I think it's a risky investment, because you're hoping that whatever property the toy is based on stays popular decades from now. If the next generation of collectors decide they don't care about Star Wars or He-Man, you have nobody to sell your stuff to.
To answer the title, No. Speculative Assets should only make up 5% - 10% of a portfolio. Speculative assets are one of the easiest investments to get burned on. Do not invest in a collector market, you are setting yourself up for eventual failure
@@nathanilsaenz8178 there will always be exceptions but in terms of offering genuine financial advice, exceptions are rarely something someone can depend on, hence why they are called exceptions
The whole point of toys is for enjoyment. Whether you get that enjoyment from opening them and playing with them or keeping them in package and displaying them, that is their primary function. If they should somehow increase in value in the distant future, that's a bonus.
@@lamarravery4094 and sometimes crappy figures of characters people hated sometimes skyrocket in value too. My point is there's no rhyme or reason to future value sometimes and it's better to just enjoy them for what they are than to make them part of your financial portfolio
I’ve been a video game collector for over 30 years and, while I never considered them an investment, the market is so crazy it allowed me to pay off my mortgage. Video games seem to be an investment but it’s still a 20 year rule. You have to wait for everyone’s nostalgia to kick in
Wow, impressive! You must of made some really good investments to payoff your mortgage. The houses in my specific middle class neighborhood is around $2.5 or $3 Million - I wish I had made some wise purchases back in the day like you to pay off the mortgage. 😂
@@sabin23 not sure where you live my friend but 2.5-3 million is far from middle class here in Indiana. Maybe you’re in nyc or LA but you’re looking at 75-125k for middle class homes here.
I’ve never seen what i collect as an investment. It’s a hobby. Nothing more nothing less. I purchased property when i was younger and sold one 6 years ago and another 3 years ago. My mortgage is paid off and i’m financially comfortable. I don’t collect toys for “investment” purposes. It’s purely something fun to do.
Modern toys are a terrible investment. Kids today WILL not be buying these 30 years from now because kids generally no longer have the same action figure interest as we did in the 80s. I'd argue the 40 somethings now are the only thing really keeping the market alive as it is.
Yes and no. Did I buy toys from 30 years ago? Yes. Some that i had as a kid and parents got rid of or the toys I wanted but didn’t get. Nostalgia can be powerful. But it’s definitely hit or miss for each person.
Investing in action figures is probably the quickest way to burn your money on. Unless you have a figure from the 70’s-80’s that is still mib like one of the original 12 star wars figures, a sealed box of legos from the 80’s, or a rare beany baby, you’re lucky if you get your money back. I never once bought an action figure as an investment. I bought them to enjoy them in my display. Most of them are immediately taken out of their packaging. And I still enjoy the hell out of them. Whenever I do sell a figure to make room, it’s almost always with a loss. Even Hottoys which were one of the safer bets in recent years when it comes to figure investing sell for peanuts nowadays, especially MCU stuff.
Back in the day at the bookstore in the mall when the Death of Superman comic came out in those black and white baggies. So many kids and parents buying them up saying that they'd pay for their college years down the road. Almost bought one to save, but didn't. So funny as I bought a sealed one a few years ago for $10 shipped.
@@francoisregis2155 When did he sell it? A few years ago I bought the Death of Superman saga graphic novels. Back in the day, I gave up on the Death of Superman as it was so hard to follow because it was spread out over different Superman titles. Then they split into 4 characters and it was even harder to follow. I liked Cyborg Superman the best.
I remember in middle school a friend was ordering them. So we paid him to get us a few copies. Speculating kicked off and he gave us our money back and said he was keeping them. I found it them when they came out but just bought one of each as they did. Yep…lol
Buy it if you like it. Sell it if a newer and improved version of the figure comes out and you’re able to do it in timely fashion. Otherwise just stick with what you have because you were happy enough to buy it. Don’t think about it as investment. You will end up keeping your toys in the box and not displaying them and you may not get your money back and that sucks all the fun out of this hobby.
4:56 I always forget that your from my area! I go to neshaminy mall all the time. Always preferred Oxford Valley tho, but it’s better then Franklin mills (no I’m not calling it Philadelphia mills. No one calls it that)
I've told people who think this. Dont buy anything you wouldn't keep if it doesn't sell. I got so tired listening to them complaining about wasting money on items that are so common, and dont sell for huge amounts.
What made original Kenner Star Wars figures valuable is that we all opened and played with them. Not too many carded figures exist even though billions were made. On a side note, my dad gave me asvise, if you want to make money, don't open them, they'll go up higher in value. I was a kid, I had to open them. I only wished he bought a second set and socked it away for my college fund.
