Is Collecting Worth It?

[Yamato]

It is quite interesting to read the thoughts of different collectors from many years ago, even when the hobby was significantly cheaper.

[azurepred]

Originally Posted by Mister H

Agreed. Necessities, travel, art, guns then comic statues and books.

Aren't statues Art, though? I haven't gotten the travel bug yet and don't have a mortgage yet, so I think I'm still in my collecting Prime.

To answer the old OP , I would probably agree with NO, it's not worth it, lol. I still love looking at my stuff, but it's just the physical effort and stress of unboxing, transporting, storing and selling that makes it not worth it. If I could grow bigger cajones and minimize my collection much more, I'd probably feel more sane.

[qz33]

Originally Posted by Yamato

It is quite interesting to read the thoughts of different collectors from many years ago, even when the hobby was significantly cheaper.

It's all relative. We're talking 16 years ago. Prices back then were no joke.

[Brandon]

Less and less each year, imo.

Prices keep increasing and selling on the aftermarket sucks. Not to mention the loss of value on most statues. I know these aren't to be bought as investments, but still.... Imagine spending $50k on a room full of statues, and only being able to sell them for 25k-30k. It's not like a car or a watch, that depreciates because of use and wear, and ever-improving technology and advancements.

Statues are just displayed. They don't (shouldn't) experience wear and tear. And how many true advancements/innovations have been made in this hobby over the past few years? Even JND's hyperrealism isn't a new thing. They just revived it and ran with it. I look at some of my older pieces, and they look just as good as my new statues. Contrary to what many collectors preach, I think most statues should hold their retail value, or at least somewhere close to it. This is honestly the only real gripe I have with this hobby. I don't like the constant price increases, but they're easier to stomach if I know I can recoup upon selling.

As a way to combat this, I've stopped POing licensed pieces. Don't really see a reason to as very few statues are selling out nowadays. I figure it'll probably be cheaper to pick them up after release when they're on sale or on the aftermarket. That way when I buy them, not only do I save by not paying retail, but also, hopefully most of the deprecation has already occurred, so I won't lose much, if any, money if I eventually decide to sell them.

It's been a solid course of action so far. Saved a little under $400 by buying JND's Mera on the aftermarket, would have saved more had I not originally dropped a NRD. I also saved $800 on my QS Strange bust, just by waiting a few months after it was released. Sideshow's military discount has also saved me quite a bit, all I had to do was wait until the pieces were in stock, and I could even get free shipping if I timed it right.

All that said, I think collecting is still "worth it" if you go about it strategically.

[Silas Loki]

I think the value of collecting (anything) depends upon the collectors motivation. Throughout my life I've always collected one "thing" or another. And, like clockwork, every time I've moved on from my latest passion - I took a bath on the resale value.....the biggest (recurring) lesson I learn, is that when you encase yourself in the collecting bubble - it becomes your world, your benchmark.....we start talking about grails, and we get swept up in the bubble induced hype around this or that product. We, often sacrifice things others consider "of value" - in order to feed our fixation, even though we tell ourselves....we're in control, we can see the wood for the trees.

And then the madness passes. Like the scene in LotR where Wormtongues influence over King Theodon lifts, the blinkers are finally removed from our eyes, and we're forced to view our passions under the lens of a "normal" person....it's at this point, that we are able to see the true value of what we were hoarding the whole time.....often (in my experience) - the truth is often, not very pretty.

I think it's impossible to unbiasedly guage "value" while you're in the infatuation phase of collecting - and ironically, this is where you need that sensibility the most. Perhaps, in some way, that in itself is the value in collecting - the ability to lose oneself, o be excited or moved in some way by a thing, to meet others who share your "mindset", and to experience a sense of momentary fullfillment that defies any logical explanation.

[Augen]

I think if something brings you joy there is value in that. In the 1990s I bought some comics convinced they were investments. That didn't play out. Since then buy what I love and write it off mentally as a 100% loss. If I do resell that's bonus money at this point.

[Mister H]

Originally Posted by azurepred

Aren't statues Art, though?

Ah, great question. I believe some of it is. I look at statues being produced now and I see a lot of sensationalism instead of a thought out representation of a character. Art is very subjective of course. The 2-D and 3-D stuff that I choose to spend money on, I consider art, yes. I guess what I was referring to was other art. Like my nature prints. My wife thinks the comic stuff is a bit childish yet she thinks Romero Britto is a true artist. SMH.

[StefanCo]

It also seems things that are released as a collectible, but it too big edition sizes, don't become the most wanted collectibles.


In early days when items like old toys, computer games, comic books... were just items to use/enjoy, a lot of them were intensifly used and even thrown away cause the lack of value once lost interest. Nobody kept them in mint conditions or in the original box. So this makes them more rare.


As soon as people get them as an investment as release and take good care of them, the increasing value seems to be less, since more are still available in good conditions later on.

[Westhelle]

True collectors move back to mama‘s basement to afford their favorite statues.

[SONICobra]

i know this thread is old but seems someone makes a new one every month lately as well

worth what? worth investing in? no. worth the enjoyment you get from it? subjective and personal. if yes keep doing it, if not then dont. pretty cut and dry imo