Given the recent price rises

Has anyone considered selling up? I have bought virtually nothing in the past few months as I won't pay what people are asking at the moment so I'm not actively collecting anymore. I don't want to come across as a shameless profiteer but I do find myself wondering if now or early next year might be the time to start collecting something else.

Well i answered Maybe, not because i am thinking about selling up and i also rather like to keep my collection, but sometimes it crosses my mind just because the prices are so high and the situation i am currently in. (wife without a job, second baby expected in less then a month, have some things to finish at the house, etc...)

I do still enjoy the hobby, talking star wars and adding new pieces, but i am not active collecting anymore like i did years ago...

Thanks for the reply S.G and good luck in your current financial situation it can't be easy and you have my sympathy. its sad I have realy enjoyed picking up what I could but I can't afford to collect at these current prices.

I've never understood selling up unless you really need the money for something else specifically. Otherwise, what's the point? I've always wondered if some people selling up do it for that big "pay off" and then just blow through the money in 2 months and are left with nothing/nothing special.
Hopefully i'll never be in a position where i either have to sell up or i hate vintage Star Wars toys.

I recently sold my 'big ticket' 77 backs because like you, I either couldn't find or justify the expense of the couple I was missing. I still have a few of them left so who knows may start the run again, but certainly not until the hype dies down.

You make a good point Pete, as some of you know I collect medals and for the current worth of my Star Wars collection I can afford a good naval general service medal to a man who served at Trafalgar I was thinking about selling up and moving the money into something else.



Edd that's what I was thinking if I'm going to carry on collecting I may as well sell up now and then carry on after the hype has blown over.

There are very few reasons I would sell up for and only then once I've exhausted all other possibilities. I'd probably start with items like the vcj and DTs because the sheer volume of the other figures would still look like I had a big collection.
Dennis' reason is a good one but I agree with Pete. I'd be devastated to sell up for a few grand and then 3 months later have nothing of value to show for it.
Off the top of my head I'd sell up for these if it occurred:

Pay off mortgage if given a great early discount bonus
To fund a trip to Celebration US if I couldn't afford it
To cover bills upon job loss
To fund a major purchase if the seller was unwilling to agree a payment plan and it was unlikely to become available in the next 5 years

There's obviously no guarantee that prices will go back down, but I'm sure others who have been collecting for 10+ years will agree the current spike is beyond anything that's ever happened before. Prices were pretty steady for a decade, obviously things went in and out of fashion, but the current trend of 'common' items such as AFA 75 12 backs selling for £1000+ is literally 5 to 10 times what they were selling for a couple of years ago, you would have to be insane to pay current prices. I regret selling mine in 2012 instead of hanging on to them, but obviously you can never predict what is going to happen in future and they could just as well have dropped or plateaued.

I voted yes, but it was a bit of a Pre-emptive 'yes' as I have already sold up most of my Luke Farmboy focus. Probably for a good deal less than it might have commanded now..... :roll: oh well

As I've already discussed in another thread, I did this to fund other hobbies/training. I couldn't justify using 'x' out of the household income every month to fund my training while I had money tied up in my display upstairs.

Like Pete said, I would have really regretted if I had sold it a then wasted the money away on nothing, I have 3-4 months training behind me and a few more months to go, all paid for, via my sales so I'm quite happy with my decision.

Saying all that, I still held onto my LFB cardback collection... :lol:

Hi Edd your absolutely right nothing is guaranteed, the current interest is being driven by episode 7 and I personally have very grave reservations about episode 7 I think its going to be utter shite.
Jeff I can totally understand your position and your choice to sell up if your happy with what your doing with your life that's the most important thing.

ive sold most of my stuff, and not interested at the current prices, on the plus side i think the prices of other lines have dropped so ive moved over to collecting other stuff for the time being.

Saying that though, Klaatu is still dirt cheap lol.

I can't imagine completely selling up but would definitely go through my collection and trim it back.

I've collected many different toy related items over the years and my love for them tends to come and go at different times. I think ultimately I'd like to have a diverse collection with a little bit of many different toy lines.

When I first got into collecting Star Wars I did end up with quite a few different things and many of them were upgraded along the way, so the plan was never to hoard them but let go of what I don't need any longer. I also need to do this with other late nineties, early 2000 toys I have and although I'm not expecting to get a great deal for them it'll be nice to have the space. Also there's a fair amount to be handed down to my boys so that they can get some enjoyment out of them (rather than just sell them off cheaply).

Collecting seems to always go in fazes but I think it's a good idea to keep hold of some of it, the items you treasure most which may not be of the highest value, just as a reminder of your old collection and something nice to look back on.

Ian

I have never sold up and never will.

tiefighterboy said:

I have never sold up and never will.

Click to expand...

you only sell your arse

Come on TFB can't even give that away

I voted yes. I have sold all my revenge proofs in a bid to start a new business and that was the sole reason.

I don't believe the current price spike is to do with the new Star Wars films. I think it's due to more and more dealers buying stuff up and listing it as buy it now for over the odds, this has a knock on effect as new collectors see this as the price they should be and therefore pay it on auction pieces.

I think the VCJs have spiked off the back of the hype of the Palitoy MOC one that sold, more and more VCJs on eBay are listed as Palitoy ones now.

I also think that the prices people are paying to Astons and Vectis has increased prices as they are paying such high premiums on top, this has a knock on effect as when they come to sell they want their money back.

I haven't bought any carded figures for a few months as I won't pay the prices. Which is a shame as I was just getting back into a moc collection.

I won't ever sell up and get out and will always keep my toe in, but along with some other situations it's putting me off buying. For now anyway.

These a just my opinions...

Bram

The seemingly continuous rise in prices fetched for top condition and rare vintage SW continues to astound me :shock:

How tempting and appealing the potential financial gain is depends on the individual and their circumstances I guess.

As I have mentioned before I felt it was a good choice to accept an offer I had on part of my vintage collection over a year ago. The money gained relative to my situation in life was a small fortune and another important positive to me was that I wasn't completely selling off my vintage collection Also what I sold off wasn't affecting my current focus so I felt I was in a win win situation 8)

Saying all that, what was also nice was the fact I didn't actually have to sell anything :!: I just felt it was a great opportunity to take.

It's never nice when one has no choice but to sell Those r the situations certain ruthless dealers love to take advantage of :evil:

I think about it daily.

:lol:

I don't think about selling up but the current price inflation is hugely annoying, even more so as I only spend what I think an item is worth, hence not getting anything recently. I think it helps that I have other areas to collect in so they are receiving far more attention.

Part of me hopes that Episode 7 is awful and flops, but then it is Star Wars so I want it to do ok, but then the antichrist is directing it.

Not for me, although I sympathise with people who have no choice due to financial worries. None of my individual pieces are worth very much, but maybe together I could get a couple of grand. However I know that wouldn't take me very long to spend, and I'd then have a very long time to regret it.