I think very few people speculated on the early HasLabs, so total sale volumes aside, there just weren't that many on the market at any time on the aftermarket so competition for those offered made prices rise - pretty basic supply and demand.
But once everyone saw that aftermarket, I think a bunch bought extra HasLabs just with the idea they would flip them - that was mentioned by more than a few posters as a plan in the threads about Sentinel and Galactus as the campaigns were happening, how they were buying two and expected to sell one in a year at a high price to cover the one they kept. So I suspect that oversold them, and pretty basic supply and demand says that prices won't go up too much.
Basically, once many folks decide to aggressively speculate on a new collectible release to make easy money based on what happened with a collectible that few speculated on, the whole model they are basing their predictions on is no longer applicable.
Giant-Man:
5,536 / 10,000 (+18) 55.36% of funding goal with 18d 18h left.
Still slowly chugging along.
I'm in for one, I'd love two for a Skrull version but just can't swing it, I'll take anything extra they wanna do but happy with what is offered. If this doesn't fund I don't know what to make of that, maybe legends is on the way out? Doesn't help having two amazing haslabs immediately before this too
I'm in for one, I'd love two for a Skrull version but just can't swing it, I'll take anything extra they wanna do but happy with what is offered. If this doesn't fund I don't know what to make of that, maybe legends is on the way out? Doesn't help having two amazing haslabs immediately before this too
As much as I don't want it to be true, I suspect we're on the down side of the post-2014 Legends resurgence and general '80s/'90s figure nostalgia in terms of consumer interest, sales, and eventually the number of lines and releases.
Marvel Legends value has gone up and down quite a bit over time -- including the HasLabs.
Even if speculators cause a momentary drop in value on those, the limited quantity will win out in the end.
It's a question of when not if.
As much as I don't want it to be true, I suspect we're on the down side of the post-2014 Legends resurgence and general '80s/'90s figure nostalgia in terms of consumer interest, sales, and eventually the number of lines and releases.
Now THAT I can totally see.
@fac This is what nearly collapsed the entire comics industry in the 90s
And Beanie Babies, and Baseball Cards in the 90s, and so on. It is the same pattern. People who thought because Uncanny X-Men 94 was worth a ton (because it came out of nowhere and no one bought it), then what would 1991's X-Men 1 be worth with multiple covers in 30 years! I need 10 of each cover to retire! (see this auction for the answer...X-Men #1 1991 Comic Book Lot Of 4 Variant Covers Ten Sets Marvel Comics VF/NM | eBay)
I feel the most valuable action figures in a long-term line generally fall into three categories - first few waves (people coming in later want them), last few waves (people have burnt out and skip, or distribution is poor, but want to get back in later), and higher-priced items/exclusives (people who are priced out and it becomes a grail).
I'm a bit concerned about the Giant-Man Haslab figure, there are 18 days left and the numbers are still going so slowly. I don't want this Haslab to fail, is there a way to make the number of backers to go up faster?
I still think it's fine. Tons of people waiting until the 11th hour to back it. Galactus didn't fund until the final days either - not saying this will take off in the same way, but I feel good about it.
Giant-Man:
5,557 / 10,000 (+21) 55.57% of funding goal with 17d 18h left.
@fac This is what nearly collapsed the entire comics industry in the 90s
And Beanie Babies, and Baseball Cards in the 90s, and so on. It is the same pattern. People who thought because Uncanny X-Men 94 was worth a ton (because it came out of nowhere and no one bought it), then what would 1991's X-Men 1 be worth with multiple covers in 30 years! I need 10 of each cover to retire! (see this auction for the answer...X-Men #1 1991 Comic Book Lot Of 4 Variant Covers Ten Sets Marvel Comics VF/NM | eBay)
I feel the most valuable action figures in a long-term line generally fall into three categories - first few waves (people coming in later want them), last few waves (people have burnt out and skip, or distribution is poor, but want to get back in later), and higher-priced items/exclusives (people who are priced out and it becomes a grail).
If we are talking sustained value over time, I don't think Marvel Legends, in general, is a good bet. I think we may be in Funko Pop territory where the market is clogged with a lot of the same basic thing that's just been repainted again and again and again. I attend regular local toy swaps and there are always bins and bins and bins of ML to be found. Varying prices, of course, but generally at cost or less, there's basically no figure you can't find for a good deal if you're patient. My LCS owner who deals in loose figures says he's not taking in loose MLs on buys anymore because he's got pegs full of them and more in back that are unpriced (I think he has one peg full of a dozen loose Black Tom Cassidys). There are a few rare exceptions of figures that still hold their value somewhat, but there's so much reuse and reissue with this line that people have caught on to just wait until it comes out again rather than go secondary market. Add to that the fact that a lot of people aren't even paying MSRP anymore and waiting for the clearance which has happened with every ML wave in recent memory, and this is where we're at. No, this is not me predicting "tHE dEaTh Of ThE lInE", I'm just giving an account of things I see. I think this is a good line when Hasbro tires and if you like it, get it. I would just recommend you don't overpay and don't be in it for the resale value.
On topic: Again, I think Giant Man will fund.
yeah i wouldn't say the Haslab is much of a bellwether for the line as a whole. Most people seem to think its reasonably priced, its just that they either don't need a Giant-Man that big or don't want to pay $200 for Giant-Man regardless of how well-made he is. I do think it will fund, dunno about the tiers.
Hard to really say much about the health of the line except that the combination of the price increase as well as the mcu losing at least a little luster post Endgame (plus related problems with timing of mcu releases) makes these figures a tougher sell. Doesn't feel like hasbro had a whole lot of control over that... tbh i think if they had gone from $20 to $23 a couple of years earlier than they did, collectors might not have had such a tough time adjusting to $25. feels like they spoiled us by managing to hold the price at $20 for so long.
and now it seems like target at least has black series up to $27 or $28, yikes
yeah i wouldn't say the Haslab is much of a bellwether for the line as a whole. Most people seem to think its reasonably priced, its just that they either don't need a Giant-Man that big or don't want to pay $200 for Giant-Man regardless of how well-made he is.
Totally agree with this. If Giant Man was ~16 inches and had two figures as tiers, I'd gladly dish out the $200, but as it is, I'm having a hard time justifying paying that price for a single character that is (in my opinion) way oversized and over-designed. FOMO might get me to bite, but either way, if it doesn't fund, I don't feel like that is an indicator of how well the Marvel Legends line is doing. It seems to me that it's specifically a HasLab issue.
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