darkSpyro

This seems to come up every so often, and this article really seems to hit home.

http://consumerist.com/2013/07...-beanie-babies/

If you're buying Skylanders because you think you'll be able to sell them years down the road to fund your kid's college or something - it's very, very unlikely. Don't do it. A low-interest savings account will probably net you more money in the long run.

And this is coming from someone who buys one of everything he can get his hands on and doesn't open the figures.

I buy them because I like them and because it's a fun game.

Don't be the guy in this article.

True! the ONLY way to get a few bucks by selling them is... buy a chase variants and sell it like X15 of the original price... That's it!

EDIT: I'm not buying for this you know...

Everyone is quick to point to the Beanie Baby example, but there is a major difference that this example neglects; namely, that these are video game accessories. The market for vintage games and accessories is a lot steadier than the market for Beanie Babies, because people who are feeling nostalgic can still plug them in, play, and relive their childhood. What's someone in a similar predicament going to do with a Beanie Baby, flop it around and admire the stitching? In all likelihood, the experience will only leave them wondering why they ever liked Beanie Babies to begin with. Functionality is the key here. Skylanders are a video game accessory that is functional, and Beanie Babies are a nonfunctional stuffed toy. I'm not saying you're wrong, because let's face it, millions of these things have been made; I'm just saying they've got an objectively better chance at maintaining value than Beanie Babies, because they work with a popular game (not unlike Pokemon) that today's kids are going to be swimming in retro nostalgia for a decade down the line. Virtually every kid alive had a copy of Pokemon, but yet those games are still worth something today. Why? Because they're not silly stuffed animals... and neither are Skylanders.

For what it's worth, I do think stocking a warehouse with them like the guy in this article in hopes of striking it rich is crazy, but having a sensible boxed collection of one of each figure, as you do, and seeing where it goes? Well, it's not going to put a kid through college (and neither is a savings account with the way tuition is skyrocketing) but it might make a decent down payment on a car or something. And if it doesn't, what are you out? About $1,000 between Spyro's and Giants so far? That might seem like a lot of money to a kid, but as an adult, numbers like that come and go all the time.

Good thing I buy Skylanders for my love of Skylanders and due to my love of gaming.

I never intended this to be a future investment/cash grab. Even I think the variants one day will go for pennies on the dollar. Good things come to those who wait.

I just buy the figures to play with and display. When I have my own house, Imma just gonna put them on a shelf so they have somewhere to live. And I may sell a few, for not much though...

All my skylanders are open to play with and i don't plan on selling them.

IT WILL BITE THE SCALPERS IN THE BUTT ONE DAY... JUST SAYING.

But that guys grandchildren may profit from them.
Once people figure out that the midlongterm 5-15 years investment is a waste, many will go to the garbage heap.
The ones that dont may end up being worth something if kept well after 20-30yrs

Not to mention that granchildren who invest nothing will profit from anything made from the sale.

That goes for pretty much anything in the collectable market

Quote: Hexblazer

All my skylanders are open to play with and i don't plan on selling them.

Yup except for E3 Hotdog.

I see.

I don't think my skylanders will ever be sold

I’m not saying that Skylanders are a great investment that will help you buy a house… but I think they are likely to retain their value, with a possible spike in price in about 25 to 30 years.

* Beanie Babies produced far more product than Skylanders have
* As someone pointed out, each Skylander toy has separate functionality – What can one beanie Baby do that all the others can’t?
* The pattern seems to be that prices for toys spike when the children who originally played with those toys hit an age where they have a job and disposable income. Like GI Joes and Transformers are right now.

From the same site:
Quote:

Judging from the number of decade-old Beanie Babies I see in A.C. Moore for $4, plenty of companies and individuals hoarded thousands of the stuffed critters in mint condition, waiting for the day when they could cash in.
The essential flaw in this plan is that everyone hoarded the damn things. Toys are worth more years (or decades) on in mint condition because the vast majority are played with or destroyed.

* Despite what you see on a site for collectors, most Skylanders are opened and played with, not horded. (Interestingly, the ones that are horded are the ‘rare’ ones – which means you could conceivably find yourself in a future where a mint bog-standard figure is rarer, and therefore more valuable, than the chase figures).

So I’d expect Transformers/GI Joe prices in the future… having said that, if you adjust the TF/GI Joe products for inflation, there actually isn’t a lot of profit in them unless they and the package are both mint.

So as an ‘investment’ solely to make money? Terrible idea.
As something to invest time/money into that might hold value? Okay – better than many other options.

