sagging economy on toy sales

[mannyscollectibles]

I cant really say much that hasnt already been said. Each collection, small or large has a unique meaning. Whats the fun in collecting if you can get it real easy without working hard for it. Its been said already ubt collecting is a lifelong thing, save up for what you really want even if its a small amoount each month and when you find that item buy it because you deserve it because you worked hard for it. That is the best feeling you can get, the feeling of accomplishment thru hard work

[spankweasel]

Right now I am the collector with shallow pockets, It sucks because I'm in between job searching & collecting comes to a couple of bucks each weekend. Only 20 or 30 bucks a weekend at GS & FM. just today I had to turn down a micronaut in the box because it was 15 bucks & I didn't want to spend all or half my money on one figure. I feel eventually you will find exactly what your looking for for the right price and to me that's what makes a collection satifying. knowing you got exactly what you like for a price that you are happy with. I always regret purchases of items that I paid to much for in the past, cause I though, "i may never see that again." well, now i know I will find it again, that what collectings about.

[secretwars1984]

I tell ya Watcher, I have my days as well. Not only in collecting but in life as well where I compare what I have against others. Lots of times I come up on the short end of those comparisons...but there are times when I look around and see my family, my health...my Marshall and Gibson Les Paul ...and I feel that I probably have it better than many in this world and I stop and count my blessings.

And when it comes to my toy collection...I always see it as a work in progress and never a final collection to show off. One day it will be..like yours will be also.

[joshtx]

Like many on this board, I too have a young child...I sometimes feel guilty because I'm thinking about collecting, whether it be toys or video games, when I should be focusing more on him. I dont buy for myself until I know the bills are all paid, so in that sense my priorities are straight, but sometimes I still have strange feelings...If a toy or game come around that I'm really wanting, I'll sometimes obcess about it, so much that thinking about it consumes most of my time and then I get this uneasy guilty feeling about it. Anyone else know what I mean? When that happens I really have to dig deep and try to remove myself from the situation. If it's an auction, I try to let it go and head to the gym or to watch my son. But that guilty feeling can really be bothersome when it happens.

[spockoda]

I don't ever see myself having enough money or space to collect everything I would like to collect,or how I would like to collect it. When I started collecting in 1997,I briefly kept whatever I collected in the packages but soon had to abandon that thinking as I was in a smaller house than I am in now. That's when I decided I should collect what I like for fun,not for the appreciation potential of items I collected. So,I began opening everything and displaying the figures. This is a move I do not regret. Like alot of collectors,I get into collecting things and then lose interest or whatever after a while and I sell what I can on ebay. Since 95% of my collecting is loose collecting,I lose my shirt on the items selling on ebay. It is hard to know stuff that you want is out there that you can't have but my best advice to give is to remember the old saying "out of sight,out of mind". If you are short for the next two weeks or whatever,don't go places that you know are going to possibly have figures you want. When online,don't visit ebay or toy selling sites. It's hard to do,but when something is right in front of me that I want but can't afford,it's worse than just thinking about it,at least for me. Patience is a great thing to have,although I have to fight the "I want it and I want it now"way of thinking.

[spankweasel]

With the economy failing, as we speak, do you think it would be easier now to afford items your looking for or harder? Will less people be spending on ebay, making it easier to bid on something? will non-collectors who sell their toys, keep overpricing them if they don't move or will they just get arid of them cause they need the money now? what affect on toy collecting will the economy do for or against you?

[gort]

A by-product of recession is always increased unemployment, which will inevitably impact on the marketplace both in terms of lower average prices and unfortunately people forced to sell due to financial hardship.

I think genuinely rare stuff is still going to attract a premium though, there's always someone who still has money.

On a personal level; the weak Pound against the Dollar and Euro isn't doing me any favours. While I may not enjoy any financial benefit due to the exchange rate, I do have some cash set aside if the right hard to find items do come up for sale.

[snipertoys]

People spend a lot of time focusing on unemployment rates and such. Even if there is 10% unemployment (for example) that still means 90% employment. Collectors are still collectors, they need there fix. That being said I think modern toys will be able to find at a huge discount, but vintage will alway carry a premium since there seems to be fewer and fewer of the rare items.

[soundwave]

I have had some very high totals at the end of my vintage auctions so i would say that this economy problem is not as bad as the media is making it out to be.

[TheWatcher]

Feb 11, 2009 19:14:50 GMT -6 soundwave said:

I have had some very high totals at the end of my vintage auctions so i would say that this economy problem is not as bad as the media is making it out to be.

I don't think that your high auction totals really reflect the state of the economy. I think that's a broad assumption. Like it was said earlier, people often will pay a premium for HTf pieces and many people set cash aside for just that reason. A collector/dealer friend of mine pretty much told me that collectors are a breed unto themselves. They'd much rather buy a toy then pay a bill. I don't necessarily agree with this perspective, but it's pretty accurate.

[soundwave]

Sorry man i guess that was a bad assumption.

