Future Value Of Your Collection? (1 Viewer)

[jrsteel]

I don't collect toy soldiers as an investment. I just buy what I enjoy for the fun of it. But do you ever wonder what these new toy soldiers (1980's - present day) will be worth years from now. When I see the prices antique Britains bring in, I wonder sometimes if the new production toy soldiers will increase in value like that. I have my doubts. It seems if something is made to be a collectible, it doesn't hold it's value. I guess it depends if younger people keep getting into the hobby.

 

[maddadicus]

It will only mean something to the young, if they can play with it now. Unfortunately, most of the collectible pieces now, are meant for display now. Unless the new wave of highly detailed plastics can entice dad and kids to crawl on the floor and play army men again, as we all did sometime past, it is possible that this market might come crashing down as the years pass by and our generation is no more. I believe most of us started collecting, because of recreating the nostalgia of our youth. That is how it was for me. Most of my early K/C collecting habits were merely replicating the models and rubber toys of my childhood. Some of my current buying is still influenced by what I once played with..Unfortunately, I also recently found out that my toys have value and I would be lying, if I said that the market now does not play a part in my buying decisions...My collection ,in the future may still be of value, but not because my son might love them, as I do now, but because a lot of sons might measure them only in terms of dollars and cents...not ever having played with them. Michael

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Guys,

I am going to get my son into the plastics like I had when I was a kid he is 4 and is really interested in Knights so I am going to get some of the Britians for him to play with thats why I am glad they are available so he can enjoy them too. I am also going to get a few pieces to put away for him when he is old enough. I also am about to get my soldier molds and mini melter back from my dad so I can make soldiers with him when he is older. I loved making them and painting them plus they were a lot more durable then the plastic ones so they will last a really long time. (I still have a bunch) Anyway I hope he will enjoy them when he gets older too.

Dave

 

[Louis Badolato]

When I was a kid, I built 1/48 Scale Bandai Pin Point Precision Series model armored vehicles, and I played with 1/35 scale Dinky military vehicles. When ebay first came about in the late 1990's, I bought up a bunch of the Bandai models and Dinky toys, so I can build them and play with them with my own kids.

I think little boys will always love toy soldiers, tanks and planes, so I am not worried about interest in Toy soldiers down the road.

 

[sceic2]

I have already begun talking to my son and grandsons about continuing the tradition of collecting toy soldiers. I believe as Louis has said that little boys will always want to play with toy soldiers. I hope that after I have died that my collection will not be broken up, sold for a dime a piece at some garage sale or sold piece meal on eBay. I hope that my son and grandsons will add to it and that the real value is not what they would sell if for but rather the value of having a tradition that could last for a least a couple of generations.

If I wanted the true monetary value of my collection, I would do things quite differently than I am doing now. I would never open the boxes (other than to check for condition and contents) and I would by multiples of the SL and L versions. I would buy entire series. I would try to buy all the various series (after all who knows what will be popular in the future so get 'em all). I would hold for a number of years and then begin selling them piece-by-piece to collectors via eBay or by some other way. The time I would wait would be planned to take advantage of market conditions. I would watch prices very closely and gauge trends and try to capture the up side of the price curve. If this were truly an investment for financial gain, which I believe it could be if done properly, I would not have an emotional attachment to any of the issues. It would be treated the same as any other investment tool. Michael

 

[theBaron]

One factor in the incredible prices that Britains and other figures get in auctions, is that of the millions of figures made up until the end of the '60s, a small fraction has survived. Limited supply will help support high price, provided demand can remain high. I don't think this will apply in the same way to figures made by the "newer makers", as O'Brien called them, because practically everyone who bought the figures will care for them and make sure they survive. So, a hundred years from now, all of the Frontline, K&C, East of India, et al, figures that were made this year, will still be around, and probably in much the same shape that they are now.

I noted that limited supply will help support high price, provided demand can remain high. That proviso is important, because for demand to remain at its present level, let alone increase, we have to have as many new collectors join the hobby, as we have now. I think we will see a trend in our hobby, as is noted in the larger world of collectibles, and that is that, generally, people collect thing to which they were exposed, with which they are familiar. So, for the larger area of collecting toys, collectors will tend to buy things they played with as children. Once a generation passes, demand for those things may drop. Ask anyone under 70 who Tom Mix was, and you won't find too many people who know.

The best thing we can all do, if we have kids, is to expose them to the hobby. And it might not just be the obvious, that we give them the latest $100 set from China to play with. That would be an expensive way to encourage them to collect. Rather, expose them to history, encourage them to read, if you served, tell your kids about your service. If you keep it up, over time, it will bear fruit.

