Collector Mistakes (1 Viewer)

[Leadmen]

I don't know about other people making mistakes on buying figures or vehicles and then asking yourself "what made me do this". Here are a few I made through the years:
1.Complain that I had to go to New York city to Polk Hobbies and came home
with one boring soldier book and no figures. She don't let me forget that
one.
2. Bought 100 plastic Marx knights and pieces of tin castle. Been in storage
since.
3. Bought sets of Britains on spur of moment- been repairing them for last
ten years.
4. Ordered figures before internet and they were bad. Thought anything old
and metal was a rare find. (yeah right).
5. Numerous sets, figures, vehicles, and of course about 50 mounted
Historex Cavalry plastic kits to build. Finished two.
There is more but you get the idea. Leadmen

 

[desk11desk12]

Hey, tough luck man, LOL

Misery loves company or is it really the price of learning about collecting. That's what it was for me.

I have a ton of 21st Century, FOV and Conte plastics soldiers. Not to mention a ton of Britains WWII metals (prior to current ownership) that are close to worthless. Let us not forgot about the ton of Conte WWII metal I have that are worth about 25% of there original value. Don't you just love over production (Conte), it does should wonderful things to market value.

Frankly, it almost not worth the effort of selling this stuff when you consider the eBay cost, packing material cost and your personal time compared to the market price in return.

Again, it was the price of learning about how to collect for resale value versus buying sets I liked despite the resale value. Fortunately, most of things I buy today I like and will likely have decent or good resale value.

Carlos

 

[gk5717]

Carlos, I,m with you on the Conte metal, although I love his plastic.
Put off buying Conte metal for years, then about a year ago he started hyping his new WW2 figures in metal, so I thought I should get the older stuff so I would have a complete run.
Got all the old WW2 sets and it turns out his new metal in my opinion is horrible, not even the same size as the old stuff.
And as you stated it,s worthless.
But the worst was buying Britains Stalingrad set, I had seen the protos at OTSN and they looked good, but the finished product is the worst metal sets I have. I cringe every time I think of the money I spent on them, and that I could have used it on K&C.
Sometimes I think it is for the better when your toy soldier money is short, because when I bought the above sets I actually had a few extra dollars.
Gary

 

[Njja]

Very, Very interesting topic! I have always been very concerned about value

of the items I collect. I started out with comic books, I used to do shows in

NYC with people next to me with $50,000 worth of books that wouldn't even

earn the cost of their table at the show. Any time you spend $1 you should

be concerned about the money you just spent! Just read the honest

comments left by the other forum members on this topic.

I have often been accused of being an "investor" because of my opinion.

I am a collector, not an investor, but I do pay attention when I spend my

money. Have I made mistakes of course, but luckly not that often......I do

however have about a dozen complete sets of baseball/basketball cards for

my first grandchild expected early next year. Current value of the cards is less

then a pack of gum!

Collect what you like.......but be smart with your $$$$$

Njja

 

[jazzeum]

As 95 percent of my collection is K & C, no mistakes here.

However, I do have those bleep bleep Beanies Babies and plenty of baseball cards which are maybe worth two sticks of gum

If your granddaughter needs something to play with John, just let me know

 

[Louis Badolato]

In the beginning, I just bought whatever metal toy soldiers I could find. Every time I found a new producer, I would buy everything I could lay my hands on. Britains, then Imperial, then K&C, Trophy, Frontline, Tradition, Toy Army Workshop, Tommy Atkins, etc. Eventually I focused on K&C. The rest of my stuff (mistakes for the most part) either collects dust or is given away. What are you going to do? Live and learn.

 

[Chuck Harris]

Very, Very interesting topic! I have always been very concerned about value

of the items I collect. I started out with comic books, I used to do shows in

NYC with people next to me with $50,000 worth of books that wouldn't even

earn the cost of their table at the show. Any time you spend $1 you should

be concerned about the money you just spent! Just read the honest

comments left by the other forum members on this topic.

I have often been accused of being an "investor" because of my opinion.

I am a collector, not an investor, but I do pay attention when I spend my

money. Have I made mistakes of course, but luckly not that often......I do

however have about a dozen complete sets of baseball/basketball cards for

my first grandchild expected early next year. Current value of the cards is less

then a pack of gum!

