When it comes to determining the value of an item in the antique and auction world, the one thing always discussed is collectability. Regardless of its category whether it be fine art, pottery, or comics, value is determined by a multitude of factors including supply, demand, collector age group, the length of time which the item has been collected, and of course by studying the trends of the market with past sales. When combined these factors also determine the cyclicality of a genre which allows specialists to see where the market is going. After reading this you might look at an antiques professional as more of a stock broker.
Out of any category in the realm of antiques and collectibles, the fastest changing market is vintage toys, and let me tell you why. Your average “high end” vintage toy collector is between the ages of 24 and 35, married or single (Not an important factor), but no children. This is a time in life were successful young adults have an expendable income to buy back their childhood. Act two; enter children… that income no longer remains expendable and now it is time to sell. And because collecting toys is based off of childhood that next generation of collectors does not want what they didn’t grow up with, which now enters the market at an expedited rate. Do you follow? Before it was collectors seeking out the merchandise from dealers and auctions which later turns into the collectors trying to sell their items to a smaller collecting crowd. The supply begins to outweigh the demand and values plummet quickly, because remember these are toys, and in most cases they made millions. In general antiques are time tested even though they are subject to severe market fluctuation. To put it into perspective, most antiques have been collected on the secondary market longer than certain vintage toys have existed. Everyone is familiar with Star Wars, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and He-Man because that’s what’s hot now, but where is the market going?
In 1993 the United States was introduced to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the American adaption of Japan’s live action Super Sentai series revolving around a team of young individuals given special strength and the ability to pilot large robots known as Zords. The success of the Power Rangers in the early 1990’s brought an influx in Japanese live action series being adapted for American T.V screens in the middle and late 1990’s. While original Power Rangers have peeked in value, the value of Power Ranger spin-off toys have been exponentially increasing. Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad and Big Bad Beetleborgs were released in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Both series consisted of the same formula as Power Rangers, good guys, bad guys, and big robots. The difference is that Power Rangers are still around today while these two series came and went within two years each, making pristine toys hard to find today. In today’s market, these toys are only beginning to rise in value, and if history tells us anything, the demand pool for these figures is only going to continue to grow. When it comes to collecting for investment, it is no different than having an online trading account for stocks. While it is fun to do it yourself, contacting a trusted specialist to help guide and fill your collection is key, it’s no different than having a quarterly consultation with your financial advisor.
