22 replies to this topic

[jkaris]

Investment! Take them for a trip through the vintage toys on eBay! Transformers, GI Joe's, etc. All of the popular toylines INCREASE in value tremendously with age. So next time you want a really kewl toy, just think of it as adding to your retirement/estate fundage! I have $$$$$$ worth of toys, and most of them have doubled or tripled in value since I got them. So just tell them you are adding to your 401K(innikuman).


-Johnny

[doc_moore_j]

LOL, good idea. I know what you mean, they do sometimes make for a great investment. Look at the poor fools who missed out on the first couple issues of spiderman, or action comics, I bet their wives are pissed they teased them for looking at cartoons now ha ha.

[Doctor Dew]

hahaha. too funny. i think a better way to spend money on toys and not get in trouble with your wife is "don't be married"!
plus, that way you have more money to spend. as it is right now, i just get dirty looks from my girlfriend when she hears about my Muscle related activities. but maybe next time i'll mention the investment slant and see if she goes for it.

[juggalitis]

my fiance just gives me funny looks when i mention anything about m.u.s.c.l.e. then she just realizes that she knows that i'm strange and goes along with it. she doesn't appreciate the spending and isn't one to fall for that investment trick. i've tried it.

[jkaris]

Really, it's not a trick. Every time I go out to my office/toy-room/retreat I see all those toys and I realize something. Everythime I buy a toy, I'm spending money on something that I will some day be able to sell for more. The only thing I can't get a ROI (return on investment) is computer equipment. Now the ladies on the other hand. Shoes, clothes, purses, mini-vans, ALL MONEY LOSERS. That's the thing. We spend on INVESTMENTS, toys yes, but investments nonetheless. The ladies don't do that. Try selling an article of clothing or a purse or some used shoes, or even a vehicle for even HALF of what you paid for it. It's not going to happen. SO every time I think I'm spending too much on toys, I remember that Uncle Sam only allows me to contribute so much to my 401K, so I'm adding to my estae another way. Haahaa! It's true!

[Doctor Dew]

my downfall with this idea is that i know i'll most likely never sell the toys i get. i like them way too much. so i mainly buy them for me to hold on to and enjoy until i die. and then i'll be buried with them all. woo-hoo!!

[theCrazyest]

Hey:

i hear you. I'm all over the investment slant. I'm going to have to try that one! Wish me luck.

[Doctor Dew]

just thinking more about toys as an investment in contrast to stocks or real estate etc. i think they would be a good investment, but my brother (who is taking a bunch of investment classes) says that they have the highest cost of transferring the goods. meaning the shipping and handling and mailing materials like boxes and stamps. whereas with, for example, stocks you just need to make a few phone calls and your investment moves (you buy or sell it). i thought he brought up a good point.
so i guess this is mainly for johnny, since he is an actual toy dealer. but if anyone else wheels and deals in toys (or any other goods) i'd be interested to hear what you think...

[jkaris]

Stocks have a broker fee. When you sell a toy, you pass on the shipping cost to the customer. The only extra fees I ever incur are eBay and Paypal fees. He has a valid point, but only in high dollar transactions. Even then, you caouold make sure the buyer pays with a Cashiers check or M.O., there by eliminating any Paypal/credit card fees. More than one way to skin a cat, hehe.

[Doctor Dew]

right on right on. it appears you run a tight ship there johnny, cool beans. yeah, i think they were talking about old antiques and art deco furniture and stuff like that. definitly a higher value than Muscles or other toy figures. but ive seen some old school Star Wars figures and MOC GIJoes fetch a pretty high price as well....

PS: i know about 73.29 ways to skin a cat. wha...????

[doc_moore_j]

Agreed, I have a few thousand dollars invested in the stock market, and it costs me anywhere between $20 to about $80 dollars a month depending on how much activity I take in it that month. As for muscles, I feel I am winning as long as the bidder actually pays, I have not been burnt yet.

