Losing ones MoJo

Anyone else finding the current price increases deflating?, as you all know I love the hobby & the collecting, but increasingly it is becoming more & more difficult to find anything nice to add to the collection that's not going to fleece you & that 10 others want as well, I don't even collect MOC's for the most part or sealed ships & play sets but the cost of even loose figures/weapons/baggie & especially mailers & multi packs are going right through the roof.

Like a lot of you guys I am on a pretty small budget though I constantly overspend it, but that's just not cutting it these days, I have never expected something for nothing & pay my way like most of you guys but finding even something little to add to the focus (any of them) is proving increasingly difficult & I worry about the future of the collecting side of the hobby, hell just look at those boxed items that came up from the toy shop find through vectis, a few years back I am sure we would all have been in with a fair shout at them considering the combined funds we pooled but there seems to be 2 new breeds of collectors who have joined the hobby in force, buying just to flip with no actual love for it & those who are looking at it as an investment or just have the financial backing to buy anything they like & sit on it, I know they have been in the hobby for years, but not in the way they are now from what I can see, it used to be just a few & now its like a free for all,or is it just me living in the past & looking at the hobby through rose tinted spectacles?

Not really gripping or venting, just wondering if others are feeling the same way & if the current trend is affecting everyone's collecting habits, as I can't see it being a bubble that will burst like I have seen some guys here saying, personally I see it just spiraling further & further out of the financial realm of folks with limited finances in everyday jobs.

No rocket firing fett for me or you :lol:

One thing I have noticed in recent months is the lack of decent items appearing for sale - outside the Vectis auctions anyway. A couple of years ago ebay was almost awash with really nice examples of all sorts of vintage but now anything that is half decent is highly prized.

I got out of collecting MOC's very early on as I realised quickly the way they were going - far too expensive for my budget.

But even stuff like the Helix items, which is really niche, is going absolutely mental. There is currently a Death Star sharpener on ebay with a buy it now of £250. £250! It's worth at an absolute push £120.

Like you say Frank, there are 2 kinds of collectors currently driving the collecting market at the moment, the investors and the flippers. But I think there will always be a hard core of collectors who will remain dedicated to the community.

I hope to be one of them.

Definitely getting fed up of the stupid prices, like when I look through the vectis catalogue and realize I won't be able to afford anything...

I think it will only continue to get worse, time will tell I guess..

I disagree that there hasn't been any decent stuff to buy. Yes, Vectis, but 80scollector, Nicks stuff, even Kaliq's stuff if you're happy dealing with the devil. I've been on here for only a couple of years but I've never seen so many amazing Palitoy MOC's, although affording them is a different matter I'll admit. Prior to those, you rarely saw any Palitoy stuff on here, unless it was private sales which never got offered to new collectors and remained in the dark.

I also disagree that all the new buyers are either flippers or investors. I know it's hard to tell who is buying what but I think people remember the flippers more than they do the normal collectors, just because they're so visible to everyone. Investors, yes probably, but I don't know how you can categorise them.

Prices, yes 100% agree. But hype is playing a massive part in that and I reckon there are a lot of new collectors (not buyers or flippers) who really don't know the value of things and don't have the patience to wait so are contributing to the pushing up of prices. We're seeing people maxing out credit cards etc., which is typical 'bubble' behaviour, but like you I don't see a crash, more a correction then things calm down a bit.

My pet peeve is Facebook. I can't even look at the shite posted on there. Sycophantic retards and cronies, people buying tat for ridiculous money, "moderators" (wtf?!) congratulating people paying ridiculous money for tat, people getting ripped off for being ill-informed, nothing informative whatsoever, most "moderators" being sellers (not you Jason). I know it'll never happen but if Facebook ever saw the end of SWFUK and RS then the hobby is completely doomed. If you unlearned all you knew about the hobby and lived in the FB world then you'd have a very different perspective about everything. I'm going for a lie down now :lol: Did I say I didn't like FB?

Some of the prices people are paying for stuff now is unbelievable and at those prices will be hard to flip for much profit,, everytime you buy on ebay and want to sell the same item back via ebay even to break even you got to sell it for ten percent more so i can see things rising further in that sense.

What I do find a bit funny is when someone sells someone something on a FB group and when the person receives it, they say i must thank so and so for ALLOWING me buy this item. I dont see it the other way round where people say i must thank so and so for buying my item, or if i buy a star bar from the newsagent i dont say i must thank the newsagent for selling me a star bar

Luckily at this moment in time i am at my most content , a couple of things i would like but well out of my reach now.

Becoming nearly impossible to find bargains on ebay now.

A year or two ago you would always manage to pick up a gem or two.