Collect what you like.......but be smart with your $$$$$

Njja

John

So you are expecting your first grandchild. From one who knows this is going to be a life changing event for you. I've got 3 from 18 t0 7 and have spoiled all 3 and loved doing it.

You are about to start the advanture of your life and I hope you love it as much as I have

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

I have very few sets I would consider mistakes but from a long time ago I have been interested in the Indian Army and British Army in India or Colonial Wars so I have to say I dont have too many sets that fall into the category of mistakes. Of course I have never given the worth of individual sets much thought however with the advent of ebay I have been able to move duplicates or sets I didnt want to homes that want them. This is better to me than hauling them around in boxes since my wife is still on active duty and we move every 3-4 years. The moves are good in that they force me to assess what I want and what I can do without so I dont clutter up the storage areas with stuff I dont need and worse have to pay for the cost of over weight items. Ebay has helped here and I can find the folks who really want the stuff and not have to suffer through another yard sale when everyone is wanting to get you to lower the price etc. So for you guys that have a lot of stuff you dont want or consider a mistake put it on ebay and get rid of it. Even the baseball cards which I also collect but only for my team can get you some money which you can turn around and use for more king and country stuff right?

Have a good one

Dave

 

[jazzeum]

I think in the baseball card area, it has to be really rare, things from the 50s and it has to be really mint. Otherwise, I just don't think it does that great.

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Brad,

You hit the nail on the head pretty much with the baseball cards. I only collect NY Yankees and one or two other individuals from other teams and I have a fairly decent set of cards from the early 50's to the present and there are a lot of cards from that period (50) that I cant swing because they cost a ton, but occasionally I do stumble on to a good deal and can land a card from Mickey like my 56 or Yogi whose cards from the 50s command top dollar no matter the condition. I have also seen that the way to get rid of a bunch of cards you dont want is to sell them as team lots. This is labor intensive but it can get rid of a bunch of cards that you dont want like all the Red Soxs Cards I used to rip up and toss in the trash or give to the neighbor kids to put in their bike spokes. I am fortunate in that my dad is a New Yorker and Mom is from Mass and I grew up in western Mass rooting all along for the Yankees because Dad does and he has the best stories about going to the games and seeing Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle playing. Yes I do get a lot of grief from the family and friends and yes I know you have seats at Shea so no need to go there. Anyway, back to the real collection the soldiers. I just landed a nice set from Marlborough for my Durbar display so I'm pretty happy.

Have a good one

Dave

 

[Njja]

John

So you are expecting your first grandchild. From one who knows this is going to be a life changing event for you. I've got 3 from 18 t0 7 and have spoiled all 3 and loved doing it.

You are about to start the advanture of your life and I hope you love it as much as I have

Hiya Chuck, How are you doing? I am quite thrilled with the prospect of our

first grandchild! Our daughter (which is our only child) brought us nothing but

joy! She was my movie buddy every saturday (father & daughter day) from

age 3 until she went off to Cornell. First comment she made to me, was all

the movies she would see with her 1st child! Its going to be a real pleasure!

My daughter always loved to go into my den and look at all the trains! I'm

going to get to experience that all over again!

Hope you are doing well!

John

 

[OzDigger]

There is of course no guarantee that King & Country pieces will always increase in value and frankly it's foolish to think otherwise. That is why I always recommend people collect what they like, that way they will never feel as though they made a collecting mistake.

When you start collecting something it is tempting at first to go overboard and buy every example of whatever available. However in the long term it is best to determine what Era, Theatre of Operations and or Country that appeals to you most, then concentarte on that. If you have unlimited resources and the desires to match you can buy everything, but few collectors are in that position. However those that are sure do make eBay an expensive place to shop on occassion

 

[vandilay]

matchbox models of yesteryear,one day I,m sure they will pay for my
retirement.When the other 10 million stored out their have rusted away
I,ll bring mine out from their climate controlled storage facility and
release them on to the collecting community in the process making my
fortune .
On a toy soldier note ,Occasionaly I,ve bought a set that has been a dud imo .I just sell it and put the money into something else .It is one of the
downsides of not being able to see stuff first hand.But i,ve had more
sets that have exceeded my expectations than disapointed by far.