And as to giving them toy soldiers, there are plastic sets out there, and the sets from 21st Century Toys, Forces of Valor, Blue Box, that can be had at reasonable prices, so we can give our kids their first figures, that they can play with and catch the bug.

Prost!
Brad

 

[maloyalo]

I think little boys will always love toy soldiers, tanks and planes, so I am not worried about interest in Toy soldiers down the road.

First thing I did for my son was buy him a big batch of Timmee green armymen Toy Soldiers. But he wasn't born yet & I was going on the word of the Doctor with his Ultrasound picture interpretation. I mean I couldn't make anything out of those pictures. Looked like a giant ameoba or something to me.

But I think you've got something there Louis. And so do the others mentioning passing it on. My son years later collects his Star Wars and Video games and Toy Soldiers. He grew up with them and spends hours setting them up and fighting battles.

The only thing I have had to accept is that his tastes are very different from mine as to which soldiers and periods he likes. So as both add and subtract from the collection I might have to sell some things I like better to get things he likes better, which I do in a moderate way so he gets what he enjoys (and more importantly uses).

I do think boys have a natural affinity for certain things, like anything with wheels, space, soldiers...but they are also affected by there childhood 'imprinting'.

But to at least attempt to get back on-topic. Using soldiers as investments may seem fun, but is , in my experience in the risky and unpredicable catagory. Even with very thought out purchases, I only seem, with all things averaged in, to get about what I paid for things. Now if its things you bought to keep, but lost interest later, thats OK.

My take on the market is that it is down (plastics) 30-40% from a peak several years back. Repros have played a big part, but with Ebay so has the increased supply. As we first generation collectors pass on to the big Toy Store in the sky, I think the market will weaken further for reasons others have given. It will not disappear, because there is a small group of youngsters that it is already passed on to, and some items will appeal to general antiques and collectible types indefinately.

Eventually I think their will be a genuine resurgence of Toy Soldiers being popular with kids again. They have that timeless appeal Louis mentioned and all things wax and wane and get recycled again in time. Our collective attempts or support to bring the soldiers back has worked quite well, but hasn't caught the kids up in it yet. Even the stretch of semi-real historical films hasn't been converted into soldiers. Its still action figures and video games. It may be 5 or 25 or 125 years. Who can know the 10 year old mind. It may happen when these video kids are adults and the kids shy away from what the adults do.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

It would be nice to have my collection appreciate in value over time but, if that doesn't happen, it doesn't really affect me much. I think the fact that most manufacturers today are limiting and retiring sets after a year or so, helps to increase value. Also, with more wealth spreading out in the world, we might see a new wave of collectors from different countries. This hobby generally, has been American and West European in nature as far as collectors go. A trend that has occurred in the hobby in the last several years has been the movement toward diorama pieces. This may also help the hobby in the future as it may generate more interest from people wanting more of a total art piece to mount in a cabinet or to adorn a desk or table in their office. One more thing I have to say though, is that there is still not enough promotion of this hobby out there. Friends that visit my home for the first time, never knew this hobby exists out in the marketplace and are very impressed with the detail of the figures. Something to think about...

 

[thebritfarmer]

I don't collect for investment, I merely collect what I like.

When you look at the market for a box of some older Britains soldiers they can be picked up for about the same price as a new box.

 

[hhenry]

Interestingly, many of the Britains Limited Edition sets from the 80s and 90s seem to be cheaper on average on ebay than what they originally retailed for. So that portion of my collection is worth less than what I paid for it, especially when you take into account inflation.

 

[theBaron]

Interestingly, many of the Britains Limited Edition sets from the 80s and 90s seem to be cheaper on average on ebay than what they originally retailed for. So that portion of my collection is worth less than what I paid for it, especially when you take into account inflation.

You're right, henry, and it reminds me of another observation from the broader collectibles field. There is a gentleman named Harry Rinker, who is headquartered here in the Lehigh Valley (in Vera Cruz--aren't our town names great? Macungie, Emmaus, Nazareth, Hokendaqua-but I digress). He has written books, writes a regular column, hosted "The Collector Inspector" on HGTV and has a regular radio show called "Whatcha Got?" where he gives appraisals and answers questions. Rinker developed what he calls "Rinker's 30-Year Rule". That is, for the first 30 years of an object's life, its value is purely speculative. We need only look at the plethora ("Jefe, what is a plethora?" "Why, El Guapo?!") of items from the Franklin Mint, the Danbury Mint, the "Insert-Mint-Name-Here" Mint, that advertize in Parade Magazine and elsewhere. People buy the Star Trek collectors plates, the Hummel plates, the Jam Jars of the World, thinking that they'll become instant trust funds, not realizing that thousands of other people bought them, too, and that they've all hoarded them. In 20 years, they'll flood the market with them, and find that they're not worth the cost of the fees to post on eBay.