Even the "badly listed" items don't get overlooked now

It is getting harder to obtain nice items at nice prices for sure, nut their's a part of me that kind of new this was always going to happen one day. My advice is get some money saved up and put aside, then around Christmas time some good deals will come up. The focus will be on new stuff. :?

Don't hold me to this though. :lol:

Also chazb73 good to see you posting again. :wink:

Maybe because I don't often buy carded figures I'm not as disillusioned as you guys.

Facebook is ridiculous with the standard asking prices for an ESB MOC at $400 absolutely crazy but there are still good deals to be had, especially for the non figure lines

ROTJ, Die cast, micro collection and 12" have seen only small price increases over the years - a lot of die cast actually seems cheaper now than it was 5 years ago

The popular or rare items are only going to increase in value, and if you are after a bargain set of Palitoy 12 backs you'll be disappointed so why not go for a ROTJ run - they are still cheap

Weren't Palitoy 12 backs always relatively expensive even at £100 each - at that time regular MOCs were £20 or £30

These days the Palitoys are £1k and the Kenners are £2-£300 same difference and down to the massive growth of he hobby.

It's frustrating that the bulk of us are priced out of the most desirable lines but that is just life.

If you look on eBay for a Kenner 12 back run you can still get them for decent prices, just avoid Vectis and FB - still more expensive than a few years ago, but a minty DSC or sand people for £200 doesn't seem that bad to me. Just wish ESB Han Hoths were £50 again :roll:

Anyway just thought I'd throw an alternative point of view out there and don't lose that mojo!

As a final point these figures are also 10 years older now and that also affects price - there are less in circulation through u grading and accidents

You could compare that to classic cars. I sold a 1971 Mk3 Cortina for £800 15 yrs ago. Probably cost me £3 or £4k today - not so different really

Once these Vectis hauls sell out some normality will return

Edit: car was sold only 10 years ago, I still regret that

Frank, while the prices and attitudes of other collectors have definitely got on my tits of late..I'll try to post something positive (similar to Andy) in an attempt to make you feel a little better! (Might not work but here goes!)

These are a few things that I try to do or remind myself of when it feels like anything connected to collecting is a big bunch of bullshit..

-You can't own it all!

This might seem obvious but I don't think enough people think about where they are headed with their collections or what they want to achieve. We all know that acquiring stuff is fun (as is the hunt) but sometimes that's all that's going on! We don't all have the space, money, time or understanding families to be the next Sansweet so realising that you can't own it all (and can therefore sometimes relax, slow down or even just stop for a while) is a good thing.

-Enjoy what you do have and appreciate your collection

Compared to many I have a tiny collection but what I have held on to is stuff I never dreamed I would own. Seriously, if you told me 7 or 8 years ago that I would have owned half the stuff I have done I probably would have laughed at you..yet I have. Many of you can relate and I think it's extremely important to remember how far you've come and what you own right now (no doubt stuff you never thought you would get your hands on!)

-If you aren't buying then work on your display

This kind of goes hand in hand with appreciating what you have. Personally I don't believe you can fully appreciate a collection that's in boxes, I know I never did when my stuff was in storage. It all deserves to be displayed and tweaking with your room and your stuff can be as fun as buying/searching for it.

-Ignore almost everything negative or that you don't agree with that takes place on eBay, forums and especially FB..

I'm guilty as charged for not listening to my own advice on this one but I'd probably be spared a lot of stress if I did..if you have better will power than me and don't want your blood pressure going up every 5 mins then just ignore it - pretend it doesn't exist!!

-When things are really shitty and your WTB list seems like it's still as long as it was a year ago then just do something else for a while.

There are so many things you can do find an interest in within collecting that it's almost impossible to get bored or to not find *something* to hunt for or collect. In fact it doesn't even have to be Vintage to be fun! If you've got a focus you can easily work on that quite cheaply by picking up some select modern, commissioning some art, customs or sketch cards etc..


-If all else fails - take a break

I've only done this a couple of times (proper full on cold turkey type stuff) and while it can be great to just stop thinking about collecting, the first time I vanished people thought I had died lol! So while I enjoyed the break it is probably a good idea to let people know before you disappear :lol:


That's about all I've got for tonight but while I'm hugely aware that the money being thrown around right now is scary I also agree with Andy that there are still bargains out there and not everything is going mental so just take your time and see what shows up and more importantly wait and see what happens in the future..we might all be in a for a nice surprise

Some great words of wisdom guys. That's what I love about this forum the advice and experience in Star Wars collecting you all have is priceless.

Keep your chin up Frank and as Joe says go take a look at your collection and it should put a smile on your face.

Some great pieces of advice on this thread. The tinkering with your display suggestion when funds and/acquisitions are short is a superb tip to keep the Force Strong.

