Some will surely recover the MP figures likely should go up in value again but G1 Fort Max may well be permanently lowered in value due to a large portion of the the demand being satisfied.

Fort max has long been a Holy Grail for many collectors however Most collectors are going to be just fine with the Encore fort max and not go looking for a Vintage one leaving them for those few who just have to have a real vintage G1.

 

You're not being ripped off if you choose to spend.

It's like paying for sex because you're an ugly chud. Can you really claim the Hooker ripped you off because you can't get laid? Not just sad, but ridiculously so.

 

It's obviously the evil corporation Hasbro's fault for not taking individual orders. Why can't I just dial a 1-800 number and order every single TF that I want for it's original retail price.

 

Don't feel too bad buddy, people are adults you do know that right? If a guy wants to pay 280 for MP Grimlock for his 5yo, its his right to do that (no lie, he said he was buying it for his 5yo which I thought was crazy) anyways, he didn't feel he was getting ripped off as you put it since many MP Grimlocks were going pretty high at that time that were open and mine was misb.

Can I be pissed off if I wanna buy a low mileage 09 G8 GT and they still go for almost 20 grand? Sure, but if I want one, that's what the market says they're worth. tough beans for me if I really want one, can't be mad at the guy/dealership that has one for sale.

 

no!   you guys have it easy in the States for cars, if i wanted a high-milage 95 R33 GTR that had basically been ragged by a series of rudebois, i'd probably be looking at a similar amount of money.

uh. anyway, what i'm trying to say is secondary markets are basically bullshit. doubly so for Collectibles.

 

Well, it's a question of how badly the need or want the figure vs how much they are willing to spend. For example: I'm one of the people who spent $50 on a FE CJ years back when the FE's were only released in Canada, but even though that one mold has gotten so many variant releases for cheaper prices, I still think I got a fair deal for the true original FE CJ since he's the only version of the mold I like.

Heh, at least he wasn't trying to get a Shadow Command ROTF Megatron, I don't think anybody knows what the hell happened with the random spike in his resell value a while back.

 

Prices will creep back up. The Transformers brand isn't going anywhere. It's not like the shelves were flooded with reissues. They'll end up in people's collections and they'll be harder to find again.

 

The "good" reissues, like Takara's TFC, earlier reissues, and even some Encores already demand high prices.

I'm all for reissues though.

It killed me as a kid when my Soundwave's chest and arms and legs fell off, from years and years of play. And he ended up in the trash. I never thought I'd ever own a Soundwave again. I didn't want some other kid's beat up toy either. I wanted the real deal.

And in 2003 it happened. Sure, there was one slight difference in the buttons, but I didn't care. This was a mint condition, never before touched Soundwave just like the one I got for Christmas in 1984.

Reissues freaking RULE. They have fulfilled my dreams of owning these toys again cause I simply never thought it would be possible again, cause I could never afford MISB vintage TFs.

It comes off as so elitist and snobby to me when people actively complain and wish that everyone else can't have what they have. But really, we don't have what the "elite" have. SOME of you have actual 1984 Soundwaves still sealed in the box. That's never going to decrease in value. Does it really "hurt" you that I got immense joy from getting a reissue of the toy years later that can never be confused for the original?

Same way with Masterpieces. Do you really get that much of a sick little thrill knowing that I don't have MP-10 cause he's going for $800 on Amazon Japan and you have him?

 

Like Encore Omega Supreme. Last time I saw him available at BBTS it was in Clearance. And now that it's not available on any store, it's on ebay, some with a higher price than a brand new Encore Fortress Maximus.

To me, the reissues are very good. Most of those re-issued toys are new to me. In Brazil we only had Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Bumper, Gears, Windcharger, Brawl, Twin Twist and Top Spin released as official Transformers (in many colors).

I am not a G1 collector, so I would never buy the ebay price for a MISB 1984 toy, and I don't want a 30 years old used toy, with cracks, no tires or rotten stickers. The reissues are cheaper and are new. I buy the ones that I like and leave the original stuff to the guys that wants 30 year old toys. It's better to all involved.

 

The collector market isn't driven by the basic supply and demand curve. It's a toy market driven by older moneyed children that are buying back their youth (face it...that's what we are). The value of things depends entirely on childish whims - as in "what's new," "what's cool," and "what everyone else is talking about." Because of this, the market isn't driven by supply and demand - it's driven by wildly varying fads of intense demand followed by dropoffs in value that can take years to stabilize.

Limited run third party items and Botcon exclusives should be more expensive when supply is considered. Comparatively, the supply is far smaller than ANY mainstream release, even shortpacked ones. Yet, if Hasbro or another 3rd party company comes out with a newer or better version of that character, the value of the originally expensive figure drops... sometimes exponentially. The new "hot" figure turns an expensive limited edition collector piece into the collecting equivalent of an iPhone 1. It's interesting, because this is not a tech market. It shouldn't be so easy for a plastic figure to be 'outdated.' Age was once a positive thing for collectors. Look at 'Classics' and all of the subsequent related lines. The homages of the 84/85 guys were very valuable until MP became the big thing. A classics collection, in its entirety, is worth a quarter of what it once was.

