Buyers Guide to Action Figures
Although vintage toy collecting has long been a renowned past time, however, with the market for ‘comicana’ steadily growing in the 21st century, action figures are becoming increasingly popular, with many collectors desiring to purchase toys associated with their childhood. ValueMyStuff have compiled a buyer’s guide with tips to help you start your collection and make sure it achieves the maximum potential.
If you are a new collector, the easiest way to begin your collection is to either, purchase from a retail store or purchase online. Not only is the Internet a useful place to purchase action figures, but it is also an easy way to seek advice from other collectors. We would strongly recommend that new collectors do as much research as possible regarding their desired action figure to compare value in order to avoid disappointment when it comes to selling. Online retailers, such as Ebay, can be very misleading as they can sell their items for whatever they wish, new collectors should take this factor into consideration before investing.
One must decide whether they are purchasing for long-term investment or for quick sale, as this factor can affect both the type of action figure you buy and your budget. If you decide to buy an action figure on a long-term investment basis, it is important that you consider the following: standardization, rarity, authentication, aesthetic value, set completion, notoriety and investment value.
There is endless variety of action figures available, with thousands of different characters and character variations as well as numerous themes and story lines, we would advise new collectors to try to stick to one or two themes in order to maintain control over their collection.