Sorry I couldn't come up with a better title, but something made me wonder: what happens when all those the love G1 start getting older, and sell off their items to a smaller and smaller fanbase? In terms of prices, will they hold their value? Will they decline as those trying to sell them to people who don't have any real connection to them offer less money than they are 'worth'?

Or is this like any cyclic hobby: there's a dedicated but apparently wealthy group of collectors of toys from the turn the of the century (and older). While it's not nearly 'huge', those toys fetch thousands from the 'right buyer'.

Is that what will happen to TF G1, do you think? I ask because I noticed a few threads ago that some newer guys don't have the nostalgia for G1, don't like the 'brickness' of the old designs and are much more excited about Masterpiece, for instance.

I look at other vintage toys and collectibles in comparison. I remember when 8 bit Nintendo carts were the big draw, but I just heard of an N64 game selling sealed for thousands of dollars. The NES is no longer gaining the most value because, I believe (and of course I have no way of really knowing) there's more kids out there who grew up on N64 than the NES and those numbers reflect the increase in value.

For years, G1 (Diaclone, the like) was the big hitter on the collectible market. And yet when those numbers dwindle through the future decades, what does that mean for prices? If nobody wants to buy my grandson's MIB Optimus Prime from 84 in 2084 at the price that it's 'worth', what does that mean for the hobby?

I realize that monetary value aside, that's not what makes a great hobby. It's just strange to think what will happen in the future. Will MP become valuable in 100 years time? ...what of the G1/Diaclone stuff? Do you think there will be a peak in prices, and then a decline as the fandom shrinks and the older collectors pass on?

Can anybody point to another toy hobby like ours that has already gone through something like what I'm explaining (or at least trying to explain)? ..I can only think of Lionel trains. AFAIK, there's no Lionel trains anymore but they are quite collectible and some go for crazy amounts of money.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for ideas about cash value as I realize these toys aren't investments (well, none of mine are anyway). Just thinking about the future. Would we feel foolish forking out the dollars for rare TFs that nobody in the future will care about or want? Thoughts?

 

It depends on how you look at it. While the fan base for original G1 stuff will age and die and slowly decrease. So will the actual available supply of collectable G1 Transformers. These are only plastic toys after all. They were only intended to last a few years of solid play. Plastic slowly decays. Rubber rots away. etc. Every year there are fewer original G1's out there. So available supply should always match the fan base somewhat.

Further the key is for current nostalgic fans to pass that fandom and nostalgia on to their children. They will be nostalgic for Transformers and fond of G1 not because they remember G1, but because they were "Dad's Transformers" and they collect them out of love and nostalgia for dear old Dad. Actually in that set of circumstances it is probably best of the value of said Transformers drops slightly over time. This will discourage the ungrateful literal basturds from hawking them to the pawn shop in exchange for some sort of laser death ray handgun or newfangled virtual reality porn at the first sign of your incipient senility.

Y'know this reply turned out way more depressing then it seemed in my head.

 

There will always be collectors for the older stuff. Toys from 1950 and before have a fan base and are still highly collectible. Pieces from the franchise's history will always be somewhat in demand.

 

I'd like to think that there will always be a branch of "purists" that regardless of their age, will still venture to obtain originals, and have what I call "second-hand nostalgia."

Like the way hipsters go to vintage vynil emporiums for original Muddy Waters LPs, or like how my grandparents' toys (yoyo, ball on a stick) still have a market today.

Also, Fansproject recently did the glacialbots in the form of a G1 combiner. It's a way of taking something new and retconning it into the lore. I think my kids might one day see an Animated or Prime homage and think back to when their pops used to have something similar. Nostalgia purchase.

-Kronatron.

 

It will just be different people buying it someone will always look for it, the rare hard to find stuff will always be rare and hard to find.

 

I realize it will be hard to find and technically rare, yet...without the kids out there (lol, I mean adults) to pay the dollars, does it mean that the values will stall and eventually just plateau?

I've also read of the trend that kids these days don't seem to be all that interested in what Dad (or Mom) collected, and would just as soon be rid of it...which is a bonus for any 'real' collector   ...but I'm just thinking the collector of the future will most likely be a general vintage toy collector, not just a TF specific fan. But who knows, with brands and trademarks these days who knows...maybe TFs will still be around in some form in 2084  

Without the demand of some heavy hitter collectors, you'd think things would plateau.

 

It is something of a reality we as collectors and even Hasbro as a company has to face.. The franchise is going on 30 now, the average G1 aged fan is pushing 40. Maybe 20 more years of even caring about collecting for even a percentage of us.. Maybe another 20 before we start just passing away. So in say another 20 years will Transformers be as strong as DR Who is at 50? I don't know, maybe.. The rescue bots show was a damned necessary tool to grow the future of the franchise, and if they don't botch the hell out of this TFCU they could keep pulling new fans and retell old stories on the big screen for years to come.

Imagine a day 30 years from now, will there even be plastic to make the toys? I don't know. Will there somewhere literally be a landfill of nothing but discarded bumblebees.. It's not impossible.. Not at all.

 

BW purists. Then follows A/E/C, movie/animated, etc, etc.

 

I'm afraid Movie fans will take over the community. When that happens, I'm out for good. (No joke.)

 

It's just like collecting Star Wars. Vintage stuff vs. Modern stuff. I collect both. I imagine the future of the franchise depends on how Hasbro handles and maintains this IP. If they stink it up, the entire name dies. If they continue reimagining G1 over and over again, I'll be here until I die. Lets face it, even old dudes need a hobby. I don't think collectors need to stop being collectors at any age if you like it. If Hasbro does something I'm not connecting with, like go all Beast Wars all the time. I would stop collecting until their focus is back to vehicles and machines again. I didn't jump back into TF from '86 until I saw Classics Sunstreaker. If they don't make what you like, you have no choice but to stop. Bay's stuff isn't helping. If any one of these relaunched shows are done well enough(Prime, RID), they might start a following like Animated did and breath new life to the IP. It's all on Hasbro. As far as G1 vintage toys go, I only see prices fall. With reissues after reissues and better modern versions out there all the time, true vintage G1 isn't really all that rare to begin with.

 

I think a better question is how will G1 fans transform their toys when arthritis hits?

 

Future generations will still be nostalgic for Optimus, Bumblebee, Megatron, etc. Just not the G1 versions. They might long for AEC or movie stuff or even RID eventually. They'll be clamoring for Masterpiece Fixit. LOL One thing is for sure: This is the golden age for G1 fans!

 

Age out like as in die? Because I'll stop being a G1 fan when I'm dead. And I'm 31 which means barring accidents it'll be a little while before I'm gone.

 

That's a frightening thought. There are g1 fans still being made my kids like the g1 characters more than animated or movie .we wake up early on the weekends to watch the old stuff. I assume there will be g1 grandkids one day lol .

 

As long as TFs are around there will always be a market for G1. Just look at old comics and baseball cards for example.

 

Cuz movie fans arent "true fans". Amiright?  

 

I'm sure the G1 torch can be kept alive in some way, shape or form. My Bro and I are still huge G1 fans, and we know others who think likewise. Maybe in the future a Leader Blackout will be the new MP Galvatron,but I doubt Hasbro will ever let go of G1.

Besides all the non - mainlinetoy lines (Gen, CW, Cyber Series) are primarily G1 - inspired aren't they?

 

I'm sure each aspect of the franchise can be appreciated and treasured by someone, without this "true fan" mentality.

 

Nope they just seem to have an obsessive hate for others opinions