Many thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate the support of those that agree but also happy to see comments from those that don't. I'd like to reply to some posts I've read:
Oh the hate is coming!!!!lol
stop trying to depress the market,Joe!!!!
Us "full set of tris completed" club members cried out in terror when you remarked Madine isn't rare.....
he frickin is,you know!!!
it took me years to find mine!!.....don't let my vaunted T-shirt skew your data!!!
dingus!!
Darren
Darren, I loved your T-shirt full of fake beards
I'd still argue that Madine is hard to obtain due to it being cost prohibitive rather than because you simply can't find one to buy though.
Actually, your post tickled me when I read it this morning and while I'm pretty sure you were laughing/smiling as you typed it, if there is any truth to you "crying out in terror" (and anyone else who own a Trilogo set) then I wanted to address that concern.
First things first, I really don't want anyone to lose money, I actually want to save people money and stop them overspending. The article is aimed at newer collectors more than anyone else because I know I'll never stop a dealer from trying to make a profit but perhaps I can make their customers think twice before they buy.
As far as depressing the market and hurting the values for those "sitting pretty" - well I certainly don't want people who bought the majority of their collection years ago (much like yourself) to find that their investment is decreasing in value but at the same I don't think anyone who claims they care about Vintage should get too greedy either. I actually think that price increases are perfectly acceptable as long as they are
reasonable.
Time and time again I read posts on the forum like
"I couldn't even afford my own collection if I was to start now" or "
I bought that for £200 5 years ago and now people are paying £2k for one - crazy!". Well, if that's the truth then what chance do the newer collectors have?
People are always trumpeting the importance of "new blood" yet fail to realise that if the prices are insane now and they keep increasing we may not see a lot of new people get into vintage because they simply can't afford to.
In my opinion we have a responsibility (as oldies) to at least try and help those just joining the ranks by giving them the tools they need to go out there and not pay those insane prices. The only thing I had to pass on to those collectors was experience but perhaps it'll help.
I fully understand that it's nice to be sitting on a set of Trilogos when prices are going through the roof, but at the same time that also means you can no longer be impartial or remove yourself from the situation fully to see the price increase in the same light that other collectors can. You are suddenly caught in a dilemma because those figures you own have now become an investment that you obviously want to protect (even if you aren't actively promoting high prices).
I've removed myself from all of that conflict because in the last couple of years I've sold every single one of my Trilogos. I can see the problem, we all can..but sadly it seemed that aside from a few comments here and there nobody actually wanted to address it.
Hopefully I don't lose any friends over the article but if it happens it happens I guess. I think if those that have completed their Trilogo collections could put themselves in the shoes of a new guy coming into the Vintage world for just a moment (or even remember how different things were when they were starting out) then they would realise the aim of this.
Very interesting Joe, and I agree with you on many fronts. However, there are many trilogos that I would class as rare at afa 85 grade. Eg- ERG, Amanaman, Death Star droid, yak face, luke bespin, tie pilot, Leia organa, luke blonde and brown hair, etc. Of course the AFA population reports are outdated, but there aren't many case fresh examples around, even ungraded. If these figures are so easily found in mint case- fresh condition with crisp cards and undented bubbles, why do they rarely appear for sale?
Ok there are loads of tri yaks around, but case fresh c9.5 or AFA 85? Very few. Case fresh trilogo's will always command a premium cos most got crushed or dented in some form. There has been a big gulf in price between an AFA 80 tri and an AFA 85 tri. There has even been vast sums paid for ungraded mint and hard to find trilogo's.
Just my 2 cents.
Hi Robbie,
The issue for me at the moment is that the premium people are paying for high grade items is not even been remotely in line with what we are used to seeing.
You've also said that c9.5, AFA 85 and case fresh will always command a premium but the Yak Face that sold for $1,499 was "just" an AFA 70 -
Star Wars RARE Tri Logo Yak Face AFA Graded Palitoy Tri Logo Vintage 1985 | eBay
Putting a premium on quality is perfectly acceptable but it should not be extortionate or a number plucked out of thin air just to see if someone will bite, that's the problem these days - nothing is being priced within the realms of normality.
While Tri-logos aren't "rare" - they're certainly more rare than US Kenner examples of the same figures (excepting Anakin & Yakface).
While that's true Bill there are also less Trilogo collectors out there than there are US Kenner collectors. So even though there might be a smaller pool of Trilogos when compared to their US equivalents, there are also fewer collectors interested in collecting them.
All said and done, I'm pretty confident that there are more than enough to go round and will be for many years to come.
Let me ask the UK guys....are attic and basement finds common? I know US finds are.
While on the surface UK/European finds seem virtually non existent (maybe that's because we need a UK equivalent of the "Lemcool brothers"!
) there have actually been a few pretty significant "finds" in the last couple of years.
These might not be on the same kind of scale as the ones we see happen state side but they were still quite substantial and more importantly brought even more Trilogo figures to the market:
In April 2011 there was a find of 47 Trilogos from a guy selling the duplicates his father bought for him in the 80's:
In August 2012 there was a find of 45 Trilogos from a guy from Scotland who had inherited a collection from his Grandfather, the entire collection can be seen here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/103393335070142884687/albums/5778879402580688513?banner=pwa
In September 2012 there was a find of 28 Trilogos from a woman who had discovered her husbands collection in the loft:
In May 2014 there was another find of 42 Trilogos from a collector selling them on a Facebook group:
From what I can remember, the guy that posted the picture said they all came from a single source who actually had many more Trilogos tucked away.
I didn't note down any other specifics (and I even forgot the guys name! Sorry if you are reading!) but it was great to see them all.
And this last one was not a UK find but a nice group of Trilogos nonetheless, pictured are 22 Meccano Trilogos from a French auction this year. (Not sure how many Trilogos were sold exactly, they may have been more)
Not to mention the amount of Trilogos that Vectis seem to get their hands every year, many of which are factory overstock and direct from ex employees/warehouses.
