Is Star Wars only for the rich ?

Pomse2001

Grand Master
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Mar 13, 2012
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After all of us have seen the prices going up and up. Then I am beginning to think if people want to have a focus on

Palitoy moc
Lili Ledy cardbacks, moc or boxes
Poch/pbp cardbacks, moc or boxes
Meccano moc
Glasslite moc
Top Toys moc
Toltoys moc, cardbacks

Then you need to have a big wallet unless you maybe can live with maybe buying 1 item every year.

and a full run of loose figures complete with weapons can also cost a lot today.

Ok if you have patience then you can still find some of the items for good prices, but some items is so rare so you have to be ****ing lucky to find them cheap.

What do you think ? :?
 

chipsteak

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Desirable Palitoy MOCs are for the rich, I'd say. Or at least those already rich with collectables that they can pass on.

As for doing a loose run, for example, I don't think it's any more a rich man's game than drinking or smoking as long as the modest collector ( like me ) knows he won't be competing it quickly.

Personally, I couldn't drink and smoke and collect. Or have another indulgent hobby at the same time.
 

subzero

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Jun 20, 2017
Messages
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The amount iv'e spent on smoking since 1997, wow can't even imagine what I could have spent with all of that, I could probably have an ultimate collection and practically be a god. :lol:

Certain areas yes it def is a rich man's game, but Kenner & Palitoy alternatives can be bought on a budget, and if all you care about is what the figure looks like and not how rare of a variant it is like I do, then staying away from PBP / Poch / Lili Ledy etc will save you tens of thousands and you'd still have figures that practically look the same and just as nice.
 

indianawars

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I honestly believe this is why Repos have become more acceptable in some circles. I've seen leia's with repo capes and blasters sell for £30 compared to all originals selling for £100+. It isn't that people want to buy repro blasters and capes, but it's the cheapest alternative.
 

Crumm

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Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Messages
203
Pomse2001 said:
After all of us have seen the prices going up and up. Then I am beginning to think if people want to have a focus on

Palitoy moc
Lili Ledy cardbacks, moc or boxes
Poch/pbp cardbacks, moc or boxes
Meccano moc
Glasslite moc
Top Toys moc
Toltoys moc, cardbacks

Then you need to have a big wallet unless you maybe can live with maybe buying 1 item every year.

and a full run of loose figures complete with weapons can also cost a lot today.

Ok if you have patience then you can still find some of the items for good prices, but some items is so rare so you have to be ****ing lucky to find them cheap.

What do you think ? :?

For the items you mention, and if someone were entering/ re-entering as a collector now (like I have) then I would say it probably is.

I am currently doing a mint loose run, and I can pretty much do that within my means if I am careful, do my research and don't buy anything daft. That said, it will take me some time to complete it because I can't afford to buy a figure that often (maybe one or two a month depending on which one it is, and what kind of deal I can get).

A 12 back MOC is out of my league pretty much forever, unless my circumstances change drastically. Even if they did, I have other things to spend that kind of money on before Vintage Star Wars (new car, family holiday etc.).

I am astonished at what some of the guys here can afford and have in their collections, but I understand that some will have been collecting a long time and traded and sold things on as the value has increased, thus capitalising on their investment and being able to finally afford that VCJ or blue snag etc. People who have been in the game a long time have been able to "upgrade" their collection as time has passed.

The only MOC I think I will probably ever own is Luke Jedi Knight, and that will be the jewel in the collection for me (He was my favourite figure as a kid).

I will still have to save up for a fair while to get one of those. If I can ever find one without a yellow bubble! :x
 

lejackal

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Jul 1, 2015
Messages
8,476
I think that as long as you accept you can't "collect them all" then this hobby can be enjoyed by people with virtually any budget.
You can always take solace knowing that even if funds were unlimited there are certain items that you would still never own anyway as they are one of a kind and well locked up.
 

Mr-shifter

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Aug 25, 2013
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Sussex by the Sea
I disagree

I have moc examples of all those listed except toltoys and then I have a cardback.

I'm not rich. I have just had to save and be patient.
 

mr_palitoy

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Jan 27, 2007
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London
Gave up on MOCs in anger years ago. Now I'm priced out of the cardbacks I need. Still don't have a sideways poch. Trying some new focus areas to keep my Star Wars collecting going. And I always have Kenner cardbacks to fall back on I guess. It's definitely getting harder.

:(

Jason
 

Snaketibe

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I agree with most of the above comments.

