Quote: TashijiBut Beanie Babies were, well, stuffed animals filled with plastic beans. That is a far cry from being a Skylander. It's hard to imagine an adult getting nostalgic for a Beanie Baby in quite the same way they will for Skylanders in 15-20 years. I'd compare these more to boxed G.I. Joes and My Little Ponies from the 1980s, and those have appreciated in value quite well over the years.
Wouldn't it be more relevant to compare them to plastic toys mass produced in the last 10 to 20 years?
The 70s/80s toys got a niche because nobody thought about collecting them as a collectible and finding MIB or even good condition now is not a given.
Then the manufacturers jump on a band wagon and revive series as they see people who will buy them. People then deduce that the originals became collectibles so keep the new range MIB for "down the line". Unfortunately the supply and demand is then skewed because many people kept them; hence an over supply to a dwindling demand (as the people who want them already have them, for the better part).
It is a tad specious to say "well, they were only stuffed animals filled with plastic beans"; these are merely lumps of painted plastic with a chip inside. Heck, even Mickie D's give out electronic toys with Happy Meals now (and for known franchises such as L/Ponies, Transformers, et al).
The future is actually relatively easy to predict if you pay attention to the past. If you compare investment in a true asset versus a "greater fool theory" commodity, in the long run the investment in an asset always wins, hands down.
Am I saying don't buy SL? No. What I am advising in a generic financial/economic context is that historically you have Buckley's chance of getting a good return and you may as well play poker as the odds are actually more in your favour.
By the way, is anyone interested in some tulips?