Tips for new collectors (please add your own!)

I've been collecting now for about 16 years; the first 4 years dabbling, the last 12 "seriously". The other day I was organizing the checklists for the dozens of toy lines and other 70s/80s related items that I collect and I started thinking back on the first items I bought for each line. I had grown up with these various lines, so I knew--or thought I knew--what I was doing. Boy was I wrong.

In collecting, as in life, we often learn our greatest lessons from the mistakes we make. With that in mind, I wanted to start a thread with tips for new collectors who may just be starting out. My specific focus here will be the vintage Kenner Star Wars line and vintage era collectibles, but in many instances it applies to collecting vintage toys and collectibles in general. As I said in the title, please contribute your tips and suggestions. I'm bound to miss a lot, and you are likely to have advice that applies to areas other than vintage era collectibles. With that in mind, here we go.

Ch.1 - So you wanna collect vintage Star Wars items?

That's good. You've just taken your first step into a larger world. But what exactly is a "vintage" Star Wars item? The answer isn't as simple as it was when I first began collecting. At that time, it was generally accepted to be anything produced between 1977 and 1985 (the end of the Kenner line and the original mass marketing of SW items in general). But today, the rebooted Power of the Force (often referred to as Power of the Force 2 or POTF2) is 22 years old. That's the exact same age the original Kenner line was when I started collecting in '00. Oh, and that initial Phantom Menace stuff? 17 years old now. I know, makes me feel old, too. But for the purposes of this thread, when I say "vintage" I mean the items produced during that initial '77-'85 run. The stuff from my childhood and the almost exclusive focus of my collecting these days.

If you're a fan who wants to start collecting vintage era items there are a few things you need to know up front.

1.) It's expensive, and getting more so every day. The increased interest caused by the purchase of Star Wars by Disney combined with the inevitable decrease in the merchandise available has sent prices for vintage items soaring over the last few years. There was so much product created during that vintage era (with Kenner said to have produced figures in the hundreds of millions) that despite demand supply was there in sufficient quantities to keep prices low. But these days, with the increased demand and the supply of complete "collector" grade items on the market dwindling, prices have spiked, often commanding two times or more what they did back when I first got into collecting. Thank God for eBay, which eliminates the middle man or these items would likely be out of reach for many of us.

This isn't meant to dampen your enthusiasm, just to give you a heads up on what to expect. Many vintage figures can still be picked up, complete, for $8-12 in C-8+ condition, but others, such as the original Leia, have gone through the roof. Some of this is attributed to increased demand, but there's another factor affecting prices. Condition.

2.) None of us look how we did 39 years ago (I certainly don't, having been 3 at the time). And that holds true for vintage SW items as well. Unlike today's high end stuff by Sideshow, the vintage era items weren't meant to last. They were promotional items, meant to sell the movies, be used, and then thrown away. They were never created to be collectibles. So naturally after nearly 4 decades of abuse, they're going to show their age.

When looking for items such as the original Leia, Stormtrooper or ships like the X-Wing or Tie Fighter, expect them to have a degree of yellowing or discoloration. You can still find them at or close to their original color--I have--but you've got to turn over a lot of e-rocks to find them, and then you're going to pay. The same applies to stickers. In most cases they're going to be discolored, falling off or else in poor shape. There are "repro" stickers out there that can help restore your ships to at-or-near their original appearance, but the quality of these fan made items vary, and the opinion on using reproduction items varies greatly from collector to collector (more on this in a bit).

3.) There is a lot of vintage stuff. Beyond just the Kenner action figure line, which is extensive, you have toy guns and lightsabers, lunchboxes, school supplies, fast food collectibles, trading cards, Halloween costumes. The list almost literally goes on and on. That small list of items you want at the outset is likely to grow as you educate your self about what all was made.

Ch.2 - The Basics

With the bloviating out of the way, I hope this thumbnail of the lessons I've learned proves to be the most useful of all to you.

