The Bust/Statue Conundrum - What's in the future?

[Omega]

I have long been a fan of bust and statues, from the very first back late 90's While I loved buying these items, I was able to get some slack from my wife becasue nearly all the statues and bust from late 90's and 2000, 2001 would go up in value. So she would not give me a hard time since i was essentially investing my money in her mind. The problem is Now everyone makes statues and bust from just about every character created. While we all know that Randy Bowen can probably be considered one of the founders of this type of collectible (because of what he did to the market)

Why is it that hardly any of the bust and statues produced to day hold their original MSRP value?? unless it is a exclusive item not 10% of statues and bust released in the last 3 years actually retains it's value! is ebay to blame?? over saturation of the market with crap?

My wife asked me to justify my thousands of dallars a year in these collectibles if they no longer hold their value, I said the love of the sculpts, and characters. She's not buying it! So I figure I am not the only one in this position? Where is this market going? I see so many sculpts that are inferior, while some amazing stuff also (Sideshow Hulk) I don't think DST helped this situation much with the 10,000 runs of ultimate bust's I know it's a business but are companies detroying the market with this kind of thinking? I can honestly say that for the first time in 15 years I can see myself no longer buying these items, if you told me that 5 years ago, Iwouldhave said your crazy, I guess bust/statue collecting has peaked and is on the way down.

Omega

[bat_collector]

sooner or later the elsser companies are gonna drop out. marvel right now is just taking as many licenses as they can to make money

[Colossus]

Yeah its happened with other collectibles even comics things go slow at first then they take off and all these wannabee companies spring up out of nowhere and start jumping on the band wagon then the market decline as consumers get tired of all the junk, then small companies that were fly by night types go away and leave the decent companies producing smaller runs of better quality. It happened in the collectible card game market Magic:tg hit then there were litterally 100's of other collectible card game companies out there releasing everything under the sun which 99% of it sucked, many companies are now gone but the big ones still remain. Thats the world of collectibles.

[1logan]

It helps when you tell them its for the increase in value, but that doesnt hold much weight anymore....
my wife wants to kick my ass and its causing serious credit card issues.
Between Bowen statues and busts, Gentle Giant StarWars busts and statues, DC Direct figures, Marvel Legends figures, and anything Wolverine that comes out......I'm walking a thin line right now.

[Doc Sonic]

Omega,you've pretty much explained it to yourself already: OVERSATURATION of the market. Just too much stuff out there nowadays dragging everthing else down. Even the old mainstays have gone down in price.

Quick rules I follow:

1)Buy only what you truly enjoy. This is often tough but you have to draw the lines on some pieces

2)Never buy for investment. Save that for mutal funds. The exception to this rule is that if it's a hot item you can flip it as soon as you get it-waiting to flip nowadays is a mistake ( use to be the other way around in the begining ).

3)I buy all my collectables with my spare money. I pay my half of all the bills between my wife and I. The rest is mine to do what I want with and the same with her. We have separate accounts. We never argue about money this way.

[Daredevil]

The key is to not get married. ;)

[deaconbluezzz]

Quick rules I follow:

1)Buy only what you truly enjoy. This is often tough but you have to draw the lines on some pieces

2)Never buy for investment. Save that for mutal funds. The exception to this rule is that if it's a hot item you can flip it as soon as you get it-waiting to flip nowadays is a mistake ( use to be the other way around in the begining ).

3)I buy all my collectables with my spare money. I pay my half of all the bills between my wife and I. The rest is mine to do what I want with and the same with her. We have separate accounts. We never argue about money this way.

Doc's 3 simple rules should be posted at the top of this forum...right next to "Abandon all hope, ye who enter..."

:thumbs2:

[genesimmons1]

the industry has never been better for us to enjoy.just this year bowen has put out his best stuff dr. strange,classic hulk.the sub mariners.terrax and super skrull busts plus nova,and even complaining about the color change,can you believe that great scuplt on her!plus the warlocks,and thanos.this is a fan boys dream.just have to learn how to be more selective thats all.

[GoldNova]

Over saturation is only part of the problem. Let's not forget that Bowen's early releases came out in relatively small quantities. The short supply followed by increased demand is what drove up the values.

