Author Topic: Toning Down...  (Read 10026 times)

Offline stormie

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before Kubricks were hip
« Reply #15 on: July 9, 2008, 03:13 PM »
Just for nostalgia...
What a difference 6 1/2 years makes!

I remember when I started that thread I felt like the only person outside of Japan that had heard of Kubricks. And what's really strange, I still have yet to obtain an "official" Kubrick Stormtrooper.  :P

Offline Crackbrick

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Re: before Kubricks were hip
« Reply #16 on: July 9, 2008, 04:07 PM »
Wow.
Indeed it does.
I went from a completest to just about quiting.

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Offline efranks

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Re: before Kubricks were hip
« Reply #17 on: July 11, 2008, 03:12 PM »
I remember the bootlegs but never really looked for any.  But when the first real SW Kubricks were announced it took forever for me to find a place to buy them.  Most people hadn't heard of them and nobody was really selling them in the US.

I missed out on the early bird set and I think I bought my bounty hunters box from an eBay seller.  By the time the second wave came out stores like BBTS were selling them.

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Offline evenflow

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Re: before Kubricks were hip
« Reply #18 on: July 11, 2008, 10:03 PM »
I came in with series 2 and had to back track for the early bird kit and series 1. I remember when i first saw the early bird kit and thought they were cool but promised myself i wouldn't get into them.  ::)
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Offline Outkast34

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Re: before Kubricks were hip
« Reply #19 on: July 11, 2008, 10:48 PM »
I got into the game really late. I stumbled upon a series 5 Luke at the toy show in Pittsburgh. I bought it liked it and got hooked on the crackbricks.

Offline DSJ™

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #20 on: February 20, 2009, 02:51 AM »
Are more people trimming down the SW Kubrick’s in their collection or just throwing in the towel?

Over the past few months, I have seen on the bay what looks like collectors selling off their collection of Kuby’s & on other Kubrick forums. Is this because the price of Kuby’s has gone up in price? 

Are these pieces of plastic getting hard to get a hold of for a good price? Is it not worth bothering as the chase figures are high in cost & a bugger to get at times as with the online exclusives? Are they just saying I’m done & want to move on & focus on other collectibles?

Thoughts? 

Offline JediJman

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #21 on: February 20, 2009, 08:46 AM »
Availability has definitely driven me to cut back, and I'm not as hard core on these as most people I know.  Probably a combination of frustration in trying to get new figures along with the economy pushing people to sell.
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Offline BrentS

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #22 on: February 20, 2009, 09:48 AM »
I was such a buying spree when I first got started, now I've simply run out of "disposable" money or spent it on other things.  So much of what I have left to get are chases or boxed sets and I'm just not ready to shell out the dough for the pieces I'm missing.

Offline I Am Sith

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #23 on: February 20, 2009, 07:14 PM »
I'm really only willing to spend a certain amount on the figures I have left.  If I can't get them for the price I want, I'm just going to have to do without them I guess.  I'd really like to get the new Series 10 and Boba Fett collection figures, but I just see being able to get them without breaking the bank in the process.
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Offline skyward72

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #24 on: February 21, 2009, 07:32 AM »
In my case i have been thinning the herd.  Some of the stuff I have sold off either I have in another form or are just sitting in a box collecting dust.  At the same time I have started to have more interest in a couple other collectible areas.  Don't think i will sell my collection, just selling items that don't have a place in my display case.  At this point I am quite happy with the Kubrick collection I have put together and look forward to future releases.

Offline Dan

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #25 on: February 21, 2009, 03:46 PM »
I'm in a wait and see mode-

The price of the single boxes and mastercases increasing by 50% or more is a big concern- I don't see the secondary market responding well to the idea of a set of 6 basics selling for $100 plus, when they have just been released.

I am thinking about that Boba set, and how a box of 12 is probably almost certain to only have 1 basic set, plus some extras. Immediately the extras are virtually worthless, because anyone buying them would still be stuck looking for the expensive 1 per box ones later to have a set.

So hypothetically I buy a box at $150 or more, get a basic set of 6, 2 extra of 2 of them, and 1 each of 2 others. That would make 2 1 per box figures, not far off from the ratios of some of the recent series. Those that came with 2 extra in each box (packed 3 per box) immediately become $5 to $10 figures, and maybe the other two extras (packed 2 per box) are worth $10 to $15. If my estimates are right and on the high side, that works out to selling your extras and ending up with a basic set of 6 at at $100, plus the hassle of listing and shipping the others, and the shipping you paid for the box to begin with.

Meanwhile, the prices of all the previous released sets has dropped steadily over the last year. Right now a basic set of series 1, 2, or 3 might set you back $60 with out much effort, when they were over a $100 a year or so ago. Part of that is 1 and 2 being released on cards, decreasing demand for the loose ones. But it doesn't explain why 3 is so far down, and 4 going that way as well. Series 5 and higher never became that desirable (and can all be had for $40 or so per basic set of 6). So to see the basic sets become $100 plus out of the chute is frightening. If they hold their value fairly well, them I am ok with that. I don't expect to make money buying star wars toys, but I would rather not lose my shirt either.

But that doesn't even touch on chases. If a 1 per 2 mastercases figure (1:96) has typically been in the $100-$125 range, what do they become when the mastercases has increased in cost by 50-75%? Will the next Aurra Sing type chase sell for $175-$200?

I guess I just don't see the market supporting the cost of these mastercases, basic sets, and chases. And the box sets had already become ridiculous.

So, I may opt for a box of Fetts and see what shakes. I've ditched every other line except a few OT figures and GH sets, so this is where my collecting money will go. But I may jump the fence and become a basic set collector off of other peoples mastercases if everything stays so upside-down on the pricing.

Offline Morgbug

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Re: Toning Down...
« Reply #26 on: February 21, 2009, 11:34 PM »
I really am not feeling a huge hit for the most part on this.  Yeah, prices are indeed up substantially, but since the prequel stuff started, I backed right off the master case notion anyway.  I just didn't want that much stuff hanging around I didn't really care for.  Hell, I still have a pile of Royal Guards, Biker Scouts and Tie Pilots kicking around anyway, so having some Fetts sitting isn't a huge deal. 

These announcements haven't changed my habits on these for the most part.  Even when I was buying master cases I was looking at the full sets on Ebay at $300 and thinking that might have been the smarter approach anyway.  I'm not convinced these are going to rise dramatically on ebay.  From North American sellers eating the huge cost, shift in exchange rate and additional shipping, yeah.  From guys that normally corner all the chase, not so much.  I never jumped on stuff that early anyway for chasand the prices have always dropped to the much more reasonable $100 range anyway.  I think they'll still do that.  I do think early sets might be astronomical, in the $400 + range but they'll settle. 

The economy is killing the secondary market too, just ask anyone selling on ebay these days.  Good, high end stuff can still command a premium, along with short run stuff.  But stuff like Kubs, which aren't really all that limited in production, and anything moderately common is taking a huge hit for now. 

I've got my box of Fetts ordered.  I'll wait for a good price on the basic set of six for series 10.  After that it is wait and see.  Don't forget how spoiled we were by Robby.jp either, we all had access, ourselves or through Jeff, to pretty close to wholesale pricing.  Not everyone did. 
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