Grading collectibles is just scummy if you ask me. Nobody does it unless they just want to speculate on value. You don’t grade a toy you actually care about
If its mythic legions then it is definitely a good investment, even if they get re-released they jump back up in price and get stupid expensive. Some charecters sell for 200-500 bucks and ppl will consider it good prices. Once they sell out at bbts they triple in value.
Buy the stuff you want. Forget the stuff you don’t. I have had bad luck with buying toys just so I could turn around and sell them on EBay. Usually if I have something that valuable I want to keep it so the money doesn’t mean much. Yet. When I got into trouble years ago and was unemployed for a longe time I made a few truck payments by selling off most of my Star Trek stuff. Greater it was bargain prices but nobody was making much at the time.
You can definitely make some worthwhile returns on short term flips (without scalping), but that's very much down to knowing the market as it is right now and timing your moves right. There's no way I would hold onto figures for years hoping they'd all appreciate in value, the odds of that are low
Porcelain dolls, beanie babies, articulated figures. I can vaguely understand stuff like Magic. Those cards have some sort of implication or impact on doing something that can get you money like winning a tournament prize. And ill always remember a Stan Lee quote about the speculator bubble, they were expensive because they were rare. No one is going to pay top dollar for something they could have just gotten on the stand. The stuff that you can invest in is the stuff no one cared enough to preserve ages ago. Plus a healthy does of nostalgia
Magic is going through a rough patch: they got overconfident with the two years of covid (success for them). They overprinted in quantity (number of sets yearly at an exponential rate + overprinting), thought stores were useless (no stores during covid but sales up) so support went down to 0, showed tremendous amounts of greed (30th anniversary dumpster fire trying to sell us randomized reprints of the first edition for 1000$, the price increase on all products… so many card variations NO ONE can keep track or make inventory ) They have had one very successful set this year: lord of the rings, which they are going to print to oblivion, pulling the secondary market value down again. The other sets are not moving fast. Back in the days a two year old box had a 20-30% increase if the set was just good. Sleepers would actually sky rockets after a few years because of game mechanics being overlooked or just because of supply and demand.
Sorry for the rant. Its still a great game. I have been playing since the early days. Just to sum-up, they got greedy, people got burnt, they lost in a year or two probably decades of player growth and interest and « investors ». 🎉 hapoy 30th!
The hardest thing for me is to sell some of my figures I like (the ones that are clearly worth the high price tag, like Mafex Hush Batman) to get the ones I want, and they did sell well. The figures I want are usually very expensive. However, when it comes to Marvel Legends, just get what you want and be VERY selective with them. Their values are just too random. I got burned when I bought two ML retro black suit Spider-Man figures (cuz I thought I would be able to sell them for $40 each for the first time). Turns out Hasbro later decided to make the cel shaded black suit Spidey with toe hinges, which made ML retro version quickly loose its value. Lesson learned.
Vintage is also a risky investment, some examples of this are: MOTU Origins, Playmates TMNT Classics, Star Wars Retro Collection. All of the forementioned lines have impacted the eBay sale prices of vintage figures, in the case of MOTU by often 25-40% for the common figures. The same may occur with Toxic Crusaders now Trick Or Treat Studios are re-imagining the vintage inspired line. The gaming industry also gets affected as soon as a game is reissued / remastered or reissued on a new generation platform. Vintage is as risky to invest in as modern, nobody knows when a reissue could be released, most collectors arent fussed if its vintage or a re-issue.
crowdfunded items and exclusives are good. some very special lines like the motu origins. everything else could be good for short term scalping. bafs are good too
Good Monday early evening Matt hello from downtown Hamilton Ontario Canada sir been watching your channel for more than a few years I'm Peter now 51 years old and a stroke and cardiac arrest and colon cancer survivor and use a electrical wheelchair when I'm outside and don't work unless it's a seasonal job and was 12 in '84 and fell in love with the original g1 transformers series had no idea of the value of them until I got older now devorced with no kids and have a bit of a collection I think that I have over 100 pieces of toys including transformers star wars, pop figures plsymoblie sets mostly on the back to the future movies and others all are mip and a few G1 loose transformers toys which over the past 12 years I used to buy and sell over on Facebook only when I have a bit of money saved up. Which I haven't sold anything over almost 2 years now because had stage 2 Colon Cancer which thank God they removed the tumor in my colon but use a electrical wheelchair when I'm outside otherwise normal person I get enjoyment out of finding stuff at toys r us or Walmart or comic shops or toy stores which we have a a good one called bounty Hunter Toys. Be safe and keep smiling LoL
I’m kinda in ur situation but younger and other surgeries but no chair. It’s one of the best and fun things to do when u stay in pain a lot. Very rewarding and the hunt for toys helps keep my smile on. Prayers for u friend and I’m glad u found something that gives u some fulfillment in life. 👊🏼🙏🏼⚔️
Great thing about action figures, is that if you can’t get what you want; you move on to the next. There’s always gonna be something you want. Also there’s most likely gonna be a restock and reissue. I made a pledge to never buy from a reseller. Let them get stuck with them. I like buying loose figures on the low from mecari lol
It would be better to gamble at the casino than to invest in (modern) toys. Even vintage I feel is on a ticking clock for value when the older generations that grew up with that stuff eventually die out, as grim as that is. I'm not sure future collectors will have an appreciation for something like vintage Star wars.