- Educate your self

Whatever your area of focus, learn all you can about what you want to collect. Thankfully we live in a day and age where answers at there at the touch of a button, so use to the 'net for more than just re-tweeting cat memes. Learn about variations (many figures have variations; some minor, some major), quirks and tendencies (such as a white figure's tendency to yellow, or a vac-metalized one's tendency to become milk-colored and extremely loose). Learn what figures come with what accessories, and how to distinguish the real thing from a "repro" or reproduction. The latter is an area of contention amongst collectors. Some have no problem with using a repro gun or cloak to complete their vintage figure. Others consider it blasphemy. I say so long as you can learn to tell the difference between them, and that the seller is honest, whether you accept or reject reproduction items is totally up to you.

- Make a list

I've always found lists useful. Not only to keep track of what I want to accomplish, but as a way to gauge my progress. There's something very satisfying about checking off a list. The good thing is that, like the Constitution, it's amendable. But to start, make a list, organized by the type of item, the corresponding movie, etc.

- Start small

Whenever we start a new hobby, we tend to be rather enthusiastic, which is a good thing. The main purpose of a hobby is often enjoyment. But you don't want to jump into something like collecting with both feet. What if you don't like it? And as I mentioned, you're new, and mistakes are bound to occur. Better those lessons come on a smaller, less expensive purchase than a shopping spree.

My advice is to set a collecting budget. One that is responsible and makes your bills and finances the top priority. Let's say for you that comes to $50.00 a month. What I would do then is cut that in half for the first few months. Start small, get a feel for things. If after 3-4 months you decide it's not for you, then you're out a hundred or so dollars, not three, four or five hundred.

- A few more tips

* - If you find an item on eBay that you like, see what else that seller has for sale. Many sellers combine shipping, and you can save money in the long haul if you win multiple items from the same seller. Buying items in lots is also useful for this reason. Even if you don't need or want everything in a lot, if you can find a good deal, you can always sell or trade what you don't want from that lot, sometimes paying yourself back for what you kept in the process.

* - Speaking of sellers, always check their feedback. Sometimes an honest seller will get dinged by an overly picky buyer, but more often than not, you can tell what kind of person you're dealing with by not just looking at their feedback score, but reading the feedback left for them.

*- Don't be afraid to ask questions. These days, many sellers offer nice, clear, high resolution pictures from various angles and a description of the item. But you'd be surprised how many auctions I still see that say "The pictures speak for themselves!" and they have 1 or 2 pics that look like they were taken by a ten year old flip phone in a dark room. If you aren't sure about something, never be afraid to ask the seller. In most cases, they'd rather you ask and then lose your business than for you to buy something and be unhappy, want to return the item etc.

*- When you start to look for an item, do a closed auction search for it. This allows you to see what the item has been selling for recently and gives you a gauge on what you should expect to have to bid on that item.

* - Check your area for vintage toy and comic book shops. Prices there will tend to be higher than those on eBay, as there is a middleman, but there are benefits. For one, you get to see the item in person. Also, no shipping and handling. You also get to talk toys and collectibles with the people in the shop and help to support a local, brick and mortar business.



Hopefully the above info and the info to follow proves useful to you. Collecting is an awesome hobby, and armed with a little knowledge, you can enhance that experience that much more. Happy hunting!

 

Added to the above - collect what you like. Don't feel you have to grab every Luke, Han, and Leia figure when all you really want are Fetts (what I collect), Vader, Kylo Ren, etc. And don't overlook charity or thrift shops for items either.

 

Could not have said it better...hope many of you took notes as that was fantastic and done for the love of collecting to help others.
A review of my collecting journey sees me a very happy collector. I started with collecting the 3.75 inch and continue only down that path to alleviate cost. Of course I've ended up with Clone helmet lunch boxes along the way, but for cheap at pawn shops and as long as you have the cash and room. At first i started with my original 14 vintage figures, progressed to my mom buying my nephew and I the POTF2 line, then worked my way into Ebay buying one large lot in 2002 to build on. Many (i mean many) Ebay sales, collector shows, thrift stores, yard sales later, i have a good mixture of prequels, clones, Jedi, and vintage toys to display and God willing, for my son, play with. I started out just wanting the figures...then had to have their weapons...then variants. So be ready to be pulled in. You must stay head strong to not go broke. Stay in your budget, buy lots, and sell what you dont need as stated above.
(I'm currently only an original R2D2 POTF green saber away from completing each vintage figure through 1985 POTF line)
So as stated by JukeSkywalker, find out what you love to collect, and go after it! May the force be with you!

