Is The Hobby Dying?

[d rod]

Forps, either you take it down a notch or ten or I will have to make sure you do. Go go outside and take a breather. Getting so emotional about a company or product is not good. You made your point(s) so now move on.

[tulk]

I think this Hobby is slowly dying. Too much $$$ and lack of space is what 's driving down this hobby.

[The13thWarlock]

Even if what's Forps said was correct about 3% of the people liking Bowen style statues... that's ok. It's called a niche group. It's how companies like ARH stay in business selling T&A statues. Everyone doesn't have to buy them... they aren't competing with 20 other companies selling batman. They are competing with no one selling T&A statues...

My point... it doesn't matter if you get 3% of 100% of the sales or 100% of 3% of the sales... you can still keep your doors open if your stuff is quality and you are a decent company.

[kharlamov]

I disagree with sideshow creating the hobby. However, they certainly did it better than the others from a financial and marketing standpoint for these past few years.

I agree that people are looking for more detailed and unique statues to put in their homes, especially since space is limited.


I do fear costs may drive new collectors away and that is sad. That being said it may drive new production techniques and cheaper materials. I think like everything this hobby will have its ups and downs. I as a collector will take advantage of the downs and try not to freak out when costs skyrocket.

[jfyahui]

i agree with a lot of what Forbes said...(not all)but thanks to xm ,prime one,and a few others sideshow did upped their game again..they will do great...the company's im concerned about,cc(too many dinosaurs..)pcs(power rangers???)efx ( just take deposits but don't release anything),are on a downward spiral I believe...

[Vecchio1]

Have that clown post his collection. Talk is cheap, see where he stands.

[iceprince_x]

Things that I won't accept with an amateur collector is when they degrade other people's collection or in an artistic level, the aesthetic of their collection. I won't accept words such as "childish sculpt and paint" when I look at the Bowen Jean Grey to the Premium Format Jean Grey or the Bowen Colossus to the Comiquette and even the Premium Format I see more life to the smaller version than their 1:4 counterpart... Also for the record, some of the Bowen statues do get sold beyond the $500 when they were in fact sold originally less than $200 before. But this is not about price value or even looks... The question here is WHY DO WE COLLECT? We collect because primarily these things bring something of value to us such as memories, nostalgia as you said it, before anything else...so mr. Forps don't make it sound it's something pitiful...maybe you don't value what you collect and just look into the business side of it and go where the money goes but if you are truly a marketeer and start doing a market segmentation and target market, people who buys Bowen are one of the most loyal, comic book lovers, appreciative and know how to appreciate life that is why even when the business folded not because it went bankrupt, these collectors are still waiting for its return. That is what we call goodwill of the business, loyalty, class and legacy.

I don't see this hobby dying but expanding as long as there are sculptors and fans who appreciate it...it will live. Just depends on your wallet.

[OrangeCrush]

All I see is more and more growth everywhere I look. I don't think the high end market is in any danger at all of dying. In fact, I expect it to continue to grow for at least another 5 years before things start to slow down. The lower end market is something else entirely. If anything, you will see sales begin to slow and companies making adjustments. Some companies will likely go under as the market restabilizes at a different level, but all in all I don't think the statue collecting hobby, at any level, is in danger of dying. Not even close to be honest. The market will no doubt slow down at some point and adjustments will be made, but statue collecting as a whole isn't going anywhere.

Even the collectible markets that had MAJOR crashes (Baseball cards, comics, etc.) recovered to some extent and are still being collected to this day. Even stamps and coins have seen thier ups and downs, but both are still extremey popular hobbies. Talking about a hobby as popular as statue colecting dying altogether...just never going to happen. Chnages in sales are inevitable. Like every other hobby this market will have its up and downs, but it isn't dying.

In order for a collecting hobby to be in danger of dying altogther, you have to have a situation like we saw with Hummel Figurines, where the people collecting them start passing away and are not replaced by new collectors. Those are the only collecting hobbies that are in true danger of dying. As long as you have people coming up that will replace the people who cease collecting, for whatever reason (age, health, space, money etc.), the hobby will be just fine and right now you have an entire generation of young kids who absolutely LOVE super heros so any hobby connected to super hero's is going to be just fine for a very LONG time to come. Again, its markets like Hummel Figurines that you have to worry about or collectibles that are collected by a specific generation.

[RichBamf]

Originally Posted by Vecchio1

Have that clown post his collection. Talk is cheap, see where he stands.

I particularly want to see the second 'personal' man cave.

[Choopie]

Originally Posted by jfyahui

i agree with a lot of what Forbes said...(not all)but thanks to xm ,prime one,and a few others sideshow did upped their game again..they will do great...the company's im concerned about,cc(too many dinosaurs..)pcs(power rangers???)efx ( just take deposits but don't release anything),are on a downward spiral I believe...

I agree with you regarding eFX, but not with Chronicle or PCS. They just focus on more niche licenses that cater to a smaller set of buyers. Not everyone wants comic characters.