[Makkari1]

It helps when you tell them its for the increase in value, but that doesnt hold much weight anymore....
my wife wants to kick my ass and its causing serious credit card issues.
Between Bowen statues and busts, Gentle Giant StarWars busts and statues, DC Direct figures, Marvel Legends figures, and anything Wolverine that comes out......I'm walking a thin line right now.

I've already walked that path and I'll tell you from personal experience, not to put this stuff on a credit card. Here is some food for thought:

1.) Use your bank card, cash, or check, that way its paid for up front.

2.) Buy only what you like and would keep even if the item was totally worthless to anyone else but you. Be very selective and don't say yes to everything.

3.) Unless Bill Gates is a long lost cousin or you're the child of a millionaire/billionaire do not be a completist. You'll will wind up in the poor house quicker than Mike Tyson, plus you might have to sell your collection for pennies on the dollar and still be paying on that credit card. :thumbsdow

4.) Finally ask yourself 50 years from now or when you're old and gray, what will this stuff be worth and who will get it when I'm dead and gone? If your answers are not positive or your not sure, then don't get those pieces. Do keep those pieces that will be of sentimental value.

Remember this stuff is a hobby not a good long term investment. You'd do better with stocks, savings bonds, property, gold ect. in the long run.:thumbs2:

[HalJordanFan]

It helps when you tell them its for the increase in value, but that doesnt hold much weight anymore....
my wife wants to kick my ass and its causing serious credit card issues.
Between Bowen statues and busts, Gentle Giant StarWars busts and statues, DC Direct figures, Marvel Legends figures, and anything Wolverine that comes out......I'm walking a thin line right now.


It's called self control unless your in a financial situation that you can buy whatever you wish. I don't understand how you can let it get to the point of "serious credit card issues". Why jeopardize your life for a statue or bust????? :stick:

[Makkari1]

The key is to not get married. ;)

That won't help, you'll just spend more and have nothing but statues to show for it. No car, no house, no retirement, no food and no girlfriend (they think your crazy and have no life). The only way you could own all the pieces you want is to have your uncle Bill Gates buy Bowen Designs and make Randy your personal statue maker. Wait, what did you say? Bill Gates is not your uncle, well then you can't buy everthing you see, sorry. :stick:

[chromesamurai]

Every industry seems to have it's peaks and valleys. We may be in a valley now, but soon hopefully, Marvel will grant fewer licenses and we'll start heading back up the mountain. Remember, it was YEARS before that Bowen Ant-Man hit the 400$ mark. Also, look at the edition sizes on the older ones. 2000-4000. The value of them isn't affected. Look at some of the edition sizes of some of the current stuff. 750-1500. In a few years, I'm sure some stuff from this phase will be worth a nice amount.

[Grumpy]

I started buying these things because I was looking for a hobby that I could really enjoy. I grew up collecting comics and practically worshipped characters like Captain America and Hawkeye and all the rest of the Avengers. For a while I bought practically everything Bowen made but found myself, even though I made a fairly nice income, spending more than I should have. After I lost one of my major furniture lines and taking a serious income loss I was forced to cut back on my spending so I began to focus on only the Avengers and their enemies. Now that I'm nearly back where I was I have decided to continue being careful and focused. No regrets. I buy what I want but I never did buy for investment. This hobby is mine and mine alone. I tell Mamma Grump that since I don't smoke, drink, cuss, chew tobacco, chase wild women or bet on the horses this hobby actually keeps me out of trouble and I'm healthier.

[Makkari1]

I started buying these things because I was looking for a hobby that I could really enjoy. I grew up collecting comics and practically worshipped characters like Captain America and Hawkeye and all the rest of the Avengers. For a while I bought practically everything Bowen made but found myself, even though I made a fairly nice income, spending more than I should have. After I lost one of my major furniture lines and taking a serious income loss I was forced to cut back on my spending so I began to focus on only the Avengers and their enemies. Now that I'm nearly back where I was I have decided to continue being careful and focused. No regrets. I buy what I want but I never did buy for investment. This hobby is mine and mine alone. I tell Mamma Grump that since I don't smoke, drink, cuss, chew tobacco, chase wild women or bet on the horses this hobby actually keeps me out of trouble and I'm healthier.

LOL:laugh: , now that's funny but true. I told my wife a similar thing. She gets to keep me around the house and I can have some clean fun. I even got my brother to start collecting.:)

[endsongjen]

doc sonic is right. just get what u really want, thats why we dont have as many as the rest of you guys, lol. but my fiancee and i have 3 accounts one for bills, and the other 2 for each of our own spending, its helps and i cant ask him "whered u spend $200?" cuz its his money.

