How is the market for vintage Joes right now?

[Falcone]

\r\n \r\n Now is not the time to be selling. I\'m not sure if it\'s the "economy" or people focusing on the new stuff, but a lot of vintage stuff is going for a fraction of what it was a year or two ago.\r\n \r\n

[yeti76]

\r\n \r\n It\'s great if you are a buyer. Sucks if you are a seller.
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\nIt seems like everyone is spending all their money on the ROC stuff so no one has any cash for the old stuff. A lot of auctions on eBay are ending at a fraction of what they have been selling at the past 6 months. It\'s crazy.
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\nSure, some of the rare stuff is still selling well, Like Stardusters and Night Force items, but a lot of items have plumeted in price. Heck, I just picked up a mint complete Claymore for $18.00 and that\'s a $50+ figure. This is just one of many examples that Ive bought since the ROC figures hit.
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\nLike I said, it just seems like everyone has jumped on the ROC bandwagon and currently, that\'s where all their money is going. I figure in a couple months, when the hype ends, things should go back to normal.\r\n \r\n

[cyko]

\r\n \r\n I\'ll join and say vintage stuff seems cheaper than usual. I\'ve seen a lot of auctions on eBay go with 0 bids for otherwise desireable stuff. Maybe after the movie runs for a bit, ARAH interest will return.\r\n \r\n

[Volleydan]

\r\n \r\n Apparently, vintage stuff is cheaper now. That is, except for the stuff I happen to be looking for......
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\nI\'m down to my last 40 or so figures to complete my 1982-1994 run, and it seems like every one of them is going up in price lately. When a complete Static Line sells for over $40 and a Air Devil brings $60+, I just don\'t see the decline in the market so much, I guess.\r\n \r\n

[TYPE*S*TOYS]

\r\n \r\n I dont see any decline in the vintage market for me. I am selling a lot more via my website than I did last year or the year before. I have a large International customer base and they buy a lot of the vintage stuff. I am sure Free shipping helps.\r\n \r\n

[billythekidd_527]

\r\n \r\n seems like ebays prices are falling off here lately... i just picked up a complete claymore for $15 and a red ninja for $5. but people on the boards and the guys with their own sites seem to be doing pretty well.
\nit\'s definitely a great time to be buying the vintage stuff.
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\nand dan, i know your pain... i\'m down to about 18 now and i either can\'t find them, or the prices are way up there...\r\n \r\n

[hyperchipper]

\r\n \r\n I agree with a couple of posters above me. Some of the vintage stuff is going for a fraction of what it was last year, but the figures i\'m looking for to complete my 82-89 run are still fetching pretty good prices.\r\n \r\n

[Volleydan]

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dan, i know your pain... i\'m down to about 18 now and i either can\'t find them, or the prices are way up there...

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The part that kills me is that, except for a straight arm Cobra Office, every single figure I need to complete my run is post-1989.
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\nNow, in my mindset, the later figures aren\'t as sought after as the earlier ones and as such should be easy to find for low $$$....and it\'s not that the figures I\'m after are necessarily expensive, it\'s just that I don\'t want them badly enough to pay even $10 each for most of them.
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\nOf the figures I still need, I think these will be the priciest:
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\nAltitude
\nSkydive
\nStatic Line
\nSonic Fighter Viper (darn army builders)
\nSkymate
\nAir Devil
\nGears
\nTechno Viper v2
\n1994 Cobra Commander
\nRed Ninjas
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\nThe most expensive of the lot (I hope) should be about $25 or so, but still....\r\n \r\n

[billythekidd_527]

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The part that kills me is that, except for a straight arm Cobra Office, every single figure I need to complete my run is post-1989.
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\nNow, in my mindset, the later figures aren\'t as sought after as the earlier ones and as such should be easy to find for low $$$....and it\'s not that the figures I\'m after are necessarily expensive, it\'s just that I don\'t want them badly enough to pay even $10 each for most of them.
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\nOf the figures I still need, I think these will be the priciest:
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\nAltitude
\nSkydive
\nStatic Line
\nSonic Fighter Viper (darn army builders)
\nSkymate
\nAir Devil
\nGears
\nTechno Viper v2
\n1994 Cobra Commander
\nRed Ninjas
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\nThe most expensive of the lot (I hope) should be about $25 or so, but still....

