Anyone else having a vintage drought?

I keep a spreadsheet of all my purchases which goes back quite a few years now, and browsing it today I noticed that I've bought hardly anything this year so far. just a couple of MOCs, and one cardback, that's it. No loose figures, no baggies, no vehicles.

It's not that I haven't been looking, I still receive my eBay saved search emails every day, and I am still reasonably active in some of the Facebook groups and of course on here. I can't quite pinpoint why I haven't bought much, but I think it's mainly a combination of my runs running out of steam and getting too hard to find new pieces, and perhaps being a bit financially cautious due to both starting a new job and covid (although with interest rates at less than 1%, I honestly think Star Wars toys are better than having cash in the bank right now.) But I have still been picking up some video games and consoles, so I haven't been on a full collecting/buying hiatus.

I also came fairly close to thinning down my collection a couple of months ago, I made a list of what I wanted to sell, but in the end only sold one thing and got cold feet about the rest :lol:

I am still seeing lots of buying and selling by other collectors, so what's happened to me?! Am I losing the bug, or just becoming more patient? anyone else having a dry spell?

Mate- MOC wise i have hardly bought anything.

There are a lot less good condition MOCs available and those that are go for ridiculous money.

I remember in 2012 that there were 30 names on RS that had a focus. Now everyone has. Thats a lot of common yodas no longer available.

I given up posting shocking sales to mates online. Just feel the community has changed with the new influx of collectors from collecting to shopping. Perhaps due to the social media format. Big money buying everything in one go with a collector story of 'i just got it all from FB'.

The morns- yes morns- i see buying Trilogo A-wing Pilot MOCs for £250 in a bidding war on FB, when there is a similar one on ebay for £175 BIN are quick to hover up everything in order to tick a box.

Ive seen HCF stationary that has been readily available on ebay for decades go for triple prices on FB.

If these morns are spending £2k on a Yak Face MOC are cant see that coming back on the market for a normal price ever again.

I think i have wondered away from your original post into a rant.

I bought 6 MOCs off Richard Hutchinson last week, who sold them at a really good price. It was like the old days and refreshing.

I feel the community has lost its mind. The collector has been replaced by the shopper. £26k for a Palitoy SDC?

For me the idea of collecting was to research, network, wait patiently and find a bargain. Mass a great collection for the fraction of the price.

Any one who goes on deal or no deal boggles my mind. Its a dealers environment not a collectors. Your going to pay stupid money.

This year, its been cheaper to buy MIB from america, ship it over than buy stuff on Facebook. And its in better condition.

I have sold beaters in the UK for prices i would not have believed.

I haven't lost the bug. I just miss the collectors who were savvy, knowledgeable and less 'claim! claim! claim!'.

There is still bargains out there. But not as much as there is morns spending double and triple the value. Delusions of Dragons Den

I totally have gone on my own tangent and haven't answered you question sorry Edd.

It has been a funny old year for collecting, looking at what I have bought this year compared to last is quite shocking!!

Looking at the comparisons:

2019 = 4 ships/minirigs and I think 10/15 loose figures.
2020 so far = 1 minirig and I think 5ish loose figures.

So you could say it's been a bit of a buying drought!!

I didn't buy much from February to August, only one MOC this year as said above the price of a descent MOC is mental at the moment and although I have spent hundreds of pounds before on a MOC and will do again one day, at the moment it doesn't feel right, so I have decided to take a step back. Was watching a POTF Lando which I thought I may have a nibble on. It sold for over £500. Thats just mental money IMO.

As for Facebook I just can't seem to get on with it. lol Not sure if I'm in the wrong groups or not, but I would rather **** out a Gamorrean Guard than buy something on their.

All this said I really have got into buying all the missing parts for my boxed stuff and finding this really fun, buying the X-Wing inserts triggered it and I'm now after instructions, posters, sticker sheets and anything else that will complete a boxed item. Its a part of the hobby that is still cheap and pretty endless, I have put a Jedi Kenner MLC-3 boxed with all the paper work and insert together for £35!

I've also spent a bit on acrylic cases for the boxed stuff. The boxed stuff not being complete and in the loft has been annoying me for years and lock down has given me the chance to sort through it I guess.

Ive had some really nice buys this year so no drought - but I've been a net seller (mostly over the past month or two)... I've kind of lost the bug and find some of the prices a little too much to stomach, so I accepted I won't finish my ESB run, picked a few favourites and sold/am selling then rest.

Slowing down isn't about the money as such - but honestly it feels a bit wrong, I think because so many people are struggling this year. Really, a rare moc just doesn't mean enough to me these days to spend £xxxx on - I simply put it on the shelf and within minutes (literally) am scouring eBay for the next fix. It's a compulsion and a sickness and I needed it to stop. It was all about adding rather than enjoying and I think it was unhealthy.

So, no drought - but definitely the winds of change are blowing. I'll always have a core Star Wars collection, but it's looking more and more like it will be some key items in a single display case rather than walls of mocs - 1 in, 1 out style.

