I 'm not living in the state, does the so-called crisis really have any impact. Anyone feel anything ? Does it do any impact on buyin toys. A toy shop owner here told me that the sale is declining. People watch rather than buying.

I don't know... personally, I've been contacted by my most recent mortgage agent because of all the drastic interest cuts and modifications to California jumbo loan limits... I'll probably be able to drop my mortgage rate by half a percent in the next year.

I think my toy budget will actually go up because of all the changes. (shhh... don't tell my wife though )

i don't live in an inflated real estate market, and i have a really great rate from being a first time home buyer.

what is killing my toy budget is the rising cost of healthcare.

mine went up around $60 + a month.

urggg.

The weak dollar is doing more harm to my collecting.

I think it's more what happens from here on out that worries people...when people start saying they're worried, the market reacts...and EVERYONE seems to be worried...

let's hope the fact that the economy is a global one lets us ride this out, but the Chinese and Russian buyers are digging deep into the markets over here...

it's not too good, and if it gets worse our toys will be the least of our worries...

This is so profoundly true, it's scary, and it holds up across the world. I'm already seeing it happen in Asia. The situation with the US economy is freaking out a lot of people, and that affects decisions which ultimately DO drag things down, whether or not the problems are all in somebody's head!

Luckily, it's having no ill effect on the BEMON market.

Oh.. what does it mean by "digging deep into the markets over here" ??

This means that because many US firms had good size portfolios containing mortgage backed securities, which have dropped significantly in value, they need bail-outs. So far, it's been Middle Eastern investors (in Citigroup), but with more and more wealth in Russia, China, and other Asian countries, it's possible they could be looking to invest here in the US, as well.

I am employed in the "frivolous" sector and worry that I may soon not have a job (which is kinda funny 'cause I just got this one) but, as garadama put it, in that event, not being able to afford toys will be the last of my worries.

Of course I'm refusing to admit defeat and am still buying garbage like toys, dvd's, and music as if, in the case of an emergency, I could eat it all, later.

Trust spoiled, greedy Americans to keep their economy alive through sheer force of stupidity . . .

hope everything goes well in the state, if anything happen, the whole world could not escape from the suffering as well

Fuck man...that's pretty much a new Real Head figure a month

health care cost's, 401k weakness, inflated gas prices, monthly bills, grocery bills, putting shoes on my feet etc... it all sucks...!!!

Gosh, same here. Food, transportation, apartment.. all price went up
but investment value keep going down and down

only the value of toys are stable especially RxH

This post made me sad.

Value should not be the $$$ but the artificial love provided by the toys. You don't really collect to invest do you? I mean I don't judge you for it, to each his own but "what if" a total financial collapse occurs? Nobody will be selling anything but you can always escape the horror by hangin with artficial friends!

Like I said I don't judge you if thats what your into or anyone for that matter. I just love my toys more than cash. Don't really like cash that much at all these days. Its fake you know! Toys are real.

It's too bad that the toys require soo much of that "fake cash" to get em.

Please do send all your unwanted cash to me

As our dollar keep depreciate and the yen dollar keep appreciate relatively... which means we need more and more virtual cash to buy

Well I use cash, obviously.. but don't collect or look at my toys with dollar signs or resale profit as an aquisition motivation. Their value to me is the enjoyment of 3-D design.

Corporations like Hasbro suck because even when they do a nice product they market it towards folks who buy to resell. My favorite non toy pic in the mook is of David Ugly. Soooooo true! David I hope you found the Fett you were after! Finding one at retail is rare indeed.

So.. I can't send you any "fake cash" but I do have an extra red "dendrite" I can send you but it is last years model and probably won't fit your consumer.

It just seems we as a culture move ever closer to blind consumerism and further away from pure enjoyment. Anyone reading this who is unaware of dendrites, please watch a film called THX1138 its about the future.