I love Big Nerdy. But i have to disagree on this one. While what he is saying is true, you can't speculate on what any action figure could be worth 20 years from now. The 70s and 80s figure took decades to be worth what they are. So i really think it depends on the figure or collectible and the length of time. One thing to is todays figures are 1000 times better as far as details. Do like most of us. Buy what you like. You may get lucky down the road!
I'm always amazed when something I have turns out to be worth 5X more than I when I bought it. It gets a wow out of me, but I currently want to hold on to my collectables for sentimental value. Even if I'm not using something, I like being able to tell other people I have it. My brother has most of the Toybiz Legends in box on his wall. With the new Hasbro figures they are all obsolete. The only thing people want them for is the B.A.F. parts. Not the figure or the comic. I have all the SOTA Street Fighter and JADA is doing a good job making them irrelevant, but nostalgia has me holding on to them.
Most new action figures at least hold their value so as long as you're able to make your money back (there or there abouts) I'm happy to collect. If they are totally worthless after buying, I would for sure hold back buying by about 80%
Personally, no. I buy to open them, pose them around, take pics of them, and enjoy them. I’ve bought some of the most expensive McFarlane and NECA figures and opened them up and threw away the package. No point in having them if I can’t enjoy them and let them breathe. People that collect for value aren’t collecting for the right reasons imo.
I've enjoyed my toy collection and made more returns on "investment" % wise than the rest. It's a small portion of my total assets, but less stress and more fun. I collect what I like and enjoyed them as toys (play & display), my form of art that most can relate to and less hassle to sell than a painting. When i need to upgrade or downsize, I've made profit to where my collection paid for itself and disposal income. It's a win/win.
What is your most unexpected best seller. What is your most expected back teller. What is the one you wish you had gotten ahold of to sell. What is your biggest regret buy
Short answer no. It’s a niche community. People are very selective about the things they want and the rarity of the items will be determined through time. I’ll admit I would scalp on the side while collecting for myself. I would never get 2 of something though. I wasnt flipping prices either. Just a small fee. I didn’t mind making back $3. But even so. A scalper is a scalper. And from my experience it’s risky business even as a small side hustle. I used to spend half my check on figures feeling certain I would get my return investment a lot sooner. That’s never the case. You will never see your returns right away. You’ll be sitting on it for awhile.
Matt! Crazy to see the image in the video but When was the last time you were at Neshaminy Mall??? When we were kids it was always so packed and popular….now it probably has a total of 10 stores inside….it’s horrible
I guess was an investment, now not too much, unless you got something that won't be remake, like Slave Leia, even Biker Mice from Mars gonna get a remake soon.
Guys I know this is late and basically nobody will see this comment, but speculating on any collectible (Action figures, Sneakers, Legos, Stanley Cups, Collector coins) is a terrible idea from a money making perspective. There is a reason no financial advisor would ever tell you to speculate on these things. A side note technically speculating and investing are different things and as action figures don't generate ongoing dividends or returns they arn't an investment. Another thing to recognize is that kids don't play with toys like we did (especially action figures) your average action figure collector is in his 50's at this point, Sorry guys but we are getting old and all those wonderful basements with elaborate set ups, they don't let you take that to the nursing home. In 25 years there are going to be very few people who would be interested in a complete mint on card collection of vintage star wars figures, little own willing to pay for one. Buy your collectibles, enjoy your collectibles but unfortunately in a few years your going to have a grandchild go look at all this junk as they stick it all in boxes and donate the lot.
TCG like magic and Pokemon is great if you got in at start and know how and when to sale. Hasbro reprinting toys makes me scared they might reprint the reserve list cards.
I actually did a full financial breakdown video on this with Star Wars Black Series vs the S&P500 on my channel! (Spoiler alert, it's 100% not a good investment)
NO. It's just spending money. If a toy becomes valuable, it's just luck. Collect because it's fun. If you collect things for the dollar value, just skip the middle man and collect money.