 

For the bargain hunters:

If you can scan an item at a Walmart, Target, or other large retailer do so. A lot of times an item might be cheaper or marked down but there isn't a sticker or shelf tag to indicate so. Also if an item is on clearance already with a mark downed price on it scan it anyway. It could be cheaper then indicated. It so easy for clearance items to fall through the cracks and not be properly marked. I have scored so many great deals by doing this. I generally will do this off and on but especially when a toy department is being reset.

For me because of limited time and limited money I primarily focus mainly on picking up clearance items. Generally stuff I wanted anyway but sometimes an impulse buy if its cheap enough. It can be a bit of a gamble if there is something you're serious about collecting, such as LEGOs. For me it's always price versus quantity. Waiting for your ideal price point versus how many are left. If I can get something at 75%, or more, off I will, but if there's only one item left and it's only 50%, 40%, or even 30% off I'll probably go ahead and grab it.

And if something I wanted is now gone that's just money I have saved that can go towards something else down the line.

 

Great post Juke Skywalker!

Tip: I know it's hard, but god be careful of buying frenzy, its so, so easy to suddenly find yourself broke with only a couple of boxes of toys in front of you rather than any food to eat. Like Juke said, set a budget for yourself. There are billions, literally of Star Wars toys and merchandise out there, whatever you want will still be out there somewhere when your wallet (and hopefully belly!) are full.

To newbies - I'm very sorry. Thanks to Disney now demanding that a new film comes out every year there will be no "Star Wars" lull years when people slow down on collecting waiting between films, which always used to lead to "Bargain shopping!"

Most important - only buy what you like, you don't HAVE to buy every character that Hasbro/Funko/whoever produces in order to have a great collection.

 

Great, great info everybody! That's exactly what I was hoping for. A nice repository of knowledge from seasoned collectors. Thank you for contributing, and please everyone continue to add your thoughts.

 

A few things come to mind:

- Find something you like to collect and go for it. For me, it's action figures and trading cards. Only a select (and possibly crazy) few will collect anything and everything with "Star Wars" stamped on it. They're called hoarders.

- Figure out a storage solution which works for you, your home, and your collection. I spent about a decade eschewing the figures only to get back into it with TFA. I had a lot of loose figures and packaged ones tucked away in a closet in cardboard bankers boxes. This was woefully inefficient in terms of space used for the amount of storage and was much more accident prone due to the boxes being decade and a half old cardboard. Thankfully, I was able to find some very nice 74 quart (70 cubic liter) lay flat storage containers which I can very easily stack and keep anywhere from 30-50 packaged figures in. I am currently working on buying a home and as an apartment dweller, space is everything. While I don't have a place to display much of my collection (yet!), I can rest easy in knowing that my stuff is safe, secure, and dry. Ultimately, I want a place where I can setup a nice glass display case for the figures I have and the gaps I'm working on filling in, but until that day comes, I want that stuff in pristine condition and out of the way.

- Collectible/antique shops are nice, but eBay is your friend. Lots of folks on eBay are looking to simply get rid of something for whatever reason. Lots of them also have those items in fairly good shape and usually for a lot less than the sports card/comic/collectible/whatever emporium that is close to you will want to sell it for. Yes, you won't get the instant gratification, but it is worth it when you snag that one item you want for $50 less than what the shop wanted for it AND to get it in better condition.

- Don't be afraid to say no. The urge to grab a hot and new item is intense. I know the feeling all too well. But be patient. With rare exceptions, most items will be available for a while. I was at Target today and saw quite a few of the shelf warmer TFA figures still on sale in in good shape. With that being said, I would encourage you to learn and study what you're after before getting it. It's better to go out armed with the knowledge of what you do/don't want than to go out and just grab anything and everything. This also ties into my first point - don't be a hoarder.