Umm, no. Not a lot of TF collectors here are there lol. Classics figures have been on a steady increase.

This

But if your talking dollars and cents then sure. I mean heck some TF classics have skyrocketed in price already so that right that tells you something. Hell some WWE elites are 50-100 secondary market. Plus there will always be nostalgia

You gotta love the mentality of "no most toys will just go down and down but what I just so happen to collect will only go up." :rolleyes: . Almost makes it seem like some people try to justify their own collecting to themself and others.

truly depends on what it is in my opinion

pre movie transformers,toybiz legends,mego were all great investments the list really goes on and on

also and this is a huge factor when dealing with vintage toys its not always the product its the memories attached to them

i say if your not in retail but collect for money dwn the line then its a bad idea. unless u are sitting on a shit load of ML deadpools and juggernats with a few ironman's and TF's in there somewhere thenit pretty much over. but then again, there is always someone that puts value on anything

part of the resale growth comes from nostalgic/sentimental attatchment for the subject matter in question the other factors are condition and availablity. Ex lots of people love superman, you may have an old figure that would sell well and easy, factor in that it's mint and not loose, factor in he's green instead of blue and you have 1 super crazy rare toy. Sometimes people will come across the perfect storm of factors to generate 1 super expensive toy. Like the ML deadpool figure I seen a red comic variant going for $500 on ebay.

i agree mostly

but you can certainly look at certain items and tell there is no down the road value

3.75 captain america, thor, iron man 2 come to mind as well as a few trends like bakugan etc

yea u gotta point there. but another twist is most of the times u cant tell if something is going to be th hot figures dwn the line. cause in point, the DCUC batman and robin 2packs. here one store had them stacked (or so i heard) then later on ebay ppl had em for over $100

AMEN to that man when i think back on all the stuff i sold for what i thought was a good price back then makes me ill

i sold a gazillion ml destroyers for $14.99 in my retail store now there 90$ each on ebay ugh

yea hindsight is a killer lol

Not really, with the production numbers of retail toys, how many are really worth money?
Most TF classics, Marvel Universe and any other retail toy does not go for a high value and most are not rare. There are always exceptions to that but the norm is high supply low value.
Other toy companies produce a low quantity while having a large fan base like Glyos, Callgrim, 3a and that keeps the value increasing on most products that they do offer.
Has nothing to do with justifying, its the way how I've seen the toy market since becoming a collector.
As I said before, this should be about the hobby unless you run a toy business and make a living off this. With most hobbies don't expect a big return financially but more of a return in happiness and sanity in dealing with the every day world.

What's a Glyos, Callgrim, and a 3a?

I don't think those things have as large a fan base as you think.

I'd wager 30 years from now you'd be hard pressed to find someone willing to shell out more than what you paid for any of them let alone enough more to justify arguing that they were a good investment.

There will always be a market for characters like Batman, Spiderman, and Optimus Prime. Versions of those characters that are rare now, that one might have been able to luck into buying low now, stand a better chance of showing a return on your investment in the future because they will always be in demand, I think.

Like I said, its all just speculation. A good investment would be in a proven commodity of which I don't believe toys would be included.

Buying a rare figure now and scalping it to a collector for more than what you paid for it now is totally different than making a sound investment.

Most famous works of art were relatively cheap when they were first released. So the argument that independant toys that cost a lot and are produced in low quantities to a niche market and therefore are a good investment is flawed. That is just the marketing campaign they use to convince you to cough up the $$$; you think you're getting something special.

I can almost invision a collector trying to sell his collection of Gylos at a flea market 30 years from now and not understanding why the market isn't willing to pay $1000.00 for his super rare toy. "Don't you understand these were produced in low quantities, I paid hundreds for them and they were never re-released?"

I will say this,I have NEVER bought a figure with the intent of selling it off to make $,thats why I have a job,thats where I make $,I collect figures for fun.

Exactly. Big thing about these niche toys is they get done to death in the next 30 years by copycats. Also the next 30 years the hipster fad and mentality of "my stuff is so much better becouse I am not mainstream" will be dead. I'm not saying any toy line is a good/safe investment but anyone with ANY buisness sense would tell you invest in stuff that has a proven track record and history. Transformers Classics came out only a handful of years ago yet they are almost all worth something. Heck the old irwin Dragonball Z line is a good chunk of change. Dont even get me started on the DC super powers toys which came out around 30 years ago if I am not mistaken

Great investments. Right up there with gold & real estate.

These companies aren't huge in fanbase in the us or Canada, but china,japan, europe huge fanbases and the numbers are growing, mind u these toys are 2 expensive and hard to find to be something you give to a toddler, so they're being bought as teen youth and young adults, so 20-30 years from now these are old men with $$ to burn I think they'll be desirable, just may take slightly longer to sell as it's a more specialized market. Superman,spiderman, wolverine etc appeal to kids and adults alike so the selling potential/ target audience is greater.

Toys that have increased in value were relatively cheap when they were first released. Kids played the heck out of them. 30 years later its really hard to find those toys in good condition so they are worth more money. The ones that were of timeless characters are anyway.

Niche toys don't follow this proven fomula at all. They are expensive and kids don't play with them. Therefore, 30 years from now, anyone who might want them, most likely already has pristine un-played with renditions of them.

I could be wrong, but only time will tell. Maybe these niche toys will behave differently than history has taught us.

TRUE, I can understand your logic though, have a million toys sold for $4 each, 30 years from now 95% of them were destroyed,played to death with or gone, and the remaining ones in mint condition or near mint will fetch big bucks for the nostalgic factor. Where as 3a,hot toys, These high end collectables typically never see the hands of children, so they usually stay in relatively good condition, and may hurt the chance of doubling your initial investment, but if they don't go up over time I feel they'll atleast maintain their value.

Also niche toys are mostly boughten by adults. 30 years from now people dont get stricken with nostelgia and want to relive there adult hood. They want the crap they had as a kid. Most kids today dont have sideshow or hot toys. What they do have is Spider-man and ben 10.

Regardless toys were hot and people invested in them back in the 90s. A lot of people regret doing that

Good point and I appreciate your point of view.

With Marvel Universe and most Transformers, the market is flooded with them as tens of thousands are each produced. I dont see MU Vision or Classics Starscream going for hundreds of dollars in the future and raising much more than that. Third party and limited releases I do see but most arent.

As for the companies you did not know about, here are the websites if youd like to check them out. There are thousands of fans and many more than you think. ThreeA forum has over 2000 members and is growing every day while Toyark has 1200 members.

Glyos/Onell Design
Onell Design

Callgrim
Callgrim

threeA/3A
threeA Toys

With these products they are limited runs and with the expanding growth in popularity of each line, now seems to be a good time to jump on board. New products drop for pre-order and they are usually gone within 24 hours. Then in most cases the prices double or even more once the products are available.
The future of toys is all speculation as youve said and we are all throwing our 2 cents into a pot of unknown.
Its kind of hard to go off of history when toy collecting has expanded rapidly within the past few years and the collector base is much larger than it ever was.
Ive said it before and ill say it again, enjoy collecting and for the joy it brings you. Dont get into this thinking your going to be a millionaire. Thats what a career or the lottery is for. :p