Dude I can't get over the millennium falcon engine not lined up in the background. I don't look at you, I look at the distractions and amateur dark room in the basement. Your audience has a trained eye to look for paint defects. I know you said, it would take a lot of work to fix, I really think you should, it would make your brand look much more professional, because you respect visual imperfections are distracting to professionals with lots of money to buy from you. I design technology for a living, symmetry and flow of design is art, you subconsciously irritate people with lots of money. I normally can't watch a whole video, and it's a good thing you cut away to many graphics in this one. As for the topic, I would agree with most, I have no interest in comics, a digital copy makes more sense to me, the images will never fade or burn. Just a tip if you want to increase your watch time on CZcams.
The only time I think about that picture is when someone in the comment section brings it up. It's not as distracting to everyone else as you seem to think it is.
@@THE_bchat like I said... only distracting to professionals and individuals with a eye for little details. I am trained to look for problems in designs and face paint. Good that the problem is big enough not only I noticed.
I really don’t believe in that been trying to sell some of my star wars collection and I found that people want them for free even LEGO star wars so I will keep them
I find it hilarious all of the people who were crying because of the lost value of re-released black series. I am a fan of Star Wars and a fan of the action figures so I want all people to be able to get their favorite characters.
I’m making this comment before watching the video. No. It is not. However if I get in a pinch I can sell off my collection and make a pretty decent amount of money. That being said I would never sell my collection unless it was absolutely necessary.
Absolutely Not. The purpose of investments is to make money. Attaching sentimental value defeats the purpose. Plus if it’s an investment and it’s worth money you should insure it as well. Stock ownership can’t be destroyed. Properties get insurance in case something gets damaged. Are we really going to do that for our action figure displays?
Two different comments in this comment section misused then and than. If the two commenters could trade words they would have a correct statement, but I also find it hilarious that they both made the equal but opposite mistake
Lol, I’m pretty sure people are just upset on losing a couple of dollars. Big nerdy gotta make a nerd rage overacting video , about nerds overacting. Does anybody care 😂, oh wow I can’t sell my clearanced target shadow trooper 2 pack for $100 bucks , my investment is ruined 😂. If anything, big nerdy will lose money 😂, who’s gonna buy all the stuff in your toy store 😂
I'm just guessing here, but I would imagine that, as a retailer, Big Nerdy is far less concerned about the secondary market than the average collector. His business has to survive on retail prices or else his business will fail spectacularly. Retailers with a brain in their head focus on selling their entire inventory as quickly as possible so that their money is free to use on future orders. If his money gets tied-up in items that don't move (for example, if he were to constantly adjust his prices to reflect the collectors' market), his business will eventually run out of working capital, and his store will go from "a career" back to something he does as a hobby.
What are your thoughts on action figures as an investment?
I think it's a risky investment, because you're hoping that whatever property the toy is based on stays popular decades from now. If the next generation of collectors decide they don't care about Star Wars or He-Man, you have nobody to sell your stuff to.
If its mythic legions it's probably a really good investment all charecters sell for more than retail and they constantly shoot up in price
To answer the title, No. Speculative Assets should only make up 5% - 10% of a portfolio. Speculative assets are one of the easiest investments to get burned on. Do not invest in a collector market, you are setting yourself up for eventual failure
Yup. You'll be up one week...
And down for the rest of the time lol
Mythic legions is the exception though, those toys are garenteed to shot up in price.
@@nathanilsaenz8178 there will always be exceptions but in terms of offering genuine financial advice, exceptions are rarely something someone can depend on, hence why they are called exceptions
The whole point of toys is for enjoyment. Whether you get that enjoyment from opening them and playing with them or keeping them in package and displaying them, that is their primary function. If they should somehow increase in value in the distant future, that's a bonus.
And enjoyment is valued, that's why some toys go up in value, rarity and popularity make it valuable.
@@lamarravery4094 and sometimes crappy figures of characters people hated sometimes skyrocket in value too. My point is there's no rhyme or reason to future value sometimes and it's better to just enjoy them for what they are than to make them part of your financial portfolio
@jinpei05…..Couldn’t have said it better myself, sir… You’re exactly right 👍😃
Making money is fun
Collect what you love. Than nothing is a loss ❤
*then
I’ve been a video game collector for over 30 years and, while I never considered them an investment, the market is so crazy it allowed me to pay off my mortgage. Video games seem to be an investment but it’s still a 20 year rule. You have to wait for everyone’s nostalgia to kick in
Except the whole hobby is tainted by the specter of market manipulation and money laundering by the grading system
Wow, impressive! You must of made some really good investments to payoff your mortgage.
The houses in my specific middle class neighborhood is around $2.5 or $3 Million - I wish I had made some wise purchases back in the day like you to pay off the mortgage. 😂
@@sabin23 not sure where you live my friend but 2.5-3 million is far from middle class here in Indiana. Maybe you’re in nyc or LA but you’re looking at 75-125k for middle class homes here.