Until recently not really but last few weeks have purchased nothing.

Understatement to say this year is a strange one, I've worked from home right through from the start setting up a home office in the room where I have my collection displayed surrounded by it every day. I definitely haven't lost the bug, but have specific wants to finish my run of reseals and they don't seem to come up, def not at the price I want to pay, so very slow this year. I think there is definitely a subconscious feeling that,due to all of the hardship that is being endured, it feels slightly off ( for me personally) to spend as well, like I said that's me personally though.
I think that we all need a Christmas break, get into a NY and hopefully see a light at the end of the tunnel, vintage will always be there, and I will always collect, peaks and troughs as they say, but long term def no lost the bug. One things for sure a daily dip into SWFUK is a given and a constant for me, Cheers again Edd

Michael Sith said:

Understatement to say this year is a strange one, I've worked from home right through from the start setting up a home office in the room where I have my collection displayed surrounded by it every day. I definitely haven't lost the bug, but have specific wants to finish my run of reseals and they don't seem to come up, def not at the price I want to pay, so very slow this year. I think there is definitely a subconscious feeling that,due to all of the hardship that is being endured, it feels slightly off ( for me personally) to spend as well, like I said that's me personally though.
I think that we all need a Christmas break, get into a NY and hopefully see a light at the end of the tunnel, vintage will always be there, and I will always collect, peaks and troughs as they say, but long term def no lost the bug. One things for sure a daily dip into SWFUK is a given and a constant for me, Cheers again Edd

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Totally agree with the daily visits to SWFUK, I do honestly think personally that if it wasnt for this lovely forum, life would be boring, you guys keep me going

I'm not a prolific vintage collector, instead I have tended towards picking up items as and when I had the money, and seen them at a price I would pay. I have a few carded vintage figures, not many, and what I do have has never broken the bank, (although when I paid £6 for a carded Klaatu in the early 90's, it did seem a lot at the time when compared to my weekly earnings!). I just feel that some of the prices are too ridiculous nowadays, and it doesn't matter if I could afford to spend the money on this stuff, or not, I cannot bring myself to spend a fortune on something just because that's what someone else would spend. I wouldn't enjoy that experience of feeling ripped off.
It may be that I never add a Yak Face to my vintage loose run, (he is the only one missing, plus a load of weapons), but I would rather that than pay a couple of hundred+ quid for a figure I never even knew about in the 80's, and have no nostalgia for.
I do find that my collecting goes around in cycles, and it seems natural that there are times when each of my collections goes on the back burner for a wee while, so there's probably nothing out of the ordinary there, especially this year!

I've more or less finished my carded run - need a few upgrades but I'm in no hurry - so I haven't bought a MOC this year.

I'm buying much more Beyond the Toys and Cast & Crew gear, and haven't found that to be in short supply - there have been some great pieces on both ebay and FB and I'm really pleased with my collecting year.

Sure, prices have gone up - there have been a few key pieces I've missed out on because I just couldn't justify it to myself - but there's always bargains to be had. I'm still enjoying the thrill of the hunt.

The end of last year after echo and start of this year saw me spending a lot of time chatting to variant collectors and it's opened up a can of worms. Yes, prices have exploded during lockdown but if you arm yourself with the right knowledge you can pick up some great bargains on the way, even in today's climate. But it's all on eBay. You can't get a bargain on the FB groups despite Echo swearing it's the safest place, the best place, the only place to shop.

This year has been my favourite since I came back in to collecting again in 2016, but that's mostly because of the friendships I've forged during lockdown and the research we've all started to put into the hobby. It's not all about buying.

Yeah I am.

I haven't bought anything this year, I got up to about 42 or so out of a mint loose run and ran out of steam mid 2019.

I fully intend to pick it up again at some point, but prices just seem to be climbing all the time. In particular the last 17 are going crazy, they will definitely become something of a sticking point funds wise, they will take some time to complete for sure.

I was quite lucky to complete my first 12 and quite a few major characters when I had some readily expendable cash, that was when I started to collect seriously around the end of 2017 or so.

I think next year I may start back up again steadily, work on the cheaper ones I don't have yet (Jabba goons, minor characters etc.) and then maybe set to work on the major characters I don't yet have (Yoda, Luke Bespin and Jedi, Leia Bespin etc) and then the last 17.

I think sometimes you do need a break from this kind of thing, if only just to appreciate the ones you already have.

There's a thread on Facebook about 3 items you've purchased this year. It got me counting as I have missed out on quite a few items this year .
The reason because most can be purchased cheaper elsewhere than auction houses.
I have acquired 5 new additions in 2020.
I'm hoping 2021 can Improve on that.

maxf said:

Ive had some really nice buys this year so no drought - but I've been a net seller (mostly over the past month or two)... I've kind of lost the bug and find some of the prices a little too much to stomach, so I accepted I won't finish my ESB run, picked a few favourites and sold/am selling then rest.

