What is collectible
This is what one of my friends at work asked me the other day , totally unaware of the bombshell he had just dropped into my lap . In all fairness this is one of the most asked questions I get , along with “ What should I collect ” and “ What would be a good investment ”. And generally my answer is the same . For the first two it ’ s easy , collect what YOU like and enjoy , not others . Collect what you love and cherish and will take pride in showing of .
My wife thinks I ’ m a 50 year old kid I get so excited when I see a new Freddy Krueger or Chucky figure .
But that ’ s not all , the shop next to my apartment has started selling knock off mini Lego figures for 30 baht , the equivalent of $ 1 or about 60p English money . And they look as good as the real McCoy . Best of all , they ain ’ t blind boxed so I can buy the ones I want .
Seriously , the tears were rolling down my wife ’ s cheeks she laughed so hard when I first brought some home . But the next day I bought her some Frozen figures , and now she ’ s kinda hooked too .
Then at Christmas I picked up some rare Nightmare Before Christmas figures , still MIB , in perfect condition for $ 10 each . That made my Christmas , and coincidentally I had just finished a write-up on these for last month ’ s mag .
I think my wife summed it up the other day when she told me that to see the joy and pleasure on my face , and my eyes light up when I get a new figure ( no matter how small , cheap or tacky it is ) gives her as much joy as it does me .
So , stick with what you truly like and love and damn anyone who tells you differently .
Now , as for the last question , that ’ s a bit more difficult and I ’ ll try to give you the short answer .
If you want to collect action figures as in investment DON ’ T !
Most will never attain any serious value and those that do you would need to have kept locked away in a environment , in its seal , undamaged mint packaging for about 20 years !
Of course there are lots of collectors who buy and sell figures to finance their hobby , especially to buy the higher end figures , and many even become dealers or retailers , which is what I did .
But you know what , although I loved the job and the work , the figures I REALLY , REALLY wanted to keep were also the figures that mu customers REALLY REALLY wanted to buy and were therefore the bread and butter of my business . After all , does a drug dealer buy his own drugs ? The trouble is these days , unlike in the 70 ’ s , people are a lot more savvy and hoard and coa lot more now . Even kids have started to hoard their toys now , seriously . At Christmas on of my nephnephews got a new Teenage Ninja Turtle figure , and I sat waiting for him to open it up . And you know what de did ?
He carefully , almost reverently , put it to one side .
?
“ Aren ’ t you going to open it ” I asked . And he looked at me as if I was mad . “ You gotta be kidding . Do you know how rare this is ?
If I keep it in its box it will be worth loads ”. I just smiled , knowingly to myself , and let the matter drop .
I mean , what is rare ? This is far too often used as a selling point , and I thing one of thee most overused and misused words in the business .
After all , even if only one super duper ultra sonic self destructing retro mass plastic water bottle is ever made it will only have value if more than one person wants it and is willing to pay for it .
Now me , what I think is truly collectable are you every day items . Your big biros , thumb drives , recordable cds , video cassettes , durex boxes etc . Why ? Because these are the thing that NO-ONE keeps yet EVERYONE uses or needs . Therefore 20-30 years from now , when these have been relegated to history is what will be valuable .
Now transfer that to the toys that are made and think about what is popular with the kids now . Think about the toys they play with , fight with and destroy before the end of the year . The toys NO-ONE collects because everyone has them . The Ben 10 , Bakugans , Yu-Gi-Oh , Care Bears and My Lttle Pony etc .
If you want to invest your money , then that ’ s what you should invest in .
As for what to collect , stick with what you love and enjoy .
What do you think ? Colin
Action Figure Resource
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