Lincoln Monsters Boxed Set

[Hepcat]

I remember the hunt and seeing stuff you'd never seen before at shows. As much as those days could be frustrating (arrogant sellers, crazy prices....

Do you think then that the price of monster related toys/collectibles has dropped in general since the Toy Shop days in the nineties?

[1975]

Do you think then that the price of monster related toys/collectibles has dropped in general since the Toy Shop days in the nineties?

Your smiley suggests you don't agree but  I do think prices have dropped, yes. It's become  more based on demand. There is inflation and the popularity of items/genres has changed, so it's not apples to apples.

Dealers used to just "make up" prices and honestly, you weren't a position to haggle half the time. There was a chance you'd have to work very hard to find another one if you didn't buy it then and there. Nowadays I've seen everything at least twice.

[Hepcat]

Your smiley suggests you don't agree but  I do think prices have dropped, yes.

My smiley was just a question mark. I rather suspect that prices have dropped a bit but I was interested in your observations as well.

[raycastile]

In the 90s, I bought any carded Lincoln/AHI monster I could find, no matter what condition or price. Each one I bought was the first and only one I had seen, and I didn't know if I would ever find another.

I think prices on these things spiked in the late 90s, receded, then swelled again a few years ago. I think the market on this genre is a little soft right now, except for the most uncommon items. I think the really rare stuff is more expensive than ever.

[vintagehalloweentoys]

Do you think then that the price of monster related toys/collectibles has dropped in general since the Toy Shop days in the nineties?

I agree with Ray that prices are softer now than they were in the 1990's with the exception of the ultra rare pieces. I only went to one toy show in the late 80's (I had a friend who was into baseball cards and I helped him with his booth...I was 15 at the time). At that show I remember seeing the mini remco monsters and some of these dealers were asking $10 for a carded one, and I thought to myself "Damn! These things were on clearance at Toys R US for 99 cents a couple years ago".

There was only 1 or 2 shops in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area that sold vintage toys, and I quickly discovered where those shops were (Dave's Comics in Ann Arbor and Royal Oak, and Time Travelers near Royal Oak). I went to these shops in the early 1990's and those same carded remco monsters were pushing between $50-$100 (in a period of 3 years or so since the first toy show I attended). I've seen a lot of these carded remco mini monsters sell for $30-$50 online recently (granted they do go higher from time to time). I also see a lot of people asking really high prices (the buy it now) for loose AHI monsters like The Wolfman and Frankenstein for $150-$200 a pop, and then you will see someone start one at a reasonable no reserve price, and they sell for $50-$100 each.

[Hepcat]

In the 90s, I bought any carded Lincoln/AHI monster I could find, no matter what condition or price. Each one I bought was the first and only one I had seen, and I didn't know if I would ever find another.

Are carded ones scarcer than boxed ones then?

[raycastile]

Are carded ones scarcer than boxed ones then?

No.

[1975]

In the 90s, I bought any carded Lincoln/AHI monster I could find, no matter what condition or price. Each one I bought was the first and only one I had seen, and I didn't know if I would ever find another.

I forget where I was, may have been Chicago in the 1990s and a dealer had a full set of loose Lincolns. He wanted $300 a figure. Too rich for my blood.

His logic: "Have you ever seen a full set?"

I had not and went about my business. In the last 30 days, I've seen close to a full set, two victims and that window boxed AHI Dracula. How times have changed.

[Hepcat]

Here's a good link on these Lincoln figures:

Lincoln Monsters - Plaid Stallions

The Lincoln Monsters are sometimes dismissed as "Mego Knockoffs" which they kind of are but they should also be recognized as the charming and fun monster toys they are.

These eight inch Mego inspired figures were made in the mid 1970's by toy manufacturer Lincoln International. The Monsters saw distribution in the United Kingdom, Europe andNorth America. Variations of both the packaging and figures themselves exist which implies that several runs were made.