Author Topic: What are your monster toys and collectibles really worth?  (Read 14244 times)

Hepcat

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What are your monster toys and collectibles really worth?
« on: October 27, 2014, 04:22:55 PM »
Now admittedly I myself have often scoffed at the prices certain sellers have asked for monster and other collectibles on Ebay. This is particularly true for those items in which I have no interest, i.e. AHI, Lincoln and other monster action figures. (All of which of course came after my time....) Moreover to be fair I've also been both surprised and aghast at the prices certain items have ultimately fetched, and have ended up sneering at the speculative excesses in the marketplace for these items.

On top of that I have absolutely no sympathy for the speculators/investors to whom these collectibles mean nothing but their potential dollar value. In fact I always cheer for these speculators to be left holding the bag and take a financial bath on whatever they've purchased just to flip at a higher price.

I also don't entirely agree with the statement that "any item is worth whatever someone will pay". The problem I have is that the concept of "worth" implicitly involves making a value judgement and making a universal value judgement involves getting into someone else's head. All I can say about the value of any collectible is the price at which they're listed in various guides, the prices at which they've been trading and the price (if any) that I'd be willing to pay myself. I'm not willing to go into anyone else's head and make a judgement about how much an item would be "worth" to some other fellow though.

That being said, I also flatly disagree with the statements "It's just a piece of plastic. It's not gold." or "It's just paper." First of all those statements imply that objects have no value over and above that which they provide for strictly utilitarian survival purposes. Excuse me but we could all get by living in a tent on a diet of brown bread, beans and water. To say that something is just plastic is like saying Rembrandt's paintings are just coloured paper and should therefore be valued accordingly.

And for that matter why does gold fetch so high a price? It's utilitarian uses are very limited. Somewhere between 95% and 99% of all the gold that's ever been mined is still lying around in bank vaults as bars, safety deposit boxes and drawers as coins and jewellery boxes as various decorative trinkets. And only the tiniest fraction of the gold being mined every year ends up being used up in say electronic applications. The rest gets added to the pile put away and hoarded. So why does an ounce of gold fetch the price of nearly 465 pounds of butter today?

The answer is of course supply and demand. People for whatever reason have bid gold up in price. And with respect to collectibles the same dynamic is functioning, but with one crucial difference. In the area of monster collectibles specifically, there appear to be a few thousand determined collectors. Every one of these collectors wants the best specimen/toy available. Yet the quantity of mint in box/mint in package items may be as few as a dozen, or even one, or none at all! So who gets the item? Whoever can afford and is willing to bid the silliest price, that's who. And that's just fine with me.

The question that immediately arises of course is why there are so many collectors of these kids' toys from previous decades in the first place. What compels so many of us to amass this stuff? Once again, I can only speak for myself but I suppose it has something to do with not wanting to let go of the past, or at least those parts of the past that I once cherished. But why should I let go of those parts of my past? Child is father to the man. We're all a product/sum total of our experiences. Why should I let go of the particularly pleasant ones? And if I thought something was cool then, why should my opinion be any different now?

Now I know that my desire to reacquire the treasures of my youth could of course be further analyzed and  dissected, but what's the point? All that needs to be said is that I take great delight in acquiring this stuff and having it in my possession leaves me with a profound sense of satisfaction/contentment. And that there is the bottom line.

Why then should I change? Because I'm an adult now and should be dignified and acquire adult tastes and preferences? So what would those be? Cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and other drugs? Yeah, that would make sense. Piss my money away destroying brain cells and ruining my health. No thanks. I don't need to be that much of an adult. I'll continue to give reign to my "inner child" and bound up stairs two at a time like I did in my teens instead of taking escalators. I'll continue to sprint for buses and commuter trains like I did in my twenties. And I'll continue to add to my collections of kid stuff. I'll leave the sedentary mind damaging adult habits and stuff to everyone else.

And of course isn't it funny that all the kid stuff I've been buying for the past 35 years has not only held its price but appreciated - dramatically in many instances? How many of the other consumer items sold over the last 35 years have done so? Put whatever household item (even still M.I.B.) you bought five years ago up for sale on Kijiji. See what it fetches today.

So yeah, I plan to continue adding to my monster toys, model kits, board games, lunch boxes, comics, magazines, gum cards, etc. for the foreseeable future. Granted, I will continue to be careful not to overpay for items whose prices have been overinflated by speculators. These items are easy enough to recognize in many cases. I mean if the high bidder for an item on Ebay turns around and relists whatever he bought for an even higher price, that's a sure sign of speculation. The item would have sold for far less had he not been bidding in the previous auction. So I'll just scoff at many of these B.I.N. prices we see on Ebay.