[spockoda]

When speaking of new lines, the marketplace has shrunk signifigantly since I started collecting in the 1990's. There used to be quite a few smaller lines that maybe didn't do so hot at retail that would end up at say a KB store. Now, only the "evergreens" as I call them survive. Go to TRU or Wal-Mart and look down the toy aisle. Only G.I. Joe,Star Wars,Transformers,Wrestling figures, and a few Superhero lines survive. There are a few assorted lines in the specialty-only markets, like Star Trek and Masters Of The Universe but there isn't really that much out there right now although this situation started before this current recession hit. I do know that there are things available either on the pegs now or online that I would purchase if I simply had the funds to do it. I still see vintage items going for healthy sums on ebay, so it seems that the recession is real but it hasn't gotten so bad to affect every single person in the country. Yet.

[ludevig]

Currently i am not even looking for figures. If something pops up i might buy it but right now i am just happy to have a job and somehow being able to pay the bills.
It's a really tough situation i think for anybody. Plus on top of that i have the prospect of maybe having to find an apartment as it looks like financially it would end up better than trying to buy our house.
But i think everyone will pull through this scenario. Best advice is for everyone to keep their head up, work through things and just keep on trucking.

[spockoda]

The recession must be hitting somebody, or something is going on. I have been selling some decent figures on ebay this week. These are vintage figures that are around 25 years old and I'm getting absolutely nothing for them. Most of them I start the bidding at $5 and hardly any of them go $1 over that. These old figures that are supposed to be valuable and I might as well toss them out in the street in front of my house and let cars run over them. I mean, after ebay fees,paypal fees, and shipping materials they're barely worth my while to sell.

[80s Action Figures]

Well I have found my sales pretty strong this month...but I ship internationally...which makes all the difference!

I was looking at your auctions and was ready to bid until I noticed you do not ship outside the U.S. ... that might all the difference!?!?!

[10incher]

This month is looking to be one of my slowest sales months in awhile, though i usually find Feb to be one of the slowest Ebay sales months of the year anyway.

International (overseas) buyers make up a good portion of my sales as well.

[soundwave]

This Month is pretty good! My sales go to one guy in Greece and various people in the united states oddly no Canadian sales on the toy side. I ONLY sell toys and hockey cards and ALL of my hockey card sales have been from Quebec!?!?!?

As for the economy We just had a meeting at work and the general message was no raises or bonus's until further notice and we should all be happy we have jobs!!!! WTF!!!

[BoogDoc7]

I haven't seen much of a drop-off...and there are plenty of older toy lines that don't go for much, unless they're MIP.

Economy doesn't affect me too much, mostly because I get good cheap lots off ebay and garage sales.

[spockoda]

Feb 19, 2009 20:28:41 GMT -6 80s Action Figures said:

Well I have found my sales pretty strong this month...but I ship internationally...which makes all the difference!

I was looking at your auctions and was ready to bid until I noticed you do not ship outside the U.S. ... that might all the difference!?!?!

I have had some international ebayers ask me if I would make an exception for them on the international shipping part and I refused. Have you ever the old expression "one bad apple..."? Well, to make a long story short I used to ship internationally until one guy screwed me over on some items and I remember losing $40-$60 on the deal. He felt his items weren't coming so I refunded his money in good faith. A week or two later, he writes me and says he'll send the money back as the items showed up. The money never came. However, it does sound like the shipping internationally could be a factor in auction interest.

[spockoda]

Feb 21, 2009 8:39:54 GMT -6 BoogDoc7 said:

I haven't seen much of a drop-off...and there are plenty of older toy lines that don't go for much, unless they're MIP.

Economy doesn't affect me too much, mostly because I get good cheap lots off ebay and garage sales.

All my figures are loose so yeah I see your point there. As a buyer, there are things I would like to bid on but things are a bit slow for me right now so I guess you can't buy if you don't have the moola .

[spockoda]

Feb 21, 2009 0:52:24 GMT -6 soundwave said:

This Month is pretty good! My sales go to one guy in Greece and various people in the united states oddly no Canadian sales on the toy side. I ONLY sell toys and hockey cards and ALL of my hockey card sales have been from Quebec!?!?!?

As for the economy We just had a meeting at work and the general message was no raises or bonus's until further notice and we should all be happy we have jobs!!!! WTF!!!

What's sad is even with the no raise, no bonus situation we all are probably lucky to have jobs right now although sometimes it still doesn't feel like it.

[treckmeyer]

I just sold off some stuff, and the international buyers actually made up most of my sales. I find opening it up, increases the number of people looking at your toys. It can only help. I have found that things are cheaper, depending on the product. Obviously rarer items are not significantly lower, but I have found that a lot of the more common figures and lines that I have been looking for, are coming down in price. People want to make sales, so they are willing to negotiate a bit. I'm going to FX in Orlando this year, and I am hoping to make some good deals down there this year. We'll see!