subzero said:
I'm mad with myself that I got out of collecting vintage SW in 2002 due to the cost of it, but i'm also glad i'm getting back into it now because in 10 years from now after all these new Star Wars films etc prices will most likely skyrocket more than what they already have, so in a waaay i'm kind of viewing buying these today as being at a cheap price compared to what they will likely go up to in the near future.
My wallet does not think this though lol :roll: but at least I can get to finish off the collection iv'e always wanted before prices get too stupid for me even for loose figures.
You say this but I really wouldn't worry too much. I am beginning to suspect that the "common" items have pretty much peaked. And I'm including things like VCJs all the last 17 on cards, etc. Harder to find and more desirable items like Boba Fett on Trilogo, I still think there is a little way to go. On the really hard to find items (only a few examples to exist) then yes, there will inevitably be more price rises as there will be an ever increasing number of collectors developing, expanding and growing their collections to include these items.
The main reason for the peak is I just do not see the collecting field getting *much* larger than it is. If you think about it, the build up in collecting probably started when Lucas sold SW to Disney. That was 5/6 years ago. Momentum picked up with the imminent arrival of TFA and then R1 and now the 40th Anniversary, etc. but I do not believe there are that many more potential collectors yet to return to the hobby versus the number of "burn outs" that rejoined in the last few years, spanked their credit cards, did the "Look at me!/What's in the box?/Mailcall!" attention seeking thing on FB and were then left with a load of old toys that they then didn't really want anymore. If the number of collectors hasn't plateaued I would be very, very surprised. In fact, if a graph could be drawn I think you'd be seeing a slight decline in numbers. This can only lead to a cooling of prices as demand drops and supply remains as more and more lofts get emptied.
Don't get me wrong, there will still be FB led trends of "figure of the quarter" when all of a sudden every man wants a particular figure, spiking both demand and prices, but on the whole, I think we're there: peak prices have been achieved on common items.
No doubt I'll re-read this in the future and wonder WTF was going through my head. It'll probably be just after selling my loose set for the price of a screen used R2-D2. As long as it's not before the end of the month I don't think there's any shame in that