[Adamantiumwulf]

It isn't just the cost but the space. Stocks take up no room except for the paper you receive letting you know about how you are doing with the stocks you are currently invested and what transactions have occurred.

Where as a toy collection takes up A LOT of room.

AS far as not getting in trouble Just wait tell they go on sale or clearance. Now days they come out with so much new stuff all the time that in 6 months - a year you can find it on the clearance isle. Especially after Christmas.

[jkaris]

It isn't just the cost but the space.......Where as a toy collection takes up A LOT of room.

I heard that!

AS far as not getting in trouble Just wait tell they go on sale or clearance.  Now days they come out with so much new stuff all the time that in 6 months - a year you can find it on the clearance isle.  Especially after Christmas.

That's when you buy, hehe!

[NamaNiku]

Here is my tick.... Whenever my wife sees that I have new toys, I just tell her that I traded with people in the MPS, or on the email group....
It is better that she does not know that I am throwing down cash for little pink men.

[doc_moore_j]

That is a great idea uoozeman. Unless however your wife is attached to your bank accounts, and can see $40 to paypal here $37 to paypal there ha ha. I do think that is tricky though, I am going to have to try it.

[theCrazyest]

But stocks are dependent on many factors.. A stock could split even become invalidated if a company goes belly up. Besides if they climb or depreciate in value. Besides your MUSCLEs sit at home and can be enjoyed even if it does depreciate, you can't split a MUSCLE (except those with extra parts) and as long as you love them then they'll be worth something to you even if no one else think so. No one jumps out of a skyScraper because their MUSCLEs are worthless now.

[Tortle]

Not to be a negative Nancy (or Nathan) but I always discourage people from collecting if they think that their collection will be "worth something". The collectible market is much too volatile to even get your money back if you sell your collection. I've been collecting various things for about 12 years (comics, toys, cards, etc.) and regardless of the type of collectible, its market always follows a predictable cycle:

1) The fandom starts out as obscure, with a few hardcore fans and low prices. 2) The collectibles become "hot", with more and more fans hoarding the popular collectibles. This, of course, drives up the market value. 3) The market becomes over-saturated and geared too much for the collector (ex: Spiderman #1 with a jillion different covers, the 1701 Star Trek figures), and everyone looses interest. Prices plummet. 4) The few hardcore fans are still there, enjoying their collectibles.

Moral of the story: Few, if any of your collectibles have any sort of real, lasting monetary value. The true value of a collectible, be it a 21-back Boba Fett, TMNT #1, or a hoard of MUSCLEs, is what it's worth to you. So I urge people to collect things only if they enjoy them, not if they think that collectible will put their kids through college.

That's just my two bits.

-Nathan

[arforbes]

I know, tell her that they are for the kids and will be worth even more money than they are now, down the line in the future!

If you don't have kids, tell her that anyway, she'll say, "We don't have kids," and that will give you an reason for sex too!!!

arforbes

[Doctor Dew]

If you don't have kids, tell her that anyway, she'll say, "We don't have kids," and that will give you an reason for sex too!!!  

hahahaha. that was funny arforbes. i'll try that later today...

[arforbes]

Thought somebody might like that joke!

So did you actually do it Doc? And more impotantly, did it work?

[theCrazyest]

I'm with Nathan. It's all about what it's worth to you, if it makes you happy then coo! But if your looking to make $ that gonna be a bit tougher.. For example the DC/Marvel movies/tv shows always inflate the value of it's respective merchandise and then It becomes oversaturated and devalued. It's a tough game to play. It's all about knowing what coming out & selling it right before it becomes overSaturated.

[Doctor Dew]

It's all about knowing what coming out & selling it right before it becomes overSaturated.

yeah, a good example of this is all that Beanie Baby "who-ha" awhile back. single animals going from $2 to $200 back to $2....crazy.......

[theCrazyest]

Yeah, no kidding! It's always worse when the public gets wind of a trend that they think they can make some quick $ off of. Since they're the ones who usually inflate the prices & saturate the market.