@@sabin23 I am middle class, i only drive a tatty old Lamborghini Aventador ... wish i was wealthy :(
@@buckchuckgaming597 Yeah, I gotta know where in the world is $3million a middle class home?
I’ve never seen what i collect as an investment. It’s a hobby. Nothing more nothing less. I purchased property when i was younger and sold one 6 years ago and another 3 years ago. My mortgage is paid off and i’m financially comfortable. I don’t collect toys for “investment” purposes. It’s purely something fun to do.
Modern toys are a terrible investment. Kids today WILL not be buying these 30 years from now because kids generally no longer have the same action figure interest as we did in the 80s.
I'd argue the 40 somethings now are the only thing really keeping the market alive as it is.
Fully agree 💯
Yes and no. Did I buy toys from 30 years ago? Yes. Some that i had as a kid and parents got rid of or the toys I wanted but didn’t get.
Nostalgia can be powerful. But it’s definitely hit or miss for each person.
46 :V
Investing in action figures is probably the quickest way to burn your money on. Unless you have a figure from the 70’s-80’s that is still mib like one of the original 12 star wars figures, a sealed box of legos from the 80’s, or a rare beany baby, you’re lucky if you get your money back. I never once bought an action figure as an investment. I bought them to enjoy them in my display. Most of them are immediately taken out of their packaging. And I still enjoy the hell out of them. Whenever I do sell a figure to make room, it’s almost always with a loss. Even Hottoys which were one of the safer bets in recent years when it comes to figure investing sell for peanuts nowadays, especially MCU stuff.
Back in the day at the bookstore in the mall when the Death of Superman comic came out in those black and white baggies. So many kids and parents buying them up saying that they'd pay for their college years down the road. Almost bought one to save, but didn't. So funny as I bought a sealed one a few years ago for $10 shipped.
One of my friends had that idea he had bought 6 copies the most he got was 30$ for a copy
@@francoisregis2155 When did he sell it? A few years ago I bought the Death of Superman saga graphic novels. Back in the day, I gave up on the Death of Superman as it was so hard to follow because it was spread out over different Superman titles.
Then they split into 4 characters and it was even harder to follow. I liked Cyborg Superman the best.
I remember in middle school a friend was ordering them. So we paid him to get us a few copies. Speculating kicked off and he gave us our money back and said he was keeping them.
I found it them when they came out but just bought one of each as they did. Yep…lol
Buy it if you like it. Sell it if a newer and improved version of the figure comes out and you’re able to do it in timely fashion. Otherwise just stick with what you have because you were happy enough to buy it. Don’t think about it as investment. You will end up keeping your toys in the box and not displaying them and you may not get your money back and that sucks all the fun out of this hobby.
4:56 I always forget that your from my area! I go to neshaminy mall all the time. Always preferred Oxford Valley tho, but it’s better then Franklin mills (no I’m not calling it Philadelphia mills. No one calls it that)
I've told people who think this. Dont buy anything you wouldn't keep if it doesn't sell. I got so tired listening to them complaining about wasting money on items that are so common, and dont sell for huge amounts.
I don't buy them as an investment, i buy them cause i love collecting them
I love all those old figures that went up for preorder, oh wait........
What made original Kenner Star Wars figures valuable is that we all opened and played with them. Not too many carded figures exist even though billions were made. On a side note, my dad gave me asvise, if you want to make money, don't open them, they'll go up higher in value. I was a kid, I had to open them. I only wished he bought a second set and socked it away for my college fund.
Grading collectibles is just scummy if you ask me. Nobody does it unless they just want to speculate on value. You don’t grade a toy you actually care about
Grade? Wdym?
that wasn't Christmas Vacation. It was Vegas Vacation, Big Nerdy.
Huttslayer Leia? Ahhh, you mean “Boba Fett’s Starship Leia” 😉
I don't see my collecting as an investment, i like mint on card just to look at, when I'm dead someone will be lucky. 👍
If its mythic legions then it is definitely a good investment, even if they get re-released they jump back up in price and get stupid expensive. Some charecters sell for 200-500 bucks and ppl will consider it good prices. Once they sell out at bbts they triple in value.
LOL. Pappagiorgio is the GOAT. All time movie hero.
Nothing I bought was for an investment. That was just an added bonus. Invest in the stock market, not toys.
Buy the stuff you want. Forget the stuff you don’t. I have had bad luck with buying toys just so I could turn around and sell them on EBay. Usually if I have something that valuable I want to keep it so the money doesn’t mean much. Yet. When I got into trouble years ago and was unemployed for a longe time I made a few truck payments by selling off most of my Star Trek stuff. Greater it was bargain prices but nobody was making much at the time.
