Bullmark Minya Reissue help!! URGENT!

I have to agree. A toy, any toy, be it the most rare or super hyped or the lowliest made in China thing, is only worth what you are willing to pay for it. It all comes down to your love for it, and how much you are able and want to spend on that.

And it is doubly hard to ask for pricing estimates, because things change. Sometimes a fantastic figure from M1 or B-Club might sit around at 30$, while other times you can't respond fast enough for the same thing when it is a hundred. Depends on who's looking and how many have come up recently.

Best thing to do is take your time and research stuff for a bit before you buy it. But, if you have the cash and don't care either way....... well, we all know toy regret.

 

While I agree that a toy is worth what you're willing to pay, sometimes you don't know how difficult something is to obtain or how frequently they pop up, so you're not sure if you should jump on it. For example - I'm at a flea market and I've never been into bootleg Spider Man toys before. I see a cool looking bootleg from Brazil that's priced at $75. I think, "That thing is really cool, and I have $75 on me right now, I'm gonna jump on it!" Then I get home, where I'm able to do a little research, and I find out that there's dozens of the exact same figure I just bought on eBay with Buy It Now prices in the low $20's. I'm definitely going to be bummed that I wasn't able to look that info up before I purchased.

 

Good point James, and in that case I would agree that you got ripped off, but I'd also point out that, at the time, it was worth the 75$ to you.

The real problem is the question of intrinsic value (if any) to personal value. And I don't know we can make those comparisons. By large, none of these toys are valuable to anyone, and most people would laugh in our faces at the prices we have paid. And, I will admit to being totally hosed on toys in the early days, and have far more regrets than bargains, but I stand by the fact that it was justified (to me) when I paid it - ignorance aside.

The caveat here is the amount of money you can afford to spend on a hobby just for the enjoyment. I don't look at a single toy I have as an investment or something that will ever appreciate in value. That goes for the vintage stuff too. I think if you look at it any other way than buying something [in this case a toy, but could be anything] your own consumption [i.e. enjoyment] then you are probably not in it for the reasons I am.

Anyways, arbitrary value aside, I admit that there is window of reason when it comes to pricing, which is generally accepted amongst peer collectors. It's naive to dispute that; and of course, the sharing of information like this, directly or indirectly, helps us learn in the community. I know it has influenced what I am willing to pay. I am merely trying to say that the ultimate decision does rest with you. There are extreme buyers on both ends of the scale, and it is not necessarily a normal distribution between the two.

You live and learn in this hobby, as in life, and sometimes you get burned. But if your only troubles are having paid 40$ overprice for a toy at some point, even if that toy was worth five bucks, then you can probably count yourself lucky.

Oh, and that was the point I was trying to make earlier, and which you brought up. Doing your research pays off immeasurably, and will save you money in the end. Being a member on Skullbrain is a great start. You may have to wait longer to find what you want, its true. Impulse buys are dangerous, and you should be prepared to take the risk if you find that special gem you immediately fall in love with.

I've gambled. And I have overspent. But mostly I remember the stuff I missed out on.

 

Stop this damnable intelligent discourse! It's grating on my very soul!