Times change and supply and demand economics reign supreme. Years ago, it definitely wasn't a rich man's game to collect a full mint loose run, a string of mint MOCs and all the boxed ships, vehicles and playsets your heart desired. Don't believe me? Look at the sticker prices on the vintage toys, especially at the end of the run in 1985 when shops couldn't even give them away. For the next few years prices remained pretty low, but then started slowly creeping upwards, and by the early 1990's vintage stuff had certainly started to acquire a value. The prices were still minuscule compared to today's eye-waterers, but it's fair to say that the genuinely rarer items had started to set you back enough that you'd notice it. The common and less common (by today's standards) stuff was still very easy to find, and the truly rare items (by today's standards) could usually still be attained with a little patience. And you didn't need to be a rich man to do it. But that was then...

A generalisation follows that's true for a great many current collectors:

The generation that owned the toys as children have grown up, got jobs, want to recapture their childhoods again through the toys they used to own (your dad's generation had Hornby, Dinky and Corgi, we have Star Wars) and now have some disposable income to spend on buying it. Star Wars being Star Wars, plenty of other collectors who weren't even born when the vintage toys came out join in the fun and also start collecting. Together, they combine to make for an awful lot of people chasing an ever diminishing supply of toys, driving up prices. Year on year more people join the hobby, and most of them want the same things, pushing prices up even further.

Is Star Wars only for the rich today? It depends on what and how you collect. If you still want to collect a full mint loose run, a string of mint MOCs and all the boxed ships, vehicles and playsets your heart desires, but haven't started buying any of them yet, then yes, I would certainly say it's a rich man's hobby. If however, you are happy to set your sights a little lower, play the patient long game, and refuse to pay more than you can afford, there's still a huge amount of enjoyment to be had in this hobby, and you don't have to be a rich man to do it.

Despite what some people apparently think, you don't have to have it all to enjoy it, and there's still plenty of things to collect that don't require you to be a rich man :)
 

TheJabbaWookie

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I think as long as you're sensible, live within your means and don't get yourself into debt collecting Star Wars can be a fun and interesting hobby. Be patient and look for the keenly priced BINs and the odd bargain. Set goals and tick them off your list. I know I'm never going to get a Palitoy 12 back or some preproduction item but I'm happy there's enough out there to keep me interested.
 

spoons

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Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
8,314
As Carl says lots of avenues are very affordable, but in general it is now a rich mans game and the worse for it

When you have people crying bargain when a MOC sells for the price of a car priorities have got very messed up.

I think I'm a bit like Jason, I'm no longer interested in putting any carded runs together as I can't justify the long term expense.

If only there were more than 11 die cast ships :)
 

maxf

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Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
964
No, but as with anyhing in life it's about priorities - plenty of people drive around in a £20k car and aren't rich. If they decided to run a 10k car instead that's a good few palitoy 12bks in change.

I'm not rich by any means - I've managed to put together an ok collection and I know people with 'normal jobs who have put together collection which far, far outshine mine. I don't think many collectors are 'rich' to be honest.
 

SublevelStudios

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Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
2,598
If you're looking to collect first shots and prototypes then yes, you need to be rich, but even then you'll find it hard as most of that stuff is locked down in collections already.

Star Wars collecting has many facets, and that's what's great about it. You can suit your budget to suit your taste - you can still find vintage stuff at reasonable prices and put together a decent collection on modest finances.
 

Pomse2001

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Joined
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Messages
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Denmark
A few days ago I saw a POCH cardback sell for £2300 it was a cardback, not even the bubble was there :shock: I have wanted a POCH cardback for years, but when I saw it sell for that price then I said to myself. I would never get a full POCH cardback collection and if I am lucky then I will get maybe only one because it would take me a year or more just to get that kind of cash without buying any other star wars items that year for myself.

Ok as many others I have been able to build up a collection so I could sell some of my variants and then I could buy a POCH cardback but then I would miss my variants :(

Ok I know some POCH cardbacks is more rare than others but the cheapest of the ones I want I have seen sell lately sold for £614 :shock:

I mean if you can only buy one item each year, then what is the fun in that ? :?
 

Pomse2001

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Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
16,104
Location
Denmark
Crumm said:
Pomse2001 said:
After all of us have seen the prices going up and up. Then I am beginning to think if people want to have a focus on

Palitoy moc
Lili Ledy cardbacks, moc or boxes
Poch/pbp cardbacks, moc or boxes
Meccano moc
Glasslite moc
Top Toys moc
Toltoys moc, cardbacks

Then you need to have a big wallet unless you maybe can live with maybe buying 1 item every year.

and a full run of loose figures complete with weapons can also cost a lot today.