You can definitely make some worthwhile returns on short term flips (without scalping), but that's very much down to knowing the market as it is right now and timing your moves right. There's no way I would hold onto figures for years hoping they'd all appreciate in value, the odds of that are low
All of Todd’s Batman have made me money sold Knightfall Batman for 250.00 🤷♂️
Yep I doubt my Star wars poster will be worth anything, let alone my POTF 2 slave Leia.
Manufactured quantities are often too high to really make resale all that great but there are always exceptions
Star Wars power of the force is about 30 years old and the figures sell for around 10 bucks.
Porcelain dolls, beanie babies, articulated figures. I can vaguely understand stuff like Magic. Those cards have some sort of implication or impact on doing something that can get you money like winning a tournament prize.
And ill always remember a Stan Lee quote about the speculator bubble, they were expensive because they were rare. No one is going to pay top dollar for something they could have just gotten on the stand. The stuff that you can invest in is the stuff no one cared enough to preserve ages ago. Plus a healthy does of nostalgia
Magic is going through a rough patch: they got overconfident with the two years of covid (success for them). They overprinted in quantity (number of sets yearly at an exponential rate + overprinting), thought stores were useless (no stores during covid but sales up) so support went down to 0, showed tremendous amounts of greed (30th anniversary dumpster fire trying to sell us randomized reprints of the first edition for 1000$, the price increase on all products… so many card variations NO ONE can keep track or make inventory )
They have had one very successful set this year: lord of the rings, which they are going to print to oblivion, pulling the secondary market value down again.
The other sets are not moving fast. Back in the days a two year old box had a 20-30% increase if the set was just good. Sleepers would actually sky rockets after a few years because of game mechanics being overlooked or just because of supply and demand.
Sorry for the rant. Its still a great game. I have been playing since the early days. Just to sum-up, they got greedy, people got burnt, they lost in a year or two probably decades of player growth and interest and « investors ». 🎉 hapoy 30th!
Heck yeah nerdzoic will you be getting the marvel legends Detroit steel in your store
The hardest thing for me is to sell some of my figures I like (the ones that are clearly worth the high price tag, like Mafex Hush Batman) to get the ones I want, and they did sell well. The figures I want are usually very expensive. However, when it comes to Marvel Legends, just get what you want and be VERY selective with them. Their values are just too random. I got burned when I bought two ML retro black suit Spider-Man figures (cuz I thought I would be able to sell them for $40 each for the first time). Turns out Hasbro later decided to make the cel shaded black suit Spidey with toe hinges, which made ML retro version quickly loose its value. Lesson learned.
Vintage is also a risky investment, some examples of this are: MOTU Origins, Playmates TMNT Classics, Star Wars Retro Collection. All of the forementioned lines have impacted the eBay sale prices of vintage figures, in the case of MOTU by often 25-40% for the common figures. The same may occur with Toxic Crusaders now Trick Or Treat Studios are re-imagining the vintage inspired line. The gaming industry also gets affected as soon as a game is reissued / remastered or reissued on a new generation platform. Vintage is as risky to invest in as modern, nobody knows when a reissue could be released, most collectors arent fussed if its vintage or a re-issue.
crowdfunded items and exclusives are good. some very special lines like the motu origins. everything else could be good for short term scalping. bafs are good too
Not necessarily. Some of the recent Haslabs that went way over the fund mark are sitting for not much more than their retail price.
thanks for the info on this. I just track sailbarge, razor crest and unicron. maybe the hiss tank could also go up in the future@@falcongunner33
pretty good video. if only loking at toys and nerstuff also lego, magic, pokemon, other tcgs. and total agreement on comics
Good Monday early evening Matt hello from downtown Hamilton Ontario Canada sir been watching your channel for more than a few years I'm Peter now 51 years old and a stroke and cardiac arrest and colon cancer survivor and use a electrical wheelchair when I'm outside and don't work unless it's a seasonal job and was 12 in '84 and fell in love with the original g1 transformers series had no idea of the value of them until I got older now devorced with no kids and have a bit of a collection I think that I have over 100 pieces of toys including transformers star wars, pop figures plsymoblie sets mostly on the back to the future movies and others all are mip and a few G1 loose transformers toys which over the past 12 years I used to buy and sell over on Facebook only when I have a bit of money saved up. Which I haven't sold anything over almost 2 years now because had stage 2 Colon Cancer which thank God they removed the tumor in my colon but use a electrical wheelchair when I'm outside otherwise normal person I get enjoyment out of finding stuff at toys r us or Walmart or comic shops or toy stores which we have a a good one called bounty Hunter Toys. Be safe and keep smiling LoL
I’m kinda in ur situation but younger and other surgeries but no chair. It’s one of the best and fun things to do when u stay in pain a lot. Very rewarding and the hunt for toys helps keep my smile on. Prayers for u friend and I’m glad u found something that gives u some fulfillment in life. 👊🏼🙏🏼⚔️
Great thing about action figures, is that if you can’t get what you want; you move on to the next. There’s always gonna be something you want. Also there’s most likely gonna be a restock and reissue. I made a pledge to never buy from a reseller. Let them get stuck with them. I like buying loose figures on the low from mecari lol
It would be better to gamble at the casino than to invest in (modern) toys. Even vintage I feel is on a ticking clock for value when the older generations that grew up with that stuff eventually die out, as grim as that is. I'm not sure future collectors will have an appreciation for something like vintage Star wars.
