I also really need to start going through and sorting things out to sell.
Aliens and Predator figures are definitely among them. ML figures that I bought just for BAF parts (thankfully not a LOT of those), Transformers figures I not longer have an attachment to, or never displayed (the rerelase of Devastator that was at Walmart a few years ago among them), wrestling figures and then other assorted figures.
I should really cut back on what I buy as well, but I just spent a LOT of money on figures in the past week, so I'm already failing at that.
I really like folks' wishes for a new Serenity/Firefly line
I would LOVE a Serenity/Firefly line. I had hopes when Best AXN announced their Mal and River a few years ago that never came to fruition (and looking at the figures that did- Buffy, LOTR, etc., maybe that's for the best). It's crazy to think that we've never gotten the whole crew in figure form before. The closest we've gotten are the Little Damn Heroes statues, which, while quite nice, have limited display options (though they did give us some side characters like Saffron and Badger). I still have my Funko Legacy figures displayed, and have managed to somehow avoid breakage after all these years, but missing half the crew has been a big bummer.
At this point, I don't know who would take the risk in attempting a line, even a short-lived one. Even Funko didn't complete the crew in their Pop line, and that seems like the lowest risk line on paper. It would almost have to be something subscription-based like the Little Damn Heroes were. It's still got a fairly dedicated fanbase, but in the grand scheme of things is still relatively niche. I think Jada could possibly do some nice figures. Hiya too, but they seem to thrive on part re-use, and I don't know how much you'd get out of a line like that. We've gotten half the crew so many times that I wouldn't even want a company to start unless they could guarantee at least the whole crew. That's what I'd need to be happy, and others- a Reaver, Saffron, Badger, Mr. Universe, The Operative, comic characters, etc. the cherries on top.
But hey, you never know. This year is the 20th anniversary of the Serenity movie, so I guess if there's ever a good time to do it, this would be it.
They could do so much with an invested Firefly line. With just the crew they could do options like “fancy dress” versions of Mal, Kaley, Simon, train robbery versions of Jayne, Kaley, Space suit versions of.. just about everybody. Hospital robbery disguises,
Add to that the wealth of other characters: Saffron, Patience, Two-Fry, Badger, Jubal Early, Operative, Lawrence, Reaver, Alliance soldier, Alliance officer, Krull, Niska, Mr Universe, Tracy, Stitch, Bester, blue gloves, Fanty, Mingo, Monty
The best bet for a Firefly line would be from a company reusing parts from a Western line, imho.
I didn't remember I wanted a Firefly/Serenity line.. but I do now. I just want a complete main crew. That's all I NEED.
I want Nintendo to stop being dumb and just give Jada Toys the keys to the kingdom. I need Jada to make all the Zelda figures. Jakks is not doing anything useful with Zelda.
Diamond Select needs to do more LOTR/Hobbit figures.. I want all of Thorin's company of dwarves, but that's a major dream.
I hope Hasbro can put out another wave or 2 Indiana Jones Adventure series to finish off the line's most needed characters. If that needs to be through fan channel exclusives or hasbro pulse (to avoid retail restrictions), I'm good with whatever.
Otherwise, i'm actually on the downturn of my collecting and seeing fairly complete collections (or at least complete enough) on my shelves is so satisfying.
@grinman I'm in the same boat on Firefly and Hobbit figures. I want them but only if the full crews are made. Unfortunately, I don't have high hopes either will get made, especially not the full 9 or 14 figures. I am especially doubtful Diamond Select would make all 13 dwarfs. I'll keep my fingers crossed 🤞.
My big hope/dream for 2025 is to actually sell the things I set aside to get rid of. I've already done a ton of scaling back on what I buy, and I've already done the purge of my collection. But a good chunk of the purged stuff is still in various boxes/totes in my home because actually doing the work to get rid of it was just never high enough on my priority list. My schedule is pretty full as it is and I don't really love spending any of my free time on tedious shit.
That being said... all the stuff I need to get rid of is living rent free in my head as much as in my house, and I need to buckle down and actually get it gone way more for my mental health than for any money I might make on it.
