The Energon Pub

i am debating whether or not to sell of some of my rare boxed Transformers in favour of buying them in loose form.

It is cheaper to buy them loose and often reissues do devalue boxed Toys. I also find the prices tend to fluctuate widely on EBay. But would I be making a mistake in the future if say in 20-30 years they are worth £100s more? everything increases with age.

I also need to rebalance my account due to excessive spending last 3 years and it seems easier to sacrifice a some limbs to save the whole.

what do you all think.

If you're looking to make money in the long term, I think you should invest in businesses not toys.

IMO a collection is a personal thing that one enjoys displaying. If you like displaying MIB figures, cool. If you want to display loose figures, sell the boxed and buy the loose.

If you want money in 10 years, sell the boxed and put the money into RRSPs, GICs or some other financial acronym.

norwichchris wrote:i am debating whether or not to sell of some of my rare boxed Transformers in favour of buying them in loose form.

It is cheaper to buy them loose and often reissues do devalue boxed Toys. I also find the prices tend to fluctuate widely on EBay. But would I be making a mistake in the future if say in 20-30 years they are worth £100s more? everything increases with age.

I also need to rebalance my account due to excessive spending last 3 years and it seems easier to sacrifice a some limbs to save the whole.

what do you all think.

I will take them of your hands

Mkall wrote:
IMO a collection is a personal thing that one enjoys displaying. If you like displaying MIB figures, cool. If you want to display loose figures, sell the boxed and buy the loose.

My only thought to this one if you want to display loose figures, if you do sell your box figures and run the chance of getting a piece of garbage compared to the boxed one you have now. What if you buy a loose one, selling your boxed one and the arm breaks or something. I'd say at least make a good decision about if your going to make a decent amount vs a possible flop of a toy. I think the boxed one at least you know that it has been in the box without damage and wear.

If all you want to do is display loose, it seems like you should maybe just open it? save the hassle of Ebay

norwichchris wrote:i am debating whether or not to sell of some of my rare boxed Transformers in favour of buying them in loose form.

It is cheaper to buy them loose and often reissues do devalue boxed Toys. I also find the prices tend to fluctuate widely on EBay. But would I be making a mistake in the future if say in 20-30 years they are worth £100s more? everything increases with age.

I also need to rebalance my account due to excessive spending last 3 years and it seems easier to sacrifice a some limbs to save the whole.

what do you all think.

I think it would be awesomesauce if there's a MIB Sinnertwin in your collection and you'd want to unload it.

Mkall wrote:
IMO a collection is a personal thing that one enjoys displaying. If you like displaying MIB figures, cool. If you want to display loose figures, sell the boxed and buy the loose.

My only thought to this one if you want to display loose figures, if you do sell your box figures and run the chance of getting a piece of garbage compared to the boxed one you have now. What if you buy a loose one, selling your boxed one and the arm breaks or something. I'd say at least make a good decision about if your going to make a decent amount vs a possible flop of a toy. I think the boxed one at least you know that it has been in the box without damage and wear.

If all you want to do is display loose, it seems like you should maybe just open it? save the hassle of Ebay

Easy.

Got some figures you are just indiferents about because you bought them on impulse or as "investments"? Sell them NOW and dont buy them back. Invest the money in venues where you can actually make a real profit. Ask your bank manager.

Got some figures you like but you want loose to fiddle with? Dont waste time and open them right NOW. Enjoy oppening them, applying stickers, transforming them, and going "pew pew pew"! You will save much trouble this way.

Enjoy your expensive hobby in the way that make you most happy.

That is all.

I never did understand the concept of buying MIB/MISB TFs with the expectation of making some massive profit down the road. Very few ever increase in value so much that the investment would generate a larger amount of income in the same time it took the toys to see that increase if you invested in the stock market, CDs or any number of other real financial investments.

I mean seriously, if you're talking about a profit of hundreds of pounds (or dollars) over the course of 10-20 years, that's nothing. I could save up more money if I socked away $20 in a drawer every time I got a paycheck. In fact, since I get paid twice a month, putting away $20 every paycheck over the course of just 10 years=$4,800. How much does an MISB Fort Max from 1987 (26 years ago) go for again? In 26 years, I could save up $12,480.

Seriously people, do the math, Transformers are NOT an investment.

Anyway, I agree with the others. If you like displaying MISB toys, then keep them, if not, sell them now and get some loose figures. You can get some pretty minty stuff loose on ebay easily, I do it all the time. Just check the pics, the seller's description and check the seller's ratings. If you're still not clear on the condition of the figure or have questions about it, talk to the seller. Most don't mind answering any questions about a figure's condition that you might have.

