Do You Consider Collecting An Investment?

Nope. Collectibles are a terrible investment vehicle. Values are all over the place and difficult to nail down, and they're a pain in the ass to liquidate. You MAY make a bit of money off of them ... but, if you're looking for a retirement you're better off in mutual funds, real estate, etc. These are toys ... not a serious investment.

Long term, the upside is terrible, the downside is much bigger ... and, your kids can't break a mutual fund.

SnakeDoc

I buy the ones I like, just happens that 2 of them are worth over $2K each

Depends on your time horizon, IMO. This has been discussed ad nauseum elsewhere, but I feel HT's are as stable and predictable an investment as there is. . .for the short term. In 5-10 years? I doubt they'll be worth much more than retail in the long-run, though others disagree.

Whether or not collecting is an investment is a different question than whether or not things you collect will appreciate in value. The latter is largely outside of a single individual's hands, and will happen for some collectibles but not for others. The former is a choice, based on why you collect and what you intend to do with your collection.

As for mutual funds, depends on which ones you go with. Some Hot Toys figures are gonna be better than some mutual funds in the long run. Kids can't break them, but bad markets, bad decisions by companies and countries (if you are investing in currency), and bad decisions by investors can.

Collect for love...the money will follow!

Agreed. My collections are eye candies for me. It's like my own personal wax museum. I don't collect in terms of investments. I do think that this long term is bad investments because the value depends on who produces the newer cooler product. What I mean is that most people spend a good chunk of money caused of supply/demand, but soon as there's a new product that is better than the previous, the value goes down drastically. An example is IM mark 2. Is was very limited so it was very expensive to acquire, then HT announces a new and improved mark 2, now the prices of the old one plummeted.
I think later on, when silicone is much cheaper, this will drastically replace the current current ones. Silicone is one of the closest to skin that most special effects use. Having one figure like this, it makes me wish all my figures are silicone. I think eventually, someone will find a cost effective way to produce 1/6 like this and if so, it will be the latest and greatest therefore reducing the value of most 1/6 now.
So, I agree with the post above, just collect what is personally something that you can appreciate.

No .

Agreed. My collections are eye candies for me. It's like my own personal wax museum. I don't collect in terms of investments. I do think that this long term is bad investments because the value depends on who produces the newer cooler product. What I mean is that most people spend a good chunk of money caused of supply/demand, but soon as there's a new product that is better than the previous, the value goes down drastically. An example is IM mark 2. Is was very limited so it was very expensive to acquire, then HT announces a new and improved mark 2, now the prices of the old one plummeted.

I think later on, when silicone is much cheaper, this will drastically replace the current current ones. Silicone is one of the closest to skin that most special effects use. Having one figure like this, it makes me wish all my figures are silicone. I think eventually, someone will find a cost effective way to produce 1/6 like this and if so, it will be the latest and greatest therefore reducing the value of most 1/6 now.
So, I agree with the post above, just collect what is personally something that you can appreciate.

Only good as investments if the timing is right.

Hell to the NO. While I have sold some of my things for a profit those were pretty much luck not something I expect.

Some collectibles are, like coins; but not the types we discuss. With damage and changing public tastes it's unlikely that these will retain retail value, much less go up.

In that spirit - I'm offering retail for any MIB Guardian Predators you have...

I tell myself its an investment when I'm trying to justify buying another one that I don't need....same as most people here

I buy what I like period. This hobby is not a sound investment strategy long term imo echoing the sentiments of what's been stated already by others.

The only time resale value bothered me was when I was just starting out and was sorting out what I liked and what I wanted to collect. I bought a few figures that turned out to be duds so I sold them on. Nowadays I'm far less likely to buy something I don't want, so resale value isn't an issue. As far as investment goes, I don't buy a figure because of what it might one day be worth. Maybe my kids or grandkids will benefit from any rise in value, but my figures won't be sold while I'm alive unless something really unexpected pops up.

Definitely not an investment vehicle, but these collectibles sure hold their value better than most electronics.

yes. i buy all the MOTUC that i can and then resell them for double an hour later when they sell out. but don't tell anybody.

I originally thought they could be an investment of sorts and that's how I justified the price of my first HT figure ($150 - 200 for your first 1/6 figure is a tough leap to make if all you think you're getting is a plastic figure, at least for me it was). I looked at the price of 'Billie Jean,' and I told myself, 'Sure, Thriller is a lot of money, but buy two and in a year you could sell the second one and pay for them both.' A terrible decision that was!

Soon after that, a year going by and seeing 'Thriller' go for a good deal below what I paid, I decided things are not so surefire. This is further cemented for me when I look over my 1/6 collection today, things bought purely because I wanted them, and see that everything can still be bought for either retail or not much over. It's nice that they're still worth something, but as far as an investment, it doesn't seem that good to me. There's money to be had in certain figures but apparently not the figures I'm interested in buying, at least not right now.

These days, I generally just buy what I truly want, just because I want to have it on my shelf, but occasionally I'll buy a figure I'm uncertain about, where I feel maybe I want it and maybe I don't, with the thought that really I'm just changing my money into plastic currency and that if I want I can easily switch it back to real money at any time, and get close to what I paid (either under or over), that's about as far as I go. There's always the thought that I can re-sell for at least 80% of what I paid, but thoughts of things one day being worth more, of turning a profit, don't really enter my head anymore.

BuffyGirl said:

When I tell people of our collection, they say "that must be a good investment" but the more I think about it, I wonder...is it really?

Just because some pieces go for a good amount within the first few years they sell, doesn't mean they will be worth more 10, 15 or 20 years later. But maybe I just do not know enough about collecting. Some of my pieces Ie the Hitman pf, isn't hardly worth what I paid for it off Ssc's site. So I can't imagine he'll be worth much in the future. How do you determine what WILL be worth more (if anything even will) so that you know to save it, and how do you determine what will not, so that you unload it now?

No, I do not collect just for investment, I collect for my likes. But likes can change and I guarantee I wont collect forever.

I have to imagine that a lot of you are feeling and wondering the same thing..

So, what do you think?

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Nope! I gave up thinking that way a long time ago. I've been burned too many times. I just get what I want because I like it.

Everything's been pretty much said... good for a quick buck (fairly easy to predict with HT figures these days), not much else.

It just depends on the collection. if you got like the guy from 40 year old virgin? then definetly.

you got me thinkin about mine now. i have the RAH of MGS3 and 4 in the 1st edition, they my be more than what i paid then but wil they in the future? i guess it depends on the fans