New to collecting...Need some help...

[magman3]

Well, after probably 15 years of not buying a toy, I took the plunge a few weeks ago and bought my first McFarlane. I've been sticking with just the sicker stuff and the movie maniac series. I'm up to about 30 figures now (not to bad in just a week and a half span :) ). I bought the figures originally as display pieces. I talked my wife into it since I'm giving up my baseball card obsession. I have some nice display shelves in my office area that are perfect for most of the figures. As I'm getting more and more into this hobby, I'm finding myself reluctant to take some of these out of the packages as I have paid a premium on a few. I've been looking for a descent price guide to price the figures but Toyfare doesn't have much of what I'm collecting in its 2 page price guide. Someone had suggested Lee's Toy Review. My question is this: What is a good source for pricing these figures before I make my decision on whether to open them or leave them sealed? Sorry for the long read. Looking forward to posting here in the future!

Brandon

[JacktheRipper]

Your best bet is ebay and asking around boards such as these.

[The Pharcyde]

Ebay will give you an idea of what people are paying. But in my opinion it's best to buy what you like and open what you want, the prices fluctuate and most don't hold a high value in the long run.

[fleast]

I agree with Pharcyde,
It seems that the only McF that hold value are variants with limited numbers

[magman3]

Good enough guys. Thanks for the help. I haven't spent more than $50 on a figure (Tin Woodman from the Oz series). The rest are just regular figures for the most part besides my bloody Frankenstein my Army of Darkness 2 pack (Good Ash and Pit Witch). I think I'll enjoy them much more out of the package.

[SlayKnotV1]

send a PM to RaiderInNY he's selling some Stuff

[Filthyrich]

I would recommend to buy only what you really want. Your gonna see a lot of great stuff here on the boards but stick to the stuff you only really like (especially if your a completest) because as you have noticed this hobby gets really expensive.

[magman3]

I would recommend to buy only what you really want. Your gonna see a lot of great stuff here on the boards but stick to the stuff you only really like (especially if your a completest) because as you have noticed this hobby gets really expensive.


Yeah, I'm really just picking up the stuff thats eye appealing to me. I love the Tortured Souls series, some of the movie maniacs (when I can pick them up cheap), and the Twisted Land of Oz. Like you said, there is so much out there. Luckily I'm limited with space and money. I sold off some of baseball cards to pick up what I've bought so far. I'm happy so far with my pickups. I'm trying to put together a running list of stuff I want to get in the future. I appreciate all the suggestions from you guys here. Looking forward to more posts in the future!

[Sledge Hammer!]

Word, unless you're mega rich you can't have it all, so it's best to specialize and just stick to the stuff that you really, really like. And being new to the hobby chances are there's gonna be a whole lot that fits into that category alone.

Good luck, and happy collecting.

[human_anomaly]

Tin Man is going for that much?
I have the whole series minus the CC exclusive, havn't opened any because i have nowhere to put them


sweet!

[magman3]

Word, unless you're mega rich you can't have it all, so it's best to specialize and just stick to the stuff that you really, really like. And being new to the hobby chances are there's gonna be a whole lot that fits into that category alone.

Good luck, and happy collecting.

Lucky for me I've got a semi nice baseball card collection that I'm ridding myself of so I've got a little extra cash to spend. You are right though, its all nice. I'm pretty happy with the stuff I've got now and incoming. I probably won't buy anything else for a while, soak in my new figures. I've bought 26 figures since December the 10th. I've got about another $80 I can spend so I'm gonna be picky. I need to list the rest of baseball cards eventually, but in no hurry. Everyone, happy holidays and thanks for the welcome!

[magman3]

Tin Man is going for that much?
I have the whole series minus the CC exclusive, havn't opened any because i have nowhere to put them


sweet!

Yeah. Last few ended over $40. I went ahead and the hit the BIN when I saw one for $49. Spent a little over going rate but really wanted the figure. It was part of my xmas from my wife. Most of the stuff I've got at what I think to be great deals. I try to find a few pieces I like from the same seller to save on shipping. I want to finish the oz series and tortured souls series one before picking up anything else. Thats my goal at least.