Unless it's out of your house you haven't done a purge, you've sorted. Yep, I have a box of stuff that's been ready to go for about two months now and I have to get it gone. If you want it done quickly and are less worried about the money you make, I recommend taking it all to a reseller. That's what I do. I'm lucky to have a LCS run by some good folks. They are going to price it so that they make money, but they won't screw me. And if you go that rout, take the time to sort the figures with their accessories into baggies. Then the reseller doesn't have to use man hours doing it. You feel good once it's all gone and you have a check to deposit.
The problem here is how BAD the collecting market is. I probably sold 500 dollars' worth of MOTUC figures for like 300 or so? Maybe a little less. No one wanted them. And selling them on eBay is also super hard because Canadian shipping means to sell them into the states also requires me to sell cheaper to make up for how high the shipping is. I'm -regularly- sitting on figures that I'm trying to sell for 30-50% under market value. When you're already selling figures for basically pennies on the dollar, you might as well just give them away for free if you're going to give someone else a cut of that.
Further, because the market sucks so bad, there's just really no one to do it for you because, again, it's really not profitable for anyone else to do it. You've gotta either have something really rare, or it has to be unopened and fairly mint-carded to get an LCS (the only real secondary dealers beyond pawn shops) to take it.
Don't really have any option around here than to just deal with it. And that's fine. I'm not complaining. But it does mean that I can only really do it when I have the time and energy. And that's not often. Which means the purge -starts- sometimes years before it ends, because just going through and picking out what to get rid of can take me months off and on, and then the selling starts and will go on for many months as well. And half the time, in the end, I kind of wish I'd just tossed the figures in the garbage because I feel like I used a lot of energy to make like .. pizza money.
@joshsquash729 I think I've done the 'I want to collect smarter' thing every six-to-eight months for the last several years. I always run into two related problems; one is that I get carried away and end up 'really liking' something for a brief period, but enough to convince myself I am being smart about what I buy. And the second part of that is that a lot of times the things that weren't 'smart' collecting choices are more hindsight than anything else. I'll be really happy with stuff for a while and then several months later be like 'what was I thinking when I got all this?'
I have yet to come up with a satisfactory solution to this. Just commiserating.
I have come to the conclusion that the best philosophy for selling mass-market products that have become "collectibles" is to decide what you don't want and be happy if someone else pays you anything for it, instead of paying someone to take it away, or keep it to lug it around forever.
Started with my comic books - I bought 90% of my comics for $1 or less 40 some years ago, and since that time I have recycled every other magazine, newspaper, whatever, that I bought and read. So why do I worry about if I am getting $10 or $5 for these issues?
So if that figure I paid $10 for 15 years ago is even worth anything, I've decided to be happy about it.
I am saying this as someone who has toys that have been in boxes from the last time I moved 8 years ago, and now I am moving them again, and it is just kind of stupid to not purge when I have used the same rationale of not enough time, not getting enough for it, wondering if I missed the best window to sell...so I need to practice what I preach.
Let’s see my hopes and dreams for collecting in 2025….?
-I really hope Lego’s Star Trek gives us years of great Star Trek products from all over the Legacy.
-I would love to see Micro Machines do Star Trek, StarWars, Babylon 5, Battle Star Galactica and hundreds of other Sci-Fi space ship minis again.
-I want Super7 to add Clash of the Titans, Krull, Jason and the Argonauts, Sinbad, Hercules, Beast Master, etc to their license for Ultimates, Reaction , Reaction + and Retro.
-Why has no one done die-cast vehicles from the Mad Max / Road-Warrior Universe?
-I want some one to finally make a good line of figures for V, The X-Files, Kolchak the Nightstalker, and Dark Shadows. 6” would be great but a 1/18th line for V would be nice for vehicles.
-Why has no one done die-cast vehicles from the Mad Max / Road-Warrior Universe?
I think George Miller has always been against it. I know a few companies have tried.
I have come to the conclusion that the best philosophy for selling mass-market products that have become "collectibles" is to decide what you don't want and be happy if someone else pays you anything for it, instead of paying someone to take it away, or keep it to lug it around forever.
Started with my comic books - I bought 90% of my comics for $1 or less 40 some years ago, and since that time I have recycled every other magazine, newspaper, whatever, that I bought and read. So why do I worry about if I am getting $10 or $5 for these issues?