I had an almost complete set of Spyro's Adventure Skylanders a while back. I sold them all to Gamestop back when they were buying and selling used ones. I know that it was stupid anyway to sell to Gamestop, but I only got 1/4 of what I paid for them originally. I didn't regret it initially but I certainly did a few months later. Getting back into the game a few months ago, and having to search out all those older figures again has been a real pain. I don't care if I even if I lose interest in them again I am never going to sell them. The great thing about Skylanders is the ability to be able to play with your older generation figures on the newer games even the ones that haven't been remade. That you have to admit is one thing that Activision does totally right.

Quote: Tel Prydain

I’m not saying that Skylanders are a great investment that will help you buy a house… but I think they are likely to retain their value, with a possible spike in price in about 25 to 30 years.

* Beanie Babies produced far more product than Skylanders have
* As someone pointed out, each Skylander toy has separate functionality – What can one beanie Baby do that all the others can’t?
* The pattern seems to be that prices for toys spike when the children who originally played with those toys hit an age where they have a job and disposable income. Like GI Joes and Transformers are right now.

From the same site:
Quote:

Judging from the number of decade-old Beanie Babies I see in A.C. Moore for $4, plenty of companies and individuals hoarded thousands of the stuffed critters in mint condition, waiting for the day when they could cash in.
The essential flaw in this plan is that everyone hoarded the damn things. Toys are worth more years (or decades) on in mint condition because the vast majority are played with or destroyed.

* Despite what you see on a site for collectors, most Skylanders are opened and played with, not horded. (Interestingly, the ones that are horded are the ‘rare’ ones – which means you could conceivably find yourself in a future where a mint bog-standard figure is rarer, and therefore more valuable, than the chase figures).

So I’d expect Transformers/GI Joe prices in the future… having said that, if you adjust the TF/GI Joe products for inflation, there actually isn’t a lot of profit in them unless they and the package are both mint.

So as an ‘investment’ solely to make money? Terrible idea.
As something to invest time/money into that might hold value? Okay – better than many other options.

Skylanders figures have totalled 100 million as of February of 2013. There is simply no toy brand that has sold 100 million toys in that same amount of time. Not Transformers, Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, and whatnot.

100 million is a huge number. With that much penetration, there will be more of these than other toys which will get trashed later on. Numbers of each Skylander will lower, but not to near extinct levels.

True, but that's still a lot of inventory. Great video, and a nice reality check.

Skylanders will eventually go the way of Guitar hero and such. There are just too many figures each year, there shouldn't even be reposes. Each game should of had a complete new roster with the old roster being usable in the new game. Over saturation will be the death of skylanders.

Scalpers have the right idea, buying the figures off the shelf and flipping them for a quick buck is the right way to go about and that's only if you know what you are doing.

I have a sealed set for display on my bedroom wall. It's my wife, son and I sealed set. It will stay there till we bore of the game and then it will go in the boxes i have set aside for them. If then when my son is 30ish etc and wants his childhood its there brand new for him to use, otherwise he can sell it or whatever. I'm going to enjoy it cause I enjoy it.

Slayerx11
I think we have the exact situation going on.

Quote: kappapopm

IT WILL BITE THE SCALPERS IN THE BUTT ONE DAY... JUST SAYING.

Actually, for the vast majority of them, it won't. Few "scalpers" buy stuff for a long-term investment. In general, they buy them to flip quickly - at most, waiting a holiday season or two.

By the time the bottom falls out of the Skylanders market, they'll be on to the newest thing.

Quote: mantez

Skylanders will eventually go the way of Guitar hero and such. There are just too many figures each year, there shouldn't even be reposes. Each game should of had a complete new roster with the old roster being usable in the new game. Over saturation will be the death of skylanders.

I disagree - the price of entry is much lower and there is a much wider market.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: mantez

Skylanders will eventually go the way of Guitar hero and such. There are just too many figures each year, there shouldn't even be reposes. Each game should of had a complete new roster with the old roster being usable in the new game. Over saturation will be the death of skylanders.

I disagree - the price of entry is much lower and there is a much wider market.

Plus, you're looking at things like a collector who doesn't consider the game to be complete without every single figure. The casual player, the target audience, is a kid who might want all the figures, but just gets one or two here and there to steadily build a decent collection. That kid won't care that there are 50 figures s/he can't have all of, because before that, it was 40 they didn't get all of, and before that, 30 they never completed. Completionists might get frustrated, but try telling a kid that they can't have Swap Force because it costs $600 to get one of everything. They won't understand the problem; to them, the game is fun with just the starter pack, and everything else is a bonus. The ever-expanding collection just means more to choose from for the players who aren't invested in completionism.

