[Skoob]

The assertion that "Star Wars toys are going to go INSANE" presumably refers to sales and/or speculation in the secondary market. I agree that most of the buying market for Star Wars merchandise is already fully engaged with the mass merchandising hype machine. The (conveniently) leaked lists have given us a pretty clear idea of what will hit store shelves everywhere on Force Friday. If you see anything in those lists that you think will appeal to a broad base of collectors and be limited in quantity or availability in some regions, then I suppose there might be opportunities to speculate, but bear in mind that production runs for everything you see number well into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. And many retailers are struggling already, so expect the advertising hype machine to ramp higher just as shelves are restocked during the lead-up to Black Friday. Clearance discounts should abound next year, and they should be deep, as consumers are drowning in debt already so will need special motivation to pick something up post-hype.

Pickings are slim right now for my collector niche, figures in the 6"-7" range. I've been cherry-picking what I want from the existing Star Wars universe online. The average resale price+shipping for Black Series figures already released seems to be hanging around the $50.00 mark, more for favorites like Darth Vader. Overall, speculation for these figures seems to be cooling. The number of absurdly high listings is certainly trailing off. Whereas some wealthy twit previously paid more than two grand for the new First Order Stormtrooper, you can get that figure now for about $150.00. Prices will keep coming down generally as new stuff hits store shelves.

I agree 100% with the others above who say value over time depends entirely upon quality of the new movies, and I share their worry in that regard. J.J. Abrams is a shallow storyteller. His work in Star Trek was good helter-skelter roller-coaster fun, but that's all. There was none of the character and relationship development that gave old Star Trek its charm. Theatres are saturated already with propaganda, CG effects, lens flares and lame one-liners, and they're a poor substitute for good storytelling. Unfortunately, the Star Wars spoilers I've seen thus far suggest more of same. Let's just hope that some lessons have been learned. It bodes well that he seems resolved to dispense with continuity with respect to the Hayden Christenson prequels. (For that, bless him.) If the movies are good, sympathetic identification will motivate people to buy new artifacts from the movie experience. If the movies are great, then yeah, Star Wars toys could go "INSANE." It all depends on the movies.