So if that figure I paid $10 for 15 years ago is even worth anything, I've decided to be happy about it.
I am saying this as someone who has toys that have been in boxes from the last time I moved 8 years ago, and now I am moving them again, and it is just kind of stupid to not purge when I have used the same rationale of not enough time, not getting enough for it, wondering if I missed the best window to sell...so I need to practice what I preach.
I generally agree, and try to approach things the same way. Hell, I've literally taken boxes of action figures and just left them outside for local kids because I just can't be fucking bothered to make 50 or 60 bucks on old stuff I don't care about.
Obviously speaking only for myself and my specific situation, but I think it's a way harder pill to swallow when you're getting rid of fairly new stuff that is still actively going for decent money elsewhere. I doubt that's something most people in the US are ever going to experience. But like.. typical Sold price on eBay is like 40 bucks and you can't even get the figure to sell locally for 10 dollars? And you can't sell it to all those people in the US either because shipping alone is like 40 bucks. That sucks. That's when you start to think it's not worth it at all and you might as well toss everything you're selling right in the garbage.
I think 2024 was a historically low year for my buying habits. And not necessarily for bad reasons. I’d been saying over the past 5 years or so that it felt like there was some kind of end in sight for my collection. Marvel Legends has been such a focal point of my collecting, but it’s at the point that I’m pretty damn happy with what I have and the number of figures they’re putting out that I feel compelled to buy is getting lower and lower (once again, not in a bad way, there’s just not a ton of characters left that I need). GI Joe Classified has been pretty much the only line that’s kept me going for retail stuff and even that I’m not buying everything that comes out. I’ve been really good at just buying figures from 82-86. The retro releases sometimes get me to double dip, but it’s still not too bad. I have 18 preorders at BBTS and 17 of those are from Fresh Monkey Fiction, most of which are the Classified adjacent Monster Force/Crimson Moon line.
Black Series is in the same boat as Legends. Not much left that I feel that I NEED, especially now that Dash Rendar is seemingly so close to becoming a reality. Just give me some more cantina aliens and the like. I loved Momaw Nadon last year.
So all that’s left for me to actively hope for is for my video game figure collection. At retail there’s Jakks and Jazwares with their Mario/Sonic and Pokémon lines and then there’s Figma, Figuarts, and Bring Arts for imports.
I’ll continue shouting it from the rooftops until they do it, but I need Jakks to make 4” figures of Roy, Morton, and Birdo for their Mario line. Give me those and if they never make another figure, I’d be content.
For Sonic I just need a 4” Charmy and 2.5” Froggy and Cheese, then I’m pretty much done there too minus whatever Badniks they want to throw our way.
If Jazwares keeps making gen 1 figures, I’ll keep buying them. Koffing/Weezing, Ekans/Arbok, and Staryu/Starmie have always seemed like odd characters to never have good figures. I’d love to see them.
Imports are so unpredictable and announced so far out. A Simon Belmont has been a huge want of my me for years. Figma has done several Fire Emblem figures, but never Marth, who would also be great.
Bring Arts FF7 line has taken up a huge chunk of my 2024 budget. It’s been a dream line for me for years and while the figures themselves can be a little hit or miss and they cost more than they should, they look great on the shelf and I have zero regrets for buying them.
So with that line wrapping up this year, I think my biggest wish for 2025, that’s within the realm of possibility, is a Bring Arts Chrono Trigger line in honor of the games 30th anniversary. It’s an SNES classic that I’d love to have on the shelf and those classic Toriyama designs would absolutely make for some striking figures. At this point they wouldn’t come out until 2026, but at least an announcement would be great.
Yeah, it's tough that, for the most part, collecting figures are akin to buying a car- the value depreciates almost from the moment you've gotten it. Especially for out-of-box collectors, you're lucky if you get even half of what you paid for it, and with in-box collecting, people are often so picky about the condition of the packaging that you're often unlikely to find anyone who'll give you what you paid for it unless it was kept in an airtight, temperature controlled box for however many years. Every collector is different, of course, and has different wants, but the one all encompassing thing is that all collectors want a good deal.