But otherwise screw the philistines and naysayers. I hope to continue to add to whatever you see in the pictures below indefinitely:

































 ;)
« Last Edit: November 22, 2016, 02:19:24 PM by Mike Scott »
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Mord

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2014, 05:02:56 PM »
 Incredibly impressive collection!!! I agree with most of the points you made. The only things I buy are items that I find aesthetically appealing with no intention of making a profit. That said, I have sold some items that went up so high in value that I couldn't say no.

Flower

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2014, 05:09:48 PM »








 ;)


Nice (long) post .. these are the pictures that I like the best ..  ;D
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the_horror_man

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2014, 06:08:16 PM »
Hi Hepcat...I absolutely understand what you are saying. For me, acquiring things I had as a child is a small part of it. If I had to pick a main reason, it is for the artistic aspect. I look at action figures and masks as art.  I marvel at the sculpts. There is so much work and talent that goes into them. I keep 99% of my items in the package or with the tag. I feel that the packaging is part of the piece.

Ironically enough. I was just thinking today about what a small group of monster/horror collectors there are. When you consider how many people are in the world, the percentage is so low, it barely exists. Of course, most collectors are men. So the percentage of women that do this is so small, it's like there is not even enough to say there is a percentage.

As far as prices. There is one line of collectibles that I have mentioned quite a few times that are absolutely ridiculous in price. Those being the Kaiju figures. The prices of Godzilla and the like are so out of hand, I do not know how the market is continuing on. Figures sit, un sold for months or probably even years. I cannot understand the mentality of these the sellers. It seems they would rather charge twice or more what an item is seemingly worth and never sell it, rather than sell it and make a moderate profit. I mean is making no money better than making a moderate amount of it. I have so many examples of this. However, one primarily comes to mind. I had talked to a seller in Japan about a figure he was selling. In todays market, this figure is worth about $50. When the figure was first released back around the late 90's or early 2000's, it sold for maybe $20. Also, this figure is sort of considered a bootleg. Now, this seller is charging $210 plus international shipping. Basically selling a $50 for $230.  I contacted him why was this particular one so expensive. He danced around an answer, not really saying anything that could be considered a valued explanation. Anyway, the figure has been sitting on ebay for probably 6- 7 months that I know about, could be longer. Also, still listed for $210. Meanwhile, about 4 months ago. I found one on ebay and payed, guess what? About $50. Just like I told the guy in Japan that the figure was worth. One other example is I saw 2 figures, same figure, same condition. One was $300 and the other was $700. I believe both were 1 page from each other.

thm

John Pertwee

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2014, 09:45:44 PM »
When the market speaks, sometimes it blows everyone away.

I posted images here on the Lunar Lander I bought in a resale shop. At the time, ebay had them going for $700. I sat on it for almost a year, until I saw one go for $1024. I waited a few weeks and put mine on ebay. It had the original box it was shipped in back in the 60s, and was MINT, but I thought it would go for under a grand. I was sure that the big dog had got his and the other guys would nibble on mine.

It went today for $1775!

We can sit and talk all day about what is over priced and what isn't, but if the market decides to rewrite history who are we to argue?

tylerh

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2014, 03:47:52 PM »
Im not going to lie - I didnt read  the whole first post - But I read most of it...  (I have A.D.D. with long posts so I speed read them!)

I agree with a lot of the points - only with exception to few. I admit, I dont collect with future value in mind - But I dont ignore that either... Several of our items involve a substantial investment in funds - and to most of us, money IS an object - so I try to buy smartly so I can (ideally) at least get my money BACK...

Collecting is a strange thing - When I collected Movie props, I was offered a "Dragoon" flintlock from Pirates of the Caribbean that Johnny Depp had used.  The seller wanted several thousand dollars.

Now, I own a REAL antique Dragoon, and IT wasnt worth as much as this plastic replica that was used in a movie and held by Johnny Depp for a few days.  That seemed really strange to me.... A real historical antique, not worth as much as a modern replica - Just because someone held it in a movie.  (I think they wanted 3500$ for it, and the real one was in the 2000$ value range)

I also dont agree with "Its worth what someone is willing to pay" -  I mean look at trends over the years , and especially ebay...  Beanie Babies, etc...  Things people paid thousands for, worth pennies today...

The psychology of collecting is interesting no matter what way you look at it.


Hepcat

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2014, 10:37:06 AM »
I'm not going to lie - I didnt read  the whole first post....

Well did you look at the pictures anyway?

I also dont agree with "Its worth what someone is willing to pay" -  I mean look at trends over the years , and especially ebay...  Beanie Babies, etc...  Things people paid thousands for, worth pennies today....

