Is the Hobby at an all time low?

[Incrysis]

Originally Posted by nearmint

They don't all arrive perfect, but Sideshow has taken care of me. Since December, I've received Wonder Woman, Superman, Thor, Daredevil, and Elektra. Superman had a chip out of the base which required a full replacement. Wonder Woman had googly eyes, and they replaced the portrait after some gentle encouragement.

In the end, I'm very happy with all of them.

Maybe it's me. Perhaps I expect too much. Maybe I expect opening the box everytime without having as issue......like I have with my Prime 1 stuff. lol

[nearmint]

Originally Posted by built2shred

I don't have a crystal ball or anything but my guess is as us older collectors quit the hobby they're not going to have to many younger collectors to replace us, they just can't afford to get into the hobby.

Maybe they'll be entering in their 30s and 40s when they do have more disposable income? I've been buying comics since I was 5-years-old, but I didn't order my first statue statue until I was pushing 50.

[built2shred]

Originally Posted by nearmint

Maybe they'll be entering in their 30s and 40s when they do have more disposable income? I've been buying comics since I was 5-years-old, but I didn't order my first statue statue until I was pushing 50.

I was able to leave home at 19 and got my own apartment, I had my first home at 25... Kids can't even afford apartments now a days because rent is insane.

I'm just glad I own my house now and don't have to worry about rent or mortgages anymore..

Times are a lot different then when we were young.. Kids can't afford to leave their parents house unless their parents or grandparents help them financially. I don't see it much better for them in their 30's or 40's either... The way things are going your only going to have the super rich and the super poor... Middle class is getting wiped out...

[MPCanes]

The hobby has never been better from a producer/quality standpoint.

As an investment, it's never been worse. Look at other investments if you are looking to make $. I've seen better returns, for example, on MTG cards and Mondo posters (not that I'm looking to sell - but their value store is much better so far).

[built2shred]

Originally Posted by MPCanes

The hobby has never been better from a producer/quality standpoint.

As an investment, it's never been worse. Look at other investments if you are looking to make $. I've seen better returns, for example, on MTG cards and Mondo posters (not that I'm looking to sell - but their value store is much better so far).

I think a lot of collectors justified the expense of this hobby because most of the time you could break even if you ever decided to sell the statue, but that's not the case anymore... sure on some very popular statues you might make a small profit but with most statues by the time your done with Paypal, Ebay & shipping fees not to mention a flooded market your usually losing money on them..

[nearmint]

Originally Posted by built2shred

Times are a lot different then when we were young.. Kids can't afford to leave their parents house unless their parents or grandparents help them financially. I don't see it much better for them in their 30's or 40's either... The way things are going your only going to have the super rich and the super poor... Middle class is getting wiped out...

Not all young adults are graduating college and moving back in with their parents. Two of my nieces graduated a few years ago and went straight into good jobs. Of my ten nieces and nephews, only one is still living with his parents.

[supermetroid]

Just don't let your kids take something like Gender studies or something similar or you'll be taking care of them forever lol.

[myskye23]

I believe the Hardcore Collectors, the ones who continue to rotate their collections by buying and reselling has kept this hobby going for as long as it has. I understand that it may be a small percentage but it's still a high enough number that generates revenue for these companies.

Also, there may be collectors like myself who got introduced to a great statue, and then decided to start up their own collection but will only get what they deemed a nice enough collection and then decide to stop. It started off as 1 statue, and then it became 30 and for the three year duration, the statue market may have boomed due to the new collector(s). When I first bought my first statue from SSC 3 years ago (Superman) I felt that the price was reasonable and I accepted that.

As the years went on, the prices kept rising and it became too much as of late so I decided that I wouldn't buy these new statues at this price point anymore. My point is, for every 1 Collector that exits the game, there will be another or 3 more that replaces him/her that will accept this NEW price point as the beginning of their start up price and their collection will grow exponentially in 3 years time, but they may exit the hobby as well after their collection is done. It seems like this may be the cycle that keeps this hobby going so I don't think it's at an all time low .... yet.

[Vecchio1]

Originally Posted by built2shred

I think a lot of collectors justified the expense of this hobby because most of the time you could break even if you ever decided to sell the statue, but that's not the case anymore... sure on some very popular statues you might make a small profit but with most statues by the time your done with Paypal, Ebay & shipping fees not to mention a flooded market your usually losing money on them..

This new sales tax as well.

[Comicbookguy]

If ss was still making the same margins they wouldn’t change the store into a toy, clothing, photo, art shop. Must be making less money on statues or less buyers. But they do make up the difference with the double pricing. Target the committed hardcore collectors and charge them more to make up the difference by selling less. Those collectors are in this to the end since they already have so much they won’t quit. Smart business