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i know how you feel... everything i\'m missing is 89 or later. the problem i\'m running into is that half of my list doesn\'t show up very often - 94 ozone, 94 countdown, 93 bio-viper, iaf set, rdf set, 89 rampage. the others - nf charbroil, nf lightfoot, nf repeater, create a cobra - are very expensive when they do show up.
\nanyways... send me a pm and let me know who all you\'re missing dan. i might be able to help you out on some of them. i know i have an extra carded 94 cobra commander, and if you\'re just trying to get a figure and not complete on a few others i should be able to help.\r\n \r\n

[cageyJG]

\r\n \r\n Lately, the disparity among what 1)a complete w/fc fig will fetch, 2) complete, and 3) loose with partial or missing accessories seems kind of broad.
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\r\nAlso, it seems like the early \'80s figs, like \'82-\'86 sell for a lot less than they should, and some of the later \'80s and \'90s figs sell for high.
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\r\nOverall, my judgment tells me the market is still at low price, but I can\'t really prove this with stats :| Sometime I want to unload a few early \'82 figs, maybe I\'ll wait until the next movie debuts...\r\n \r\n

[cageyJG]

\r\n \r\n P.S., I thank my lucky stars I\'m not a completist...
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\r\nIt\'s probably not too hard to wind up one day with over 50% of the given figs for a year just if you\'re a casual Joe-head, Joe afficionado, etc., so I can see that buying your first lot is probably like a gateway drug.\r\n \r\n

[CobraLALALALA]

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Lately, the disparity among what 1)a complete w/fc fig will fetch, 2) complete, and 3) loose with partial or missing accessories seems kind of broad.
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\r\nAlso, it seems like the early \'80s figs, like \'82-\'86 sell for a lot less than they should, and some of the later \'80s and \'90s figs sell for high.
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\r\nOverall, my judgment tells me the market is still at low price, but I can\'t really prove this with stats :| Sometime I want to unload a few early \'82 figs, maybe I\'ll wait until the next movie debuts...

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That\'s because in reality, the 80\'s figure are VERY VERY common. Once you get to about 92, they become much harder to find. Shoot the 89 stuff starts getting hard.
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\r\nMy perception of how hard to find things are changed dramatically after attending a few toy shows and going to a few antique shops. Fact of the matter is, that these are toys, and as the years go by, their value is more likely to decrease than it is to increase. As we all get older, the toys are likely to become more forgotten. There is a "peak" that things will hit (think we\'ve seen it already) and then it\'s all downhill from there.
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\r\nIf you stop and think about it, Joe\'s don\'t truly increase in value. Except those rare figures like Goldhead Steel Brigade. The rest of them have rally just kind of kept up with inflation and RETAINED their value.
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\r\nHowever I feel these days are gone.
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\r\nThe economy, and the waining intrest overall in vintage Joes are to blame.
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\r\nI am speaking in a general way, and sure there are special cases, but overall, your "complete C-9" figures are worth $20 at top dollar in most cases.
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\r\nFor me, hardly worth selling.
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\r\nThere is a point where "nostalgic" just becomes "ancient", and I think we\'re on the verge of that in the public perception etc.\r\n \r\n

[Wizgillar]

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\r\n \r\n That\'s because in reality, the 80\'s figure are VERY VERY common. Once you get to about 92, they become much harder to find. Shoot the 89 stuff starts getting hard.
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\nMy perception of how hard to find things are changed dramatically after attending a few toy shows and going to a few antique shops. Fact of the matter is, that these are toys, and as the years go by, their value is more likely to decrease than it is to increase. As we all get older, the toys are likely to become more forgotten. There is a "peak" that things will hit (think we\'ve seen it already) and then it\'s all downhill from there.
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\nIf you stop and think about it, Joe\'s don\'t truly increase in value. Except those rare figures like Goldhead Steel Brigade. The rest of them have rally just kind of kept up with inflation and RETAINED their value.
\n
\nHowever I feel these days are gone.
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\nThe economy, and the waining intrest overall in vintage Joes are to blame.
\n
\nI am speaking in a general way, and sure there are special cases, but overall, your "complete C-9" figures are worth $20 at top dollar in most cases.
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\nFor me, hardly worth selling.
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\nThere is a point where "nostalgic" just becomes "ancient", and I think we\'re on the verge of that in the public perception etc.\r\n \r\n