I refrained from posting simply due to the " little fish" that I am in respect to collecting.

My budget is very meagre and initially I would purchase anything SW this forum allowed me to learn from masters, plan and look for a pathway in collecting for me.
The comradery and great people on the Forum, like yourself Frank, gave a feeling that it's not just about all of the collectors who go for the Grail pieces, the rare and the rocking horse s***

There is nothing wrong with investment if you have the funds, but for me that's not an issue.
There have been very basic items I've wanted for over 2 years now, and it used to wrankle and stress me, but doesn't now, what will be will be.

You have a fantastic collection Frank, and you are also an integral part of the forum and community, respected with your opinions valued, the " Baggie Oracle" and a great stand up guy with time for the minnows in the hobby like me.

So mate read all the posts on here and I'm sure you'll find your not alone in your opinions on how collecting is going, but hopefully you will be re envigoured by the comments, and your standing as a respected collector and top bloke :wink:
Chin up and get out in the forest with the family collect some Porcini and remember how " rich" we really are :wink:

Chin up boss

theforceuk said:

It is getting harder to obtain nice items at nice prices for sure, nut their's a part of me that kind of new this was always going to happen one day. My advice is get some money saved up and put aside, then around Christmas time some good deals will come up. The focus will be on new stuff. :?

Don't hold me to this though. :lol:

Also chazb73 good to see you posting again. :wink:

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Thanks mate - didn't think anyone noticed :wink:

Michael Sith said:

I refrained from posting simply due to the " little fish" that I am in respect to collecting.

My budget is very meagre and initially I would purchase anything SW this forum allowed me to learn from masters, plan and look for a pathway in collecting for me.
The comradery and great people on the Forum, like yourself Frank, gave a feeling that it's not just about all of the collectors who go for the Grail pieces, the rare and the rocking horse s***

There is nothing wrong with investment if you have the funds, but for me that's not an issue.
There have been very basic items I've wanted for over 2 years now, and it used to wrankle and stress me, but doesn't now, what will be will be.

You have a fantastic collection Frank, and you are also an integral part of the forum and community, respected with your opinions valued, the " Baggie Oracle" and a great stand up guy with time for the minnows in the hobby like me.

So mate read all the posts on here and I'm sure you'll find your not alone in your opinions on how collecting is going, but hopefully you will be re envigoured by the comments, and your standing as a respected collector and top bloke :wink:
Chin up and get out in the forest with the family collect some Porcini and remember how " rich" we really are :wink:

Chin up boss

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In many ways Mike you have possibly the best situation in keeping things fresh and having enthusiasm for the hobby. You don't get "burned out" through SW overload and you are more likely to fully appreciate items when they do arrive.

You can become jaded with collecting and stuff arrives on a daily basis - we see it all the time

Thanks for all the positive comments & input guys, don't panic I'm going nowhere, was just sort of thinking out loud to see if others get the same feeling & thoughts about the current situation with the collecting & acquisitions side of the hobby TBH, some superb points there Joe!! & you are spot on with most of it, I have been spending a lot of time tinkering with my display of late as it goes, just made lots of extra shelves for the deltof style cases out of the old windows I had & god doesn't it look better with twice the shelving in, also had a blast doing glass cutting for the first time without making a total pigs ear out of things, also been slowly tailoring the display room & trying to clear the ever filling floor space in there as it seems every time you get it right one of the household deposits something in it you'd forgotten to deal with :lol:

Ignoring the idiots & the negativity some portray is also top advice & something I try to implement, though as like yourself, sometimes it can be difficult when it's something you're passionate about but bloody sound advice that!

TBF jedisearcher I was not saying all the new blood that's coming in to the hobby were in those two categories, just that there seems to be a large increase in those type of collectors, there are also a LOT of great guys coming into the hobby, I was just highlighting the point that it can sometimes be most deflating when something you specifically focus on is then taken on board by more than a few of those type of collectors with huge well's for pockets & no concern or real love or drive for the items they are buying, rather an investment opportunity or gravy train.

There are indeed still bargains to be had out there, just the hunt is more problematic & a heck of a lot more stones seem to need flipping before something crawls out of the woodwork that appealing, but like Joe pointed out often its the chase rather than the catch that is so exhilarating.

I think the bugbear for me of late is multi packs TBH, seems like everyone one now regards them as real grail items & wants to own one or collect them & it was quite a niesh collecting focus not shared or cared about by many collectors for the most part & I was really hoping to add more of them to my focus slowly over the coming years as they come up, now you can't seem to get any for a bargain or even what I would consider a fair price, bit like the palitoy/harbert & meccano MOC madness we have been seeing for some time now, hell I had my suspicions it would happen, just hoped I may get the opportunity of at least hitting the halfway mark with them before the **** hits the fan.