They just don't make Beanie Babies like they used to anymore. Yes Ty is still in business, yes they still put the name on their tags, but they just aren't the same simple charming plush anymore. All you see crowding the stores now are Beanie Boos (ripoffs of Yoohoo & Friends), Beanie Ballz (ripoffs of Squishables) and licensed Ty plush like Spongebob, and those third party bins with old Beanies.
IMO, all their charm was lost when they tried to copy Webkinz and their "plush toy with web game" gimmick with their "rebooted" Beanie Baby 2.0s.

I have a huge collection of Beanies (all just before the boom started, so none of the truly valuable ones). I was never in it for the value, it was a fun hobby and my family helped too (my uncle being a deliveryman at the time was able to get first pick from a gift store he delivered to). My parents sometimes asked me about selling them off when other friends sold theirs, but if I did I would have deeply regretted it. Some of my friends' parents were definitely in it for the money, hoarding bears and such thinking they can flip them (boy were they obsessed with the teddybear ones). It worked for some but not "paying off their college fund" levels like their wacky expectations back then.

Some skylanders will definitely be rare...like the e3 2011 set....dark spyro arena tour exclusive...maybe metallic cynder...and others....I can see these going up in price...oh yeah...and target exclusive whirlwind.

Quote: kappapopm

IT WILL BITE THE SCALPERS IN THE BUTT ONE DAY... JUST SAYING.

How so? Scalpers are in it for the quick buck. Not to buy and hold. As long as demand exceeds supply of ANY figure, scalpers will continue to thrive.

I agree and disagree.

You should not be putting all your money into Skylanders thinking it will get you a huge amount of cash later.

BUT! Skylanders are not beanie babies, they have a purpose rather than just sitting there to look at them.

I would more so compare them to Mario... Mario games were an innovation in video games and now vintage Mario stuff is highly collectible.

Skylanders is an innovation in video games of this generation. There is no way to tell if they will just dive off and become as invaluable as Beanie Babies but I wouldn't bet on it.

I would place my bet somewhere in the middle. 15 years from now having Skylanders new in box may be appealing to a video game collector that appreciates the wave Skyanders made in that present time of technology... we might not know what Skylanders will start, but look.. it already inspired Disney Infinity, it might just be the new way of video games. If that happens, I imagine they will keep their value.

That being said, using any item as an investment is a huge gamble because no one can predict the future.

If you believe that you can't make some money off buying/selling/trading Skylanders, then you're very wrong.

However, it's definitely fair to say that you're not going to "get rich quick" .... or get rich, well, ever buying/selling/trading Skylanders. The returns are modest, and the market is volatile, like any collectibles. If the economy tanks, well, luxury and recreational items are typically hit hard.

In summary, if you love or enjoy the Skylanders games, then, heck yeah, the figurines are a decent investment, considering that you'll get both entertainment value out of them, and potentially some modest profit if you know what you're doing and play your cards right. But, yeah, buying Skylanders solely for the purposes of an investment (without having any interest in using them or playing with them with your kids/family) ... that's a really dumb idea, strictly from a financial standpoint.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: People who want to justify their continuous "investment" hording of products such as Skylanders, and whatever else hits the collectible market that they want to squirrel away under the pretense that it might be worth something some day, often hold up Transformers, G.I. Joe and (erroneously) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as shining examples of justification that what they're doing will pay off some day. What they don't acknowledge is the hundreds of other 80's cartoons that kids watched, that also had toys, that no one wants anything to do with now and are just taking up space in a room in someone's house, for no viable reason.

If people want to speculate, fine, but they shouldn't be surprised when they end up like the family in that video. Instead of putting your money into something like this, you'd be much better off investing in something that's legitimately created for long-term financial gain, like a 401k, or an IRA. In fact, legitimate financial investments will likely net you more in the same amount of time anyway, because that's what they're designed to do.

The bottom line is that toys are NOT a smart investment, regardless of what some toys may be worth these days. Don't get caught up in it.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

...If the economy tanks...

When did it recover?

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: kappapopm

IT WILL BITE THE SCALPERS IN THE BUTT ONE DAY... JUST SAYING.

Actually, for the vast majority of them, it won't. Few "scalpers" buy stuff for a long-term investment. In general, they buy them to flip quickly - at most, waiting a holiday season or two.

By the time the bottom falls out of the Skylanders market, they'll be on to the newest thing.

The old saying "strike while the iron is hot" rings true.