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Very good points made here. Something I have noticed too; and it may just be me, but at least on Ebay, the over-inflated shipping rates go a long way toward reducing the sell-ability of joes in general. I know that it is a gripe found in threads on boards across the internet however when you add that to the waning interest in joes overall, it strikes a serious blow to the value of the whole. Where as some figures would normally go for high dollar, more and more people (based on the low number of bids I see on these kinds of things) are less inclined to spend $10-20 to ship a single figure, regardless of condition; especially if it isn\'t MOC but even if it is that is a disgusting price to ship.
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\nI mean, if someone has a "rare" figure going for $40 complete for a current bid (that includes a stand if said figure originally came with one; I so friggan hate when a figure is listed as complete but does not have a stand...) I am more likely to bid on it if the shipping is more realistic. If I get the damn thing in the mail after spending $10 on shipping and the price of $1.49 is on there, I get pretty upset.
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\nSo, with the stressed economy and waning interest overall, I think that we as collectors have more of an ability to keep the value of figures at least partially intact by avoiding inflated pricing on shipping as well as more common figures. If sellers continue to inflate their prices to try and make a quick buck (just like businesses did during the collapsing economy), the market for joes is going to continue to fall and eventually crash. As buyers, if more of us would refuse to purchase these overinflated things, value might balance out and then perhaps increase a bit as people begin to buy more. While many figures are still quite common, supply and demand would eventually catch up when balance returned.
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\nIn the end though, CobraLALALALA is right, these are toys and their value will inevitably decrease. Not a good investment choice to be sure.\r\n \r\n

[Robowang]

\r\n \r\n The cheap factor is why I really started collecting in the first place. It\'s a nice way to collect something relatively inexpensive. Getting down to the last 50 figures or so that I need though is getting really annoying. $70 for Payload v1? $150 for Gold Steel Brigade? $50 a piece for frickin\' repaint Night Force figures? The darn Ninja Viper suddenly rocketing from about $30 to $60 or $70? It\'s awful.
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Very good points made here. Something I have noticed too; and it may just be me, but at least on Ebay, the over-inflated shipping rates go a long way toward reducing the sell-ability of joes in general. I know that it is a gripe found in threads on boards across the internet however when you add that to the waning interest in joes overall, it strikes a serious blow to the value of the whole. Where as some figures would normally go for high dollar, more and more people (based on the low number of bids I see on these kinds of things) are less inclined to spend $10-20 to ship a single figure, regardless of condition; especially if it isn\'t MOC but even if it is that is a disgusting price to ship.
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\nI mean, if someone has a "rare" figure going for $40 complete for a current bid (that includes a stand if said figure originally came with one; I so friggan hate when a figure is listed as complete but does not have a stand...) I am more likely to bid on it if the shipping is more realistic. If I get the damn thing in the mail after spending $10 on shipping and the price of $1.49 is on there, I get pretty upset.
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\nSo, with the stressed economy and waning interest overall, I think that we as collectors have more of an ability to keep the value of figures at least partially intact by avoiding inflated pricing on shipping as well as more common figures. If sellers continue to inflate their prices to try and make a quick buck (just like businesses did during the collapsing economy), the market for joes is going to continue to fall and eventually crash. As buyers, if more of us would refuse to purchase these overinflated things, value might balance out and then perhaps increase a bit as people begin to buy more. While many figures are still quite common, supply and demand would eventually catch up when balance returned.
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\nIn the end though, CobraLALALALA is right, these are toys and their value will inevitably decrease. Not a good investment choice to be sure.

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[Bigbot]

\r\n \r\n I got into collecting for the hobby, not the business. Having said that, if I was to make a few extra bucks to keep the collection growing, I\'m all for that. Fortunately, I have been able to continuely grow the collection during "high" and "low" priced times. The current downward trend calls for a stronger "buying" phase instead of a "selling" phase, hopefully giving us a chance to obtain some pieces at a discounted price.\r\n \r\n

[Bravo]

\r\n \r\n There\'s less "new" collectors getting into vintage ARAH these days.
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\nThink about, you fondly remember 80\'s GI JOE but no longer have the toys from your youth...so what to do? Go spend lots of used, hard to find complete and increasingly fragile toys from the 80\'s or get into 25th (Modern Era) stuff?
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\nGI JOE has hit a Star Wars cycle, the remaking of classic characters and reissue of vehicles gradually nullifies the aftermarket for the earlier releases.
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\nWould you go after the vintage Sears Crimson SMS or get the Target red Hiss and the Wal-mart Heetseek set?\r\n \r\n

[cageyJG]

Lately, the disparity among what 1)a complete w/fc fig will fetch, 2) complete, and 3) loose with partial or missing accessories seems kind of broad.

Also, it seems like the early '80s figs, like '82-'86 sell for a lot less than they should, and some of the later '80s and '90s figs sell for high.

Overall, my judgment tells me the market is still at low price, but I can't really prove this with stats :| Sometime I want to unload a few early '82 figs, maybe I'll wait until the next movie debuts...