Future of SW collecting

I thought i'd post this to see what people felt the future of SW collecting held. I'm talking about the next few years.

With the global economy going into melt down, I am surprised there aren't more items for sale as people try and 'liquize' their SW assets to pay other bills. Although, I suppose it could be a case of people cutting back on spending ATM rather than having to sell.
Also, with Ebay continuing to try and shaft everyone at every given opportunity there are fewer and fewer items listed on there every week. Bar the usual 'big' sellers, of course. Everytime I log on to RS there seems to be another horror story about someone being ****ed over by Ebay/PP and more people seem to be staying away from there all together.

I guess I just wanted to know where people see the hobbie going!?
I'm surprised we aren't seeing more items listed in the classifieds on here and on RS (in particular). Is that just because Xmas is bad time to sell, or are people waiting to se how bad this recession is?
If Ebay keeps ****ing about and scaring people off where will us vintage collectors go to search for items? Even RS doesn't have as many items for sale as Ebay.

Anyway, discuss.

I think most people would rather sell their Gran than their collection :lol:

I reckon it's had its peak to be honest, I doubt prices will go up much more, down if anything. What interests me is what state the toys themselves will be in in 10+ years.

I remember the Old toy shop days and toy show days prior to ebay. Those were the funnest times to collect. Ebay did bring prices down due the sure volume of vintage they had back in the day, but now it seems we need to go back to those old days of actually physically going to shows and actually handling what we are going to purchase. That was the fun of collecting, actually hunting down things at vendor tables . Now adays it seems people are looking for an instant collection and with the right funds I guess that is possible, but how boring. I see Ebay doing the new item merchant thing as we all know they want to drive us small time sellers off and their excessive fees and poor service are one way to do that. So to sum it up, I see dealers going back to the old way of selling toys and possibly avoiding the internet altogether.

I am not sure what the future hold's as far as Star Wars collecting is concerned.
However, as someone who has been away from it for five years, i have noticed the change in current trends.
Especially the AFA grading craze. Five years ago it was all C9.5 and that type of grading, now it's all AFA.
I think this has bumped up prices on certain items especially Palitoy ROTJ items, which used to be a lot lower.
I think people will keep hold of there collections because putting your money in the bank at the moment with the low interest rates is not a sensible option.

weasel said:

I thought i'd post this to see what people felt the future of SW collecting held. I'm talking about the next few years.

With the global economy going into melt down, I am surprised there aren't more items for sale as people try and 'liquize' their SW assets to pay other bills. Although, I suppose it could be a case of people cutting back on spending ATM rather than having to sell.
Also, with Ebay continuing to try and shaft everyone at every given opportunity there are fewer and fewer items listed on there every week. Bar the usual 'big' sellers, of course. Everytime I log on to RS there seems to be another horror story about someone being ****ed over by Ebay/PP and more people seem to be staying away from there all together.

I guess I just wanted to know where people see the hobby going!?
I'm surprised we aren't seeing more items listed in the classifieds on here and on RS (in particular). Is that just because Xmas is bad time to sell, or are people waiting to se how bad this recession is?
If Ebay keeps ****ing about and scaring people off where will us vintage collectors go to search for items? Even RS doesn't have as many items for sale as Ebay.

Anyway, discuss.

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I think there is no quality pieces left for sale and wont be until the economy sorts itself out. I think a lot of the best quality pieces are safe where they are and people with these pieces are in no rush to sell no matter what happens.

Only an opinion.

Grant,

Some people might be forced to sell if they loose there job and need the money.
But if you dont have to sell, then i think now is a good time to keep hold of your collection, because you might not get a decent price at the moment.

20backdPb said:

Some people might be forced to sell if they loose there job and need the money.
But if you dont have to sell, then i think now is a good time to keep hold of your collection, because you might not get a decent price at the moment.

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You could be right. that would be a horrible concept - having to sell just to pay the bills. Ouch.

Cheers.

Grant.

edd_jedi said:

I reckon it's had its peak to be honest, I doubt prices will go up much more, down if anything. What interests me is what state the toys themselves will be in in 10+ years.

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I feel the same way. I think a lot of people at least general public and some of the collector demographic are actually burned out on Star Wars right now. The Clone Wars toys at least in my area don't seem to be selling quite as well as the other lines have in the past. It will be interesting to see how the live action T.V. series does when it is released and if it will breathe some fresh air back into the franchise.

Over the summer I tried to get a Star Wars club going in my area. I contacted a few people in my area and they said it sounded like a overall good idea, but that they weren't really interested in helping out. They said if it had been a few years ago they would have been all over it. I might try and give it another push and see if I can get something going. I always though it would be fun to get a group of locals together.

As far as vintage goes it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few years. I've always been in it for the long run and wouldn't mind it if prices dropped on things I've never been in it for the money I've just collected what I like and what I can afford. However, at least for a while on RS, it seemed like quite a few people were leaving, but at the same time there have been a few new people to replace them. I'm always surprised when someone that is younger that didn't even have any of the toys growing up begins collecting. It is those people that will at least keep the hobby thriving and bring new collecting perspectives.

20backdPb said:

Some people might be forced to sell if they loose there job and need the money.

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I know that is the only way I would ever start to sell off my collection.

as long as there are boys that remember the movies and the toys from the first time around then there will still be a market for SW toys!

I personally dont plan on ever selling my things....there's still heaps that I need!

face it lads we're the model train collectors of the 21st century

There will be ups and downs in terms of prices and popularity, but most of us will be collecting into retirement

spoons said:

face it lads we're the model train collectors of the 21st century

There will be ups and downs in terms of prices and popularity, but most of us will be collecting into retirement

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I agree with spoons!

Oi, whats wrong with model trains! :lol: :roll:

Darth Wensleydale said:

Oi, whats wrong with model trains! :lol: :roll:

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:lol:

nothing, and there's plenty of old folk out there who've been collecting them since they were kids - I suppose you could argue that at least a model train does something, unlike all our MOCs

my loose toys do stuff! :lol:

Bollux said:

my loose toys do stuff! :lol:

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:shock: :shock:

I had a loose girlfriend who did stuff too :wink:

you lucky bastard!

spoons said:

Bollux said:

my loose toys do stuff! :lol:

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:shock: :shock:

I had a loose girlfriend who did stuff too :wink:

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The best kind. :wink:

weasel said:

I'm surprised we aren't seeing more items listed in the classifieds on here and on RS (in particular). Is that just because Xmas is bad time to sell, or are people waiting to se how bad this recession is?

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I've started to sell a few items from my collection on RS, but only at the right prices!! :twisted:

Serious collectors will always pay top prices for top quality items regardless of the time of year and the state of the economy!! :lol:

Selling more common items this time of year isn't always a good idea as most people will decide to wait until the new year when they have more money and hope to pick up a bargain then.

craignwo4life said:

weasel said:

I'm surprised we aren't seeing more items listed in the classifieds on here and on RS (in particular). Is that just because Xmas is bad time to sell, or are people waiting to se how bad this recession is?

Click to expand...

I've started to sell a few items from my collection on RS, but only at the right prices!! :twisted:

Serious collectors will always pay top prices for top quality items regardless of the time of year and the state of the economy!! :lol:

Selling more common items this time of year isn't always a good idea as most people will decide to wait until the new year when they have more money and hope to pick up a bargain then.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. Top items most likely wont sell any cheaper but the more common items probably will sell abit cheaper.

Cheers.

Grant.