Beanie Babies are a classic case study of the madness of crowds. The human tendency to extrapolate recent trends ad infinitum and the resultant "piling on" phenomena creates price bubbles. When these burst, all that remains is hot air.

The Beanie Babies proved to be a surprisingly popular product when they hit the market in 1993. The Ty company not surprisingly ceased production of the least popular designs as it introduced newer designs that it hoped would be bigger hits. But the product line was still growing in popularity. Newer Beanie Baby fans were willing to pay a premium(!) to acquire some of the designs they could no longer find in stores. This caught the attention of the speculator/investor crowd, who piled in and pushed prices even higher, a lot higher! (Remember that the nineties were the decade when the broader public became aware of the price that the American Tobacco Company Honus Wagner 1909 baseball card was fetching.) Some people were sucked into "investing" in Beanie Babies to finance their kids' education, which pushed prices even higher. These people were blissfully unaware that prices don't increase unless demand exceeds supply. And even the "retired" Beanie Babies were in relatively plentiful supply. Their numbers had not been reduced by any meaningful destruction factor which is the key to price appreciation for nostalgia items. Moreover, with demand augmented by speculator interest, how was demand to grow further? So of course the bubble burst by the end of the century and "investors" were left holding the bean bag.

 :laugh:

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Monsters For Sale

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2014, 10:49:55 AM »

History (or people) repeating. 

Read up on the tulip mania of the 1600's sometime.
ADAM

Hepcat

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2014, 11:57:56 AM »
I have. What was particularly insane about that one is that the supply of tulip bulbs could be increased exponentially, yet this detail didn't prevent the mania from taking hold anyway!

 :o
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the_horror_man

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2014, 02:18:09 PM »
Remember cabbage patch kids?;D

thm

Hepcat

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2014, 08:37:50 AM »
Yes, Cabbage Patch Kids were indeed enormously popular but I don't remember there being insane price speculation in that toy line. I don't think they were being bought as an "investment".

 :-\
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freddie poe

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2014, 02:39:29 PM »
Ah! Brother Hep!  We dig all the same stuff Cat! Who do i have to kill for that MONSTER RALLY record? LOL!  STELLAR COLLECTION!

horrorhunter

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2014, 04:19:10 PM »
"The value of something is what someone is willing to pay" is a gross oversimplification. There is a commonly accepted range of value for a given item based on several different factors, the most important factor being what it has commonly sold for in the past. Other factors are perceived scarcity and demand, price guides, commonly seen asking prices, and the common idea that things should increase in value over time.

The "what someone is willing to pay" enters into the value range, but nobody is going to give 100 times the common market value for an item just because they want it badly (barring total idiocy of course). The buyer will just wait until a more reasonably priced example is found. All of this being relative a buyer may give several times "market value" for an item if they are wild about the item and it's scarce enough to not turn up very often. That's usually the reason some of these items become so valuable in the first place, the cumulative effect of high demand/low supply over time. Likewise, sought after items usually bring good prices at auction because there are usually people who bid the item up who either want it for themselves or would purchase it for resale.

We are all so connected now with the internet, and especially eBay, this commonly accepted range of value for a given item is pretty well understood among collectors even if there are no current price guides available which give a value for the item. Once in a lifetime you might get lucky and find a Strange Candy Bucket for 5 bucks, but usually the old commonly accepted range of value (carov) kicks in and you have to drop 400 bucks to a grand on a nice example.
ALWAYS MONSTERING...

Hepcat

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Re: What are monster toys and collectibles worth?
« Reply #13 on: October 30, 2014, 04:22:57 PM »
Ah! Brother Hep!  We dig all the same stuff Cat!


Perhaps we were separated at birth?

 ???

Who do i have to kill for that MONSTER RALLY record? LOL!

You know you might try checking a few used record stores. I think you might find one, or more! Plus some other cool collectible monster LPs!

 :)



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horrorhunter

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Re: What are your monster toys and collectibles really worth?
« Reply #14 on: October 30, 2014, 04:35:34 PM »
Here's a Monster Rally album for a hundred bucks on eBay. There is also a re-issue on there with the slightly different cover for 50. Both are a little beat, but they are scarce now, and that Jack Davis cover is truly awesome.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Monster-Rally-Hans-Conried-Alice-Pearce-RCA-Victor-LP-Record-Halloween-Horror-/201180015450?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item2ed7436b5a

My Dad gave mine to me back in the '60s. He worked in a small radio station in Dalton Ga. and saved it from being tossed out. I still have it and several other monster LPs. I made a cassette tape of it and some others 30 years ago and listen to it every Halloween. I just heard the tape in my car a couple of days ago and it still sounds great!  tynhrt
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