The Energon Pub

From Wikipedia:

During its time of release, Fortress Maximus retailed at $89.99, making him the most expensive Transformers toy in the U.S. market (a record that wasn't met or broken for nearly two decades, until the release of 20th Anniversary DVD Edition Optimus Prime and Ultimate Bumblebee).

It's hard to believe Fortmax was so cheap during his initial release, considering he fetches about five times that amount on eBay. It got me thinking about Transformers released today and whether or not they'll shoot up in price years from now. Or perhaps they'll drop considerably if the Transformers series loses general interest and owners start selling their MP Prime dirt cheap. What about the movie line? Will our children look upon this series as we look upon G1 and be willing to pay $500+ for Ultimate Bumblebee if he shows up in whatever virtual reality auction site exists then? Maybe it's time for us to plan ahead....

I don't think todays bots will be as prized as the vintage ones of today, but for the most part they are not dropping in resale value.

I think in future years the amount of repainted figures will hurt the collectable value of today's figures, but Transformers as a whole will always be a valuable, costly franchise.

Armada Prime boxed averages 2-3 times as much as when he first debued, that number isn't going to drop. As time moves on, this will only aply to more and more bots...

So I say get them now while you can, or pay through the nose later

Prices are more often more expensive for boxed figures and for limited release figures.

Loose A/E/C figures do not normally get anywhere close to their normal store prices, and the same goes for most BW figures. I guess time will tell.

I have to agree with Liege though, buy now, so as you do not regret later.

Yeah, as said before only time will tell how popular these Movie toys will be. But i guess that some day they will become wanted. As for how expensive they will be, i haven't a clue .

Most if not all of the Beast Wars/ Beast Machines toy lines were pretty popular back when they came out, but they havent increased in price from sellers as much as Transformer toys have * shrug*. All i need from the movie toy line is Ironhide but he seems to be one of the harder ones to get.

is ultimate bumblebee really that popular? I don't really see any collectors in the future going "oh man i wanted one of those as a kid," but then again, i may be wrong, and it may be famous for being the first...ultimate bumblebee thing with repetitive music and flashy eyes, althought i could see classics figures shooting up in prices...especially starscream, who already has a hefty price tag as it is.

i_amtrunks wrote:Prices are more often more expensive for boxed figures and for limited release figures.

Loose A/E/C figures do not normally get anywhere close to their normal store prices, and the same goes for most BW figures. I guess time will tell.

I have to agree with Liege though, buy now, so as you do not regret later.

Thanks, but I'm filling in my BW gaps, and I'll be damed if even loose complete figures aren't up there. Hell I've seen a Scuba with no legs going for $8 recently, and that sucks!

It's even worse if the character hit a (US) show, RatTrap with a gun goes for $50+

But on that same note, take a figure like Rhinox or Cheetor who've been reissued a million times, unless it's in a datted package, none of them will ever be worth squat. With Repaints on the rise, this is only gonna get worse.

However, most Voyager, Leader, Mega, Supreme bots only get redone once or twice. While the deluxes and scouts lag, these are the figures to watch

(I think)

The G1 ones are valuable...depending on the condition of the figure...they can go to $500.

toxicity wrote:is ultimate bumblebee really that popular?

I don't think so. At least not by the amount of them sitting on the shelves in Walmart and TRU. Either that or they were overproduced.

they are shelf-warmers because they are expensive and some parents do not want to spend that kind of money for a toy.

Decepticharge wrote:

toxicity wrote:is ultimate bumblebee really that popular?

I don't think so. At least not by the amount of them sitting on the shelves in Walmart and TRU. Either that or they were overproduced.

It will be once it isn't on the shelf anymore!

I guess I don't see it being worth $500 like the OP was wondering.

Cascadia wrote:they are shelf-warmers because they are expensive and some parents do not want to spend that kind of money for a toy.

Like I said, it's Fortress Maximus all over again. I can already see where this is going...

BTW, a boxed G1 Jetfire is a treasure for many fans and one that fetches high prices on eBay. Considering a lot of fans find the Classics version a distinct improvement, do you think we'll also see this update going for several hundred dollars complete?

mine.
oh. i was just answering the question.