It's not about the inverstment to me, the MIB ones remind me of my youth, the stuff I wanted form the toystore, but could not get and the full TF-feeling.

Money is not the reason why I collect MIB.

RhA wrote:It's not about the inverstment to me, the MIB ones remind me of my youth, the stuff I wanted form the toystore, but could not get and the full TF-feeling.

Money is not the reason why I collect MIB.

Right, which makes perfect sense. The OP mentioned considering holding on to them for another 10~20 years for a profit, and that's what I was speaking to.

Collectors such as yourself are the very reason I try to avoid purchasing MIB/MISB figures (especially rarer/older ones) when hunting on ebay and prefer going for loose minty ones, because I don't want to deprive an MIB/MISB collector of acquiring a complete piece for their collection. I know the numbers of such specimens are limited, and I'm just going to open it up, play with it, apply the stickers and put it on the shelf anyway.

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:It's not about the inverstment to me, the MIB ones remind me of my youth, the stuff I wanted form the toystore, but could not get and the full TF-feeling.

Money is not the reason why I collect MIB.

Right, which makes perfect sense. The OP mentioned considering holding on to them for another 10~20 years for a profit, and that's what I was speaking to.

Collectors such as yourself are the very reason I try to avoid purchasing MIB/MISB figures (especially rarer/older ones) when hunting on ebay and prefer going for loose minty ones, because I don't want to deprive an MIB/MISB collector of acquiring a complete piece for their collection. I know the numbers of such specimens are limited, and I'm just going to open it up, play with it, apply the stickers and put it on the shelf anyway.

Ehm... What? You wreck cardboard because of me? I'm not really sure how I should feel about that.

RhA wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:It's not about the inverstment to me, the MIB ones remind me of my youth, the stuff I wanted form the toystore, but could not get and the full TF-feeling.

Money is not the reason why I collect MIB.

Right, which makes perfect sense. The OP mentioned considering holding on to them for another 10~20 years for a profit, and that's what I was speaking to.

Collectors such as yourself are the very reason I try to avoid purchasing MIB/MISB figures (especially rarer/older ones) when hunting on ebay and prefer going for loose minty ones, because I don't want to deprive an MIB/MISB collector of acquiring a complete piece for their collection. I know the numbers of such specimens are limited, and I'm just going to open it up, play with it, apply the stickers and put it on the shelf anyway.

Ehm... What? You wreck cardboard because of me? I'm not really sure how I should feel about that.

I believe he said that he prefers buying loose so collectors like yourself can have the MIB/MISB ones.



I like Kanrabat's pewpewpew suggestion, though.

Thanks for all your responses but should have worded that a bit better really. My main reason for selling some of my rare ones off is I'm Going to Turkey in May and want some extra money for both there and when I return.

I' cant actually keep them on display as the boxes take up too much room and I have this habit of breaking them. I like getting sets in boxes for example I have 5/6 G1 Decepticon Jets in the same condition.

The ones I will sell will be:

G1 Headmaster Snapdragon/Skullcruncher both are boxed but have some discoloration
G1 Micromaster Cannon Transport
(MAYBE) G1 Giftset Menasor/Superion if I can ever find his ramp

There are other things I want at the moment car...

Va'al wrote:

RhA wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:It's not about the inverstment to me, the MIB ones remind me of my youth, the stuff I wanted form the toystore, but could not get and the full TF-feeling.

Money is not the reason why I collect MIB.

Right, which makes perfect sense. The OP mentioned considering holding on to them for another 10~20 years for a profit, and that's what I was speaking to.

Collectors such as yourself are the very reason I try to avoid purchasing MIB/MISB figures (especially rarer/older ones) when hunting on ebay and prefer going for loose minty ones, because I don't want to deprive an MIB/MISB collector of acquiring a complete piece for their collection. I know the numbers of such specimens are limited, and I'm just going to open it up, play with it, apply the stickers and put it on the shelf anyway.

Ehm... What? You wreck cardboard because of me? I'm not really sure how I should feel about that.

I believe he said that he prefers buying loose so collectors like yourself can have the MIB/MISB ones.



I like Kanrabat's pewpewpew suggestion, though.

Well herp my derp, lad! I read the post with my beergoggles on, appearantly. Admittedly, it was funnier when my goggles where still on.

-edit- What's the expected price on Skullcruncher?

Mkall wrote:If you're looking to make money in the long term, I think you should invest in businesses gold, silver and food production not toys.

Fixed

Also I might be interested in Snapdragon

both skullcruncher/snapdragon are on Ebay now along with my micromaster cannon transport. Also have some Deluxe movie figures to sell. They are on for 30 days each so happy bidding.

I always wondered if 7 day auctions are better than 10 days for Transformers as they do seem to sell better.