Ok if you have patience then you can still find some of the items for good prices, but some items is so rare so you have to be ****ing lucky to find them cheap.

What do you think ? :?

For the items you mention, and if someone were entering/ re-entering as a collector now (like I have) then I would say it probably is.

I am currently doing a mint loose run, and I can pretty much do that within my means if I am careful, do my research and don't buy anything daft. That said, it will take me some time to complete it because I can't afford to buy a figure that often (maybe one or two a month depending on which one it is, and what kind of deal I can get).

A 12 back MOC is out of my league pretty much forever, unless my circumstances change drastically. Even if they did, I have other things to spend that kind of money on before Vintage Star Wars (new car, family holiday etc.).

I am astonished at what some of the guys here can afford and have in their collections, but I understand that some will have been collecting a long time and traded and sold things on as the value has increased, thus capitalising on their investment and being able to finally afford that VCJ or blue snag etc. People who have been in the game a long time have been able to "upgrade" their collection as time has passed.

The only MOC I think I will probably ever own is Luke Jedi Knight, and that will be the jewel in the collection for me (He was my favourite figure as a kid).

I will still have to save up for a fair while to get one of those. If I can ever find one without a yellow bubble! :x

As some guys on here I would also could afford to buy some of the expensive things if I sold some other items in my collection. But as a collector what is the fun in selling some items in my collection, I am very sure that I would miss them :cry: and if the items I want is so expensive so I could only buy one item each year, then again what is the fun in that :cry:

I hope you find or get a Luke Jedi Knight moc :wink: Maybe a member on the forum can help you with one from usa they are cheaper in usa see link :wink: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-Wars-LUke-Skywalker-Jedi-Knight-ROTJ-77-Back-MOC-/302559844139?hash=item4671f8d72b%3Ag%3AeNwAAOSwP4FaLJ8U&nma=true&si=P%252FAlj1dB8AROksS49aVAbJTV%252BuQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
 

Crumm

Padawan
Joined
Nov 27, 2017
Messages
203
Pomse2001 said:
Crumm said:
Pomse2001 said:
After all of us have seen the prices going up and up. Then I am beginning to think if people want to have a focus on

Palitoy moc
Lili Ledy cardbacks, moc or boxes
Poch/pbp cardbacks, moc or boxes
Meccano moc
Glasslite moc
Top Toys moc
Toltoys moc, cardbacks

Then you need to have a big wallet unless you maybe can live with maybe buying 1 item every year.

and a full run of loose figures complete with weapons can also cost a lot today.

Ok if you have patience then you can still find some of the items for good prices, but some items is so rare so you have to be ****ing lucky to find them cheap.

What do you think ? :?

For the items you mention, and if someone were entering/ re-entering as a collector now (like I have) then I would say it probably is.

I am currently doing a mint loose run, and I can pretty much do that within my means if I am careful, do my research and don't buy anything daft. That said, it will take me some time to complete it because I can't afford to buy a figure that often (maybe one or two a month depending on which one it is, and what kind of deal I can get).

A 12 back MOC is out of my league pretty much forever, unless my circumstances change drastically. Even if they did, I have other things to spend that kind of money on before Vintage Star Wars (new car, family holiday etc.).

I am astonished at what some of the guys here can afford and have in their collections, but I understand that some will have been collecting a long time and traded and sold things on as the value has increased, thus capitalising on their investment and being able to finally afford that VCJ or blue snag etc. People who have been in the game a long time have been able to "upgrade" their collection as time has passed.

The only MOC I think I will probably ever own is Luke Jedi Knight, and that will be the jewel in the collection for me (He was my favourite figure as a kid).

I will still have to save up for a fair while to get one of those. If I can ever find one without a yellow bubble! :x

As some guys on here I would also could afford to buy some of the expensive things if I sold some other items in my collection. But as a collector what is the fun in selling some items in my collection, I am very sure that I would miss them :cry: and if the items I want is so expensive so I could only buy one item each year, then again what is the fun in that :cry:

I hope you find or get a Luke Jedi Knight moc :wink: Maybe a member on the forum can help you with one from usa they are cheaper in usa see link :wink: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-Wars-LUke-Skywalker-Jedi-Knight-ROTJ-77-Back-MOC-/302559844139?hash=item4671f8d72b%3Ag%3AeNwAAOSwP4FaLJ8U&nma=true&si=P%252FAlj1dB8AROksS49aVAbJTV%252BuQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I completely agree with you, I prefer to just collect and not have to sell anything to fund something else. You are also right in the fact that one purchase a year is not much fun :(

Thanks for the heads up on the USA as a Potential LJK purchase, that one went for a reasonable price!
 