Collecting is a lot like gambling too, in a way. Nobody really knows what's going to be valuable down the line. Sometimes something seems rare or valuable, but then a second run is produced, or the next movie flops, or so-and-so has a scandal, and the value plummets. Star Wars is a great example- obviously the older stuff goes for some good money, but only if it's still in well kept packaging. You go to literally any con anywhere and SO much of the product is Star Wars. Mostly 90's onward, some in-box, some out of box, most of it for- if any more than what it originally went for- not much more. Every now and then you'll see a grail piece that goes for a whole bunch, but they're few and far between, and again, unless you protect it with your life, which is an investment in and of itself, then you're not gonna make much money. Same with Beanie Babies or Funko Pops- yeah, you might get lucky and strike while the iron is hot, but a lot of it is timing and luck, none of which we really get to decide ourselves. As more things come out and interest goes elsewhere, even some of those older, seemingly valuable things may depreciate.
As weird as it is to say, the idea of thinning my collection is a relatively new idea to me. As a kid or new collector, you don't really think about getting rid of it all one day (at least I didn't). You just buy what makes you happy and surround yourself with it. You make yourself promises about keeping only what you really love, or that you'll display it when you have more room, etc. Promises you can rarely keep. I'm finding more and more than collecting requires those hard truths- asking yourself if it's really worth the money. Asking yourself if you really have the space, or if they're going to re-release it (maybe done better) down the road, or if you actually want it or you just think it looks cool. Ask yourself if you're willing to lose however much it costs, or, at least break even. Ask all versions of yourself- past, present, and future- if this is something that would please you. As much as we'd all love to be THAT collector with the unbelievably huge, all-encompassing collection, we can't be, and that's okay. Sometimes less is more. I have to remember that I didn't get into collecting with the mindset of making money off of it, so why would that mindset change now?
I get what you mean, KnightDamien- I struggle with the same thing. It brings me joy in the moment, but with my ADHD brain, chances are my interests will lie elsewhere a few months down the road. I'm lucky in that a few of my big interests have stuck with me through the years. Others, like whatever the year's big blockbuster is, is a bit more fleeting. I've tried to cut back on impulse purchases; sometimes I'd buy something just because I saw it on a shelf and the thrill of newness overtook me. Lately, even if it's a franchise I really love, I'll try and leave it on the pegs. I'll see it, admire it, and leave it. I'll weigh the pros and cons of buying it, see what other folks think of it, and if it's still on my mind however many days later, I'll let myself get it. Sometimes it's a good investment and that joy does stick around. Sometimes, even with the added buffer, you lose interest. It's natural. Allow yourself to have those collecting fails. I know it's hard to in a world where money is so hard to come by, but I think it's necessary.
Like others have said, I've luckily somehow gotten to the point where I'm okay with losing a bit of my investment. I know that, being a mostly out-of-box collector, that if the day comes where I decide to sell something, I'm not really going to make money, and if I do, it's only gonna go right back into getting something new anyway. It's not the best scenario, obviously, but I've made peace with it. My collecting money is for collecting only. What little money I may get for selling older things goes right back into getting something else I want, and if it's not as much as I hoped for, that just means I need to behave a little bit more.
I don't mean to sound too preachy. I have my good days, of course, but I still struggle as much as anyone when it comes to collecting. It's easy to get swept up into the hype or fool ourselves into thinking certain things are a good idea. At the end of the day, all I can- and should- focus on is the joy of it. It helps keep my inner kid alive, so I can't let my inner or outer grumpy old adult ruin the fun.
The last time I moved, I had to purge quite a bit of my collection. While it probably wasn’t the most economically wise decision, I ended up passing them on to kids in my neighborhood. The kids were thrilled to get this bundle of toys. It put those toys in the hands of kids that would appreciate them for the toys they were, and maybe, just maybe, foster an interest in collecting in some of them.
This isn’t some “look how great a person I am” story. I hadn’t initially intended to do that. I didn’t have time to prepare the collection, or seek out a market. So I ended up giving them to the kids. The excitement on their faces made that decision rewarding. Like it was another Christmas for them. It made me feel better, to know that they were going into the hands of people that would truly enjoy them.
I’m not telling anyone what to do with their excess collections, but it might be an option to consider.
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