Is it worth the buy?

I have recently found an Iron Man Mark VII and Agent Coulson up for sale, with the Iron Man being about $410 with shipping and everything, and Coulson being around $300. If I get both I can save on shipping so it's just under $700 for both figures with shipping and taxes. I am just wondering, is it a good buy? Being from Canada, shipping and import fees are a huge addition to the cost, unless I'm able to find a Canadian seller. Although there are some people selling Coulson for $250 on ebay, once you include shipping and import fees it adds on another $100 or more to the cost of the figure. So that $250 figure can skyrocket up to $375. Same goes for Iron Man. I'm a bit iffy about buying on ebay too, just for fear of getting ripped off or getting a fake, especially with the high price for figures.

Anyway, would the price of the figures go up enough to warrant buying them now for $700, or would it be better to wait to see if I can get them cheaper on ebay? Since I'm new to the hobby, I don't really know much about how figures appreciate in value. Have prices stayed steady on figures, so that there aren't huge price increases down the road? I just don't want to wait and then the figures skyrocket in price to double their price or higher (like Loki or Hawkeye are now - over $400...thankfully I PO'd Loki nearly 2 years ago). I've heard great things about the Iron Man Mark VII figure, and like that it comes with a lot of different accessories. I also like that it has the classic looking red and gold suit. And I've been a fan of Coulson since he first appeared and would love to display him with my Cap figure....or maybe Loki. LOL.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

You need to change your name for a start.

shorty2434 said:

...Any advice would be much appreciated.

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Prices for Hot Toys figures can vary enormously due to supply and demand, as well as the popularity of the character portrayed.. Hawkeye for example was not a particularly popular figure, resulting in a small production run from Hot Toys.. the price reflects rarity rather than popularity.

My advice would be to consider how badly you want the figure for your collection, how iconic/rare the figure is and what the probability is, that another of those figures will become available at a lower price.
Do not assume that the figure is guaranteed to appreciate in value, because it isn't.. so purchase figures you like.. if it appreciates in value as well.. Bonus!

If you are buying on eBay from an overseas seller, always use a credit card via PayPal (and remember the 44 Day rule: If an item hasn't arrived in 44 days, open a dispute through Ebay's Resolution Center, to protect your money.. There are no exceptions to the 44 day rule except the oubreak of a Zombie Apocalypse).. check the Sellers feedback is good and insist on trackable and insured shipping.. Good luck and enjoy your collection.

I do mainly just look at figures I want, not something I can profit off later. I'm not one of those who feels the need to complete a set....like the Avengers for example, I just get the figures ad characters I liked, which mainly are Captain American and Iron Man....and also Loki. I mean if it ever came to a point where I needed to sell them to make room for something else, or because I needed the money it would be nice if they appreciated in value. If I was going straight for appreciated value, i would have gone for the Avengers Cap instead of the First Avenger Cap, since that one is so much more popular than the first movie figure. But that's the figure I liked better, and I especially didn't like the head sculpt for the Avengers cap....I don't like angry Cap. LOL. Definitely PO'ing the new 2-set though, and Winter Soldier. At least I have a year to come up with the money for that. ha ha.

I really do like Iron Man and Coulson. I am a University student though and have a student loan to pay off, however if it would be better money-wise to get the figures now I'd rather do that, than have to pay double the price in a year or 2 after I'm done school.

Coulson is pretty much selling for the same price on ebay, however with the shipping and import fees to Canada it makes the figure roughly $100 more expensive than me buying it here. Same with the Iron Man Avengers figure (which some people are selling for over $400). It would appear it would be better for me to buy it now while I can get them somewhat cheaper. There are other Iron Man figures that are cheaper, but I'm not really a fan of their look (or lack of accessories). But it is a huge cost...$700 is a lot of money, especially for a University student.

For ebay, is there a feedback number I should look out for? I know that many scammers will create fake accounts and buy cheap items to give themselves 100% feedback and trick people into trusting them. What would be a good number to look for, with international sellers? And would you say that European or even North American sellers would be totally trustworthy, or can there be scammers as well? This would be the first time I would be buying something so expensive off of ebay, and I don't really know the facts as far as buying on ebay goes for these figures. I have heard of people who have bought fake figures, and then tried to pawn it off on some unsuspecting buyer, and then others who got fakes from sellers in Europe. The figures I have seen on ebay, I always look more for those who post lots of pictures, especially pictures of the figures they have in-hand. I hate it when sellers just post pictures from the Hot Toys site, or worse just post one generic shot of the figure and nothing else, because that tells me nothing about the figure they're selling and whether it's the real deal or not. I've seen others who have just taken photos of the brown Hot Toys mailer box as their proof. I'm just iffy about buying it off ebay for fear I'll get ripped off and get a figure someone pieced together or something.

Unless you REALLY want these two figures, i would wait. HT will be making a lot more IM figures from future and past films. There is a chance that they will make Coulson again if he is in Avengers 2.

If they come out with another mainly red figure with some gold accents, I'll definitely take one of those. The other figures aren't too bad, but I'd love one that has the more classic looking Iron Man look to it. Also one that's more slender. I've seen some of the other figures and they look massive and bulky. I have seen some set photos from Avengers 2 and the suit is looking good, however there's a ton of gold on it. Maybe once I see the whole suit and the figure they'll release I might want that one instead, but so far the one from the first Avengers movie looks awesome. I especially love all the accessories it comes with, and that's going to be hard to beat. I mean, it came with 3 different looks, I don't know if they'll do that with the next figure.

As for Coulson, I can't really see them doing another Coulson figure, not unless they do something really badass with it. I mean there's only so much you can do with a man in a suit, however considering SHIELD no longer exists who knows...maybe he'll show up in Avengers 2 and be even more badass. However, in the tv show, no one apart from higher ups know that he is alive. I do wonder about that though because I read people saying that only those that are level 8 or higher know that he's alive, and I was looking up some stuff on Cap/Steve and he apparently is now level 8. At least according to this: https://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Clearance_Level However nothing about Coulson was mentioned in Winter Soldier. There are I think 3 Black Widow figures though, and they all pretty much look the same, so who knows maybe they will give Coulson and Fury and some others another figure. Although at least Fury's look now has changed dramatically.