I love Big Nerdy. But i have to disagree on this one. While what he is saying is true, you can't speculate on what any action figure could be worth 20 years from now. The 70s and 80s figure took decades to be worth what they are. So i really think it depends on the figure or collectible and the length of time. One thing to is todays figures are 1000 times better as far as details. Do like most of us. Buy what you like. You may get lucky down the road!
I'm always amazed when something I have turns out to be worth 5X more than I when I bought it.
It gets a wow out of me, but I currently want to hold on to my collectables for sentimental value. Even if I'm not using something, I like being able to tell other people I have it.
My brother has most of the Toybiz Legends in box on his wall. With the new Hasbro figures they are all obsolete. The only thing people want them for is the B.A.F. parts. Not the figure or the comic. I have all the SOTA Street Fighter and JADA is doing a good job making them irrelevant, but nostalgia has me holding on to them.
Those sota figures were really good for the time. I'm still kicking myself for getting rid of my T Hawk, Vega and Blanka figures
Mainly Bandai Tamashi Nations can become a profit once they retire specifically their S.H. Monster arts line up
Most new action figures at least hold their value so as long as you're able to make your money back (there or there abouts) I'm happy to collect. If they are totally worthless after buying, I would for sure hold back buying by about 80%
Personally, no. I buy to open them, pose them around, take pics of them, and enjoy them. I’ve bought some of the most expensive McFarlane and NECA figures and opened them up and threw away the package. No point in having them if I can’t enjoy them and let them breathe. People that collect for value aren’t collecting for the right reasons imo.
Easy answer.... hell no. It's a terrible investment.
But I honestly have the most fun spending my money on toys... so there is a trade-off
I've enjoyed my toy collection and made more returns on "investment" % wise than the rest. It's a small portion of my total assets, but less stress and more fun. I collect what I like and enjoyed them as toys (play & display), my form of art that most can relate to and less hassle to sell than a painting. When i need to upgrade or downsize, I've made profit to where my collection paid for itself and disposal income. It's a win/win.
What is your most unexpected best seller. What is your most expected back teller. What is the one you wish you had gotten ahold of to sell. What is your biggest regret buy
Short answer no. It’s a niche community. People are very selective about the things they want and the rarity of the items will be determined through time. I’ll admit I would scalp on the side while collecting for myself. I would never get 2 of something though. I wasnt flipping prices either. Just a small fee. I didn’t mind making back $3. But even so. A scalper is a scalper. And from my experience it’s risky business even as a small side hustle. I used to spend half my check on figures feeling certain I would get my return investment a lot sooner. That’s never the case. You will never see your returns right away. You’ll be sitting on it for awhile.
Matt! Crazy to see the image in the video but When was the last time you were at Neshaminy Mall??? When we were kids it was always so packed and popular….now it probably has a total of 10 stores inside….it’s horrible
Where's a good app to put your collection in?
Exactly I been wanting same thing with no luck. I wish they made a good one
I guess was an investment, now not too much, unless you got something that won't be remake, like Slave Leia, even Biker Mice from Mars gonna get a remake soon.
Guys I know this is late and basically nobody will see this comment, but speculating on any collectible (Action figures, Sneakers, Legos, Stanley Cups, Collector coins) is a terrible idea from a money making perspective. There is a reason no financial advisor would ever tell you to speculate on these things. A side note technically speculating and investing are different things and as action figures don't generate ongoing dividends or returns they arn't an investment. Another thing to recognize is that kids don't play with toys like we did (especially action figures) your average action figure collector is in his 50's at this point, Sorry guys but we are getting old and all those wonderful basements with elaborate set ups, they don't let you take that to the nursing home. In 25 years there are going to be very few people who would be interested in a complete mint on card collection of vintage star wars figures, little own willing to pay for one. Buy your collectibles, enjoy your collectibles but unfortunately in a few years your going to have a grandchild go look at all this junk as they stick it all in boxes and donate the lot.
TCG like magic and Pokemon is great if you got in at start and know how and when to sale. Hasbro reprinting toys makes me scared they might reprint the reserve list cards.