I think the rising costs of oil and unfortunate rise in vinyl manufacture will drive flippers into extiction. Which may be its only reward.

+1 to that my fiend, here in Chicago, the public transportation just got bumped up, groceries are going up, gas goes up all the f&#$%ing time but yet my wages don't go up in accordance.

I have just become a dad as well, so I have extra healthcare and other expenses, plus daycare is on the horizon, which alone would be enough for me to rent a studio apartment!

Still as long as my GF and my baby boy are fed, clothed etc, I can still buy toys. I decided I didn't need clothes or anything like that. I could always wear a moomoo, or even a potato sack, but what a collection i'd have!

People who wanted that house and two SUV dream are now paying the price...

-------
As with the subprime-loan crisis that has caused waves of home foreclosures, trouble has been brewing with car loans for years. As the economy boomed, lenders made it easy for shoppers to buy cars they couldn't afford by stretching their loan payments to five or six years, which more than doubled the total of Americans' auto-loan balances over the past decade to $772 billion from $282 billion in 1998. As with home buyers, lenders relaxed standards for car buyers such as Chilcot, who had blemished credit and put no money down.

With oil prices skyrocketing and the economy in a downturn, consumers are looking to downsize to cheaper, more fuel-efficient models, and reduce their payments. And many - even those with good credit and lower interest rates - are finding they can't afford to sell their vehicles because they have more left to pay off than their cars are worth. Lenders, meanwhile, are writing off billions of dollars in defaulted loans, and some analysts worry this could escalate to a foreclosure crisis on wheels.
...

Nationwide, repossessions are up about 15 percent so far this year, Kontos said. At North Shore Auto Auction in Ipswich, repossessions almost tripled in February to 125 vehicles, with gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and vans being turned over more quickly than cars at a rate of two to one. As homeowners get squeezed by rising mortgage payments, contractors are also feeling the pinch as people cut back on home-improvement projects, leading to a glut of repossessed pickups, according to Frank Iovanella, president of North Shore Auto Auction.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/07/entering_the_repossession_lane

...but yet I still see people hurtling down the 90/94 in their Hummers going to their office jobs....

*madness*

I know, I can't believe all the huge SUV's I still see around town here. My GF's little brother just bought this massive Ford F-350 that will the mods he's done gives it the worst mileage ever. All this with gas here in So Cal getting close to $4/gallon. He's so socially aware otherwise we couldn't believe he got it, but he "always wanted one of these trucks" so logic went out the window. (which come to think of it, is kind of like me with toy buying )

First of all congrats on becoming a dad - few things can compare to it eh? (Even when you're downstairs, shivering your sack off waiting for a bottle to heat through at daft o clock)

From the daycare perspective we're in a position where we can afford for my better half to be a stay at home mum - for her to go out to work would cost nearly all her wages for daycare for our 2 boys. It's a crazy situation in the uk where our government seem to reward broken families and people who'd prefer to stay at home without going into work - it's the people who go out to work and try to do their best for their family who are penalised:- You do overtime, you get taxed more heavily. Also, when the tax year end comes and you're re-assessed for child tax credits your overtime (yes overtime - as in not guaranteed!!) is taken into account meaning you end up getting less in tax credits. You do more overtime to make up for the short-fall - and so on and so forth.

[/rant]

Cheers G,

Thanks for the kong-ratulations!

as a re-located Brit, it was tough for me to see the $24,000 bill that my gf's health insurance is having to stump up for having my little 'vinyl monster'. My friends back home in Coventry just had a baby too, and they were telling me they had to pay a whopping 6 pounds for some pre-natal vitamins, and that was it. Every time we had to go to the doctors office for a check up (which was at least once a month) that was $20 before we'd even seen the doctor! $30 for the prenatal prescriptions etc etc and it all adds up. I have figured out I can do about 5 hours overtime a week to get a little extra cash without getting taxed more. I don't know how people do it!

We need an NHS methinks

*end rant part 2* lol!