Liege Evilmus wrote:It's even worse if the character hit a (US) show, RatTrap with a gun goes for $50+
(I think)

hmmm, Rattrap (and some of the first wave BW basics) fetch commanding prices today because according to rumors their molds were destroyed and/or lost. but you're right, show characters always fetch more bucks than non-show ones. and i guess BW figs won't see a rise in value soon due to the 10th anniversary reissues.

prolly the only exceptions to these are the Takara BW RobotMasters molds, as these have not been translated into Hasbro releases. these always fetch premium prices, and i doubt they'll fluctuate and go down in the near future.

In time I guess all collectables go up in value as long as there's some demand. So as long as people remember these series/the movie when they get older they'll probably want to get the toys.

On the other hand, Hasbro will probably be a bit smarter this time around and not lose/destroy all the molds if possible, since reselling doesn't make them any money.

Probably stuff like Botcon figures are a decent investment. If collectors come along they're going to eventually want those figures and they were a fairly limited run.

Anyway, overall, I would say don't go into the hobby for the value, go into it for the sake of owning things you want. I basically consider all my Transformer purchases throw away money. I never spend money that I'll wish I had back in time. If I want to invest I'll put it in something guaranteed (or nearly guaranteed) to go up.

They will go up a little, but I wouldnt see toys as an investment veture. The reason G1 is worth so much is not a lot of people collected these figures MISB like they do now.

MegatronBomb wrote:They will go up a little, but I wouldnt see toys as an investment veture. The reason G1 is worth so much is not a lot of people collected these figures MISB like they do now.

Bingo!

Glitcher wrote:From Wikipedia:

During its time of release, Fortress Maximus retailed at $89.99, making him the most expensive Transformers toy in the U.S. market (a record that wasn't met or broken for nearly two decades, until the release of 20th Anniversary DVD Edition Optimus Prime and Ultimate Bumblebee).

It's hard to believe Fortmax was so cheap during his initial release, considering he fetches about five times that amount on eBay. It got me thinking about Transformers released today and whether or not they'll shoot up in price years from now. Or perhaps they'll drop considerably if the Transformers series loses general interest and owners start selling their MP Prime dirt cheap. What about the movie line? Will our children look upon this series as we look upon G1 and be willing to pay $500+ for Ultimate Bumblebee if he shows up in whatever virtual reality auction site exists then? Maybe it's time for us to plan ahead....

I don't think so at all.

The fact was that the demand is high today because there was less awareness of their value in the past and they were mostly handled by kids, which is why it is rare today to find them in good condition.

Everyone is a collector now. I am sure even 10 years from now tons of people will continue to have sealed toys that have been released in this era.

I don't think most mainline figures will be as valuable in the future as many G1 figures are today. At this point, it seems like TransFormers is almost expected to spit out a completely new line every couple years, making these figures just the fad of their season.

As for movie figures, I dont expect to see them go up in value for several years, if ever, but I think they stand a better chance of gaining value than the AEC figures.

On the flipside though, I'm betting that Alternators are going to be worth some pretty pennies ten to twenty years from now.

As for Classics, I think they might stand a good chance of gaining some value. Classics, for the most part, is made up of some great representations of vintage G1 characters, and those characters will always be sought after the most.

Oh, almost forgot, Titaniums and G1 Re-issues. I'm thinking those might be worth something someday too.

Things I said once upon a time wrote:The Rules:
1. Pay to play. Don’t kid yourself, ever. Pound for pound, collecting Transformers is about banking money and understanding that you are going to pay early, often, and in considerable sums.

2. Prices do not ‘go down’. Unlike StarWars or other collectable where technology consistently improves and the toys are actually better than they were 20+ years ago; Transformers only becomes different. Sure, articulation improves, but essentially, a car is still going to unfold into a robot. Even the oldest Transformers toys are no where near as time dated as the 1990’s Star Wars stuff. So, Transformers fans never have to ‘upgrade’ a character. Where as a 1980’s Luke Skywalker is a retarded hunk of plastic compared with an SA version.

3. Quantities are limited. As for some of the mass-produced figures like Classics Starscream or Energon Tidalwave…where are they? Shouldn’t these be on the shelf when we want them? Why am I literally battling Wal-Mart to find Cybertron Wingsaber? The popularity of Transformer combined with you, me, kids, and sweaty fan-boi #7 really ensures that toys do not linger on the shelves. (Though Energon Ironhide is a note worthy exception. ‘F’ that toy, right?)

No, twenty years from now these toys will be worthless. Just like TF's from twenty years ago are today.


Oh..........wait.