[Achiever]

I've already walked that path and I'll tell you from personal experience, not to put this stuff on a credit card. Here is some food for thought:

1.) Use your bank card, cash, or check, that way its paid for up front.

2.) Buy only what you like and would keep even if the item was totally worthless to anyone else but you. Be very selective and don't say yes to everything.

3.) Unless Bill Gates is a long lost cousin or you're the child of a millionaire/billionaire do not be a completist. You'll will wind up in the poor house quicker than Mike Tyson, plus you might have to sell your collection for pennies on the dollar and still be paying on that credit card. :thumbsdow

4.) Finally ask yourself 50 years from now or when you're old and gray, what will this stuff be worth and who will get it when I'm dead and gone? If your answers are not positive or your not sure, then don't get those pieces. Do keep those pieces that will be of sentimental value.

Remember this stuff is a hobby not a good long term investment. You'd do better with stocks, savings bonds, property, gold ect. in the long run.:thumbs2:

Truer words have never been posted. :thumbs2:

Reading these forums for a while now, I can never understand the folks that seem to have EVERYTHING. They either must be rich, in debt, no life, no significant other, or a combination of some of those. It's crazy, but collecting anything in this life can get crazy if you don't reign it in once in a while.

[Doc Sonic]

my fiancee and i have 3 accounts one for bills, and the other 2 for each of our own spending, its helps and i cant ask him "whered u spend $200?" cuz its his money.

My wife and I have the exact same set-up. We never argue about money because as long as everyone pays their half of the bills the rest is that persons to spend as they wish.:)

[Jack8022]

...since I don't smoke, drink, cuss, chew tobacco, chase wild women or bet on the horses this hobby actually keeps me out of trouble and I'm healthier.

LOL. That's the same argument I stand behind when my wife moans about this hobby.

[F.O.O.M.]

Yeah, gotta agree 100% with everything that everyone has said, even more
so with the comments by Grumpy & Jack8022 :thumbs2: :)
It must work as the only answer I get back is about running out of space
& "don't blame me if anything gets damaged" :banghead: so in the long run
you STILL can't win....:laugh:

[Omega]

Great stuff guys, I don't have the money issue, I was out last year and when I got back i dropped about 3,000 or more on statues and comics i missed out from last year. But my wife is a CPA and investment broker, and it, for some reason kills her when I drop this kind of money on stuff she does not like. no matter how much money we have.

MY problem with the market is the amount of bad sculpting made into statues/bust. While I have seen some great new talent in the last 3 years; I have also seen some real bad stuff! that and fly-by-night online shops along with ebay is whats kiling our LCS and we need to remember that without those LCS this business may not exist.

[Makkari1]

Great stuff guys, I don't have the money issue, I was out last year and when I got back i dropped about 3,000 or more on statues and comics i missed out from last year. But my wife is a CPA and investment broker, and it, for some reason kills her when I drop this kind of money on stuff she does not like. no matter how much money we have.

MY problem with the market is the amount of bad sculpting made into statues/bust. While I have seen some great new talent in the last 3 years; I have also seen some real bad stuff! that and fly-by-night online shops along with ebay is whats kiling our LCS and we need to remember that without those LCS this business may not exist.

I tend to agree that without the LCS none of this stuff would get enough exposure to survive for very long. These shops have played a pivotal role in keeping this industry afloat.

[pmpknface]

My shop doesn't even carry any statues anymore. I'd have to special order them at NO DISCOUNT. I'm glad you guys seem to have shops that can support this hobby, but believe me they are few and far between.

[Makkari1]

My shop doesn't even carry any statues anymore. I'd have to special order them at NO DISCOUNT. I'm glad you guys seem to have shops that can support this hobby, but believe me they are few and far between.

I guess what he meant, (Omega correct me if I'm wrong) is the comic industry in general. LCS have carried the water for comic industry for years and without them, this industry would have died a long time ago. I can't imagine buying my comics from the the local Barnes & Noble or 7 Eleven, it just wouldn't seem right. You could forget about back issues and hard to find action figures and this benifit extends to non Marvel/DC stuff as well.

I know some shops don't provide everthing, but I do find out a lot of stuff when I'm there. As for staues, I normally buy from the manufacturer directly.