Long story short and sorry if this is a boring discussion. Not the best title for sure.

Recently I have gone through the process of replacing older releases with the latest FT ones (for the sake of replacing, can't even justify why I have to), and it is not surprised that the older ones are very difficult to move. I have once listed XTB trailbreaker and hoist at $100 shipped for the pair, and still it took some time to sell them.

My 1.5 years old son has recently started to express interests in cars. Yesterday I gave my Badcube Huffer to him and he absolutely loved it. He carefully looked at him and played with him for half an hour. I intend to give him TE mirage, MT downbeat too. It is better to let him play than selling them cheap.

Then I start to think what will happen to my collection if I get older and older, do I sell them? do I pass them to the next generation (they may as well drop them to any thrift stores)? I know everything comes to an end eventually but suddenly I feel pretty sad.

 

The single most important thing to remember when handing down something to your children is that ultimately, it belongs to them now.
We all have an irrational attachment to these hunks of plastic and metal. Save yourself the heartache of them breaking everything, on accident or otherwise, by preparing for it mentally ahead of time. It's going to happen.

Not that they intend to be malicious (generally), it's just the cost of real play. Things break. They don't put it away when they should and the dog gets it. "His arm got blown off" so his arm obviously must be removed.
You can try to use it to teach them responsibility, but inevitably children fail because they are learning.

If you don't want to eventually see it broken, just sell it for cheap and be done with it.

 

In your will, leave detailed instruction in how to sell them for the best price

 

I don't have any children, so I told my wife, "Look on eBay's completed items for asking prices before you even think about selling my collection. If you give any of this away or sell for pennies on the dollar, my angry, vindictive spirit will eternally haunt you."

 

Most of the figures go to my kids when I replace them. I then typically find them in pieces over the next few months. MP’s are generally not toddler/small child resistant.
As long as you don’t get attached to the hand-me-downs and accept that they will get broken, it’s fine.
I tried selling over the years and with the time consuming extra work and the low prices and high shipping it’s not worth it to me. I also no longer keep packaging so makes it harder.
As for inheritance? My kids like them now but I have no idea if they will retain any attachment as they grow up. I plan to outlive my wife (out of spite if nothing else) but either way, once I’m gone it’s no longer my problem. I hope they’ll pass them on to someone but I also hope this won’t be an issue for a long time. At which point I’m pretty sure the collection will be worthless so I imagine they’ll go to the futuristic equivalent of landfall… which given the way things are going in the world, will probably still just be landfill.

 

I'd hope my family would be wise enough to sell this stuff, maybe keep a Soundwave to remember me by. I've told them to check completed listings and all my accessories are labeled, I've done all I can do...

Would it be weird to ask that my ashes are stored in the chest of a Soundwave??

 

Why not? I have asked my wife to bury my ashes in the stadium of my favorite football team when we were told they have this type of service during touring the stadium a few years ago. My wife refused, and threatened me she will bury my ashes in the stadium of my most-hated football team instead.

 

Keep or sell everything but the Dinobots. Those are getting buried with me.

 

Then you can all be extinct together.

 

Your wife is ace. And you'll love Anfield!

 

I'm not selling anything and also I decided not to have children. When I die I will be probably cremated together with my all TFs figures.

 

Grandson... Trying to teach him to appreciate such things even if he's barely 1 now....

It would take a massive situation for me to ever consider selling my collection as I've always considered it a part of me, and not pass it on.

Regardless of what they are worth, they are toys first and foremost.


EDIT: As I noted that many stated their situation with partners, no children, family, etc. I just wanted to add that from my side, if there's anything to be said is that both my wife and my daughter would never want to get rid of/sell my collection should something happen to me, they made it clear that they feel that it would be too big a part of my presence to ever/even consider it.

That's part of my hopes that I can teach my grandson to be able to play to his heart's content without being rough and such, as I wasn't and still have my collection from when I was a child, part of what I'd pass on it's just the toys, but the idea that one can play and not break things/be rough, as I've seen most kids be as such, and I'm just hoping that I've passed that on to him.

 

Sorry guys but I think expecting these toys to appreciate or even maintain value is a pipe dream. Modern kids already have very little interest in toys, electronics are their toys. I'm personally not concerned with getting more value than personal enjoyment out of these.

Our generation is just getting older and as we die off demand will drop not rise. G1 toys might maintain something, but I don't expect anything back out of 3P/KO. People will be jacking into virtual realities Matrix style in the next few decades. What the Hell would they want with a primitive Optimus Prime toy when they can be Optimus?

 

I remember when my son was three or four and he loved cars and airplanes and trains so having Transformers was great because he enjoyed the alt mode well I enjoyed the transforming. As he's gotten older his tastes have changed but he's 13 now and really enjoying these new battleships. He's broken a couple things through the years but that's to be expected. As my kids grow up and have kids of Their Own I look forward to showing them as well as a grandpa. All good things will come to an end and I hope they can enjoy them but if they don't hopefully they will sell them or pass them on to someone else that can enjoy them. The circle of life for toys haha

 

Exactly. Combined with the rise and improvement of 3d Printing and other forms of additive manufacturing, improved 3D scanners and graphics design, AI refinement etc I fully expect that anyone who wants one will be able to make their own Masterpiece transformers and probably improve on any of the current designs tenfold in the process. Unless death comes in the next decade or so, no-ones going to want our collections when we’re gone.

 

I actually thought about this before... And once, I said to my 7 yr old daughter, that all my toys will go to her and her brother once I am gone, and it is ok if they just sold all of them.

She replied : "Daddy, you are your toys... And your toys are you. We will never sell them."

The sentimental aspect of why we collect is embedded in each toy... Whether you bought the Ultra Magnus because your cousin who had Fortress Maximus came over to your house one day and broke the arms off your Magnus as a kid... Or you bought that Grimlock because your cousin who had Fortress Maximus came over to your house and broke the legs off your Grimlock as a kid... All that will be gone with us when we are well.. gone.

Though I probably would wish for them to be sold, I wouldn't leave specific instructions... I just wish for the toys to continue to bring joy to people. Whether they stay with my family, or go to someone else... doesn't really matter.

 

My toys will be buried with me inside a mausoleum, kinda like the Terracota Warriors. Till All Are One!!!

 

I'm 37 now and don't expect to live past 50. No kids, either. Once I'm dead and gone, my toys will make it to some thrift shop.

Someone will buy them for pennies on the dollar and look them up on the internet. Then they'll see the universe that you and I have created.

Maybe I'll come back to haunt them about the benefits of a spudger.

 

I’ll leave them to my kids and they can do as they wish with them. The G1 toys from my childhood are the ones that have significant sentimental value, but only to me. My kids know this, though, and I would expect they will keep them. The rest they can sell and divide the money between them. Or they can sell them all, give them to their kids, or donate them— it won’t matter because I’ll be gone and will never know.