Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Pete The Greek]

With the Walmart cancelled parachute guys, I think they were going to be the final production guys.  But when Hasbro pulled the plug on them, and based on past history with Hasbro and unproduced figures, they were probably going to be destroyed.  Somehow this seller got a hold of a bunch of them.  

And that ebay seller uses the term "prototype" and that is wrong term as proto means "one".  The seller has sold a bunch of them, and the prices just drop each time one is posted on ebay.

[Spillspleen]

I think most collectors of G.I.Joe are my age...so around 30, give or take a few years (in my case give a few years). So using this age category you can see that most are now married, have kids and are saving for their retirement. So again in general toys are not that important, you might collect but the interest is dying or at least slowing. For me about two years ago I would drop a $100 a month on anything whether I needed it or not, now I am selective and will not spend anything unless I see something I need rather than want?.most of the time.

[Redmao]

you are so right. I'm there too. Last year it was like if I saw a cool looking figure I bought it. Now I'm more focused on what I'm buying. The more it goes the more narrow the field of interest gets figure wise.

[zedhatch]

Pete that is such a great question.  I will tell you that here in the US I noticed an initial thrust of joe collectors and it drop sharply after my first month.  After that things died off and I was left scratching my head.  I began asking customers what was going on, basics were that they were satisfied with thier collection and needed nothing more.  I thought to myself that this must be why so many people tappered off.  Also add in the crud we are getting lately (which in all honesty caused me not to pick up new joe stuff until someone grows a brain over at hasbro) and I can see where that statment would be made.

And mike, I would have to say the same for most part but for different reasons.  G1 TF's have gotten sooooo expensive that it is impractical to buy now.  SInce most collectors have finished up, I would say that it is extreamly hard to get rid of G1's.  Unfortunatly in the backward town I live in that is all people want.  WHat's worse is that you get some and then they say "I Have that one"  :shifty:

[BHMike]

You guys just don't realize what we store owners go through  :wink:

Some of them do....... the ones that have visted my store from this board do..... I have no problem telling them!
Mike

[Pete The Greek]

If I was a store owner, I wouldn't buy any of the new stuff as Hasbro doesn't know what they are doing with GI JOE.  I rather have mastercollector take it over.  Certain US online stores got screwed by Hasbro late last year and this has caused problems.  Plus how the heck did Canadians know VvV would be in Canada?  Guys like Mike would have been screwed if they ordered it.  Plus I don't think there is a large enough market for JVC as Hasbro fails to provide ads in the form of cartoons to create a buzz for GI JOE.  Trust me, this worked in 1985 or I wouldn't be typing a message in thread regarding GI JOES if this wasn't the case.  And thanks to Hasbro crappy VvV, I have started collecting other toy lines that have cool looking items like the TF Alternators.

As to the vintage collector question, another trend I am noticing on message boards as well is that most of the good traders that I dealt with are hardly active any more.  They either got the stuff they wanted and/or started to have a family.  I know one collector that is back online after 4 years because he had bigger priorities in life (i.e. a baby).   In my case I have no family of my own to take care of but I have completed most of GI JOE collecting goals.

It also seems more bad traders are out there.  This means to me we have reached the bottom of the barrel.   It's not 1998 were there was very few people active in the trading game as compared to 2002.   People are just after the HTF items now a days.

[Redmao]

sad enough... If it continues this way, I might stop buying joes after I get the few figures I'm after (1983 figures and those I had/wanted as a kid)
At least there's those special six pack to keep the falme burning a little

[Stealth Viper]

It also seems more bad traders are out there.  This means to me we have reached the bottom of the barrel.   It's not 1998 were there was very few people active in the trading game as compared to 2002.   People are just after the HTF items now a days.

I'll attest to that.

I have been screwed 3 times recently, and because of that I will only deal with people I have previously dealt with from this point on. Unless, of course the new trader wants to send first.

[Collectorman]

I know that I've cut back in what I've been buying. Mike can confirm this by how little I've been in his store lately...and I working maybe 10 minutes away.

Although my problem is mostly the money aspect (selling dildos doesn't pay all that well), there's also a limit to what you can buy. For instance, recently I've been planning a move to Nova Scotia. If I go, I'll be taking only what I can fit in my 2000 Toyota Corolla. A MIB Tomahawk isn't the smartest thing to pack into a car with limited space.

If you're starting to settle into a family life, or don't have someone close to you that you can share the hobby with (TMWOAN and She-Can always come to mind), than the collecting can hit a brick wall.

[AlleyViper]

(selling dildos doesn't pay all that well)

 

I gotta ask, of all the places to move to, why Nova Scotia?

[Collectorman]

I gotta ask, of all the places to move to, why Nova Scotia?

Well, my old boss at the Stag Shop wants to open a branch store in Halifax. In that case, she would be deemed the Area Manager and she'd need to hire a store manager.

Also, I did 2 1/2 in college for radio broadcasting. I was screwed out of my diploma because of some real bad planning on the college's part and an unfortunate death of a faculty member. Anyways, it's impossible to get into radio in Ontario (I tried, believe me). I might be able to work something out down east.

[Mastermind]

I sometimes wonder if the nature of the hobby isn't changing for a lot of people. In the beginning you had basically one group of people who bought the figures and vehicles and played with them. Next came the people who stayed with the line to the end and the people who, for their own reasons, got rid of everything. Those who took advantage of all the loose figures and vehicles floating around at that time, and who wanted the line to continue anyway it could, got the whole customizing ball rolling. As time went by the whole nostalgia aspect appeared and those who got rid of everything years ago suddenly wanted everything back. Prices started to rise, GIJoe became popular again and Hasbro re-released the line. Now, with the original RAH series, the new Joe VS Cobra series, the Mastercollector offerings every year, Ebay, customizers, older collectors vs kids, MOC people vs open everything, play or display, army builders, etc., the Joe line has become a lot of different things to different people. It's probably this lack of unity which keeps Hasbro guessing what everyone wants and why not everyone is happy when something new comes out. It probably also makes people who offer Joes on the secondary market cringe with fear because what one person will pay $500 for another wouldn't even give it a second glance.
Just my two cents.