I'm curious as to what older collectors feel about todays joe market/prices? Do you think they will come down with time, go up with time or stay the same. Has the market peaked? Is it going up? And please no posts saying its just toys, who cares about a market.

I feel that at any given time any figure can be had for a cheap price on eBay. There are very few exceptions to that in the US line. Of course if you do your eBay shopping on Sunday or in the evenings, then you will pay more.

I think the hobby is doing great. I also think this month prices have dropped on common stuff due to the Convention taking collectors attention & money. During the day you can buy complete nice items (figs or vehicles) for under $5. If you want examples take a peek at my won auctions lately. Granted I bid on probably 30+ auctions a week & only win a handful, but the ones I win are so cheap it is really funny.

There will always be a premium paid for the heavy hitters (Snake Eyes, Hardtop, Storm Shadow, Heavy Metal, Steel Brigade), but even those can be snagged cheap from time to time.

I really do not see prices rising dramatically, but they should not crash either. I think now is a good high point for Joes. As vintage Star Wars has begun to decline (a lot due to the gross quantity of repro stuff) the Joes have held steady.

I have been collecting Star Wars & Joes (& many other toy lines) for years & years... wow I am getting old...:eek:

I have been collecting and also selling for around 5 years or so and the key thing to remember is summer time is slower and fall/winter/early spring is best. From what I have gathered is prices are still going up on the average. Some of the more rarer items really went up in value and the more common ones have slightly moved up. Like always you have your peak days and no so peak days then you have trends that for a few weeks certain items will be hot then fade. I see the joe line going up for at least 10 more years then it will peak unless kids now want to collect the older items.

I think the Joe market has allready hit its high point and has been starting a slow downward decent. I dont think prices for some things will ever hit as high as they were 2 or 3 years ago.

Agreed that prices probably won't reach where they were a while ago but they will go back up from where they are now.

The combination of the convention and it being summer has kept the prices in check. There are some great deals to be found on ebay, last night I bought a 90% complete Night Ray for $50 and a 90% Complete MMC w/Box for $15. Certain individual figures are still getting great prices, look to lots and collections and lately you can get figures at $2 each or under.

Prices are low: it is summertime and most people rather spend their money on holidays than on GI Joe. Well at least most of the people I know.

I think the market hit its peak in between 1998 and 2003.

There was no new stuff for a while. Hasbro started reissues with an eye towards a new 3 3/4 inch line. The convention for 3 3/4 inch collectors began in 2002. The new toyline began in 2002 and hit its stride in late 2003.

The new toy line is competing with the vintage stuff for collector dollars.

The new toy line beginning in 1998 also caused new fans to start competing on vintage items on the secondary market. This fueled speculation also.

I think the market, at least judging by eBay is coming down.

Now, MIMB and MOMC items will continue to go up because they're truly scarce.

My opinion is much the same as everyone elses. Right now it is a combination of several things:

Summertime. I cant be at the computer as much, and I am spending money on trips and such.
Convention. Alot of people spent alot of money traveling there and more on purchases there.
New ARAH figures. With these new figures out, alot of collectors of only old sculpt (like me) are buying these at retail as opposed to vintage on ebay. That way they dont have to pay more on ebay in 5 years. (Still mad I passed on the 1997 figures). Besides, after you spend all that money on 6-packs, there cant be much left in the old checking account.

My biggest problem now is that with all of these "deals", I blew right past my budget!

IMO the only thing that may possibly increase in value dramatically are rare foriegn figs, a handful of rare US-release accessories, and a few army builders. A couple of years ago it was a good deal to get a Cobra Commander, Storm Shadow v1, Scarlett v1, etc... for under $20 on ebay. You can regularly find them in the $10 range now. I'm talking the average price, not the occasional ebay fluke.