Sometimes something becomes cool or in vogue and demand skyrockets on an item that was without demand for years. You couldn't sell an Armada Unicron for a decent price for years after its release, due to the abundance of them in retail and clearance. When the "make a combiner by slapping toys on Unicron" fad hit the customizing world, things changed. A figure that had a high supply became valuable regardless due to everyone being aware of the fad/trend. Virtually overnight the abundance of Unicrons went from less than retail to damn near double. When people got bored with the unicron-as-everyone-even-when-it-doesn't-fit trend, the price of Unicron dropped. The price dropped even though the supply was lower than before the fad (usually a low supply accompanies a high price - Unicron was high supply/high price and low supply/low price).

I'm not complaining by any means and want to make that clear. I like getting better versions of characters. I sold a "Classics" Superion with both the FP and the more recent upgrade kits. Sold it at a loss in excited anticipation of the new/exciting/more G1 Combiner War figures. Same with my still worth $$$ FP Menasor sold in anticipation of December/Jan's new line. I'm also not mad about random fads, as I've gotten some good sales/trades with things that were popular for a little bit. You're better making real investments in stocks, bonds, etc... Collectible speculation always fails in the end (ask the comic and beanie baby collectors). Buy to enjoy, not to profit.

 

Been trying to tell these guys this. You could buy every main line MP ever and still not mount up to a set of decent coilovers

 

I remember once I was in a TRU and I was wondering if I should look at the Grimlock Reissue.

On my way to the isle to guys where standing with a buggy full of Grimlock's and an employee walked up to them and said they had eight more if they wanted them.

I shit myself and wanted to cuss the F*ckers out so badly. Dicks.


But no, eventually the resale thing will go back up for some figures.

 

I'm glad Hasbro has been rerelease get stuff. If they reproduce BotCon stuff, I'll be a very happy fan

 

Well, they did do the 2007 Botcon Seekers in a way, especially Thundercracker who was probably the most valuable of the trio since he's one of the original Starscream repaint group.

Though pretty much all the characters who were represented with repaints have gotten much better and accurate representations over the years. Scourge, Sky Byte, Kup, Jazz, etc.

 

I sense some butt hurt over the fact that people are buying Skyfire / Jetfire new as opposed to the ridiculous prices that people charge for the "original". Personally the ones that charge 2 to 3 times what these awesome little toys are worth sicken me. I understand the want to get a little, but there is taking what its worth and taking the piss. The dudes
that gouge folks just trying to complete their collection, to love the toy as it was meant, just anger me. I agree that you can sell them as expensive as you want. Thats your right. Its your privilege. That doesnt make it right. I personally hope that market never recovers. Before the "Youre just mad because you cant afford it." crap that will eventually come out because of this.....I own just about every 3rd party release there has been since the Armor upgrade for Magnus. Im not a pretentious rich person. I do well for myself and as a person with disposable income I still find these types of salesman to be reprehensible. I guess everyones got to make a living!

 

I've been pretty lucky buying older items over the years. I expected to pay premium for certain CHUG figures, and while that may have been so in a few cases (Ratchet, Ramjet), others were around retail (Jetfire, Devastator). I've almost come to the end of buying older stuff (see my sig) so it feels wonderful to not worry anymore about aftermarket prices. The items in my sig, however, are another ballgame...

I don't think the problem will ever go away unfortunately. I would say that patience is needed, but sometimes it's hard to be patient to fill a gap in a collection.

 

A new equilibrium will be reached, but I don't think it'll be as high as the original prices were, for a variety of reasons.

 

 


As many inspired haters of "   "'s....people need to start pulling their heads out their asses and realize that like " you  
Their hatred towards   's makes them either ignorant or they just want to ignore the facts that :
1. if there was not a demand for something....then this resale of anything wouldn't exist.
2. There are tons of folks that buy off ebay or other people reselling items because A) it never showed up in a store near them at all or B) They could not spare the costs to get to the convention to buy said exclusive...


I personally have not once gone to a botcon....Not that that has stopped me from getting plenty of the box sets from botcon or the add on sets....


And yes i knew each time that i was paying over the "asking price" that these items sold for originally.

But as a person not dropping $1000 or more in airfare and hotels and meals....I was more than happy to pay what i did for the transformers i wanted to buy.

It's just like a TV station...you don't agree or like people buying/selling from each other based on what the asking price of the item....Fuck off and go home and beat a tree or bush in your yard.

It does not affect you in anyway anyway....if you don't like the prices being asked for ...walk on and don't stick your business into their business.

It simply is that simple....

  people have WAY TOO MUCH FREE TIME on their hands if they just sit and obsess about this crap....