 

[kilted vampire]

My only real mistake is not seeing what was out there before buying or getting into an era. I have a bunch of ACW stuff that I don't care too much about. Thinking about packing them up now. Painted a bunch of plastics with gloss when they would have been better in matte. Discovered Napoleonics which I really enjoy. In general just being plain old impatient. Live and learn. Sometimes it is better to appreciate rather than buy

 

[jrsteel]

The same thing that happened with baseball cards is happening with toy soldiers. I don't think any of these current production toy soldiers,including K&C, will hold it's value or increase in value in the long run. The only toy soldiers that continually increase in value are true antiques like old Britains or Mignot.

 

[fishead19690]

My only real mistake is not seeing what was out there before buying or getting into an era. I have a bunch of ACW stuff that I don't care too much about. Thinking about packing them up now. Painted a bunch of plastics with gloss when they would have been better in matte. Discovered Napoleonics which I really enjoy. In general just being plain old impatient. Live and learn. Sometimes it is better to appreciate rather than buy

You can spray your gloss painted figures with clear matte and fix that problem pretty easy.
My mistakes have been buying figures that I already had and didn,t rember buying!!! Thats when you know you have to many, When you can,t rember what you have already!!!

 

[Louis Badolato]

The same thing that happened with baseball cards is happening with toy soldiers. I don't think any of these current production toy soldiers,including K&C, will hold it's value or increase in value in the long run. The only toy soldiers that continually increase in value are true antiques like old Britains or Mignot.

There is no market for old Britains anymore. People who spent thousands for the 100 year old sets can't find anyone to buy them at a fraction of the price. It is pretty sad at the Chicago Show the last few years, room after room of elderly gentleman with set after set of old Britains neatly laid out on their beds, and no interest from any buyers. The collectors for these figures, the folks that played with them as kids and find them nostalgic, are passing away, and there is no interest from younger generations.

I think that retired K&C will hold its value as long as the new sets remain popular, and newer collectors want to fill out their collections with older pieces. So if you are a big investor in K&C, you should take a life insurance policy on Andy, and make sure he gets regular check ups!

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

I think you may be right about there not being a market in the US for the older sets but they certainly sell well overseas. I for one would love to have a few more of the older sets but they are priced way beyond my meager resources. I doubt the market for King and Country will suffer this sort of fate unless they suddenly stop making sets.

Dave

 

[OzDigger]

The same thing that happened with baseball cards is happening with toy soldiers. I don't think any of these current production toy soldiers,including K&C, will hold it's value or increase in value in the long run. The only toy soldiers that continually increase in value are true antiques like old Britains or Mignot.

Model Soldier collecting is as dynamic as any other collectable and subject to similar fashions and fads. There is currently a general shift away from the rosie faced glossy toy soldier displayed in regimented ranks towards the well detailed matt finished figure displayed in a diorama situation.

However there still seems to be good demand for early K & C figures that are not nearly as well detailed as current issues. I'm not sure how this enigma has arisen but suspect it may have resulted from a few completist collectors competing on eBay for the limited pieces available. I don't have a crystal ball but I suspect demand for these will diminish as collections are completed.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Model Soldier collecting is as dynamic as any other collectable and subject to similar fashions and fads. There is currently a general shift away from the rosie faced glossy toy soldier displayed in regimented ranks towards the well detailed matt finished figure displayed in a diorama situation.

However there still seems to be good demand for early K & C figures that are not nearly as well detailed as current issues. I'm not sure how this enigma has arisen but suspect it may have resulted from a few completist collectors competing on eBay for the limited pieces available. I don't have a crystal ball but I suspect demand for these will diminish as collections are completed.

I think you are right about the high prices for early K&C resulting from "completist collectors". However, I think ebay tells us that there are more than just a few of these "completists". Off hand, myself included, I can think of more than 20 hard core collectors of early K&C, inlcuding at least 4 in France, 2 in Australia, and more than a dozen in the U.S. That's more than enough to keep prices up for years to come, and I suspect that being completist is part of the genetic makeup of many collectors, so a percentage of new K&C collectors will also have the "completist" approach. So long as there are better than a thousand of each new set produced, while less than 100 of many of the original sets were produced (and only a small fraction of that 100 has survived and comes up for sale), I think the early K&C prices will remain very high. As far as collections being completed, good luck. I still need around 20 figures and at least 80 aircraft to finish mine, and I have a pretty good head start on most of the new guys.