Collecting it a huge part of my hobby time but I have many other interests luckily that are not as financially demanding & spreading my time between them keeps the madness of the price madness at bay, but it can as we all know be frustrating at best when items you could pick up relatively inexpensively are now scooped up before you even get a look in.

Even some baggies seem to be hugely on the climb in value, I have seen several luke farm boy baggies listed of late between the 250 & 450 mark which to me does seem insane at best, not sure if they are actually selling at that, but only 6 months ago 100 to 120 was the high end for them, obviously not including DT's

I guess for me it all boils down to having got to a point where I actually had more free funds available & was at a point I could hope to compete with some of the higher priced grail items & then they increase in value 10 fold & I'm back in the training pool with all the tadpoles again, but hell it's a familiar feeling so I should be comfortable with it I guess :lol:

God that was a bit of a mad ramble eh, but better out than in I suspect

This is one of the most interesting threads for a while. Yes there has been a lot of talk about rising prices but it's good to see how different people really view it, with regards to their own collections going forward. When you've got well established collectors with already large envious collections getting down about it you know somethings up. I'm not a high end grail item collector, never have been and I never will be. The idea of spending hundreds or thousands on a vintage toy is insanity to me but it's each to their own. Thing is it filters down to whatever you collect. I mostly collect loose figures and I'm pretty much there with the first 79. The prices for many of them hasn't increased that much in recent years, for some it has a bit. Was intending to start on the last 17. You can still pick up a fair few of them for a reasonable price but several of them have gone absolutely mental in just the last 6 months or so. People now asking 200+ for some of them and they've not even got the right ****ing blaster, or no weapon. It's just taking the piss. I've pretty much been completely priced out of finishing the whole loose line. I'm not going to collect them and it's frustrating. So I think whether it's a loosy that was 80 that's now 300 or a multipack that was 500 that's now 1800 it's felt throughout the community right now and it can bring your collecting to a grinding halt. I wouldn't say I've lost my mojo as such but a lack of high quality figures and stupid prices has certainly slowed me down a bit. That's my rant over, thanks :|

I like my own collection a lot. It means the world to me but it's changed very little since 2002 when I had that big damned sell off :roll: The price rises over the last 5 or so years are slightly depressing because the hobby has gotten away from where a lot of us started. The collecting aspect isn't fun anymore. It's just money, money, money :x

There have been a few similar threads lately about established collectors losing interest. 20 years ago no-one would have said that because going out there hunting around in shops or second hand sales was so exciting. That's all gone now and forums like this are the last bastion of enthusiasm for this hobby. We should endeavor to stick together and keep it up Collecting is still cool but in a different way maybe.

x-pack said:

I like my own collection a lot. It means the world to me but it's changed very little since 2002 when I had that big damned sell off :roll: The price rises over the last 5 or so years are slightly depressing because the hobby has gotten away from where a lot of us started. The collecting aspect isn't fun anymore. It's just money, money, money :x

There have been a few similar threads lately about established collectors losing interest. 20 years ago no-one would have said that because going out there hunting around in shops or second hand sales was so exciting. That's all gone now and forums like this are the last bastion of enthusiasm for this hobby. We should endeavor to stick together and keep it up Collecting is still cool but in a different way maybe.

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:wink: in a nutshell Barry, very well put

The main ethos of this forum, for me, is that it doesn't matter if you have a few old beaters, or an outstanding collection, it's the fact that you love collecting for what it is, yes change is inevitable in all walks of life, but if the love of SW is at the core of why you collect then things may change on the price front in time, and settle.

i feel the same frank mate , i lost my mojo for the squidhead focus awhile back because of the crazy prices starwars seems to achieve these days and got into collecting action force second series , doing that helped me destress about the worry of spending hundreds of pounds running into a few thousand pounds for the rarer stuff for the focus ! so apart from planning to add a couple of cheaper bits to the focus my attempt at a focus is done

I had / have to learn to be thankful for what i have in my collection as you cant own everything as Joe said , but it tells me something that when i can buy 28 mocs , 15 boxed vehicles , a cracking shop display , 7 shipping cartons from the actionforce second series range for the price of an afa graded squidhead miscard this starwars collecting is not fun anymore thats for sure

Will the prices come down ??? NO chance ESP as when the new movies come out even more people will start collecting , i dont know where it will end guys , most of us on here are around the same age as we grew up with starwars and now have / children / mortgage etc etc and those things are far more important , maybe these new collectors dont have these commitments then add into the mix these auction house sales and all the fees that go with it ....its time for a break away from collecting for me , i am not selling up " no chance "

i am going on a nice holiday with my family soon and will look at the hobby when we return

rant over