Slowing down isn't about the money as such - but honestly it feels a bit wrong, I think because so many people are struggling this year. Really, a rare moc just doesn't mean enough to me these days to spend £xxxx on - I simply put it on the shelf and within minutes (literally) am scouring eBay for the next fix. It's a compulsion and a sickness and I needed it to stop. It was all about adding rather than enjoying and I think it was unhealthy.

So, no drought - but definitely the winds of change are blowing. I'll always have a core Star Wars collection, but it's looking more and more like it will be some key items in a single display case rather than walls of mocs - 1 in, 1 out style.

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I have been lucky enough to pick up some rarer items this year that I have been looking for a while so I have not experienced any drought. I feel similarly to Max in that I feel guilty about spending money on collectables with all the negativity surrounding us especially when they are expensive which unfortunately most of the rarer items are. I find collecting to be like riding a roller coaster as in I am unsure whether I enjoyed the experience or not but find myself going on again, I have always found collecting to be like this for me, it is a bitter sweet experience.

I find the collecting market place very unpredictable at the moment as the demand is very high resulting in much higher prices at a time when you would expect people to be saving for a rainy day.

Wreck-It Ralph said:

I find collecting to be like riding a roller coaster as in I am unsure whether I enjoyed the experience or not but find myself going on again, I have always found collecting to be like this for me, it is a bitter sweet experience.

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Perfectly sums up how I feel about it these days!

I think I've only picked up maybe one vintage loose figure this year and a couple of modern SW items. It's been more about selling for me this year and letting go of doubles I have ect. I think my vintage SW days are pretty much over now as I have everything I set out to get more or less. I still enjoy being part of this forum though very much and now live my vintage SW life through others on here who pick up great items all of the time (Even though it's been over 40 years of these vintage toys there are still new things to discover each year!).

I have moved more into vintage monster collecting so that has kept me busy and this year has been a bumper year for it. It's not as expensive as the top end of SW collecting but some items can still cost a lot so I've kept things within my price range and it's been nice to research a different area of toy collecting. Again I'm starting to feel that I'm pretty close to acquiring all that I've been after but there are always new discoveries to find much like SW.

I think it's safe to say that I'll always have the collecting bug, but I've found that changing my direction and focus at times has been a way of keeping me interested and also not getting too bothered when the price of certain toy lines gets to steep. Our collections are for us to enjoy so we shouldn't be looking at items and feeling any sort of regret at the price we've ended up paying, it's just not worth it for me.

Ian

Agree with a lot of what is being posted. I've been out of vintage for a while now ,but still collect props and busts to do with SW. I also have a liking of the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy and the guy in the photo below has taken me up to a year to perfect.

I still dont have Facebook and never will. I havent ever felt the urge to sign up and from what I'm hearing it is nothing but poison to the hobby. It's a real shame how quiet message boards and forums have become desolate for the most part. Facebook appears to be nothing more than a dick swinging contest for the most part, and there tend to be too many people with deep pockets giving it large. I feel as though a lot of collectors now collect as a competition and the true meaning of the hobby is slowly disappearing and fading away. I remember in the late 90s early 2000s the hobby was flourishing and collectors were used to helping each other, now it's nothing more than an overpriced, inflated joke because some of the so called 'big hitters'are ruining the market.

I have a friend who has purchased some of the Stan Solo reproductions as to put it bluntly, he cannot afford it never will. I blame this solely on the idiots gazumping prices and making the hobby inaccessible for many people. Repros are becoming more and more popular now, but I myself feel as though it is becoming more mainstream for the cost reasons alone. I do see why some people buy these repros and understand their take on it fully. They are getting so good that placing them to a real vintage MOC makes them look nearly identical, therefore giving people a cheaper avenue to explore. Let's face it ,spend £1000 on a real MOC or spend £40 on a repro. To many people now it's a no brainer. Plus with Hasbro releasing the reproduction figures (although licnenced) they havent helped things much because that is another area where people can be scammed.



Anyway, I hope all you guys are well

Lee

Bloody hell that is freaky, but good!

I have not bought much star wars in 2020, but I hope 2021 will be better

I was pretty sure I hadn't purchased anything this year but when I looked at my spreadsheet I was shocked to see it was April 2019 when I last made a purchase. I think this year hasn't helped - in addition to all that's been going on I've been dealing with extra responsibilities at work and a house move - but that's not the most significant factor.

There are still items I'd like to add to my collection but, as with other people, it's the prices these days that are putting me off. For example, I'd love a Vader's Star Destroyer playset (yeah I know it's nothing great but I had one as a kid and loved it) but average condition complete-in-box examples seem to be £200+ these days which just seems nuts... Maybe I'm losing the plot but it doesn't seem that long ago they were sub-£100. Even finding bargains on eBay seems to be more difficult, though that could in part be due to me not having enough time to look for them. I'm also on a couple of the facebook groups but don't keep on top of them; that said I rarely see anything I'd want to purchase anyway.

The flipside of this is it's giving me more opportunity to enjoy the things I do have. Packing stuff up for the house move took longer than expected as I got distracted looking through my collection. I'm now looking forward to being able to display some of the things I hadn't previously been able to display.