much they cost, but I can't imagine it being unreasonable. Ultimately, the property owners such as marvel, DC, Disney, want to sell toys. It's either toys are to promote the movies, or the movies are to promote the toys. So I find it hard to believe when someone comes out and says licensing fees are astronomical therefore the merchandise must reflect that. It's complete BS. Take for instance, HT Optimus prime and 3A's Optimus prime. 1 is 12", not as intricate and costs $350usd, the other is over 18", intricate with a bunch of moving parts and costs just a little over $400usd. This alone raised a couple of red flags for me. I don't think I need to go into detail why the huge contrast between both offerings is a mind ****, the products and their respective MSRP says it all. $400usd is nothing to scoff at, but when you compare it to an item that's less detailed and smaller and costs roughly $50 less...I think it's clear which one is the better buy. It'll be a completely different scenario if the HT prime cost $180usd (what I truly think it's worth), but this isn't the case. The only explanation I can come up with that solves the question of why HT products are so expensive is; greed. They're banking on their name and know they can get away with it.

And this bit is up your alley Fran...TT are kind of guilty of doing something similar. Not to the extremes of HT, but nonetheless they are. In terms of build quality, transformation and overall, I find myself comparing MP to the binaltechs of yesteryear. Again, what a glorious time to be a collector lol. Binaltechs were bigger, based on real cars, had diecast (I'll come back to this later on), complex (at times unnecessarily so) transformations, had far more detail and cost $50-$60 USD. Compared to the MP line, they're smaller, not as complex, and while still detailed...just not AS detailed as binaltechs...they cost $60-$180, depending on the character. I know those came out 10 years ago and we gotta factor inflation, rising costs, weakening of the dollar and oil yadda yadda...

But oil is cheap. NOW. It's the cheapest it's ever been in 10 years. The following questions aren't directed at you btw, just in case you take my frustration the wrong way haha.

So where the hell are these insane mark ups coming from? Plastic? Paint work? License fees? It's gotta be that. For the licensed cars such as sideswipe, smokescreen etc...it took over 10 years for what I consider a reasonable mark up. However, I can't say the same for MP09, MP10 (which funny enough, the re-release was significantly cheaper than its first release...most likely due to KOs eating up TT market). A big MP release I think fairly fits it's MSRP is ultra Magnus. You'd think he'd cost $250...but nope. A reasonable $170-180. THATS how one should do it.

Which brings me to my final point. Diecast. The binaltechs had crap tons of diecast and cost $50-$60...whereas IM MKwutever features LESS or about the same amount of diecast has an MSRP north of $350...

3 years ago, from $220 to $350....W.T.F.

License cost, rising wages, exchange rate, etc. .... these are things people involved in the hobby tell themselves and each other. Strangely it doesn't seem to affect other industries to the same extent....and in many cases the rising demand and accompanying supply has the opposite effect on price.

The truth is the truth and people can try to wiggle around it anyway they want.
eBay showed these companies that people were more than willing to pay way (WAY!) more than initial retail price.

Notice over the last couple of years that a lot of new companies are entering the market place in 1/6, 1/4 and even larger 1/3 and 1/2 scale.
Some of these are unlicensed but they're still putting out high quality figures. Many of them though are paying license fees though and putting out amazing products. Do you think all these new companies are popping up to enter a market that has very little profit margin on product? Probably not right?

It will be interesting to see how many of them last though, some of them seem to be over reaching.
Prme1 being the ..um..prime example I don't know how they plan to sell so many super expensive 1/3 statues of minor characters.
XM seem to be providing though that Sideshow still don't have their prices anywhere near high enough to make consumers leave. Don't even need mixed media apparently, just better bases and a more diorama type look and people go bonkers.

 

[BrooklynWolf X]

Re: Possible Hot Toys DC TV license?

Look at it this way- I don't golf and spend tons of money on green fees and memberships and I don't collect sports memorabilia like signed balls and Jerseys and cost big $$$ ..we each have a hobby or collecting interest so I don't feel guilty spending lots of $$$ on figures BUT I do draw the line on $340 IM and will not pay that much- I often get them here on the forums "used" for $100 or more less- I spend my money wisely.
That being said at times I do feel I overspend and to that degree I will sell a couple to make myself feel better

I see what you mean. Thanks for helping me feel better lol. Ironically i posted in the suicide squad thread that I'm in for the whole line...man I just can't help myself.

License cost, rising wages, exchange rate, etc. .... these are things people involved in the hobby tell themselves and each other. Strangely it doesn't seem to affect other industries to the same extent....and in many cases the rising demand and accompanying supply has the opposite effect on price.

The truth is the truth and people can try to wiggle around it anyway they want.
eBay showed these companies that people were more than willing to pay way (WAY!) more than initial retail price.

Notice over the last couple of years that a lot of new companies are entering the market place in 1/6, 1/4 and even larger 1/3 and 1/2 scale.
Some of these are unlicensed but they're still putting out high quality figures. Many of them though are paying license fees though and putting out amazing products. Do you think all these new companies are popping up to enter a market that has very little profit margin on product? Probably not right?

It will be interesting to see how many of them last though, some of them seem to be over reaching.
Prme1 being the ..um..prime example I don't know how they plan to sell so many super expensive 1/3 statues of minor characters.
XM seem to be providing though that Sideshow still don't have their prices anywhere near high enough to make consumers leave. Don't even need mixed media apparently, just better bases and a more diorama type look and people go bonkers.

I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice this. I haven't bought this up in a while, but it think it's appropriate. The hall of armor. Jesus tap dancing Christ...wtf was that all about? they were $20-30USD cheaper than a standard MMS release back in the day. They were ****ing styrofoam for crying out loud.

That was the moment I knew HT became a greedy company. Not only were their figures already in the $220 mark...they had the audacity to charge $110 for a glorified display stand...

Oh and they lit up. Wow.

As for the statues...i POed both bats and supes 1/2 statues. Um...I have nothing to say on the matter haha.

Dammit I'm awful haha.

 

[WolfBoy]

i sold 2, and those were impulse buys.

nowdays i ONLY buy a figure if i know i'll never sell it. if i know there's a tiny chance i'll get rid of it, i don't get it because it means i truly don't want it enough. it keeps my collection small and saves me a lot of money.

i've been collecting for 6 years and i only have 12 figures in total [14 by the end of this year], i could have double that but choose to really only buy what i truly want.

 

[chipgau]

Crazy prices ($270 for snowspeeder luke!!?) and the fact HT is making the same figures over and over and over has slowed my collecting to a crawl.

I think I'm glad that HT decided to be a greedy company by rehashing the same characters over and over because that means I don't have to buy their new releases anymore.

 

[evenflow]

I have kept most but upgraded a few (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine).

 

[fbang]

I "rent" my Hot Toys. Reason is simply space and money, else I would have kept them all since the beginning.

 

[highlander1]

I keep all my figure's I'v only sold 2 figure's the batman begins and dx bale and regret but got way above my purchase price. I LOVE watching my collection grow and often laugh how some reviewer's RAVE about the figure and sell a day later. I cant TRUST reviewer's who rent to review lol for utube ratings is crazy to me.

 

[TimespliTT]

i put my exclusive marty on ebay for $0.99 it sold for $220 ( they sold in the begining for $750+)

never selling a hot toys again. i'll just do a weekend job and get $204 and recover