magicsurfbus
Free Member
Be aware that collectables go through distinct phases of collectability, then go out of favour. Value exists only in the mind of the buyer - if the buyer is no longer there or they change their mind, the value disappears.
If you're buying such things as an investment be mindful that there can be a right and a wrong time to sell, and generally speaking hanging on to them forever is not a good plan unless it's got Picasso written at the bottom (and preferably not Citroen on the boot).
I noticed a trend with collectable toys where they peaked in collectability around 15-20 years after they first hit the shelves. I put this down to young parents becoming nostalgic for their own childhoods. When I began trading in collectable toys in the late 1980s, Gerry Anderson was still in (just), Star Wars was approaching a boom time, and Dan Dare was already in decline.
My mum and dad splashed out on paintings at one point in their lives, and they cost a bit. When the time came to clear their house the paintings sold for not much. English school watercolours by listed artists can be had for very little these days. Likewise, David Dickenson's Holy of Holies, Moorcroft ceramics can be had for quite reasonable sums at auction. My local auctioneers are constantly whingeing about plunging interest in crockery and other things that sold well only a few years back. Most dealers in crockery at the Antiques fairs I stand at look thoroughly miserable at the end of the day's trading, and so they should - the fairs are awash with the stuff.
My prediction for plummeting value in the next few years is diecast cars and toy trains. Why? because the collectors are steadily ageing, and there's no younger collectors replacing them. I've sat at toy fairs watching the customers shuffle past and rarely if ever do I see one under 50, and they're usually a lot older. A time will come soon when a lot of that stuff will start appearing on the market from the estates of deceased collectors and nobody will be left to buy it. Prices will plunge, although to be fair, pristine mint in the box items will hold their value for longer.
Obviously if you just like collecting stuff then don't worry about the prices. I like collecting the very first publications featuring popular boy's literature characters. For example Sherlock Holmes (Strand Magazine), Biggles (Popular Flying), Billy Bunter (Magnet), and I'm on the lookout for Nigel Molesworth who first appeared in a 1939 edition of Punch. That's just personal interest.
If you're buying such things as an investment be mindful that there can be a right and a wrong time to sell, and generally speaking hanging on to them forever is not a good plan unless it's got Picasso written at the bottom (and preferably not Citroen on the boot).
I noticed a trend with collectable toys where they peaked in collectability around 15-20 years after they first hit the shelves. I put this down to young parents becoming nostalgic for their own childhoods. When I began trading in collectable toys in the late 1980s, Gerry Anderson was still in (just), Star Wars was approaching a boom time, and Dan Dare was already in decline.
My mum and dad splashed out on paintings at one point in their lives, and they cost a bit. When the time came to clear their house the paintings sold for not much. English school watercolours by listed artists can be had for very little these days. Likewise, David Dickenson's Holy of Holies, Moorcroft ceramics can be had for quite reasonable sums at auction. My local auctioneers are constantly whingeing about plunging interest in crockery and other things that sold well only a few years back. Most dealers in crockery at the Antiques fairs I stand at look thoroughly miserable at the end of the day's trading, and so they should - the fairs are awash with the stuff.
My prediction for plummeting value in the next few years is diecast cars and toy trains. Why? because the collectors are steadily ageing, and there's no younger collectors replacing them. I've sat at toy fairs watching the customers shuffle past and rarely if ever do I see one under 50, and they're usually a lot older. A time will come soon when a lot of that stuff will start appearing on the market from the estates of deceased collectors and nobody will be left to buy it. Prices will plunge, although to be fair, pristine mint in the box items will hold their value for longer.
Obviously if you just like collecting stuff then don't worry about the prices. I like collecting the very first publications featuring popular boy's literature characters. For example Sherlock Holmes (Strand Magazine), Biggles (Popular Flying), Billy Bunter (Magnet), and I'm on the lookout for Nigel Molesworth who first appeared in a 1939 edition of Punch. That's just personal interest.
I spent months recording them to MP3's for iPod and then sold them all. I also had a large collection of pocket watches, which I advertised in local newspaper and a chap came and took the lot and I whilst at the time I did not want to do it