[human_anomaly]

Yeah. Last few ended over $40. I went ahead and the hit the BIN when I saw one for $49. Spent a little over going rate but really wanted the figure. It was part of my xmas from my wife. Most of the stuff I've got at what I think to be great deals. I try to find a few pieces I like from the same seller to save on shipping. I want to finish the oz series and tortured souls series one before picking up anything else. Thats my goal at least.

you couldn't find someone selling the whole oz series as a set?
keep in mind too that alot of the collecting is patience, sometimes prices go down, new things show up, but also sometimes things go UP
there's a few figures I wish i bought at the time they came out because the prices have gone up quite a bit

[Fake_Nick]

I didn't know the Tin was that pricey. Mine is broken in a little piece; now I really feel like fixing the damn thing.

A good advice is: Get the figures as soon as you can when they come out; I're regretting I didn't buy the 18" scissorhands (sp) :( . . .

[magman3]

you couldn't find someone selling the whole oz series as a set?
keep in mind too that alot of the collecting is patience, sometimes prices go down, new things show up, but also sometimes things go UP
there's a few figures I wish i bought at the time they came out because the prices have gone up quite a bit

Yeah I found sets, but they were $225-250 with the flying monkeys. Originally I was only going to go for the Tin Woodman, but once I got him, I decided to go with the rest. If I find a good deal on a set, I'll pick it up and resell the woodman.

[SUPERCRITICALONSLAUGHT]

Hi magman3, first of all, welcome to the world of toy collecting. Like what a few mentioned, this is a huge collection ; from movie figs, to sports figs to music, spawn, fantasy etc. For me, i'd stick to sets but within 1 or a few categories e.g Dragons category or Spawn category. I had no prob last time collecting Movie Maniacs + Spawn (from series 1 all the way to 22), Music figs etc, but the thing is the space constraint. McFarlane toys is too huge for 1 person to handle unless you have the space for it.

Just concentrate on what appeals to u or rather what u really want (since most McFarlane toys are appealing...lol). Don't bother about resale value ; if ur a toy collector and have a passion and appreciation for the toy in terms of artistic value, u'd want to own it, not sell it.

Another thing if u really wanna enjoy the figure, open it and display it (esp since u have space in ur office). There're alot more things u can do when the fig is outta the packing e.g taking photos of it at diff angles etc.


Hope that helped a bit. Enjoy collecting.

[SlayKnotV1]

A good advice is: Get the figures as soon as you can when they come out; I're regretting I didn't buy the 18" scissorhands (sp) :( . . .

I Passed on the 18" Edward when it was first released cause i didn't think it would look good next to the 18" Myers, Freddy, Leatherface & Ash. then right around easter 04 i went into this Toystore in NJ and there was one on the Clearance table for 50% off the stickered price so i got it for $15. I'm Glad i got it when i did cause i wouldn't pay the ebay price that it's goin for now

[magman3]

Hi magman3, first of all, welcome to the world of toy collecting. Like what a few mentioned, this is a huge collection ; from movie figs, to sports figs to music, spawn, fantasy etc. For me, i'd stick to sets but within 1 or a few categories e.g Dragons category or Spawn category. I had no prob last time collecting Movie Maniacs + Spawn (from series 1 all the way to 22), Music figs etc, but the thing is the space constraint. McFarlane toys is too huge for 1 person to handle unless you have the space for it.

Just concentrate on what appeals to u or rather what u really want (since most McFarlane toys are appealing...lol). Don't bother about resale value ; if ur a toy collector and have a passion and appreciation for the toy in terms of artistic value, u'd want to own it, not sell it.

Another thing if u really wanna enjoy the figure, open it and display it (esp since u have space in ur office). There're alot more things u can do when the fig is outta the packing e.g taking photos of it at diff angles etc.


Hope that helped a bit. Enjoy collecting.

Thanks for the extra advice and for the reassurance that I wasn't doing anything wrong by taking my pieces out of the package. Narrowing down what I like is tough because as everyone else has said, most all the McFarlane's look great. Another avenue I'm liking a lot are the custom figures, especially the really sick and twisted ones. The more twisted the figure, the more it appeals to me. Maybe that'll keep my collection small...doubtful huh?