Within a specialty area, like ours, of course, there are other factors, like the original value of the items, the cost to produce them, and the collector demand for them. But even then, I hope none of us is buying toy soldiers in place of putting money in our 401Ks, but because we love them, and love history. From many of the posts in this forum (and elsewhere), I think pretty much everyone is doing it for the latter reasons.

(Actually, I can think of one collector who has a loose association with our club, I'll just call him Mr. Mephistopheles and leave it at that, who probably does buy more for investment value than for joy of collecting, but he has a lot of disposable income, and I don't begrudge anyone the choice of what to do with his Geld.)

I think my collection will never lose this value: I've enjoyed collecting every piece I have, whether I bought them or made them myself, or painted them myself. It's the stories, the history, the fellowship with you all as we pursue it. I think that unless I go senile (very possible, it runs in my mother's family), that is the real value of my collection, for me.

Prosit aus Bethlehem!
Brad

 

[chiefs70]

I agree with many of you on how to grow the hobby. I have given my boys (the 6 year old has been more into than the 3 year old, of course, but he does show interest) most of my old army men save a few of the nicer Matchbox and Airfix plastics. I reserve these for when I play with the boys or as a treat I'll hand them over for a battle or two between them or their friends - then they go back on the shelf to be admired. I have also purchased him a few of the 21st Century Shermans and Panthers so he can have "real" enemies to battle. I would have loved to have a 1/35 Panther or Sherman when I was a kid.

I have my soldiers, aircraft and armor displayed amongst many of my history books. Whenever new soldiers arrive I try to pull out one of my reference books and discuss their place in history with my oldest son. He really enjoys the stories and forms connections to the the figures.

I also have invoved my oldest in choosing what I buy. While I have already decided what is on my list I let him pick which are included in the current order and which wait until we've saved up a bit more to make the purchase. I have recently started building his and his brother's collections as well. I allow him to pick out one figure a month - roughly - that he displays with my collection but he knows are his alone. For his brother I usually show him a few options and let him pick which one to purchase so that he is part of it as well. Someday I hope they will all be wanted by my boys and they can decide to divide up my spoils when I go.

As to value - my collection has immense value but I don't know how much money it is worth. The time spent with the boys is fantastic and even my wife enjoys some of the more detailed figures as art. I think it is pretty obvious that most of us feel the same way which is what makes this such a fantastic hobby and forum to enjoy.

Eric

 

[Currahee Chris]

My family enjoys my figures. They are immeasurable in value as Chaz Michael Michaels said in Blades of Glory "I couldn't love a baby human as much as I love this"

Funny thing, we see these threads pop up on occasion. I have met several collectors who are my seniors by 15-20-25 years. I ran into one guy at a show who was 53. His girls are getting ready to go to college- here were some snippets of our conversation.

"I spend $1,500 a show. I have about 7-8,000 figures and hope to leave my wife with a nice nest egg when I pass on" He was a really nice guy and we discussed some of my points on his statements. Here is how I view the "value, what are you going to do with your collection when you die" discussion.

Most people respect a treasured collection as an extension of the person themselves. Can you imagine the difficulty facing that poor guys wife trying to sell 8,000+ figures. The "nest egg" discussion fails because, who is going to want to sell your collection when they are mourning your loss. As difficult as I believe it to be, I think my family may actually grieve my loss- maybe. It also fails going the other way- yeah, the collection may be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet, who has time to try and sell 8,000 pieces?? I know I don't. She will probably have to take the guys collection to the local dealer or on the internet and sell it for a fraction of what "it's worth" anyway. So what's the point??? Given that 8,000 is a very formidable figure- it's beyond comprehension to me in this hobby. But, we may look at our collections and think, this is nothing but imagine trying to sell it- if your loved one decides to do that- even at 3-400 pieces, my collection could be very intimidating for my family to try and sell and fully realize it's "value"

Spend your collecting dollars on your collection- steer clear of the "Appreciation" aspect of it. Consider the money sunk and be done with it. Take the time now, while you are in the living to take your wife and family to dinner, a show, vacation, etc- don't worry about leaving them the "nestegg"- it's the memories that they will cling to.

 

[Dickbuttons]

I collect because I enjoy the hobby and the figures I buy. I fully expect that when I leave this world for the next, my wife and grown children will sell every piece to a local dealer for ten cents on the dollar if they're lucky.

But that does not deter me from continuing to buy those pieces I enjoy, whilst God allows me to roam this planet. If I were buying for investment purposes, I wouldn't be on Treefrog, I would be on Ameri-trade.

Dick

 

[Saber]

Hopefully worth more than Bear Stearns stock! I suspect my collection will go the same way as my Roman coin collection, out the front door as soon as my wife can pack it up.