Pomse2001

Grand Master
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
16,104
Location
Denmark
Crumm said:
Pomse2001 said:
Crumm said:
For the items you mention, and if someone were entering/ re-entering as a collector now (like I have) then I would say it probably is.

I am currently doing a mint loose run, and I can pretty much do that within my means if I am careful, do my research and don't buy anything daft. That said, it will take me some time to complete it because I can't afford to buy a figure that often (maybe one or two a month depending on which one it is, and what kind of deal I can get).

A 12 back MOC is out of my league pretty much forever, unless my circumstances change drastically. Even if they did, I have other things to spend that kind of money on before Vintage Star Wars (new car, family holiday etc.).

I am astonished at what some of the guys here can afford and have in their collections, but I understand that some will have been collecting a long time and traded and sold things on as the value has increased, thus capitalising on their investment and being able to finally afford that VCJ or blue snag etc. People who have been in the game a long time have been able to "upgrade" their collection as time has passed.

The only MOC I think I will probably ever own is Luke Jedi Knight, and that will be the jewel in the collection for me (He was my favourite figure as a kid).

I will still have to save up for a fair while to get one of those. If I can ever find one without a yellow bubble! :x

As some guys on here I would also could afford to buy some of the expensive things if I sold some other items in my collection. But as a collector what is the fun in selling some items in my collection, I am very sure that I would miss them :cry: and if the items I want is so expensive so I could only buy one item each year, then again what is the fun in that :cry:

I hope you find or get a Luke Jedi Knight moc :wink: Maybe a member on the forum can help you with one from usa they are cheaper in usa see link :wink: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-Wars-LUke-Skywalker-Jedi-Knight-ROTJ-77-Back-MOC-/302559844139?hash=item4671f8d72b%3Ag%3AeNwAAOSwP4FaLJ8U&nma=true&si=P%252FAlj1dB8AROksS49aVAbJTV%252BuQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I completely agree with you, I prefer to just collect and not have to sell anything to fund something else. You are also right in the fact that one purchase a year is not much fun :(

Thanks for the heads up on the USA as a Potential LJK purchase, that one went for a reasonable price!

I must admit I have thought a lot about selling my 90s and 00s star wars stuff and use the money for vintage. I have not bought anything of it or looked at it in 8 years. And since the prices have gone up and up then I do not have the money to collect vintage and 90s and 00s stuff at the same time. The 90s and 00 stuff does not mean that much to me, but there was a few items that I thought was cool. So I have been thinking about selling most of my 90s and 00s stuff and only keep a few items that I think is cool, like Grand Admiral Thrawn :lol: I think I have maybe 200 figures complete that have never been played with, maybe 100 moc and some playset and vehicles. But I do not know if it is worth anything today :?
 

subzero

Sith Lord
Joined
Jun 20, 2017
Messages
3,052
Pomse2001 said:
Crumm said:
Pomse2001 said:
As some guys on here I would also could afford to buy some of the expensive things if I sold some other items in my collection. But as a collector what is the fun in selling some items in my collection, I am very sure that I would miss them :cry: and if the items I want is so expensive so I could only buy one item each year, then again what is the fun in that :cry:

I hope you find or get a Luke Jedi Knight moc :wink: Maybe a member on the forum can help you with one from usa they are cheaper in usa see link :wink: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Star-Wars-LUke-Skywalker-Jedi-Knight-ROTJ-77-Back-MOC-/302559844139?hash=item4671f8d72b%3Ag%3AeNwAAOSwP4FaLJ8U&nma=true&si=P%252FAlj1dB8AROksS49aVAbJTV%252BuQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I completely agree with you, I prefer to just collect and not have to sell anything to fund something else. You are also right in the fact that one purchase a year is not much fun :(

Thanks for the heads up on the USA as a Potential LJK purchase, that one went for a reasonable price!

I must admit I have thought a lot about selling my 90s and 00s star wars stuff and use the money for vintage. I have not bought anything of it or looked at it in 8 years. And since the prices have gone up and up then I do not have the money to collect vintage and 90s and 00s stuff at the same time. The 90s and 00 stuff does not mean that much to me, but there was a few items that I thought was cool. So I have been thinking about selling most of my 90s and 00s stuff and only keep a few items that I think is cool, like Grand Admiral Thrawn :lol: I think I have maybe 200 figures complete that have never been played with, maybe 100 moc and some playset and vehicles. But I do not know if it is worth anything today :?

If it was me i'd be selling all that in a heartbeat :lol: imagine what vintage you could get then.
 
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