[lunatic-grin]

That's cool. Like others have said; stick with what you like, try to have patience when you’re looking for a good price, and if you’re not sure about something, this tends to be a pretty good place to ask/find out. On a related note, don't be afraid to ask about someone's reputation here before doing any kind of trading, and don't be offended if other people do the same for you. In all likelihood, when doing any kind of a trade here, most experienced board members are going to expect that you be the one to send things first; that is just sort of the way things are done with new people, and I’m sure you understand that is for good reason. Again, before you get into anything like that, you should ask other people about the person you are dealing with, 1.) to help make sure you are not walking into a bad trade and 2.) doing so will help you to get to know other board members and who else might be a safe bet to trade with. No sweat. There are a lot of good people here, a great deal of whom like helping each other out, which in and of itself can make this hobby that much more rewarding. Good luck with your hunting, enjoy what you find, and welcome to the boards.

[magman3]

That's cool. Like others have said; stick with what you like, try to have patience when you’re looking for a good price, and if you’re not sure about something, this tends to be a pretty good place to ask/find out. On a related note, don't be afraid to ask about someone's reputation here before doing any kind of trading, and don't be offended if other people do the same for you. In all likelihood, when doing any kind of a trade here, most experienced board members are going to expect that you be the one to send things first; that is just sort of the way things are done with new people, and I’m sure you understand that is for good reason. Again, before you get into anything like that, you should ask other people about the person you are dealing with, 1.) to help make sure you are not walking into a bad trade and 2.) doing so will help you to get to know other board members and who else might be a safe bet to trade with. No sweat. There are a lot of good people here, a great deal of whom like helping each other out, which in and of itself can make this hobby that much more rewarding. Good luck with your hunting, enjoy what you find, and welcome to the boards.

Thanks for the advice on trading! I've done my fair share of that on other forums. Not sure I'll get much into that since it costs so much to ship these figures. For baseball cards it wasn't bad, generally under $2.00 with delivery confirmation. I'll have to keep my options open down the road if in a bind to pick something up. Thanks for the welcome and happy holidays!

[lunatic-grin]

Surely. ;)

[Ed Gein]

Hello and welcome to the hobby. Some people open their figures and some don't--two different schools of collecting. I'm an opener--I do buy doubles once in a while of my absolute favorite figures to keep one MOC (mint on card). For example, Tortured Souls 1 and 2 and the Oz set--sounds like your figure preferences are similar to mine.

My advice is to ask yourself why you bought the figure--to appreciate as a work of art, or as an investment? If you lean towards the latter, sure, leave it in the package (some people think they look cooler that way as well). But if you bought it because you like it and appreciate the sculpt and paint and artistic value--what better way to enjoy it than to open it, assemble it, and display it?

Your collection will probably grow large and fast as you come across new figures every day that you never even knew existed. As others have said, this is a good place to do research--for example, if you made a thread asking for suggestions of figures that are "twisted, sick, disgusting, and vile," you'd probably get a very satisfying response and then you'd have many, many more figures to seek out and add to your collection.

Also, I have some extras that I will be clearing out soon--so if you're interested (and patient), I will send you a list of what I'm selling.

Enjoy the world of collecting toys.

[Disconnekted]

Welcome to the madness my friend.It can be quite enjoyable.

[magman3]

Hello and welcome to the hobby. Some people open their figures and some don't--two different schools of collecting. I'm an opener--I do buy doubles once in a while of my absolute favorite figures to keep one MOC (mint on card). For example, Tortured Souls 1 and 2 and the Oz set--sounds like your figure preferences are similar to mine.

My advice is to ask yourself why you bought the figure--to appreciate as a work of art, or as an investment? If you lean towards the latter, sure, leave it in the package (some people think they look cooler that way as well). But if you bought it because you like it and appreciate the sculpt and paint and artistic value--what better way to enjoy it than to open it, assemble it, and display it?

Your collection will probably grow large and fast as you come across new figures every day that you never even knew existed. As others have said, this is a good place to do research--for example, if you made a thread asking for suggestions of figures that are "twisted, sick, disgusting, and vile," you'd probably get a very satisfying response and then you'd have many, many more figures to seek out and add to your collection.

Also, I have some extras that I will be clearing out soon--so if you're interested (and patient), I will send you a list of what I'm selling.

Enjoy the world of collecting toys.

I'll have to try this. Thanks buddy!