I collect them for the cool factor. Not so much as an investment.
I love the title and this video! Have a great week Matt! Stay nerdy!
0:54-1:04 Where are they?
Are there any updates on the Black Series figure re-releases? Are they still happening?
I banking on 1995-2001 Star wars to be thrown out as not collectible.
That is pretty much how it is, that stuff is hard to get rid of.
What are your thoughts on buying two haslabs?
I actually did a full financial breakdown video on this with Star Wars Black Series vs the S&P500 on my channel! (Spoiler alert, it's 100% not a good investment)
Man. I bought an extra set of the Infinity Ultron wave cause they were getting rid of plastic packaging and…😂😂😂
Nobody sees any value in toys unless they collect them .And toy collectors are a tiny sliver of the general population.
is power of the force line a good investment please be honest
I don’t really buy toys as a future investment, I buy them because i wanna keep them forever. But I only buy what I really really want.
horrible thing to invest in unless it's an exclusive that you know will not be remade for many many years and it's vegas vacation big nerdy lol
NO. It's just spending money. If a toy becomes valuable, it's just luck. Collect because it's fun. If you collect things for the dollar value, just skip the middle man and collect money.
Love the video, Matt! Very informative!
I don't buy as an investment, I buy because I enjoy the figures or comics
No. Only dinosaurs play with toys nowadays. Future adults are into cyber stuff
Dude I can't get over the millennium falcon engine not lined up in the background. I don't look at you, I look at the distractions and amateur dark room in the basement. Your audience has a trained eye to look for paint defects. I know you said, it would take a lot of work to fix, I really think you should, it would make your brand look much more professional, because you respect visual imperfections are distracting to professionals with lots of money to buy from you. I design technology for a living, symmetry and flow of design is art, you subconsciously irritate people with lots of money. I normally can't watch a whole video, and it's a good thing you cut away to many graphics in this one. As for the topic, I would agree with most, I have no interest in comics, a digital copy makes more sense to me, the images will never fade or burn. Just a tip if you want to increase your watch time on CZcams.
The only time I think about that picture is when someone in the comment section brings it up. It's not as distracting to everyone else as you seem to think it is.
@@THE_bchat like I said... only distracting to professionals and individuals with a eye for little details. I am trained to look for problems in designs and face paint. Good that the problem is big enough not only I noticed.
I really don’t believe in that been trying to sell some of my star wars collection and I found that people want them for free even LEGO star wars so I will keep them
Obviously you bite by case. That means you sometimes get some bangers. How much volume do you have to do
thanks for teaching us Figurenomics :D
The Sentinelese people don't know who Spiderman is 😄
I find it hilarious all of the people who were crying because of the lost value of re-released black series. I am a fan of Star Wars and a fan of the action figures so I want all people to be able to get their favorite characters.
Things made to be collected don't hold their value.
Vegas vacation I think
No it isn’t. We get them because we like them. Personally it’s nostalgic for me
Not with all these re-releases
I’m making this comment before watching the video.
No. It is not. However if I get in a pinch I can sell off my collection and make a pretty decent amount of money. That being said I would never sell my collection unless it was absolutely necessary.
Simply…No they are not
Absolutely Not. The purpose of investments is to make money. Attaching sentimental value defeats the purpose.
Plus if it’s an investment and it’s worth money you should insure it as well. Stock ownership can’t be destroyed. Properties get insurance in case something gets damaged. Are we really going to do that for our action figure displays?
The answer is no.
for the algorithm
Cool
So he is saying buy all of NECA TMNT and wait 20 years to sell? 😜
Two different comments in this comment section misused then and than. If the two commenters could trade words they would have a correct statement, but I also find it hilarious that they both made the equal but opposite mistake
short answer: absolutely not
Lego, anyone?
hell to da naw
That shirt doesn’t fit you…. Just saying
Lol, I’m pretty sure people are just upset on losing a couple of dollars. Big nerdy gotta make a nerd rage overacting video , about nerds overacting. Does anybody care 😂, oh wow I can’t sell my clearanced target shadow trooper 2 pack for $100 bucks , my investment is ruined 😂.
If anything, big nerdy will lose money 😂, who’s gonna buy all the stuff in your toy store 😂
I'm just guessing here, but I would imagine that, as a retailer, Big Nerdy is far less concerned about the secondary market than the average collector. His business has to survive on retail prices or else his business will fail spectacularly. Retailers with a brain in their head focus on selling their entire inventory as quickly as possible so that their money is free to use on future orders. If his money gets tied-up in items that don't move (for example, if he were to constantly adjust his prices to reflect the collectors' market), his business will eventually run out of working capital, and his store will go from "a career" back to something he does as a hobby.