Is the Hobby at an all time low?

[Comicbookguy]

Originally Posted by Gothamite

I saw the movie and don't remember that part?

[qz33]

This is still dancing around 3 main components. The industry, the after market, and the "hobby".

The industry:
If statues cost the same income percentage as they did 5+ years ago and could easily be sold for the same percentage of profit would this thread exist?

People post as though the companies don't know more about what is going on than the customers. Trust me they do.

You think Sideshow doesn't know prices are and will continue to get to a point where more and more people are priced out including a majority of their potential customer base?

1/4 statues aren't still $350 not because no company has been willing to buck the trend and go back to old pricing. Such production as in the past is simply no longer possible. Else a company would produce $350 1/4 statues and wallow in revenue as they watched everyone else go out of business.

The aftermarket:
Obviously influenced by the industry. Higher lower the potential affect the resale prices for sure. As do increased statue product and run sizes. Overtime customers have become saturated. People have 20-30 P1 pieces OR 30-50 Sideshow/XM pieces. How many people deep down are ready to permanently expense $25,000 of this stuff? Yeah they only buy what they love and plan to keep forever blah blah blah. Then life comes calling and the reality that few of us ever have a spare 25K on top of everything else spent on life.

Remove eBay and FB groups from the aftermarket. You think people would be buying how much the industry has been selling the past few years?

Every and I do mean EVERY PO is made with the thought in mind that you can either cancel or sell eventually, even if buyers won't admit it to themselves. Things aren't selling or are at lower prices because people are maxed out.


The hobby aka you as the individual:

Some change their buying habits. Others look at what they have and count how much more their statues are "worth" than what they paid.
How you let all of these affect the hobby for "you" is as always up to you.

[Gothamite]

Originally Posted by qz33

This is still dancing around 3 main components. The industry, the after market, and the "hobby".

Spoiler

The industry:
If statues cost the same income percentage as they did 5+ years ago and could easily be sold for the same percentage of profit would this thread exist?

People post as though the companies don't know more about what is going on than the customers. Trust me they do.

You think Sideshow doesn't know prices are and will continue to get to a point where more and more people are priced out including a majority of their potential customer base?

1/4 statues aren't still $350 not because no company has been willing to buck the trend and go back to old pricing. Such production as in the past is simply no longer possible. Else a company would produce $350 1/4 statues and wallow in revenue as they watched everyone else go out of business.

The aftermarket:
Obviously influenced by the industry. Higher lower the potential affect the resale prices for sure. As do increased statue product and run sizes. Overtime customers have become saturated. People have 20-30 P1 pieces OR 30-50 Sideshow/XM pieces. How many people deep down are ready to permanently expense $25,000 of this stuff? Yeah they only buy what they love and plan to keep forever blah blah blah. Then life comes calling and the reality that few of us ever have a spare 25K on top of everything else spent on life.

Remove eBay and FB groups from the aftermarket. You think people would be buying how much the industry has been selling the past few years?

Every and I do mean EVERY PO is made with the thought in mind that you can either cancel or sell eventually, even if buyers won't admit it to themselves. Things aren't selling or are at lower prices because people are maxed out.


The hobby aka you as the individual:

Some change their buying habits. Others look at what they have and count how much more their statues are "worth" than what they paid.
How you let all of these affect the hobby for "you" is as always up to you.

You mean...

Originally Posted by Gothamite

I agree completely.

What's really irritating is that these threads are always started by someone who

1) ran out of space
2) experiences a major life change (marriage, parenthood, buying a house, losing a job, divorce, etc.)
3) got bored with the hobby
4) lives outside the US and has to pay high shipping fees

not taking into account

1) there are always new people joining the hobby
2) sculpting and manufacturing techniques have improved dramatically over time, which naturally lowers interest in older statues that lack fine detail (thus reducing re-sale value)
3) shipping rates are charged by national postal carriers or private courier services, not the statue companies themselves.

It's perfectly legit to quit any hobby, but that doesn't mean that the sky fell for everyone else, too.

[Gothamite]

Originally Posted by Comicbookguy

I saw the movie and don't remember that part?

Tsk tsk, it was my favorite moment.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by qz33

How many people deep down are ready to permanently expense $25,000 of this stuff? Yeah they only buy what they love and plan to keep forever blah blah blah. Then life comes calling and the reality that few of us ever have a spare 25K on top of everything else spent on life.

Every and I do mean EVERY PO is made with the thought in mind that you can either cancel or sell eventually, even if buyers won't admit it to themselves. Things aren't selling or are at lower prices because people are maxed out.

I wish I had only spent $25,000 USD on my existing collection. Mines quite a bit more than that, and I’m sure there are a lot of collectors with collections many times bigger than I. Heck my current open preorders isn’t too far off from that figure.

And I did buy this with no expectation that’ll I’ll get a dime for my collection, as I have no idea what and how I’ll be able to sell my collection here in Australia. Supposedly there may be a Facebook group but I doubt it’ll be worth the trouble with the enormous cost of shipping. In addition I’m the kind of person who would rather give stuff away for free than sell it at a mere fraction of my original cost, as even now I doubt I’ll get even 50% of what I put in. Probably 33% at best after shipping and other costs.

Just because you can’t understand someone’s mentality on not selling in the future, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It may be silly, but it is what it is. When I was younger I never understood how anyone could buy cars for a couple of thousand dollars or even less, when I personally wouldn’t give them a second glance, but it seems that a large majority of the population in the US do just that.

Though honestly I’m currently maxed out on my current preorders, but not because of statue costs. Like many here I’ve simply run out of space. My collection is currently spread across multiple rooms, and I really need to look at organising it better.

In the end I treat the purchases just as I do my share investments. If I can’t afford to lose it all, I shouldn’t buy them to begin with. But that’s just me.

[Comicbookguy]

Originally Posted by Phoenixblazes

I wish I had only spent $25,000 USD on my existing collection. Mines quite a bit more than that, and I’m sure there are a lot of collectors with collections many times bigger than I. Heck my current open preorders isn’t too far off from that figure.

And I did buy this with no expectation that’ll I’ll get a dime for my collection, as I have no idea what and how I’ll be able to sell my collection here in Australia. Supposedly there may be a Facebook group but I doubt it’ll be worth the trouble with the enormous cost of shipping. In addition I’m the kind of person who would rather give stuff away for free than sell it at a mere fraction of my original cost, as even now I doubt I’ll get even 50% of what I put in. Probably 33% at best after shipping and other costs.

Just because you can’t understand someone’s mentality on not selling in the future, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It may be silly, but it is what it is. When I was younger I never understood how anyone could buy cars for a couple of thousand dollars or even less, when I personally wouldn’t give them a second glance, but it seems that a large majority of the population in the US do just that.

Though honestly I’m currently maxed out on my current preorders, but not because of statue costs. Like many here I’ve simply run out of space. My collection is currently spread across multiple rooms, and I really need to look at organising it better.

In the end I treat the purchases just as I do my share investments. If I can’t afford to lose it all, I shouldn’t buy them to begin with. But that’s just me.

It's good to be really rich! but the reality most people are not super rich. I still work minimum wage myself but still do good enough to have a decent collection. But I definitely wont give away my statues for free.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by Comicbookguy

It's good to be really rich! but the reality most people are not super rich. I still work minimum wage myself but still do good enough to have a decent collection. But I definitely wont give away my statues for free.

Not rich (far from it). I just saved my whole life and lived off two minute noodles a lot (I’m South East Asian, so I’m used to that sort of diet).

Currently I’ve only given things away for free to my nephew (Hot Toys etc), and the rest of my ‘unwanted’ collection is boxed up in storage. Unfortunately none of my friends are interested in my collection, so kind of hard to give away those unwanted pieces, and I’m not about to give them away to absolute strangers.

[equi-nox76]

When I was in Sydney I found a comic store named Kings Comics. Maybe you could sell it to them or let them sell it in commission for you in case you would ever like to sell something. I enjoyed the store a lot because I did not expect to find a comic store that also sells statues in Sydney.

[Phoenixblazes]

Originally Posted by equi-nox76

When I was in Sydney I found a comic store named Kings Comics. Maybe you could sell it to them or let them sell it in commission for you in case you would ever like to sell something. I enjoyed the store a lot because I did not expect to find a comic store that also sells statues in Sydney.

I know the store in the city, but I didn’t realise they sold high end statues. Could’ve sworn they sold mostly lower end statues and figures etc. Bought my first couple of Comic Omnibuses from them, until I found out I could get them for far cheaper online from the UK etc. And even if they were willing to buy my unwanted pieces, it probably wouldn’t be for much, which comes back to my original thinking of it probably not being worth it. It’s just the thought of selling something for significantly less than what I originally bought it for. And until I’m in dire financial straights I can’t see myself needing to do it. But it’s not a bad idea.

Though I understand why people in the US may need to do it, given the unforeseen expenses that pop up from time to time. Luckily emergency health care in Australia is pretty much free. So unless I’m out of work for a prolonged period, I’ll probably never sell my pieces, but hey it might just work out as an emergency fund.

[Zombiez]

Originally Posted by Comicbookguy

It's good to be really rich! but the reality most people are not super rich. I still work minimum wage myself but still do good enough to have a decent collection. But I definitely wont give away my statues for free.

If you really do work minimum wage you need to stop collecting right now and find a way to make more money. If not then you should rename yourself crazy comic book guy. This hobby really isn't for you